You have all been incredibly supportive and patient, so I am very happy to share this with you:
It is true - our Stouffville house has finally sold. Thank you for all your care and concern for Greg and me over the past 5 months! Now we can look forward to packing and purging.
I came across the attached prayer by Arianne Braithwaite Lehn, and it seemed very applicable - not just for those of us moving house, but for anyone looking to do a little winter decluttering.
Let's make room today. Let's clear out what we've been using to numb or avoid or block. Let's trust that in the quiet, open space there is healing.
And then let's listen....
*******
Patient, Gentle, God,
I can be so afraid of emptiness.
There are so many ways to stuff out the echoes of hollowness....
fill the house with unneeded stuff,
fill the wallet with money,
fill the garages with spares of this and that,
fill the belly with more and more food,
fill the mind with whatever distractions can be found,
fill the time with busy-ness....
But it won't pad the emptiness, or fill the void.
Give me the courage, God, to clear this clutter!
To see in this empty space a sacredness,
a needed gift, a place you will come and get to work.
Make me be alone with you
and with the things within me
I've been avoiding,
or not even aware of.
Use this open space to
bring about transformation
where your Spirit shapes my attitudes,
leads my thoughts,
guides my decisions,
covers my conversations.
You promise that
to be filled with your Spirit
is to be in formation -
to head toward the abundant purposefulness.
With your Spirit in me, I am never empty,
nor is my life.
Fill and form me, Loving One, today.
Remind me I have all I need in and through You,
and that there is no reason to be afraid.
Amen.
As another January winds down, as the light and warmth slowly return to our part of the planet, I hope you will find unexpected gifts and places where God can work with you.
Rev Kathi
