Dear Friends,
I took a trip down memory lane the other day, by which I mean, I scanned a pile of childhood photos - and in most of them I’m alone. I was an only child until I was eleven, and a bit of a misfit, but scattered throughout are a few early childhood friends and, later, the gaggle of pals I made at camp as a teenager. I’ve known some of these people for 17 years, and they made me who I am.
Right now, those 17 year old memories feel awfully big as we wonder when we can all be together again. And for the kids we care about, whose safety we’re responsible for, whether or not they’ll see their friends face-to-face any time soon is an immediately pressing question. It’s a lot to worry over, but a good reminder of how important our dearest friends are, how they shape our lives.
Jesus knew all about the importance of friends. Just look at his friendship with Mary Magdalene, who we celebrate next Wednesday, July 22 -
Every time I think about Godly Play, I remember the first line in the Mystery of Easter: “On the first Sunday in Easter, we remember the women.” Mary Magdalene was among those women, the first to arrive at the tomb to discover the resurrected Christ. As we way in the story, as she stands with Jesus’s mother Mary, Mary Magdalene wasn’t a mother, but she was a good and loyal friend. She wasn’t the sort of person people expected Jesus to be friends with. People didn’t think highly of her. But still, Jesus saw through that - and she might just be the friend we all need right now, as a guide to the contemplative life.
Hear me out for a minute. Contemplative practices are hard enough for adults. They’re doubly hard when we’re stressed by things like, oh, a global pandemic. Throw kids into the mix and now it sounds like doing the impossible. With the right tricks and tools, though, we can all find that necessary center.
One of my favorite tools for grounding into attention and prayer, especially with children, is a singing bowl. The way these bowls resound enables to listen into the silence. Can you tell when the sound is gone? What do you hear now?
Another way to approach contemplative practices with children is with the labyrinth. If you’ve got some room, you can draw a labyrinth path in a driveway or other open area. No room? A finger labyrinth works, too - I keep a few laminated ones in our “Prayground” so that the children can trace the path with whiteboard markers.
Whatever you choose to move toward contemplation, the point it to slow everything down - your body, your breath, your mind. How does it feel in your body? What do you notice? What fills up your heart?
When we slow down, we can see more clearly what needs our attention. Maybe there is a friend you want to pray for, or maybe you are in need of comfort. Maybe now is just the time to listen for God’s voice.
As we look towards Mary Magdalene’s feast day next week, I wonder what ways you will find to enter the quiet? I wonder how you will honor your good and loyal friends, the ones who are always there, even in the midst of crisis? Who will be standing there when this moment is open, when the stone is rolled away and we enter into new, transformed lives?
Something - and someone - is waiting for us on the other side of all this. If we can sit with the stillness and listen for God’s voice of comfort, we will be renewed when the time comes.
Watch the Wiggles & Wonder Facebook and Twitter in the coming days for some of the music that helps me listen more closely and prepare my heart. Maybe it will feed yours, as well.
In peace,
A. Bird