Streams of Mercy

Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.“ After reading all the times for this and that, I always skip down to verse 11: “….and God has made everything beautiful in its time.” Another translation reads, “…and God has made everything suitable for its time.” I think I like beautiful best, but suitable is helpful as well! As the seasons of the year change, I’m drawn to the changes in the seasons of my heart, as well.

In her book Seasons of the Heart, Catholic sister Macrina Wiederkehr writes: “The seasons of my heart change like the seasons of the fields. There are seasons of wonder and hope, seasons of suffering and love, seasons of healing. There are seasons of dying and rising, seasons of faith … Autumn trees teach us about letting go.”

“Slowly

she celebrated the sacrament of letting go.

First she surrendered her green,

then the orange, yellow, and red.

Finally she let go of her brown,

shedding her last leaf.

She stood empty and silent.

Leaning against the winter sky,

she began her vigil of trust …

Shedding her last leaf,

she watched its journey to the ground.

She stood in silence

wearing the color of emptiness

her branches wondering:

How do you give shade with so much gone? …

and then, the sacrament of waiting began.

The sunrise and sunset watched with tenderness,

clothing her with silhouettes,

they kept her hope alive

They helped her understand that

her vulnerability

her dependence and need

her emptiness

her readiness to receive

were giving her a new kind of beauty.

Every morning and every evening

they stood in silence

and celebrated together

the sacrament of waiting!”

As the seasons change, let us reflect on the seasons of our heart. May we let go of what we need to let go of and begin that vigil of trust that leads to waiting on the Lord. “They that wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:32)

Elizabeth