One Step at a Time
Welcome, friend! I'm honoured by your company. In this season of exhaustion and small concentration spans, I'm sending you shorter pieces, which I hope will provide some bite-sized encouragement for you.
One Step at a Time
All paths can become the road to Emmaus.
Malcolm Guite
September for me is always the season of new beginnings. The air turns crisp and clear, which seems to clarify my thoughts and sharpen my focus. I am usually well-rested after a summer of play, and ready to tackle the new school year with fresh enthusiasm.
This year, though, is different. The summer break has provided no respite from the weight of the world’s concerns. We are still living with the limiting effects and constant anxiety of trying to survive in a global pandemic. We are still being confronted by the truth of racial injustice like never before, at least in my lifetime. We are still countering lies and fear and incompetence in our politics. What we once thought was solid ground is constantly shifting beneath our feet. We haven’t recovered from one shock before the next one sends us staggering again. Just staying upright takes all our attention, strength and energy.
There’s a popular theory that Shakespeare wrote King Lear while in quarantine from the plague, but I have mostly been lost for words during these past months. My usual working-in-a-coffee-shop habits have been disrupted and I have no concentration for reading, let alone writing. I can’t seem to find the inner stillness, or the clear channel through which thoughts and ideas can flow unimpeded. Even as I tap out these words, I feel muddy and clogged with the exhaustion, anxiety and unsettled feelings that accompany long seasons of uncertainty.
Richard Rohr writes that "In liminal space (when we are betwixt and between an old familiar space and a new way of being) we sometimes need to not-do and not-perform according to our usual successful patterns. We actually need to fail, fast, and deliberately falter to understand other dimensions of life." In this time when old ways of doing things have disappeared, but new ways have not yet emerged, maybe it’s okay to be lost for words. Maybe it’s okay that we don’t have the capacity we did before, or the same amount of energy we used to. Maybe it’s okay that we just do the next right thing: write the next word, cook the next meal, soothe the next child, wash the next dish, take the next breath. Maybe we need permission to walk this path one step at a time, knowing that even when we stumble, this too can become a place where we meet with Jesus.
Reading Recommendations
As mentioned above, my concentration for reading has been quite limited lately so I don't have big reviews for you this month. But I do have a list of books I know you'll enjoy.
These Nameless Things, by Shawn Smucker
Unsettling, gripping novel that I couldn't put down.
This Too Shall Last, by K. J. Ramsey
Honest, encouraging and kind thoughts on finding grace in the midst of ongoing suffering.
The Way Up is Down, by Marlena Graves
Thoughtful, wise, timely book on deepening your faith and finding the true self God is calling you to be.
Intimations, by Zadie Smith
Very well-written, short collection of essays reflecting on quarantine times.
The Myth of the American Dream, by D. L. Mayfield
Thought-provoking book on how the way we live affects our neighbours.
And finally...
Thank you so much for being here! I love hearing from you, so just leave a comment if you want to get in touch.
Taking one step at a time with you,
Abby