Carrie Newcomer shared this phrase and song with us at the Michigan Annual Conference this year. She learned that it is based on Thomas Merton’s writings (https://carrienewcomer.substack.com/p/take-more-time-cover-less-ground).
She writes, “Its about living at the speed of our own souls and living with presence.”
I was blessed with a week for spiritual renewal leave in October that I took for the first time in my ministry. Turns out it is something available each year.
Throughout their careers, clergy shall engage in continuing education for ministry, professional development, and spiritual formation and growth in order to lead the church in fulfilling the mission of making disciples for Jesus Christ…A clergy member’s continuing education and spiritual growth program shall include professional formation leaves at least one week each year (2016 Book of Discipline, Paragraphs 350.1 & 350.2).
It truly was a week of renewal and rest. Part of the time I was with family (daughter, son-in-law, and grandson near Disney) and best friends in Ft. Myers. The main part of the week though I was in solitude in the home of our son-in-law’s parents. I went at the speed of my soul through sleep, meals, reading, journaling, praying, and exercising.
My focus was on mindfulness. One of the three books I read that week was Right Here Right Now by Amy Oden.
“The goal of Christian mindfulness is . . . an experience of our lives in God, our true home.” Christian mindfulness leads not only to greater physical and mental well-being but clearer discernment of divine activity and guidance, both personally and collectively (Oden, Right Here Right Now).
These are some of the insights I had during the week.
- I actually lose sight of the dimensions, textures, and abundance of the world and my being when I am anxious and afraid.
- I rediscover the joy of writing each time I do it.
- I appreciate the wisdom that we write in order to find out what we are thinking.
Jesus urgently calls his followers to grasp this reality ruled by love, already embedded in our lives. Often in the Gospels Jesus describes God’s reign as today, near, or at hand: “Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom!” (Mark 1:15) and “the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matt 10:7) (Oden, Right Here Right Now).
In a recent sermon on Sabbath as a sanctuary in time, I shared the insight from Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann, “Sabbath is an unspoken prayer for the coming of a new sanity shaped by the power and graciousness of God.”
John Wesley called “upon Christians who truly want to deepen their life in God to be ever watchful, going so far as to list watchfulness as a general means of grace” (Oden, Right Here Right Now).
I like the affirmation that we can live in a reality ruled by love and embedded in our lives. Slowing down or being still enough to ask what is guiding my sense of the present moment can be a helpful corrective to being so outwardly focused that I exceed the speed of my soul.
Spiritual renewal may seem less important in the face of so many threats and burdens in our lives. We are tempted to hurry up and cover more ground. Yet, devoting time to seek more of God’s strength for today can be one of the best ways to move at the speed of our souls and keep us present in the ongoing ministry of Christ’s outreaching love.