It always amazes me how every year, the pattern of my life follows the pattern of the seasons. Here in Nashville, spring has blossomed, with what seems like every tree, flower, and plant exploding into growth and pollination at the same time, while the weather swings back and forth drastically between cold and hot, dry and wet. Just yesterday, in the few short hours it took for our local minor league baseball team to play a game, we experienced a temperature change of twenty degrees while the sun was still up. When I take the time to reflect on the current chaos of my life — parish minister, parent, and fellowship candidate — I recognize all the seeds I planted months ago also exploding, all at once, in the midst of dramatic social changes from day-to-day.
Unusual Spring
Of course, this is isn’t a typical spring. Many in my congregation have commented on how unusual it’s been to see *everything* blooming at once; usually, the weather shifts are less severe, and the spring growth is more gradual. While this spring is beautiful, it’s also a warning about the year-round effects of climate change, and how systems in distress will wreak havoc in an attempt to repair themselves.
All this is to say that once again, I find my deep connection to Earth-centered traditions to be what helps me navigate the intensity of my life and my surroundings during this time. My garden is overflowing with the fruits of my labours all ripening at once: the conclusion of my parish internship, preparing for clinical pastoral education this summer, negotiating my contract for this fall, and shifting to the new study requirements for the fellowship committee. To keep my garden healthy and strong, I must be able to tend to all of it, regardless of the weather. Otherwise all the investment I put into it during the seasons of recovery and planting will be lost.
What patterns of similarity have you recognized between the events of your life and the way the seasons present where you live? How can your experiences of the earth and the sky, and if you have some near you, the water, help you to navigate your life — not just the choices you make, but also living in relationship with others around you and the choices they make?
Blessed be.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In