November 30, 2017

This summer I heard a podcast on spaciousness. Rabbi Brian (Mayer) explained that he had made a deal with the universe that in the next 24 hours, I would be gifted with an extra 20 minutes. It was my choice how to spend it. I could waste it trying to get even more stuff done, I could use it as a 20 minute block to read a poem, write a letter, or meditate, or I could break it up into 10 two-minute segments to sprinkle throughout the day, pausing regularly to open myself to others, to God, to creation, and to myself.
I’ve used my “gifted time” to reflect on the power of time, its importance in my life, and the ability I have to decide what I do with this precious resource. It’s easy to complain that there is not enough time in a day to get done all the things we want to do. It’s much harder to take responsibility for how we fill our hours and prioritize what we really want to accomplish – including not just what we do, but who we are and how we live in the time allotted us.
As Christians, we believe in a God of abundance. We believe in the gift of eternity. We believe in the importance of gratitude. As we enter another season of Advent – of preparing our hearts to celebrate the ways in which God is indeed with us – may our lives reflect our beliefs. May our minutes and hours and days be shaped with gratitude for all we have. May we live from a place of abundance and not of scarcity, creating space in our days to be open to God’s presence found in those we encounter, in the work we do, and in our very being.
Advent meditations are available in the Narthex. These are one of many practices we can engage in the next few weeks to focus ourselves during the holidays. We are moving into a season of fullness (and all the emotions that come along with living with fullness and emptiness) – may we do so with spaciousness in our hearts to receive all that we will experience, and encounter God in our midst.
Peace, hope, joy and love,
Allison