May Benediction
switching things up just slightly
Hello, friends! I am making a slight change to the “Monday Benediction” routine around here. Turns out, a weekly benediction isn’t working so well on two levels. First of all, I’m not so great at remembering to get things scheduled and ready for go for Monday morning. But secondly, I don’t have as much inspiration for the benedictions as I’d like at the moment, and I don’t want to hit “publish” just for the sake of publishing.
For the time being, I’m going to pivot to a monthly benediction. I hope this will be equally meaningful, if not more so, and will help me feel better about the actual content. It will also allow me to really lean into the seasonal themes, which is something I love doing in these benedictions. (This schedule might also allow me the bandwidth to record an audio version, which is something I’ve been hoping to do for a long time.)
All that being said…
A benediction for Monday, May 6, 2024:
Welcome to a season in tension. In May, we waffle between spring and summer—wishing we could fully embrace the warmth of the sun on our shoulders, wishing we could trust it will not leave us tomorrow. The children hover here, between one grade and the next. The garden has been planted and some sprouts are breaking through, but we have a long while to wait. Meanwhile, headline news screams: free speech vs. respect1, protestors vs. administrations, one culture vs. another, one nation vs. another, offense vs. defense, red vs. blue, restriction vs. responsibility, listening vs. speaking. It is a lot to hold.
In this liminal space, may our capacity for holding tension grow. May we loosen our tight fists, hold our hands out in front of our bodies, and be willing to rest right there for a moment or two. May we find the courage both to listen and to speak up, to be free and to be kind, to cultivate an imagination for universal flourishing rather than resign ourselves to narratives of opposition. May we remain steadfast, even while we practice being open. Amen.
A bit more…
As we switch from weekly benedictions to monthly, I also hope to offer a little bit more for those who might have the time or bandwidth to dig in a bit further. Maybe a poem, maybe as quote, maybe some prompts for prayer or journaling. This time, it’s a song.
As I worked on this post, the song “In The Garden” by Fog Chaser came up on my writing playlist. I thought the title was appropriate, of course, but the music itself seems to suggest both tension and release.
Grace and peace,
Lindsey
To quickly clarify, I don’t mean to imply that these are mutually exclusive, nor am I suggesting that recent displays of free speech like university protests are not respectful or even should/must be. I’m just naming that I feel these two things in tension with one other. Do they need to operate concurrently? Can they? What does it look like? Can we receive another person’s exercise of free speech as an opportunity for curiosity and personal reflection, rather than automatically assuming we are disrespected? See? Tension.