“Often when we are in a period of discernment our hearts become noisy with choices and possibilities. We try to think our way through things to an outcome. We create lists of pros and cons. These can sometimes be helpful but they encourage us to whittle our life choices down to tangibles, when ofen what is most meaningful is intangible,” writes Christine Valters Painter in her newest book, Birthing the Holy.
She notes that we live in a culture that is terrified of slowing down, of making space. But in our efforts to endlessly produce, we do deep damage. “As Mary teaches us, creativity isn’t always about doing and producing; it is also about incubating and gestating.”
We are all invited to birth the holy in our lives. Might the faithful response to God’s invitation be a patient waiting? An embracing of a threshold? A quiet growing or maturing?
May I trust you, O God, in the threshold spaces of my life. May I have patience and peace as I discern, release and wait. Amen.
If you are looking for some reflections, practices and recipes to inform your Christmas season, check out the full advent series in my collaboration with Gwen Lantz over at www.somecomfortandjoy.com.