sustain:if:able kiwi

swappping theology books for kids games

So I met with my spiritual director today. We meet monthly and I am so grateful for the way this helps me focus on what God is doing in my life. Generally the two of us muddle around for a while and them boom: he asks a great question that opens up some excellent insights.

During the month I have been reflecting on the spirituality of winter. While running, I have been struck by the beauty of bare branches, which has caused me to be grateful for the gift of clarity, those moments of being truly seen and truly known. A dimension of my leadership role is to clarify, to help my community see itself truly. Equally, I crave that for myself, the ability to see myself truly and to grow out of that honesty.

Then the boom question: since leaves help feed a tree, and since winter is about losing what feeds you, I wonder what you should be losing that feeds you?

Which really got me thinking – about what does feed me, and what it might mean to lose that for a season. We talked about how this could include perhaps a change of diet, or some form of fasting.

The upshot: for winter, I’m going to read less theology books and spend more time playing games with my kids.

I discussed this with them tonight over dinner. At first they were concerned, because they thought that I got my sermons from my theology books. But when I pointed out that I can also get sermons from interacting with my kids (and often do), they decided they REALLY liked my spiritual director. Rummy-O Tin and Sequence Game, for the winter, here we come!