Invitations

Yesterday, we reflected on this idea of standing at a crossroads or a threshold.

Poet and philosopher John O’Donahue writes about these pivotal moments. He put it this way: “…there are huge thresholds in every life… for instance… if you are in the middle of your life on a busy evening, with 50 things to do, and you get a phone call that somebody that you love is suddenly dying, it takes 10 seconds to communicate that information. But when you put the phone down, you are already standing in a different world, because suddenly, everything that seemed so important before is all gone, and now you are thinking of this. So the given world that we think is there, and the solid ground we are on is so tentative…”

“If you go back to the etymology of the word “threshold,” it’s a farming term. It comes from “threshing,” which is to separate the grain from the husk. So the threshold, in a way, is a place where you move into more critical and challenging and worthy fullness.”

If you think about it. There are many thresholds/crossroads in every life. You can think of graduations, births, and the loss of loved ones, even at the onset of illness or an accident. It could be reaching a major milestone, hitting rock bottom with addiction, or a transcendent moment… or a global pandemic.

These crossroads, these thresholds, are ever invitations to a new stage of the journey. They are invitations to look deeper at our lives, to reflect on our faith, to ask for help if we need it, to recall what is most important, to look for the light, and quite possibly to make a new beginning. They are ever invitations to heal and to grow and deepen.

As the prophet, Jeremiah said, “Stand at the crossroads and look, and ask for the ancient paths where the good way lies, and walk in it. And find rest for your souls.”

Let us pray: Gracious God, in the pivotal moments of life, grant us courage and strength, and hope. Help us to see, if nothing else, only the very next step along the path. Assure us with your presence. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.