Wild Onions and Bluebells

A Pastoral Letter from Torin

Spring has sprung! The flowers are up and beautiful. Gardeners are dreaming of summer and autumn as they draw maps, prepare the soil, and sprout seeds. The disciplined have already mown the yard at least once while the rest of us watch the wild onions compete with the grass to see who can grow tallest. The birds are back in the trees singing us into mornings once again bright with the rising sun. All of life has woken up and is bright with the vigor of new growth.

I don’t know if it’s just the spring rush or if having been through one whole turning of the year in Morgantown has us feeling more settled, but I recently noticed that my life is filling up with things to do and people to meet. At the same time, the call of budding trees and blooming blue bells beckons me to spend more time out and about, admiring the beauty and appreciating the freshness of the air. All in all, time seems to be slipping away under the cover of everything that
“needs” to be done. And I wonder how it gets by me so quickly.

What happened to the space that I struggled so hard to carve out throughout the season of Lent? I know that in some ways we are past all of that and the somber meditation on repentance and sacrifice have been replaced by the joyful celebration of surprising new life. Still, I find that I am missing the time of quiet searching that was such an important part of my life during the past couple of months. And, I wonder why I have let it go.

I spoke about the Lenten fast in a sermon several weeks ago (months, perhaps), and I remember saying that it is not so much about self-denial as it is about carving out a hole in the day-to-day habits of our living so that we can find God. If that’s true, shouldn’t we hold onto that space instead filling it up with all of spring’s busy-ness which will become summer’s crazy schedule followed by everything that’s involved with a new school year, Thanksgiving, and Christmas? It is our habit to be busy. We have learned since we were little that busy-ness is our way of life. What else is the “Protestant work ethic” if not our heritage reminding us to keep busy? And, I wonder ….

I wonder if our habits, our culture, our heritage, and everything else that pushes us to keep going-going-going are actually excuses to retreat from God. It’s a bit scary to turn, meet God, and let ourselves be transformed by God’s touch. It’s not easy to stay before the one who made us wondering what will happen next. It’s hard, and it’s important. It’s how we keep in touch with God’s plan for the world and our part in it. It’s scary, and it’s wonder-full. Who knows what we will see, what we will be able to do if we stay there. And I wonder … what would happen if we did it? What would happen to us, and what would happen to the world through us?