Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent

I am about to create new heavens and a new earth…    Isaiah 65

Looking out the window this morning, into another gray sky, it’s not an easy leap to believe in new heavens and new earth. Looks about the same to me. After two days of sunny warmth, a storm rolled in from the north last night and today it’s still hanging around. Never mind a new heaven and a new earth – how about a new shiny day?

How to just keep going? So I looked outside, and the daffodils are still blooming and the willow’s leaves are erupting on branches swaying in the wind. They seem to be doing okay. 

Isaiah was a prophet and religious leader in about 700 BCE (I’m as fond of my Catholic Study Bible as I am of my dictionary). So let’s just say that people have needed a boost to their spirits in times of stress for at least 2,700 years. I suspect more, quite frankly.

That puts a whole different perspective on the matter and might even lead to a big sigh.

The time we live in is transformative. And it’s not over yet. So much of the time, it feels like we’re all standing at the edge of a precipice with our toes hanging over and hoping we’ll grow wings. Come to think of it, maybe that’s exactly what we need – wings.

Work on wings today. Stretch your back and drop your shoulders. Wings have a hard time growing out of hunched shoulders.

As heavy as this day may feel, it’s April. Winter is over. In many respects, regardless of the Julian calendar, we’re ending one earth year and beginning another.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that the days are going to be any calmer. Our lives will probably remain busy. And the challenges come and go.  And you were waiting for good news!

The good news is that our wings are can grow. Spirit, by whatever name we call it, lifts us, carries us even when life seems uncontrollable. And maybe that’s the lesson: life isn’t controllable.

Let go of the past that’s weighting you down. Even if something happened five minutes ago to hunch your shoulders, it’s the past. Let go.

Breathe into your back. Practice growing wings.