Springtime in the Rockies is most definitely a transitional “now and not yet” sort of experience. The piles of snow are melting, but not yet gone. The temperatures are increasing, but the snow is still falling. The sun is shining, except when it is overcast. And the truth is that “now and not yet” is also a pretty good description of what it is like to be a person of faith. Our awareness of God’s presence provides us with experiences of love and grace and connection, except when we forget to notice. We have learned to reach out beyond ourselves and touch the lives of others in our community and our world, but sometimes we get overwhelmed and pull inside ourselves out of weariness or fear. The light of God’s unconditional love shines through our lives like a beacon on a hill, except when we get distracted by the mundane, everyday challenges which fool us into believing we don’t have anything valuable to contribute. Faithful living is not all sublime sunshine and spring flowers. It is also difficult and painful and ordinary. In each moment we have the opportunity to once again remember who we really are, way down deep in the core of our being, and then let that awareness inspire and empower us to take one more step into the light. “Now and not yet” is the paradox we are invited to embrace. What is “now” is the presence of God. What is “not yet” is our awareness and embrace of that presence. And all of it, every single bit of it, is a part of what it means to be a person of faith living in this world. May we remember to keep taking one more step into the Light!
- Pastor Roger
(keeping my feet firmly planted in the flow)
