Our Journeys, Newsletter article from the week of 15 March 2009

So far in our Lenten Journey Storytelling times during worship, both Lisa & Phyllis have graced us with stories of journeys that explained, in an instance particular to each woman, how she got to where she is now. The eventual destination of each story, I noticed, was not expected or even sought by either storyteller necessarily. Both ended up at their destination, according to the stories they told, because of circumstances that led them there. Some would call it coincidence or fate; some might say it was the movement of the Spirit in their lives. Both Phyllis & Lisa affirmed the "rightness" of the destination now, even though it wasn't planned for.

If each of us stops and thinks about the stories that make up our lives, I'm sure we could identify many surprises along the way: destinations we never set out for; routes that took us off the map we had plotted; unexpected sidekicks and unlikely attendants who aided us in times of need.

I know for myself, my experience of even a simple trip, such as taking a bus from home to downtown, will vary due to any number of circumstances: the friendliness of the driver; a question a tourist might ask; or my witnessing of a teenager offering his or her seat to an elderly rider. Imagine how magnified the importance of similar acts in the journeys of our lives is. So often, without even realizing it, we depend "on the kindness of strangers," as Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire" famously said.

And as we do all that depending, we are likewise depended upon by others in their journeys. We are all on journeys that intersect and run parallel with others. We provide assistance and aid, sometimes without any intentionality on our parts, to others as they journey.

A point of the Journey Storytelling Time during our Lenten worship is to help each of us grow in our understanding of our own stories. Perhaps Lisa's story made you stop and remember how you ended up in the work that you do or did. Maybe Phyllis' recounting brought up for you your own journey to Chalice, to this denomination, to Christianity. The stories we'll hear in the remaining weeks of Lent are likely to do similar things. Don't discount your memories and the stories you recall! Reflect on those journeys that are uniquely yours and recognize the worth of each story. They are worthy because they are yours, and you are a child of God. And their worth increases because, as you examine them, you will find God in each one as a traveling companion.

Pace e Bene,
Gerry