October 10, 2025

It’s been a full week. Many ups, some downs. More meetings than usual - including one that, much to my chagrin, slipped off my radar and I completely missed. I am grateful for the grace of others! Overall though, I am so thankful to have meaningful work to do in this season of our life together. There’s been a lot of hopeful planning for things ahead, which is much needed right now; I'm excited to share all of that with all of you. But yes, I’m a little worn out, too. Maybe you know the feeling.

In my "I need a pick me up" state of mind, I remembered a Mary Oliver poem that Ren Stokesbary shared with me not too long ago. I pulled it up to re-read, hoping it would be the balm I needed in the moment. Yes, indeed. The second (probably 5th or 10th by now) read of this poem gave me the same spiritual boost, as it did the first time around. In case you're in need too, i wanted to share it with you:

Why worry about the loaves and fishes?

If you say the right words, the wine expands. If you say them with love and the felt ferocity of that love and the felt necessity of that love,

the fish explode into many.

Imagine him, speaking, and don't worry about what is reality,

or what is plain, or what is mysterious.

If you were there, it was all those things.

If you can imagine it, it is all those things.

Eat, drink, be happy.

Accept the miracle. Accept, too, each spoken word

spoken with love.

- Logos by Mary Oliver

My prayer this week is for all of us to feel the ferocity and necessity of the love Jesus spoke of, deep in our souls. My prayer is for that love to carry us through the changes and chances of life, accepting all the miracles our hearts can imagine.