Standing By

Now that the snow is mostly gone and the earth is once again visible, it looks absolutely dead, does it not? The lawn that will turn bright green, with fresh, sweet-smelling new growth is now nothing but frozen brown thatch. The trees lift stark, bare branches to the sky like gaunt arms, raised in surrender. Flower beds and gardens lie empty, blank, bleak....there is not even a hint of the riot of color and fragrance that will break through, come spring. At this time of the year, we are still in the dead of winter.

Today, I am thinking the same may be true for our souls. In his book "Care of the Soul," Thomas Moore writes, "Soul is not a thing, but a quality or dimension of experiencing life and ourselves. It has to do with depth, value, relatedness, heart, and personal substance." In the dead of winter, our souls may look like death: our mood may be dark, our thoughts may be negative, our energy may be low, our desire to withdraw or escape may be compelling, our heart may be heavy, our capacity to engage life with enthusiasm may be just about null and void.

Just as, within the earth lies the capacity to generate growth once again, the same is true for our souls. However, as long as we view the dead of winter as a problem to be solved or a condition to be avoided, we may miss the gift that is in this season, for us. Joe Cocker sings a song called "Hymn for My Soul." The lyrics include a line that says, "sing a hymn for my soul, stand by me as I grow...."

It seems to me that Lent is a season to stand by our souls, in the dead of winter. Standing by is about acceptance of what is. Standing by is watching the darkness, noticing the heaviness, observing the emptiness....and wondering what it can teach us. Standing by requires patience and trust. Standing by is about loving the soul that looks like death. Just as we would not judge the grass for its brown-ness or the garden for its emptiness, or the trees for their naked branches, neither need the winter of our souls be cause for criticism.

Jesus said, "Those who want to save their live will lose it and those who lose their life for my sake and for the sake of the gospel will save it." (Mark 8:35) Standing by, we relinquish and there we find the healing, save love of Jesus, standing by us, in the dead of winter.

Standing by, on the Way,

Cheryl