Dear Ones:
For this month’s column, I am reaching back to a meditation I wrote about April in the early years of my ministry. This mediation appears in the book, Hear the Earth Call, which Duffy Schade, Sharon Gresk, and I published in 2017. I find it speaks well to our April ministry theme of awakening, and to all the layers of meaning we encounter in spring. It’s called “April Rains and Breezes and Muddies.” Enjoy!
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April rains and breezes and muddies its way into our New England lives. April’s sun shines on our backs, bringing warmth, bringing moments precious, joyful and serene. We proclaim to strangers, Ah, what wonderful weather, finally, though our hearts long to say even more: I feel so alive! I am full of life. I am filled with life. I am alive all over. I am thankful, thankful, thankful for this gift of life.
Like ritual fire April purifies. Like ritual water April cleanses. April wipes our eyes clear of winter grime and grit, winter sand and salt. April wakes us up fresh and alert. Like Passover, April calls us to leave all our states of bondage, to wander, to embrace the wilderness. Like Easter, April releases us from all our blue tombs, releases us from old, outworn anxieties, leaves behind old selves, looks us forward to our lives in new shapes with new challenges.
April is a proclamation. Hear ye, hear ye! It is time to let go of those old, painful ways, those old, unfounded fears, those tired winter bodies, those touching but untenable childhood dreams, those unworkable situations that no longer serve us well. Let go and live again, a new self, a wiser self, a healed self, a truer self. Let go of that which does not matter, and in the new spaces you create, listen as April rain pours down on hard dark pavement. Listen to the rhythm of rain, the voice of Creation—Nature’s voice—and know the most important things in life—the eternal things—will always be with you through all your times of letting go, through all your times of change and transition. Listen for a moment to April and blend your spirit with the vastness. Listen for a moment to April and know you belong in this universe. Listen for a moment to April, and know you belong to life. Listen for a moment to April and know you are home.
Amen and Blessed Be.
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As pandemic restrictions and fears continue to recede, as we continue the slow, bumpy transition to post-pandemic life, as spring arrives fully in New England, my prayer for each of you as that you will experience the spiritual potency of this season, that you will awaken. From winter’s rest into spring’s rebirth, may you awaken!
With love,
Rev. Josh
