Stay put!

In the Sanctuary of Women, by Jan Richardson, today's reading was called, "In Search of Stability".   This one meditation that is part of a larger chapter on the dessert mothers, or ammas.

"In the early centuries of the church, as Christianity continued to find its form, women and men who sought to follow Christ began to move into the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria.  Leaving behind the familiar landscapes they had known, they went into the wilderness to divest themselves of all that separated them from God. 

These women and men, who became known as ammas(mothers) and abbas(fathers), undertook a way of life that we describe as ascetic-from the Greek askein, meaning 'exercise' or "work" as an athlete does.  The ammas and abbas sought the desert as a place to do this practicing, this exercising, this stretching of themselves toward God."  

If we think about it, Lent is a time when we are called to "practice" or "exercise" or even spend time discerning how our life is doing?  How we are doing?  How are our lives are reflecting God's work for us in the world?  

"Stability is a spiritual practice that simply means to stay put."

"The desert journey is one inch long and many miles deep." 

"When we hit the road, literally or figuratively, is it because of distraction? Fear of what's before us? Boredom? Resistance? Restlessness? " 

"The practice of stability impels us to find something worth giving ourselves to for a long, long time-a place, a community, a person, a path-and in that, to grow deeper in relationship with God who dwells there. "

On this cold day in the middle of February, here in New Hampshire, I stay put.  Not just because I am here out of necessity, but because beneath the restlessness is fear.  I stay put because beneath the resistance is failure.  I stay put because beneath the distractions is a God that loves me just the way I am, and way to much to leave me this way.  It is when I am able to sit still, to be, to dig deep in my relationship with God, that I find courage, strength and joy.  It is when I stay put, spend time and exercise those muscles of resilience, prayer and holy listening, that I know there is a reason for every time and every season.  It is then that I know I am right where I am supposed to be.