Weekly Inspiration (4/4/25)

“Pauses to reflect and regroup, as happens in Lent, are not periods of motionlessness. Rather, like two trapeze artists, the moment of connecting produces seeming stillness, which in reality is merely brief arrested motion before carrying on together.”

~Synthesized from Rev. Christina Hutchins sermon at CCAV on 3/9/25

Merciful manure
by Steve Garnaas-Holmes

            “Let the tree alone for one more year,
            until I dig around it and put manure on it.
            If it bears fruit next year, well and good...”
                        —Luke 13.8-9

God, your judgment
is not punishment but mercy,
what nourishes me,
even if it comes in disruption,
and having to deal with some shit.

Holy One,
how are you digging around
in the soil of my soul?
What are you disturbing?
Loosening? Unearthing?
Give me patience to abide,
and wisdom to attend.
Show me how I might be nurtured
by the crap I endure.
Your will is not to punish or to test,
but to enrich the soil of my heart
so I may grow in trust and generosity,
and bear the fruit of your love.
In all things, God, feed my soul.