Midwinter Patchwork
Stitched together tidbits of a spiritual life
It is supposed to be a very snowy winter here in Germany so that we are checking the forecast regularly and hoping for some sledding days ahead. Otherwise, it feels like we are in countdown mode. We will leave Germany sometime this year and we don’t yet know where we will be going.
We don't really know what awaits us. We are waiting and that is a hard space to be in. It’s so hard to not know what is next but I know what will come. Eventually, we will know. We will pack everything we can and then grief will settle in. This adventure will have come to an end. It’ll happen even before the movers come to load everything into the truck. My heart will shift to what comes next. I won't have any space for what is here in this moment, in this place.
This will be our sixth move with the military and fourth with children. We know how this goes and so I’m trying to remind myself to be in the present. Welcome the wonder. Enjoy this place, this moment, this season of life. Something else will come but for now, there is this. And this can be as wonderful and magical as the falling snow outside my window.
Here are a few things that I’m cherishing in my own spiritual life as I try not to rush ahead and over plan. These are some of the things that are opening my heart to this present moment.
I took a leap and joined a the Winter Cohort of Ministry from the Margins offered by the Tehom Center. It’s only been a month and it’s already been an amazing experience. I am honored that this amazing publishing house trusts my half-formed words and is eager to publish my first book.
I’m spending a lot more time writing this year. Some of those words will appear here as I imagine and dream about what this baby book will become and if you are interested in what comes, I welcome beta readers. Send me a message if you are interested.
I’ve found that I am in a season right now where I want a devotional even though I don’t really like most devotionals like Joanna Harader shared in anticipation of her upcoming book Prone to Wander. In the new year, I picked up Sandhya Rani Jha’s Liberating Love which I have only read in spurts before. I tucking myself into bed every night with these love notes from God and it is a complete and total delight.
On New Years Eve, I overhead my husband ask my children what their hopes were for the next year. He called it goals though and that word is not a favorite of mine. I resist the whole expectation of it which is probably why
’s repost of Seven Alternatives for New Years Resolutions echoed deeply with my heart when I read it again.(If you’re curious, both my girls dodged the question. They are 5 and 7 and have no interest in setting goals either. They wanted to know if they could have one of the many candies they caught earlier thrown by the Man with Many Noses that day.)
Like my girls, I have no list. I have no goals. I have a song that I’m singing to myself in times of doubt and in times of wonder.
Mary Chapin Carpenter is one of my favorites and I love this new single released before her new album released last month. I’m trying to hold everything in this season. There is just so much to behold.
As you reflect on this midwinter, here are some questions to ponder.
What gifts are you celebrating in this season?
What words are centering you in this season?
What books are you turning toward for inspiration and hope?
What song is being sung just for you in this midwinter space?
How do you ground yourself in the present moment especially in times of change?
Blessings on you as your family as you wait. Also a book?!?! So exciting! Sign me up to be a beta reader!