The Slow Way: Peace for all of us who labor
May your peace be broad, and also small. May it stretch like the love of the Divine as broad as the sky and as sweet and simple as the stone beside the puppy’s dish. May you find rest from your labor.
This Labor Day weekend we’re all making the transition from summer into fall—in some way or another—back to school, weather changing, work changing, life picking up speed.
I’m purposefully leaving this week’s Slow Way Letter short for you this weekend, as I lean into these last few days with my family before summer snaps closed and the ferocious days of fall pull me into the daily rhythms of school and work and details.
So I’ll offer you this question to ponder: On this Labor Day, what does it mean for you to find rest—true life-giving rest—from your labor? Your labor may not be the 9-5 job where you clock your days. Your labor may be the intense relationships in your life right now. It may be community expectations that weigh you down. It may be family expectations, financial burdens, dreams that haven’t come to fruition.
What do you need to lay down? What do you need to rest from this weekend?
Last week in Texas I got to meet my brother’s puppy, Lincoln, who has a sweet and gentle personality. When I saw his food dish I noticed two smooth stones inside the dish. Later, my brother mentioned that those two tiny stones are his *pets*. He loves them. He carries them in his mouth and keeps them near his food dish. (I know. Puppies are adorable.)
I thought of sweet puppy Lincoln when I read this ancient Celtic Christian blessing for rest:
May the peace of the tallest mountain and the peace of the smallest stone be your peace.
May the stillnesss of the stars watch over you.
May the everlasting music of the wave lull you to rest.
This weekend this is my prayer for you. May your peace wait for you in the natural world. May your peace be broad, and also small. May it stretch like the love of the Divine as broad as the sky and as sweet and simple as the stone beside the puppy’s dish.
And may you find rest from all you have been carrying.
In the name of the Creator, the Savior, and the Holy Spirit.
This is timely as I make my plans and my well made plans for the new season come undone. I needed a call back to rest. Thank you
Micha - grace and peace to you as you enter this time of transition - in the seasons of the earth and the seasons of our lives.