“We are not being called to become like another. We are being called to become ourselves
and live from the divine depths of our being.” John Philip Newell
Dear Friends,
Ahhh, the grand invitation to discover and become who we are truly meant to be….
Much of our lives is spent pursuing paths and identities that are leftover from childhood, expectations that capture our imagination (or burden us with unfinished business) but may be “out of sync” with our fundamental nature. We land, then, in the second half of life… this becomes a time of deepening, of refining, of celebrating “who we are and whose we are,” as Sr Thea Bowman described it. To live, as John Philip Newell states, “from the divine depths of our being.”
For years, I have sought to support you through the transition and transformation that loss and grief demand. These moments, out of our control, can plunge us into life-changing questions of identity and call. Dependent on circumstances, we respond, learn, even grow, as we adjust to a new world without our loved one or with a Change that non-death loss creates. My story includes multiple early losses thrust upon me, exacting adjustment beyond my very young comprehension. My story also includes a legacy of Presence and Healing that brings me here, to this new day in May, to you my Little Light friends.
I embrace John Philip’s invitation to become myself and live from the divine depths of my being. I claimed that language as my call even when I didn’t have the capacity to say it for myself. I claimed that call within my ministry these past 40 years. It’s been a privilege to walk with you in your sacred journeys, to support Presence and Healing, as you become yourself and live from your divine depths.
On June 3, I travel to Scotland to experience a pilgrimage to Iona. The first 4 days in Edinburgh and Glasgow, I’ll make connections, become accustomed to Scottish accents and gather with the other pilgrims before setting out. The next week will be spent on the tiny, wind-swept island of Iona on west coast of Scotland. I have explored the idea of pilgrimage before, while traveling through my homeland of Washington. I understand it as a surrender to something bigger than myself. I trust that a foreign land with a deep narrative of Mystery will welcome my pilgrim’s soul and offer moments of wisdom. Or moments of motion sickness and physical challenge. Either way, I may write more often than you’re used to. Dear Friends, I will bring you with me to the isle of Iona, I will carry your prayer and intentions with me as I stand in the wind and listen.
In peace, Lisa
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