Curiousity

Rev. Jen

Imagine what might happen when our curiosity becomes holy, our questions gentle, and our presence patient. Imagine how shared meals might fuel, how listening could untie knots, how confession and forgiveness might make room for new beginnings.

So, I want to offer a simple practice for this week. Three actions for you to carry away from here:

• Remember: Touch the earth, for real if you can. Breathe in and say, “From dust and breath.” Breathe out and say, “For love and life.” Let the action and the breath anchor you in God’s nearness.
  

• Release: Name one assumption you have made about others. Maybe it is about where they’re “from,” how they vote, what they value, how they behave… and release it. Ask God to replace that assumption with curiosity.
  

• Reach: Choose a conversation in which to practice curiosity and vulnerability. Share a piece of your story. Ask an open question that you would be honored to be asked yourself. Listen more than you speak. Look for and notice the image of God in the other.

And as for Hope Springs - Where are we from? We are from the ground and from God’s own breath. Who are we? We are a people formed for mutuality, each with our own stories and particularities, woven together by divine love. And what are we called to? We are called be a community where people feel seen and known, where assumptions are disrupted, where difference is turned into abundance, and where every breath echoes the first breath God gave.

Imagine what God can build among a people who see the shared divine breath in each other, who honor each other’s particular stories, and who together serve the soil that sustains us all. Imagine a church that gives divine breath back to the world. And let us each commit to be one who practices curiosity and vulnerability in order to breathe life into these visions.

In the name of the One who formed us from dust, breathed life into us, and still calls us by name. Amen.

Post inspired by Sarah Are | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org