These late days of lent and early days of spring are known as the ‘in-between’ days or as Dr. Seuss dubbed them the “Waiting Place”. This is a place in between what was and what will be.
We are in the days when the calendar tells us spring has officially arrived and yet we wait for true spring weather; warm days filled with birdsong and blooming tulips.
These are days after the snow shovels have been placed back in the garage but before we can get out the garden spades or lawn rakes, days of restlessly waiting.
We also are in the days of the Lenten journey; days of waiting to sing our hallelujahs.
We tend to busy ourselves in this ‘waiting place’ with mindless tasks. We call it spring cleaning when we empty all the kitchen cupboards and wipe them down, or we go through all the winter mittens, scarves and hats sorting them into piles. These are unnecessary tasks invented to keep us busy during these waiting days.
Instead we should simply pause and allow ourselves to be quiet before God. This “waiting place” is ripe in opportunity to hush the constant racket and still our ever restless ambition long enough to sense the Divine presence in the air around us.
This is a time to put down the phone, turn off the TV or close the laptop.
Perhaps God has created this “Waiting Place” as an invitation to sit in awareness of God’s peace, healing and love. I suspect this divine prompting is for our own good, a time to slow our pace and clear our spiritual vision; a practice that sharpens our ability to witness the divine dance that happens around us daily.
May we all hold space this Holy Week to be quiet before God and may this be a time of deep renewal.
Blessings,
Rev. Heather McCarrel
Photo by Serkan Goktay/Pexels
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