I woke up early…my usual practice…on the shores of Lake Koronis. Tiptoeing out of the retreat house where I am staying, I walked out to be greeted by the first frost of the season. At this particular retreat house, coffee does not arrive until well after I am awake, so I headed toward my car to go into the small town near by in search of the first cup of the day. My eyes were drawn to the night sky, blue with purity and the lack of city lights to diffuse its clear beauty.The chill of the early morning shot through my still sleepy senses. Opening my car door, I saw it….frost on all the windows. I was not prepared and had to reach in for a seldom used credit card to do the dirty work of clearing my windows. That accomplished, I started my drive into town. Over the lake the sky was just emerging with the pink-gold shine of dawn. Overhead the silver-white full moon shown like a beacon in the sky. Here I was…on the cusp of a new day.

Yesterday, Sally Dyck, our Bishop, talked with a group of United Methodists about these times in which we are living. She spoke of what we have known to be the church and how what has been is no longer and yet what the church will become is still unknown to us. She encouraged us to be open to what we will be called to as leaders in the church, what our faith communities will be called to, as we live into what it means to be the church in a new day. Here we are…..on the cusp of a mystery.

Last week as people talked about the changes in our country, the flagging economy, the upcoming elections, there were expressions of anxiety but also hope, uncertainty but also inspiration. We cannot know what we will learn from these times. We can only live on the cusp of what is to be with faith and with an assurance that we do not travel alone. We travel with one another, held by the One who has sustained us from the beginning.

"Our true home is in the present moment.
To live in the present moment is a miracle.
The miracle is not to walk on water.
The miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment,
to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.
Peace is all around us–
in the world and in nature–
and within us–
in our bodies and our spirits.
Once we learn to touch this peace,
we will be healed and transformed.
It is not a matter of faith;
it is a matter of practice. "

~Thich Nhat Hahn