It’s been a wonder filled few days. A season for hope and dreaming to come together in the experience of new life.
On Saturday morning Tom and I headed up to Camano Island to meeting with friends and go out to visit the property we used to own that now belongs to Circlewood. We were rejoicing in the good news we heard on Friday that permits have come together to complete the first building on the land. This building was vandalized several years ago, dashing our hopes for the development of a retreat centre and ministry site. It made us realize we would probably not be the ones to bring this vision to fruition and catalyzed our stepping down as directors of Mustard Seed Associates.
Sometimes dreams need to die so that they can be rebirthed in new and more vital forms. That is what I heard as we headed out there on Saturday, accompanied by our friends who are very interested in what is being birthed there. It encourages their own dream of a property with a focus on conservation and sustainability. Circlewood has expanded our vision for the land in ways that are very exciting for us and we are grateful to continue to be a part of this exciting ministry and its development. (More about that in the next few weeks)
On Saturday afternoon, Tom and I repotted 50 tomato plants waiting patiently for the weather to warm enough for them to go in the ground in May. Watching them grow from seed to plant, to flourishing and productive plants is one of the joys of this season. They also encourage me to be generous as they are not the only seeds proliferating in my garden room at the moment. I sell some of the tomato plants, but others I give away and this weekend there was a huge variety – Swiss chard, broccoli, snapdragons, lobelia, and marigolds. Next week it will probably be scabosia, potato starts and zinnias. I just can’t repot them fast enough to keep up with their growth.
New life, new birth, new possibilities. That was the theme for the weekend. Not only the birth of this wonderful dream, but on Saturday night, the birth of a baby to our community members Andrew and Sophie Hamby. What a delight to share in the joy of this event.
My Meditation Monday: Have You Had Your Daily Dose of Awe? this week reflected my joy in the garden and my love of nature. I talk about the practice of Lectio Tierra and our need not just to walk in nature but also to allow it to teach us about God. On Substack I renamed the article Lectio Divina – Walking in Awe and Wonder as it will be the first in a special series on practices to help us pray in the garden, some of the preparation I am doing for my involvement in the Inhabit Conference next week and also for my webinar Spirituality of Gardening in May. Lots to focus on as I align my life around awe and wonder.
Last Saturday Melissa shared about the frustration we continue to experience with broken links on the Godspacelight website. Much to my delight she shared some of the beautiful tulips that are flowering in my garden at the moment. Not surprising that we are moving to Substack. The Godspacelight brokenness is giving us all a headache. So please bear with us.
Lilly Lewin in her Freerange Friday: Give Us New Eyes For Easter compares the need for new eyes to see the eclipse, with our need for new eyes to see Jesus. I love her questions “What is helping you SEE and to recognize Jesus these days?”
Last Wednesday we launched the 5th episode of The Liturgical Rebels podcast a fascinating interview which Lilly Lewin and I facilitated with our good friend Mark Pierson from New Zealand. Mark is a fabulous worship curator, one of the most creative people I know and also the one who encouraged me to become a liturgical rebel. Don’t miss this great episode.
On Substack this week I published an additional article Awe Begets Awe with a poem I wrote following the eclipse. I hope you enjoy it. A big thank you for those who signed up to become paid subscribers. Your support is very much appreciated as we work through the challenges on Godspacelight and seek to provide new content on Substack as well as the Liturgical Rebels podcast. Your support really does free me up to focus on these things and the increased traffic that posts are getting makes me realize that this really is a better way to communicate. I hope you are enjoying it.
Let me conclude with another “prayer practice” I love – a breathing prayer.
Breathe in,
Let the presence of God
Fill you with light and life and beauty.
Breathe out
Let the faithfulness of God
Inspire you with strength and purpose and hope.
Breathe in
Let the mystery of God
Nourish you with awe and wonder and joy.
Breathe out
Let the glory of God
Delight you with praise and worship and adoration.
Many blessings
Christine Sine
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