Now I am revealing new things to you
Things
hidden and unknown to you
Created
just now, this very moment.
Of
these things you have heard nothing until now.
So
that you cannot say, Oh yes, I knew this.
Isaiah
48:6-7 (Jerusalem Bible)
Our
vacation evolved into a stay-cation. I am usually conflicted when we
choose to stay home instead of going away and even more so
considering we have been home a lot during the pandemic. As we
approach our first day, I prefer to think of it as a retreat. Not the
kind of retreat one takes with a group – filled to the brim with
teaching sessions but a restorative and restful retreat.
I
do need a retreat. I read this wonderful phrase in Lisa-Jo Baker’s
newsletter, “You eat for the hunger that lies ahead.” I’ve no
idea what’s ahead but the surprises of this year have been things
for which none of us were prepared. One would think with all the
social distancing we would all be filled up to pour out. Whether or
not you have been working from home, working away from home, or
caring for your family and household during the pandemic, we’ve all
been navigating our jobs differently. I don’t know how you deal
with your world being upended but I need to pause, listen and begin
to recognize this isn’t just one big disappointing season, though
sometimes it feels like it.
Sarah
Clarkson writes, “But once
lockdown struck, once we found ourselves confined to the spaces of
home, and unkempt garden, we began the work of ordering and creating.
Thomas rebuilt the beds stone by stone. We fought those stubborn
weeds. We put fresh soil in and whenever we found a plant for sale in
any store we were allowed to visit, we plopped it straight into the
ground. Day by day, we searched for new leaves and tiny shoots and
buds. Day by day, we fought back the weeds. Day by day we watched
until the first rose bloomed like a crimson sunrise and we felt as if
a blow had been struck for joy in the world. To garden became our
strange way of resisting... lethargy and disorder, loneliness and
darkness.”
I
plan to fight back the weeds of my thinking, my one way of looking at
things, and make room for something new in the everyday space of our
lives. If I believe God’s Word, and I do, He is doing a new thing.
I want to press the pause button and pay attention, to luxuriate in
His rest and “eat for the hunger that lies ahead”. God is doing a
new thing and His grace will be available for us moment by moment
carrying us through today and into the days ahead. This is true
whether or not I retreat but to retreat is to reorient myself to the
truth of Him and turn from the words of the world – words that
undermine hope and peace. To retreat is to cultivate the soil of my
soul so new hope will sprout strong.
As
we enter into our nine day retreat at home I start to feel a bit
claustrophobic. I have this fear it will be a spin off of “Honey I
Shrunk the Kids” only now it’s “Honey I Shrunk the House”. I
feel like a claustrophobic giant in our shrunken pandemic life but I
desire to look at this from another perspective. It’s as if our
home and yard are shrinking around me, choking out my desire for wide
open spaces and being with family I haven’t seen in a long time.
But just maybe God is doing a new thing. I believe He is even if I
can’t identify it; I can rest in Him and His Word.
To
push back the
limitations of
our retreat I chose
to move into this week in a posture of simplicity. I do not plan to
wrestle time and squeeze all I can out of it so
I’ve made
space to receive. The balance will be precarious since we are home. I
have gathered art supplies for art journaling, a new author to read,
and a few lovely places
to quench my need of
nature. Georgia O’Keefe, a
pioneer of modern art, had grown tired of replicating what she saw in
nature. Though she painted buildings and skulls, she is well known
for her enlarged flowers. Each flower feels as if it is being seen
through a magnifying glass.
I
desire to allow God to enlarge my view of our home, yard and nearby
spaces as
retreat worthy. I want to tend
to the details around me, not
as a home project but as play, celebration and rest.
I plan to pay attention and
listen for the new thing He is revealing. I long
to think on
these things – whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely,
admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. The intention of this personal
retreat is to rest,
renew, pay attention and recognize the
work of
God around me. He is revealing
a new thing and I don’t want to miss it.
