The Rock is Our Faith

     I don't know why I always think of these things at night. Maybe it's easier for the Holy Spirit to get my attention. In the day I am rushing, like a river in a hurry to get down a mountain. By night I am a single raindrop high on the peak, on a granite stone that never moves, just me, the earth, the sky, the wind which is Spirit all around and... light.
     This is a quiet place I've been searching for. I suppose I always knew where it was. Maybe I never turned inward long enough to feel the breeze on my face. But slowly, over time, Jesus has led me here, to sit on the stone and be still. There can be much life, much activity in stillness. I suppose the difference is that this isn't my activity, it's his. And so I take the time to step into the quiet and see what he is doing, and he shows me the Fraternity.
     From the visitor who enters our door for the very first time, to the oldest, most experienced member about to launch on the adventure of a lifetime, we are all desired and honored by God, each and every one of us. As is true in the full community of His own heart, nobody is without value, and our value is equal--the great blessing of his Heart. Some of us are conservative, some liberal, some in transition from one to the other and back again. All of us are on a journey, even if, for the moment, we are sitting quietly on the firm stone of his divine heart. That's what I was trying to understand. I was trying to figure out where I've found myself, why the storms swirl around me even here, how to still myself enough to hear and feel and see. The Fraternity is woven of people like myself, all of us blustered and driven by this current life--disturbed like the surface of a wind-blown pond. Yet this wind we so often seek shelter from is the breath of the Spirit, creating us new each moment. Even our quiet silence breathes with the passion of his close touch. It is all so profoundly intimate that even as we struggle and strive to touch him, we are changed.

     Outside the weather is changing. They say a large storm is coming. My daughter, traveling in Colorado, says it is already snowing. Here in the desert we might get some rain, chilly days, a freshening of the land, relief for the parched cactus, warm food indoors. Just in time for the holiday. But outward change is nothing compared to the change he brings to our hearts. From stony hearts to hearts made for loving--it is the answer to our prayer: that we might come to a place where we can see and know, beyond our individual weaknesses, the power he brings, the power to be united in faith, one Body in Christ where all are welcome, all are valued, all are loved. And every one of us can find Peace.