The Gift of Abiding

If there is one gift I’ve received during the days of the coronavirus quarantine it has been the gift of abiding. Stay-at-home orders have shut down nearly every business, place of worship, entertainment and recreation venue. No access to those touch points that create the texture in life, means that literally all roads lead home. And at home, along with the rest of the world, I stay put, and I realize this forced physical abiding feels like a cure for our frenetic pace, the antidote for the toxic, overloaded, distracted lives we lead.

Abiding is where we live day by day, where we can’t escape the dark moods or the frustrations that sometimes overcome us, where we may resist doing the daily chores that keep us organized, healthy, and whole, and where we lie exhausted at the end of a long day. Our abiding place is where we settle ourselves and settle into ourselves. And if nothing else, it requires a commitment to be at rest.

How do I experience this gift? It opens me to new awakenings, it’s creating hospitality for myself and others, it’s where we live out the stories of our lives, and where we sit in comfortable silence. Abiding makes room for meditating on the events of this day in my home, in my community, in the world. These are gifts waiting to be opened, but it requires a willingness to stretch out our hands and hearts to receive it, to tear away the layers wrapping it up, and to look inside to find our own beautiful lives endowed by with the Divine image, kissed with Spirit-breathed purpose, and welcomed in to “dwell in the house of the Lord” all the days of our lives.

How are you abiding these days? Ready to abide within your own story? Set up an appointment with me to explore spiritual direction and the gift of abide together on your journey.