Good Morning, TSJ Peeps . . .
Greetings from our new headquarters. There is great hope and promise here. I have an awareness of its rightness. Still “rightness” does not always mean easy! Teachers and parents know this truth everyday as they live the “rightness” of their dream and purpose while facing road blocks and challenges!
So to be honest I still easily feel off balance. I cannot find anything quickly. I have worked furiously to get settled fast. I do not do well with disarray and chaos so I have stolen time from important restorative sleep- knowing full well that is not wise for me.
Solomon put his glasses on to indicate I need to think about things. And I feel in my bones that Solomon is right. He says,
“Slow down, Ms. Margie. Rome was not built in a day or a week.”
I am re-learning that when you try to push a process you might feel successful momentarily only to be unnerved or overtired shortly!
Perhaps for that reason when I woke up this morning words came to me from the biblical book of Ecclesiastes, “For everything there is a season (time).” Who of us can push the season?
Ecclesiastes is seemingly a book of wisdom reflections. It is often thought to be written by king Solomon though that is disputed amongst scholars. And although this book raises more questions than answers for many biblical researchers, most agree it is filled with profound and poetic wisdom about what it is like to be human.
The writer says “there is a time for everything.” And there is a limit to our understanding of God and the mysteries of life’s ups and downs no matter how wise or knowledgeable we are.
For me, an ordinary engaged-in-life-on-earth mortal with no scholarship in biblical interpretation, this book seems to capture my own sense of futility as I make the same mistakes over and over. The writer says it has been true for humanity over all generations!
I confess I have wonderful stories to share with you of lessons I have been learning in the moving process. Lessons surface in the most unexpected ways. Inspiration comes equally in surprising spurts. So stay tuned.
In the vein of “there is a time for everything,” right now it is a time for me to plug away at finishing up the details that come with this moving “season” in my life and squeeze in some rest. Soon enough you will be hearing and reading various escapades or stories.
I will be establishing office hours soon too. I am delighted with the design of our “headquarters” to offer a safe and peaceful space to gather. I look forward to having small coaching and spiritual growth groups and mini-day retreats as each of us pursue our dreams and passions and share the blocks and barriers we experience. Together we will learn how to transform our fears into fortitude and forge ahead.
The wisdom writer also said something you may find encouraging, “This is what I have seen to be good: it is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of life that God give us...”
Sometimes we are in the demanding season of work – of sowing and reaping, of parenting or finding a job, of preparing dissertations or publishing a book, of moving and starting over in business etc. During those times it is difficult to maintain our sense of inner balance and peace.
It helps to remember there is a time for everything. It may be a short season in life or a longer one but you will move through it more easily if you enjoy it as you go. We cannot always do everything perfectly or in our peak condition!
So our Solomon says to be kind to yourself and enjoy the process. Choose one thing to do each day that helps you recenter and then give everything you do your blessing. Or put in more practical terms – do it with gratitude.
Keep warm. A season of cold has arrived in upstate NY. While we cannot change it we can dress for it. The same is true for other types of seasons or times in our lives. We may not be able to change them but we can wear such things as faith, love, gratitude, hope and a cheerful spirit as we move through the challenges!
See you in the pastures. 🙂
