In the words of Parker Palmer...

In the words of Parker Palmer, I have found great comfort and encouragement. I have seen the need to turn 'inwards' and 'downwards' at times in order to find freedom, growth, authenticity, life. I have only read one of his books, but will be looking for some of his other writings. I will share here some of the underlined sections from last weeks reading of Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation. If I'm lucky...maybe more than one post!

Towards the end of the book, Palmer uses the metaphor of the changing of the seasons to look at selfhood and vocation. Under the section of "Autumn" he penned these words that gripped me and I have shared them with several people:

In restrospect, I can see in my own life what I could not see at the time--how the job I lost helped me find work I needed to do, how the "road closed" sign turned me toward terrain I needed to travel, how losses that felt irredeemable forced me to discern meanings I needed to know. On the surface, it seemed that life was lessening, but silently and lavishly the seeds of new life were always being sown.

He relates this to autumn in the sense that it is the season where seeds are sown as the trees shed their leaves and this part of the world prepares for hibernation during the winter. The Autumn is a necessary part of the journey into the Spring and new life. It is a journey that I hope I am on...

Since losing my job, I have realized that I am being led to work that I need to do...that the "road closed" sign was for my benefit. The problem is that it has been a LONG WINTER. It has been nearly 8 months since I hit the "road closed" sign and the longer this drags on the more difficult it gets. Don't get me wrong--I don't wish that I was back where I was 8 months ago, but winter is getting tiring. I believe that silently and lavishly the seeds of new life are being sown. I just don't know when they are going to bloom.

I'm ready for them to bloom. I can't force it, nor will I. But I can long for it. And I will...

Next time--a quote about "functional atheism."