Goodness Weekly 3.20.23

“You are light, you are principle
When you love, invincible
Our shared light, indivisible
When we love, we're invincible”
Invincible —Eddie Vedder

What’s Good:

Yesterday was the date of our monthly, music-focused outdoor worship. Typically, this service is held out on the front lawn with blankets, chairs, and the sound of music flowing out into the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the weather yesterday was telling us this wasn’t going to be one of those days, so we prepped for an indoor service. When the Worship Team arrived at the Chapel the sun was shining bright into the courtyard, warming the grass and air around, and a new outdoor worship space was created. As our community gathered together in this intimate space around the beautiful fountain, stained glass windows, bistro tables, kids on their blankets with their instruments, and music pouring out, we could all feel this was something special.

Click the link below to see for yourself!

Click Here to see a clip!

This weekend we celebrated with our friend Clay Thompson as he retired from 21 years of military service. It was moving to hear of the sacrifices Clay and his family have made over the years of humble dedication. Clay will continue his career in conservation as the Director of Stewardship and Conservation at Green Spaces Alliance. Clay, thank you for your service.

Message from Jess:

“I don’t need help, I’m not some helpless little baby.”

—Quote from last week...

It’s understandable that sometimes a 5-year old will have a meltdown or a temper tantrum every once in a while. But a 40-year old?

Hmm.

The quote above came out of my mouth and was exactly as bratty and rude as you might imagine it was. I was sleep deprived, overstressed, and trying to get out of the house. I was attempting to use a bungee strap to secure my work bag to my scooter rack when Nathan came out to say goodbye and asked if he could help.

This is how I, an allegedly mature adult, responded.

I strapped my bag on, apologized, and got on the road. I was cruising down Sunset going somewhere around 35-40 mph when all of the sudden the entire bag and its contents flew off the seat and were splayed all over the road. I swerved off into a parking lot, ran out and was able to save everything without a car running over it (including my iPad)…well everything but my pride.

It was a lesson in self-sufficiency and humility for me. The man that I married has my back every single day of the week. He wasn’t babying me, but rather caring for me, and because I was not in a good place at that moment I pushed him away. I didn’t want to need help—I wanted to be self-sufficient, strong, and resilient. But that morning I wasn’t any of those things. I was tired, my resilience was low, and my heart was hurting. He knew that so he tried to help in a tangible way yet I responded with my emotional armor up.

This week our lent theme is loneliness. It’s a theme that deserves far more of our attention than a single week, and is at the very core of the work that I am called to.

Loneliness comes in so many shapes and forms in our culture, and for me, it is a feeling that arises when I am in self-preservation or protection mode—when the pain of my history creeps up and I insist that I can take care of myself to avoid feeling hurt by those around me.

Loneliness comes for some in the form of self-isolation—due to shame, due to hurt, or maybe due to the lie that the problems are too big or too hard for anyone else to deal with.

For many, loneliness comes from loss. Loss due to end of life, due to the end of a relationship, or due to the end of trust.

During acute loneliness, there may only be the slow and steady presence of a trusted friend or family member to carefully and gently remind you that you are not alone in the world.

In all of the ways we experience loneliness, it is both an act of courage to step outside of ourselves and dare to let someone else see us in all of our humanity, and an act of presence to see someone else for the wholeness of who they are.

What an incredible gift.

This week I invite you to step into this courage and presence—to be both a person who allows another to see them for who they are, and a person who truly sees and honors the other.

May this week find you a little less alone in our great big world.

Love, Jess