Goodness Weekly 3.13.23

“I do not understand the mystery of grace—only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us”
— Anne Lamott

Message from Jess:

“I cleaned out the closet!” I exclaimed via group text to our team as I arrived early one morning to clean out the closet in our co-working space.

I thought they’d be so happy as we’d had it on our to-do list to deal with the various items that had been accumulating for years in the closet of the chapel classroom.

As Noelle and Taylor arrived they started laughing as the piles of things that formerly lived in the closet were strewn about the room (they were organized by type).

I had in fact cleaned out the closet, it was empty. But the job certainly wasn’t done.

As I’ve considered the struggles of the people around me, contemplated some of my own story, and reflected on suffering during this Lenten season the closet clean out has become an important metaphor.

When I cleaned the closet, I pulled everything out but I didn’t actually deal with any of it. Instead I left it on the floor, subjecting those around me to the chaos and mess of it all. Pulling all of it out was easy, but having to pick up each item, assess its value, and make a decision of whether or not we needed to keep it—that is a time-intensive, tedious process.

When things happen that break our hearts, people hurt us, or circumstances cause us to suffer we respond in a number of ways. Sometimes we numb out, distract ourselves, or try to keep a happy face and keep going. Sometimes we stop and acknowledge what’s happened—we may journal, or share with a friend or therapist. And sometimes we fight it, overwork, or try to solve the problem ourselves.

All of these are human responses to our human suffering. In my own journey I have learned that the pain doesn’t go away, no matter how deep we try to bury it. It comes up throughout our lives, and in the worst scenarios our trauma continues to hurt us or the people around us.

Our task is to gently and tenderly work with it. The options of leaving our stuff all over the floor or stuffing it back in the closet will not lead us to wholeness and flourishing.

In my case, I do this difficult work in therapy, through spiritual direction, and with my coach, in addition to my centering prayer, journaling, time in silence, and other contemplative practices.

I wonder if you could gently consider this week what you are being invited by God to work through this Lenten season. Remember that no matter what it is, you are never alone.

Love, Jess

What’s Good:

We are thrilled to announce that we will be partnering with landscape contractors, Agave Design Studio, for the landscaping of our beautiful neighborhood park. This team not only has years of experience and shares our passion for intentional community gathering spaces, but they are also excited for this “once in a career opportunity” of turning a parking lot into a neighborhood park. We are still awaiting the final permitting from the City of San Antonio before groundbreaking can begin, so be on the lookout for our official groundbreaking party Save the Date! All are welcome and we can’t wait to gather in this new space with you.