June, 2010

Commencement has been on my mind lately. With Jacob about to graduate from The Grove School, he and his friends are starting to get excited about the life changes that are coming. Meanwhile, Sarah is planning for the unknown adventures that await her in Hyderabad, India next semester. The feeling is contagious as all of life seems to take on new possibilities, new opportunities for growth.

It took me a long time in life to realize that commencement is a beginning. Since I had only heard the word in the context of graduation, I thought it meant to end; it clearly came at the end of everything that life had been for me up to that point.

Now that I’m older, I realize that life is full of commencements. In many senses, we begin anew each day, sometimes several times each day. God gives us the gift of being able to start fresh with each breath. That’s not to say we shouldn’t plan for the future or figure we’re not going to be around tomorrow or the next day. Rather, it lets us know that we are not prisoners of our pasts. Our past actions, disappointments, mistakes, etc., do not define who we are, nor do they limit our opportunity to succeed in peace and happiness today.

I find the 12-step saying, “one day at a time” to be very meaningful. Thinking about things in terms of lifetimes or eternity makes it difficult to think about what I need to do today. Its kind of like the kid on the long car trip asking, “Are we there yet?” It’s so easy to think of life as a destination, wondering when we’ll be rich or retired or thin or educated or whatever else we want right now. I can take steps today toward any goal I have, but I jolly well better enjoy the journey because there’s no pot of gold at the end.

On the other hand, while happiness happens one day at a time, so does sadness. We may sometimes think that life sucks, but it sucks one day at a time. Feelings of sadness and hopelessness, just like feelings of wishing for ultimate happiness, are exactly the kinds of feelings where we can benefit by turning them over to God.

So where does planning and strategizing come in when we’re living one day at a time? As Sharon preached on Pentecost, “For those persistent winds of the Spirit keep blowing and as they blow they clean out the cobwebs to allow new thoughts to be considered.  Those winds of the Spirit remove the dust so that the old becomes new again.  Those winds of Spirit enliven the very air we are breathing so that we can wonder and pray and discern together, where is God leading us as a congregation?”

The best strategy, she said, is to discern together while we build. And isn’t that all God ever asks of us? Pray and act. Don’t plan to pray and act tomorrow. Don’t commission a study of prayer and action. Pray today. Act today.

With optimism and hope,
Loring Fiske-Phillips