2015

I have been thinking for the past four days about what to write to mark the beginning of a new year.  It seems unbelievable to me that we are embarking on 2015.  This was brought home to me this week, when while channel surfing I came across the Back to the Future series, and realized that the second movie of the trilogy, the one in which Marty and Doc go into the future, is set in 2015! Where is my flying car, and why do I still need to lug big bags of groceries home instead of a small container of processed food?

None of this helped me decide what to write. However, on the back of the church bulletin today is a poem by Jan L. Richardson from the book:Night Visions:Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas.  This is a message worth sharing.

The Shimmering Hours

There is so much I want to say,

as if the saying could prepare you

for this path,

as if there were anything I could offer

that would make your way

less circuitous, more smooth.

Once you step out

you will see for yourself

how nothing could have

made you ready for this road

that will take you

from what you know now

to what you cannot perceive

except, perhaps, in your dreaming

or as it gives a glimpse in prayer.

But I can tell you this journey is not about miles.

It is not about how far you can walk 

or how fast.

It is about what you will do

with this moment, this star

that blazes in your sky

though no one else might see.

So open your heart to these shimmering hours

by which your path is made.

Open your eyes to the light that shines

on what you will need to see.

Open your hands to those who go with you,

those seen and those known only

by their blessing, their benediction

of the road that is your own.

Wishing all in my life open hearts, open eyes, open hands, and many blessings in 2015.