I recently visited my beloved oldest friend, who lives in Kansas City, and also got caught up with her three wonderful children. Her daughter Emily had recently moved to Colorado, a place that clearly calls to her soul, and always has. She is starting a new life there, at age 20, and the gift of the place, and of her congruence with it, were palpable even over the Skype transmission.
As she jiggled the computer so we could "tour" her room out there, her mother spied a framed print of a woman and quote that I had given her mom years ago and that had somehow found its way into Emily's box when she packed. The quote is the famous one by poet Mary Oliver from the final lines of her poem "The Summer’s Day":
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
I have always thought these words cut to the heart of the matter for all of us, and Emily had been moved to bring them along... as ballast, as challenge, as comfort.
For Emily, her "one wild and precious life" had geographic demands that were the stuff of soul work... not something subject to being deliberately chosen or ignored.
For many of us, our times of congruence, of fit, of feeling at home in either inner or outer geography--is a matter of knowing what our gifts are and being able to use them.
"Your one wild and precious life" is about stewardship in tenuous times. It is about tapping into what gives you joy and what you are uniquely equipped to do, thanks be to God.
To honor the gifts given to each person in the Marble community is but one reason why we are launching a church-wide, year-long focus on "One Spirit. Many Gifts." A key part of this focus is a "Spiritual Gifts Curriculum" that will give you multiple ways to explore your own gifts. Come to the 1:30 Spiritual Growth Hour this Sunday for a lively introduction of the curriculum and the upcoming events connected with it. (Website line here, ideally.)
May this new "school" year bless you all, lifelong learners in the ongoing school of the many ways God reveals, surprises, and calls during our "one wild and precious life."