“'They say Aslan is on the move- perhaps has already landed.' And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different... At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe This, in a land that was “always winter, and never Christmas” for so many long years. By the next day, the children in the story would be seeing spring melting the long, cold, white winter into new, warm green, with bees buzzing and birds singing. But they catch a glimpse here, in this moment – hearing of Aslan on the move. Sometimes the winter in our soul feels far too long. We can feel frozen and in-the-dark for so many months and years that we almost forget what the warmth of summer can feel like. But then we catch a glimpse of God “on the move”, and our hope holds out a little longer. If you are feeling like you’re (still!) in some kind of spiritual winter - cold and dark – what is it like to hear that God is moving in your world and things *will* change (though you may have no ability to make that happen yourself)? Spring and then summer *will* come. You will get to join in with the summer revelers (though by then, some of them will have moved on to other seasons of soul, surely). The warm evening air and crackle of bonfire by the water will be your experience, too. God is up to something in your life, and winter is part of it, and summer is part of it. What is it like to trust that? To hold that hope close, even as you live into the season you are in now?

Posted by Jamie Bonilla at 2021-07-01 15:10:48 UTC