Every Wednesday we invite you to Pause and Pray with us. Today’s reflection is written/curated by Jennifer Lundberg.

Image: https://amslerartroom.com/student-work/masking-tape-birches-winter-step-by-step/

Pray:

“For Love In a Time of Conflict”

When the gentleness between you hardens
And you fall out of your belonging with each other,
May the depths you have reached hold you still.

When no true word can be said, or heard,
And you mirror each other in the script of hurt,
When even the silence has become raw and torn,
May you hear again an echo of your first music.

When the weave of affection starts to unravel
And anger begins to sear the ground between you,
Before this weather of grief invites
The black seed of bitterness to find root,
May your souls come to kiss.

Now is the time for one of you to be gracious,
To allow a kindness beyond thought and hurt,
Reach out with sure hands
To take the chalice of your love,
And carry it carefully through this echoless waste
Until this winter pilgrimage leads you
Towards the gateway to spring.

By John O’Donohue from To Bless the Space Between Us

Meditate:

In your daily life, where do you allow yourself to grow in love? Where do you lean in with love so that others may grow in love? As you begin to reflect on those spaces between us and/or within us, pay attention to what happens when you approach those spaces with the intention of growing in love.

Where are there spaces for you to lean in with grace and kindness in order to sow and nourish love in community? How can you fill these spaces?
Where do you need love to light your path as you journey through winter into spring? What can help you fuel this light?

Listen:

“Love is Little,” a traditional Shaker song performed by Zambra

“Love is Little” a traditional Shaker song performed by Zambra (www.zambra.org)
Love is little, love is low,
Love will make my spirit grow,
Grow in peace, grow in light.
Love will do the thing that’s right.