Spiritual Formation

It’s been a really hard year. Two of my grandparents have been in and out of the hospital all year, and my dog passed away at the age of six in July due to cancer. I’ve had to walk with students and friends through some really complicated circumstances. And to put the sarcastic cherry on top, I’ve had to wrestle with all the death and destruction I see in the world.

From the get-go of human history, one of our shared universal experiences has been cloud-watching.

Clouds are one of the few things we have in common across time, geography, culture. We’ve always had an “up” to look towards, and in that up-space, the “sky,” we’ve always seen them: wisps and blankets that wander the expanse above us. 

There’s a script we’ve absorbed in Christian life... especially around retreats and conferences.

Mountaintop = high.

Regular life = grind.

We go to retreats and conferences hoping to “get filled.” Maybe cry a little. Maybe sing that throwback worship song that always gets us. Maybe feel something again.

And then we come home to a full calendar. To headlines filled with conflict and catastrophe. To the guilt of not living up to what we committed to.