Dear Congregation and Friends,
The past week has been one of deep incrementality for me. Incrementality is the wisdom that our bodies like to do things one step at a time. We can break down our overwhelming feelings, complex problems, or big projects into smaller pieces to make them easier to handle.
The day after I last wrote to you, my period started. This was my family's fourth cycle trying to conceive again after our pregnancy loss in March. I felt an overwhelming mixture of grief and trust. Grief that I'm still not pregnant, and trust that Spirit and my body are in a partnership beyond my comprehension to support what is healthy for me.
In the midst of such heavy emotions, I engaged incrementality. Moment by moment, hour by hour, I was present to my emotions. I responded to each layer of grief with compassion. I focused on the next breath, the next step, the next task, the next appointment.
By being present to my emotions in a gentle, incremental way, I moved through them. Now, almost a week later, I can feel joy and peace again. I can feel how loved I am by Spirit, my family, and friends.
This is the sneaky thing about painful emotions. In those moments when we don't know how we're going to survive, it is crucial that we feel the pain. It is essential that we face our failures.
When we hide from our pain, it finds a way to seep into everything we do, holding us back.
The good news? God does not abandon us in our pain, in our failures. We are held in an embrace of unconditional love at all times. Whatever life throws at us, our faith is there to help us catch it.
Is there some pain or failure that you haven't faced? What support do you need in order to face it and heal? We will explore these questions and more in worship together this week.