Walking through the Doorway

• Annual Meeting on May 18th after Church, with a Pot Luck Lunch
• Strawberry Shortcake Social on June 28th from 2-4pm with a Kitchen-Household Raffle Basket
• Village Fair and 5K on August 16th

Watch the recording HERE. Recording posts after services are complete each Sunday (usually by noon).

Resurrection opens doorways.  Doorways to death.  Doorways back from death. Doorways to a new way of living and being.  

Easter is a time of new beginnings.  Of new life.  We think of life as a choice of paths and pathways and crossroads, but Easter opens a doorway.  The choice is simply to open the door and allow the fresh air to sweep us into this new beginning.  In some ways, there is no choice because it is impossible to turn back or stay put.  

The invitation of a doorway is to leave behind (completely) one thing and head out into a (completely) new direction.  Doorways usually mean that we have a door that closes…behind us.  We have to take the step and commit.  The door often locks behind us. There is no going back.  

Are we ready to go through the open doorway and walk our lives with Love?  

Perhaps, we can ask ourselves another question.  How can the Way of Love be a doorway to Grace? How can we allow the Way of Love to help us?  Can we be guided to go in the right direction as we step off of the safe doorway and Journey beyond the Cross.  

It’s easy to stay home.  It’s easy to close the door.  Lock it.  Easy to cling to safety.  And we can come up with so many reasons why we’ve had enough and it’s not our time.  As the disciples are heading into Jerusalem, they try to persuade Jesus to change course.  “It’s too dangerous.”  “We’re not ready.”  It is only Thomas who says, I am ready to walk this journey with you; I am willing to die with you.  A better question might not be what are we willing to fight for, but what are we willing to die for?

We can step off the threshold, go through the door, with intention and practice and preparation or…

…eventually, we get nudged, pushed, or kicked out the door.  Prepared or not.  It’s usually really, really messy when we’re not prepared.  It’s harder. It comes with more pain—even growing pains are painful.  

Perhaps the Easter season is our preparation for the things in life we would rather not face.  A reminder that beautiful things unfold out of the chaos.  And a reminder that sometimes…we have to be in the chaos to move through.  

After all, the journey beyond the cross opens doors to a Way.  The deeply spiritual work of love, forgiveness, and grace.  It’s not all about Jesus.  It is about his example of Love and Forgiveness and Peacefulness for us. 

How do we prepare ourselves for this Way?  Perhaps we are never fully prepared, but we can prepare.  We can gather our resources. Inner and outer.  

There is a Hebrew quote (paraphrased): be careful of “Scattering our Souls.”  

We are scattered.  Trauma is too much, too fast.  We’re left anchor-less and scattered.  We’re busy, tired, exhausted, frazzled, all over the place, never finished, overworked, under appreciated, lost, afraid, anxious, unsure…the list could go on.  But how deep is our scattering?  

Are we scattered all the way into our souls?  

Scattered in mind, body, and soul. It’s all interconnected.  Preparation is gathering our resources to gather ourselves back together.  Back into wholeness.

Love helps us to Gather ourselves together and prepare.  To become more fully intentional and focused as we walk through the doorway.  

Because eventually we will choose to walk through or be nudged, pushed, or kicked through the door and off the threshold.  

How do we Gather ourselves back together?  We are shown the Way.  

We connect and reconnect.  We show up to life and friends and community.  We show up to loved ones.  We become and discover Compassionate Companions for the Journey.  We help one another.  We unite and connect to one another to practice patience, and kindness, and love.  

We can hide in our homes and with our safe, familiar, comfortable peoples, or we can step out of the doorway toward deeper, more loving relationships to one another.  Our great work is to help heal one another and the world where we are.  By supporting one another, not tearing each other down and holding each other back.  By helping one another find wholeness.

Perhaps too, we need to connect to our own Self.  Gather those pieces of our Souls and bring them back to our hearts. The place of Grace within.  Notice what happens to our relationship to ourselves when we’re scattered and anxious and fearful.   

We need time to tend our selves and our souls. We can do this through contemplative prayer.  Scripture reading.  Reading sacred books or uplifting books or thinking books.  Meditation.  Singing.  Walks in Nature. Sitting in the Sanctuary. Sitting in The Garden. Taking a bath.  Self care works if we do it.  It heals the soul, so we can get back to healing our body and minds and step out for our job to heal one another and the world where we are.  

We can also pray. Yes, the please help! prayers. Yes, I’m scared and lost and alone prayers.  But also, prayers of gratitude and thank you.  Quiet time with our self and our soul connects us to our inner grace, which then connects us to the bigger Grace.  And it reminds us that we’re blessed.  Exactly as we are.  Can we bring that blessing to the light and be beacons of light for one another?  

Easter is a time to connect.  To one another through Good Company.  To your Self through quiet, reflective time.  Then connecting to Grace, however is your best way of connecting is. Sometimes that is just making the space for Grace come in. 

Make space for your Quiet time with grace and Grace.  Maybe that means  we clear out a sacred space for ourselves. Perhaps to reflect on what can we do and offer, even if it all seems so small in the bigness of the world.  Remember, we don’t do it alone, we support one another who are also doing good work and it spreads. It spreads if we are all doing our part!  It’s time to step off the threshold.  

Add love.  Add prayer.  Add gratitude.  Add Nature.  

Open the doorway and walk through toward love and abundance.  

And “allow”.  Allow is actually an advanced practice.  Don’t force and go-go-go and resist.  Allow.  Don’t lament and react.  Allow.  Don’t hold back the tears of pain or the tears of joy.  Allow.  

Allow things to fall away to make space for more Grace.  

Allow things to hurt when they hurt.  

Allow things to be full of joy when they are full of joy.  

Allow Grace to be with you on this journey off the safe threshold.  

Allow yourself to have faith. Know that you are held in the arms of Love, Peace, and Tenderness. A Love beyond all understanding. Let yourself melt into the great Mystery. Know that it is okay to not know. Know that you do not need to have the answers, you only need to deeply trust. The rest is under a control that’s not in your control. Trust. Trust in Grace.