Living on the farm means I am surrounded by sweeping landscapes that remind me of what season it is. One cannot escape the daily and momentary reminder of the ruggedness and beauty of creation when every sight line is an invitation to behold. It’s easy to settle into the metaphor of seasons out here in the hills of Aughrim.
I am writing this from the window of my office, looking out on frosty fields adorned by the dawning light as it rises in the Eastern sky. There is no life growing, no buds on the trees, no vibrant green to behold. The chickens are out scavenging the frozen ground for bugs, but I doubt they are finding much that is breaking through the frozen soil. It is winter, perhaps on the verge of turning toward spring, but winter nonetheless.
Winter is a season fraught with endings. It is a season marked with cadences of death, decay, and dormancy, with goodbyes, farewells, and closure. It is the perfect backdrop to the season of the soul I find myself in. Since April of 2022, I have walked alongside Elevation in Waterloo as a transitional pastor. Much could be said of that journey into the wilderness, but I will leave that story for another day. This past Sunday, February 4, 2024, was my last Sunday as a transitional pastor with Elevation.
It was a Sunday in conflict, mixed up in its seasons, unsure if spring were breaking through or winter was still the dominant expression. It was a Sunday bursting with life, vibrancy, joy, and animation. It felt like a Spring day of boundless opportunity and possibility. We were dreaming again. We were reimagining this beautiful thing called church.
And yet, it was also an ending. It was goodbye and farewell and so long. It featured expressions of gratitude, gifts, and storytelling of the journey we embarked on together. It was both heavy and light, burdensome and free, ending and beginning. It was like the changing of seasons, when one gets to experience all of the beauty of two seasons in the same day.
One of the gifts that I will cherish for quite some time is the gift of this thoughtful and collaborative piece of art.
The tree. It is a favourite image of mine and one that reflects the spirit of Resolve & Flourish. There are so many layers of meaning that make this a beautiful and meaningful piece of art. The trunk is big and strong, reflecting the work done and its rootedness in God. There are new limbs and branches reflecting the vision that Elevation has embraced. And of course there is life bursting forth from every branch. Each one is unique, a fingerprint of someone at Elevation.
This is how life goes. It is perpetual change, transition upon transition, with momentary lulls to catch our breath. It is seasonal, moving from the endings of winter toward the new life of spring, the abundant harvest of summer into the letting go of autumn, and once again into the many gifts of winter, one of which is sharp clarity.
As my time at Elevation comes to an end and I await the co-creation of this next chapter of the story, clarity is a welcome gift. May this season be a momentary lull to catch my breath, a pause to settle into, a time of being still and knowing, and one that ushers in the next beginning that awaits upon the horizon.