{This photo was taken a year ago at Cowiche Canyon, Washington}
I want to write love letters with a paper and pen. I want to make house calls. I want to waste time on things that matter. On things that leave a mark in this world and the next. I want to carve out time to stop and boil the water. To bring out the china and the silver. To ask good questions of myself and my neighbors. And to listen patiently for the subtle answers. I want to live a life of love and liturgy.
Sandra McCracken, Tea & Liturgy
The word liturgy conjures up many other words such as form, order, worship, tradition, custom. I once read a beautiful piece on the liturgy of tea written by one of my favorite singer/songwriters. The quote above is from that article.
God has ordained structure and rhythm into the fabric of creation. There is a pulse. There is a poem. This year, I want to open my ears to hear more of that poem, written in the Scriptures, written on my heart, written in the daily tasks and regular rhythms of life where the ordinary is not ordinary but becomes the extraordinary when I open my ears and my eyes to the presence of Christ in every moment of every day that He has ordained. Whether they are good moments, or hard moments, whether they are moments of joy and laughter, or moments where I need to humble myself and submit to the good will of a loving Shepherd… from the mundane moments of putting dirty laundry into the washer machine to the beautiful memories made celebrating a birthday with all the pageantry of cakes, food, gifts, and games.
A year is structured by seasons, holidays, traditions, birthdays, times of rest and times of work. As the liturgy, form, traditions of your year play out, let there be worship of Jesus in the midst of it all. Let there be the continual rhythm of repentance and grace, quietness and trust, celebration and joy. And may we abide in the person of Jesus. This is where our true rest is. Practicing His presence, knowing He is with us, and finding our joy complete in Him as we live out the liturgy of our lives, year after year.
This is a vignette I wrote on January 4th, 2012 for my previous blog, The Artisan Home. I am re-posting it today to celebrate this new year, 2016.