Executive Director’s Blog: A Season’s Yearning
I recall a professor from my doctoral alma mater said something along these lines: The ache of the human heart for God is called hope. One of my favorite books that explores this sense of hope is The Holy Longing, by Ron Rolheiser. Yearning plays such a large role in motivating us as human beings. We are always looking for the next thing. Hoping our struggles will cease. Wondering why suffering seems part and parcel of our existence…
The aching, longing and yearning all point to hope.
This season of the year means many different things to different people. In my tradition, they call it Advent. It’s a time of expectation and yearning, hoping that all our desires might be fulfilled by the birth of a child. Such expectation and yearning translates well into lots of traditions that seek to make meaning from the limits of human experience.
That all sounds well and good for the optimists among us. We hope that all will be well. But what about the times in our lives when our hopes are dimmed by shattered lanterns—when optimism fades and we can’t see the light?
Our mission is to walk with people through counseling and education to find hope and healing—and to lead a fulfilling life. People suffering from anxiety and depression may find it challenging to see the hope. Those who have lost a spouse, may wonder how others see this as a season of joy. Others find it easy to dismiss the religious themes that preach that all is well.
We walk with people, wherever they are on the spectrum of hope and desire, of light and darkness. Where we stand on that spectrum can vary depending on the day, month or season of life. The true wonder of it all, as we see it at the Center, is that you don’t have to walk alone. As an example, we’ve been passing out bookmarks to folks as they come in the building that might be in a season of grief.
I’ve shared this with family and friends who have lost someone in the past year. It’s okay to be in a season of grief where hope feels like a distant memory. You are not alone.
If your family is struggling with holiday tension and broken relationships. You are not alone.
If you’re wondering why you should bother going on for another day with a weight of despair that can’t possibly be carried. You are not alone.
We yearn for connection. We yearn for hope. We yearn for fulfillment.
That’s why the Center is here. To provide a space for us to be in relationship, walk together and share the gift of hope and healing. May you and yours experience a glimmer of the hope and a good measure of healing in this season of yearning. And just in case you feel like you’re walking this journey alone, know that we are here for you, along with all the people who support our work and make it possible. And if that’s not enough, enjoy the poem below that expresses the fulfillment of our longing—the creator of it all whose spirit guides our way.
Blessed sailing,
Jim
Psalm at Sea
I am still rowing
when you would have me sail—
attentive to the wind,
at rest in its sabbaths,
sent forth by your Spirit
and stilled.
Michael Stalcup is a Thai-American missionary living in Bangkok,Thailand. His poetry has appeared (or is forthcoming) in Faithfully Magazine, First Things, Inheritance Magazine, Poets Reading the News, and elsewhere. You can find more of his work at www.michaelstalcup.com.