Journey Center Blog

I haven’t written a post in a while. I figured it’s time again. Like the rest of you, I’ve had a busy summer- running around, taking vacations, visiting with friends and family, having barbecues, soaking up every possible moment of sunshine before the clouds and cold set back in. (I live in Seattle.) This has been a wonderful time of refreshment for my soul.

I have been experiencing God’s presence like the sun lately- a warm, relaxing, encouraging, peaceful presence deep in my soul. I’ve had a lot of changes in my life and heartaches over the last year (a lot of “rain”). But I find that no matter how cloudy it is on the inside, I can always return to God’s presence and find the peace and comfort and hope I need. When I feel like the storm will last forever, He is there reminding me of the internal sunshine and warmth He brings. His love and presence is like a bright, shining light radiating out of my heart and reminding me of all the joys and blessings in my life.

As the fall approaches, I am thinking about how my routine will settle down a bit. I’m returning to school and starting to think through the activities I will participate in each week and how I’ll schedule my time. For those of you in Sonoma County, as you are planning your fall schedules, check out the Journey Center website. It has been recently updated with all the events for this Fall. Make plans now to take advantage of all those gatherings and events that allow you to slow down and return your focus to the presence of the Holy within you. Wish I could join you!

Because we work a couple of months ahead on our next newsletter, I am writing this article for the spring in the midst of a huge winter storm! The trees are bare and the temperature is cold. The thirsty California earth is soaking in the rain that drenches it. The sun hasn’t been seen for days and people run from house to car to business with umbrellas and raincoats for protection. (Some of you know that this is my favorite weather, but for the sake of all you sun-lovers, I won’t dwell on that! J )

Being in the midst of winter as I write makes spring, our next season, seem far away and hard to imagine… but one thing I know. It won’t always be winter. The sun will return and the earth will bud forth with new growth and new life. Blossoms will cover the trees and those beautiful spring flowers will appear. Just yesterday, as the rain poured down, I glimpsed tiny green spears beginning to break through the soil. Spring is coming!

It won’t always be winter. This is a lesson for life, don’t you think? If you find yourself in a difficult, stormy or just plain dreary season…take heart. When you wonder if you will always struggle or be stuck where you are, remember…spring is coming! New growth and new life are the promise we look forward to and long for.

Did you know that the word “new” appears almost 200 times in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible? It was a word that Christ himself used often as he spoke powerfully of new wine, new treasures and new life. And through the prophet Isaiah, a hopeful and encouraging message was given, one that is worth reading slowly and meditating on for a while:

 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare;
before they spring into being I announce them to you.

 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

There is an invitation here. God is present and active… often unseen and underground (like those spring bulbs sprouting forth). And we are invited to pay attention, to be on the lookout for the new thing that is about to burst forth and the One who is creating it.

Notice that we are not asked to make the new thing happen. Whew, that’s a relief! I am so grateful that it doesn’t depend on us and that there is a power at work that is beyond us! Our part is to believe the promise even when it’s hard to imagine, to notice the signs that transformation is coming, and to learn to listen for what we are being invited to as the seasons change and new things are springing forth in our lives and our world.

Here at the Journey Center we offer an abundance of resources that support and enrich us on this journey… resources that invite us to become more attuned to the presence of the Holy, to deepen our ability to listen and to allow the Spirit of transformation to be at work in us and around us. May you come to trust that a new thing is about to spring forth as you, too, respond to the invitation to perceive the loving and powerful presence of God with you. It won’t always be winter!