Go As a River
Good Morning!
I am so happy to be here in person with you today. My husband and I live in central Nebraska most of the time and tune in on Facebook live, which is great. Yet being here in person just feels SO good.
I’m a generationally long Methodist person and was a religion major at Nebraska Wesleyan University years ago. And I had become, over time, spiritually disengaged and disillusioned with church. Inclusivity is a long standing value in our family and it was becoming more and more difficult to experience it for real. We found the Abbey in 2013 (as I was browsing in what was then Soul Desires bookstore). We soon grasped that the Abbey is a unique place that walks the walk with real social justice action, with thought provoking sermons, small groups and opportunities that really challenge us. Plus great music, people of all ages, real community and FUN!
So we have made Urban Abbey our spiritual home and are ever so grateful. When Debra asked me to reflect on my favorite scripture today and how it might relate to the interweave of prayer and stewardship, it was easy to say “yes”.
“Blessed is the one who trusts in God. They are like a tree planted by water that sends out its roots by the stream and does not fear when the heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and it is not anxious in the year of the drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:18
This verse makes me think of an embodied memory and a vivid visual of the many times Tom and I took our sons to the Niobrara River, which is designated as a National Scenic River, near Valentine Nebraska. As you canoe, kayak or tube it, you feel one with the clean free flowing water and are struck with the beauty of so many trees hugging the sides of the river, often with roots exposed, literally staying rooted by streams of living water. And then there’s the awe and surprise of coming upon Smith Falls, a 63-foot-tall waterfall that is fed by a spring and flows into the Niobrara. It’s a visual and experience of abundance and beauty. And this evokes in me a feeling of great gratitude, which then becomes a prayer. A pause to notice, to not take for granted, a pause and a prayer to say thank you. A thank you for what is, even as we strive to make things better.
The heart felt feeling of gratitude has been shown to have countless health benefits and increases our own internal resilience. Gratitude begets gratitude which bears more fruit in terms of generosity, a generosity of spirit as well as resources. As the Urban Abbey community, we are like that tree planted by the water, with roots that are strong and are growing deeper. We nourish our roots through our community with attention and intention to our principles of justice, mercy and faithfulness. An attitude of generosity supports the Greater Good by giving all we can in all the ways we can….including a meaningful percentage of our money, our gifts, our prayers, our presence and our service. This generosity expands our hearts creating a spaciousness that, in turn, creates a generative collective Good. And it requires us to pause and ask big hard questions like:
What do I value?
We are what we worship…so what do I worship?
What is my purpose on this planet?
How can stewarding my money and time help tend my soul?
And how does that then ripple out to make a difference in a hurting world?
Urban Abbey is a place where I have made new friends that I value and love. It is a place that holds a mirror of self awareness that I believe makes me a better person and strengthens my spiritual core. I want to help support a place like this because as we know, our Urban Abbey has a big impact in the community and beyond. It requires vision, hard work, sacrifice and generosity of resources to create something strong and beautiful, like the free flowing Niobrara river, that hopefully will last for generations to come.
It literally takes us all to keep Urban Abbey alive and thriving. As we share the journey for our future home,may our prayers, presence, gifts and service be like those trees planted by the river,sending out our roots and shoots and bearing fruit. Thank YOU for being a strong, beautiful fruitful branch of our Urban Abbey tree. We are all invited to this joyful, bountiful table!