I can’t believe it’s the last day of May – where did the time go? I spend too much time, it seems, staring at my screens and not enough staring out the window. Or better yet, as I suggested last Sunday, taking time to be outside.
Sometimes though, time spent staring at these screens offers up something special. The following is adapted from an email reflection shared this week by Tim Brown, ELCA Director of Congregational Stewardship. It was written for pastors like me, with too much on our minds and more than our share of distractions. And, it was too good not to share with you. On this last day of May, let it serve us as both devotion and prayer.
May(Be)
Maybe you’re already in “summer mode,” either personally or professionally, ready to relax and take it easy for a bit.
Maybe.
Maybe you’re a little anxious for the next few months. Congregational leaders tend to worry about things such as attendance, offerings and congregational engagement when warmer weather and vacations interrupt regular routines.
Maybe.
Maybe this year has been full of flowers for you, with things turning out exactly in your favor. Or maybe it’s been a rough year so far, a 2024 that you already wish were nearing its expiration date, though we’re not even at the halfway point.
Maybe.
Part of the stewardship of our souls means taking a moment, however we find ourselves, to just “be” for a moment.
Be present, even now. No, seriously—stop reading, sit back and breathe for a second.
Be. Breathe. Be.
In finding moments to be we can take stock of what’s going on around us, giving thanks for the flowers, processing the anxiety for a moment (rather than letting it process us!), honoring what has been and mentally preparing for whatever may come.
May is a time when we can just be for a moment. Maybe.
However you find yourself this May, Beloved, I encourage you to be a good steward of your soul and find a way to just be, if only for a moment. After all, the spring rush can take a lot out of us, and though we often say we’ll “rest during the summer,” that doesn’t always happen.
Maybe there’s no time like the present, right?
It’s May. Let’s be.
May God’s Peace find you today. -Pastor Peter