“May there always be two thousand acres of sky above us.
May there always be the story of the earth beneath us.
May there always be the song of the air between us.
And may the love that shook creation from God’s hand,
shake us alive,
that we may walk God’s way,
now and always.”
~Roddy Hamilton

The grayness of winter is starting to settle in. We took all the decorations off our Christmas tree last night and packed them away for another year. While clearing away these yearly additions to a house brings a certain feeling of cleansing, of a return to order, there is also a sadness and loss of color that seems to add to the starkness of the view outside our windows. Like a child who loves the glitter and glow of Christmas, I could be one of those people who could be convinced to leave the tree up until Easter or till the snow melts…whichever comes first. In Minnesota this can be risky business.

This year Easter comes nearly as late as it can be. Given that our snow came early and with a vengeance, we have said more than once that ‘this could get old fast’. Yesterday as I was reading a book of worship resources I came across the poem/prayer above. It seemed the perfect words for these long, gray, often monotonous days that rest between the sparkle and flash of Christmas and the greening and promise of Easter. During these winter days we often need to be ‘shaken alive’, to remember to stay awake to how God is shining into the world.

I particularly love the image that it was love that shook creation out of God’s hand. The poet seems to imply that the Holy One was holding onto creation, saving it for another time. But love swept in and shook the foundations of the Source of All and Creation was born. It is a profound image for all the creations of our smaller yet important lives. How often it is that it takes love to shake us up, to cause us to let go of what it is we want to hoard……guilt, shame, resentment, greed, insecurity, anger…..until we find ourselves giving birth to something that lay hidden just beneath the surface of all that is good within us. In these moments when nothing will do but love, we are shaken alive. Shaken alive to the possibilities, shaken alive to a newness we never imagined, shaken alive to what it means to be a beloved creation of God.

In those moments when the shaking subsides and we find ourselves standing on the firm earth, breathing in the precious air, being held in the arms of the expansive sky, we glimpse what it means to walk in God’s way. It may only be one moment or a thousand. But when it happens it is a good thing to give thanks for being shaken. Shaken alive.