Trinity Episcopal Church

I don’t know about you, but my spiritual life shifts from season to season, a lot like the weather. In the season of spring and longer days with more sunlight, I am overwhelmed with simplicity. I get down to the earth, get my hands and knees dirty, and relish in the seemingly effortless greening up of nature (why, I‘ve been known to sit by a group of purple and yellow crocuses for hours just admiring their simplicity, though their not much on conversation).

In the summer I get so busy with yard work and activities that if I don’t begin each day with the discipline of prayer I can drop into complacency and forget about living a thankful life.

With the inspiration of wind and colors in the fall, my spirituality becomes more dramatic and I get hungry for new insights and experiences (if you ever want to talk me into bungee jumping off the Blue Water Bridge with you, catch me in autumn).

And in the winter, with all that cold, dark time for reading and going through my Lenten reflections and empathizing with Christ‘s passion, I shift into perplexity. I begin to grapple with God’s story of salvation and why Christ came to us and what it all means, and year after year I find new and fresh insights in my grappling.

Simplicity, complacency, hungry, and perplexity: these are the seasons of my life. What is the season you are in like? Does your spiritual life shift and change? I think it’s a good sign if you experience your own seasons of spirituality. It means you’re challenged at times, aware of who you are, interested in growing---it means you are moving! It’s difficult to direct an object that’s stationary, but if it’s moving, if you are moving, God can more easily direct you.

This spring I want to offer some opportunities for teaching and discussion on the topic of simplicity. That may be a good place for you to start or to share your own season of spirituality with others. And when we all start shifting and growing and moving, there’s no limit to what God will do through Trinity Episcopal Church.

Fr.Rick