Keeping things light

The end of summer can be a seismic shift for many. We go from days with nothing at all on the calendar to days that are end-to-end meetings and classes. There is no happy medium. It can be chaotic, and it always takes us a bit of time to find our rhythms.

This year it feels a bit like making meringue, as I gently try to fold my summer schedule into the coming year. When you fold egg whites into a batter you need to be gentle, and slow. Use too much force, beat them too fast, and the whole project utterly collapses.

These are good lessons for life as well. Be gentle. Don't rush. Let the lightness balance out the moments that feel overwhelming and heavy. Sometimes it's enough to get things basically combined, but if one tries too hard for perfect uniformity, one can lose some of the spaces to breathe. 

As fall arrives, keep trying to keep some of summer's pockets of air folded in. The goal is to let the summer leaven the year, and to avoid collapsing the whole cake…

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation