…A View from the Pew
Dear Fellow Parishioners,
From time to time, the letter from the Pastor’s Desk may include something from one of us parishioners, “A View from the Pew.”
I am writing this to you from a watercolor retreat where there are life lessons to be learned in addition to painting, composition, and colors. Many of us at the retreat come from professional backgrounds in business, accounting, science, or engineering, where these disciplines demand precision, attention to detail, anticipation of what could go wrong. Managing change to control outcomes is an important part of the job.
In watercolor, you do not have that control, but must follow where the water leads you. It is a constant lesson in surrender, seeing the results from a different perspective, appreciating the “happy accidents” that come from following where the water leads. One of the great lessons from middle age + is that I am not in control; God’s will be done, not mine. Just like in watercolor, we need to let go, trust in the Spirit, look for God’s surprises, for the good He brings out of circumstances that did not go our way.
The rebuild of the parish house these past 13 months was also a lesson in surrendering to God’s will and timing. I know we are all grateful to Fr. Ron, his staff and volunteers who showed such resilience with delays, the labyrinth of bureaucratic rules and requirements, not to mention the many “surprises” uncovered by contractors that needed to be addressed.
Just as in last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus bid his disciples to “Come away with Me and rest,” may we take some deep breaths, let go the stress of trying to be in control and follow where the Spirit (and the water) lead us.
Lynn Lankford