The other night I had a chance to talk with my family about what we have been learning through this past year. One nephew shared that he discovered that small daily routines can get you somewhere.
Another nephew talked about the importance of making good memories in everyday activities.
I shared that I’d discovered that it is not about being perfect. Every week our AV Technician Tom reminds us as we gather for recording our live-stream worship that perfection is not what we are about but that it is through sharing our vulnerability that we create a connection with God and one another.
Week by week over the past year I have been learning that perhaps, yes, it really is true. That in putting down the impossibility of perfection, that it makes room for something else — vulnerability, authenticity, that grow our connections with one another.
What have you learned over this past year? What do you want to remember?
Another family member shared that this past year she’s become a better cook. While I, like you perhaps, had many things that I thought of doing that I never did do this year, I did do one significant thing, I finished a small book I had been working on for the past 7 years.
It’s a memoir called Testing the Wind about my tumultuous journey of learning to sail a little boat as I reflect on my growth through the ups and downs of life. It will be coming out by Coffeetown Press next month.
I’d never written a book before and I’ve learned a lot about how small steps can get you somewhere if you keep at them. I’ve stepped into so many good memories in making new friends in writing classes and workshops. And yes, now in putting this book out, stepping away one more time from perfectionism and sharing a vulnerable story and imperfect book.
And maybe there is our hope. As we step through this time of crisis and into the spring before us, may we have the faith and courage to step out in vulnerability and authenticity and make the kind of connections and reconnections we’ve been longing for.
Navigating Through Change 