Sabbath Devotional :: Roses in the Hurricane

Photo via Unsplash license by Nikita Tikhomirov

Many of us are in the thick of state legislative sessions, and if that’s not largely exhausting and disheartening, I don’t know what is.

I’m a big proponent of celebrating every win, no matter how small, and that practice keeps me grounded and moving forward. And there are always wins however small they may be.

But if celebrating those small wins is perhaps comparable to stopping and smelling the roses, then some days leave me feeling like I looked up from smelling the roses and realized I was staring down the eye of a major storm like a hurricane or tornado.

Then, if I’m not careful, the roses that once seemed so bright and beautiful can start to feel a lot less significant and a lot less vibrant.

Sometimes our efforts to build Zion and the Beloved Community can feel like that too. It can be easy to feel like we’re working so hard, but instead of moving forward, we’re going backward and that hard-fought progress is slipping away and beauty is being dulled.

In those moments, we can feel soul- and bone-deep exhaustion. And in those moments, sometimes this John Wesley quote can cease to be inspirational and motivational and can begin to feel draining and taxing:

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.

It can be tempting to think “I’d rather just disengage, quit, and ensconce in my own safe cocoon and pray that it can survive the hurricane intact.”

Moments like these are difficult, but they are also powerful and important teachers that signal we should stop and be still for a second and think.

Kate Bowler, who is one of my favorite contemporary thinkers, has said:

You are in this — this chronic unfixable condition called life — and yet at the same time you are precious beyond rubies. You are worth protecting and preserving. You are meant to be intact.

Stop and notice. Are you worn out? What do you need? Ask God to show you what leaches the life from your bones. Let us ask God to show us whether there is anything we can set down.

Remember, not everything has to be done. And not everything has to be done by you. May you find a small place for rest that is life-giving and fits what is available to you today.

The reality is quitting, barricading ourselves in our corners of the world, and tuning everything else out isn’t an option. The world needs more good women to show up, speak up, and lead. Not less. We can’t afford to ensconce ourselves into a cocoon of ignorance and bliss.

But we need to be pragmatic, thoughtful, and selective as to how we hope to build a Beloved Community. I firmly believe that building this Beloved Community deeply entwines the civic, the spiritual, the temporal, the emotional, and the intellectual. To build this Beloved Community, we need women involved in every space.

But we can’t and shouldn’t be involved in every way that is needed to build the Beloved Community. We can’t be everything to everyone. But we all must do something, and usually, more than one thing. When I get exhausted, I remember Valarie Kaur’s words:

Today I remember all that is beautiful and good and worth fighting for. Today I remember that the labor for justice has gone on for centuries before me and will go on for centuries after me. Today I remember that I am not alone, that if millions of women are listening to the wisdom within them too, and still choose to return to the work, then we will usher in a new era.

If you find yourself feeling discouraged or fatigued, stop for a second. Think about how and why and where you’re showing up. Then think about if there’s something you can let go for a season or maybe permanently. God needs us to show up, but he doesn’t need us to show up everywhere. Remember you matter, and God wants you to take care of yourself too.