25 May 2008

Greetings!

In many ways our past lived experience and our heritage serves to define who we become; how we act (or react) as people. For example, if we grew up receiving affirmation, we will tend to affirm others; if we grew up with ridicule and shame/blame or violence, unless we strive to break that cycle, we too may carry that mindset into our relationships. Our lived experience also shapes how we respond to change. Again, our individuality, personal experience, and heritage play a huge rose in how we grieve changes - ALL changes, even the positive ones. Change = loss...even positive change! Let's consider the young adult graduating from high school. He or she soon leave for college and, while his or her parents are very proud of their child, they in some way grieve the loss of that child from physical presence in their daily lives (the empty nest syndrome). At the other extreme, the death of someone close - a spouse, a parent, a dear friend - propels us into heart-wrenching grief and change that we did not ask for, do not want, and it can literally turn our world upside down. All the experts on grieving agree on some key points: the path of grief does not run a straight course, how we have grieved past losses/deaths will become evident in how we perceive present and future losses, one should not expect to be "over it" in one year (there is no hard and fast timetable to the grieving process), and any given number pf people (even those within the same family) will be at different places in their grief at any given time.

Today, as we continue to move through our various and individually unique way of grieving more recent changes, it may just serve us well to ponder those last 2 key points in the context of our community of St. Thomas. We as a community, well, actually four communities at the start, have navigated great change over the course of your years together - beginning with merging into one faith community. For many of us, there were at least initially feelings of anger, denial, frustration, intense sadness, even devastation. And everyone did not have the same feelings at the same time. We didn't simply "get over it"; we moved through it...together, remembering it is not we but Christ who is our center; God who is our source of life; the Spirit who guides and moves and renews us!

As Moses reminded the people (Deuteronomy 2-3; 14-16), we too must remember our faith heritage and experience: It is God who sustains us, who feeds us, who guides us, and who deeply and relentlessly loves us.

Peace on the Journey