-- excerpt by Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB from Seasons of Your Heart: Prayers and Reflections
Our hearts are hungering for the Sacrament of Letting Go. Once we discover that we already possess enough grace to let go, trust begins to form in the center of who we are. Then we can take off our shoes and stand empty and vulnerable, eager to receive God’s next gift.
Slowly
she celebrated the sacrament of letting go
first she surrendered her green
then the orange, yellow, and red,
finally she let go of her brown
shedding the last leaf
she stood empty and silent, stripped bare.
Leaning against the winter sky
she began her vigil of trust.
And Jesus said:
Why do you worry about clothes? Remember the flowers growing in the fields; they do not fret about what to wear; yet I assure you not even Solomon in all his royal robes was dressed like one of these.
Shedding her last leaf
she watched its journey to the ground.
She stood in silence
wearing the color of emptiness,
Her branches wondering:
How do you give shade with so much gone?
And Jesus said:
Do not be troubled or needlessly concerned.
And then, the sacrament of waiting began.
The sunrise and sunset watched with tenderness,
Clothing her with silhouettes
they kept her hope alive.
They helped her understand that
her vulnerability
her dependence and need
her emptiness
her readiness to receive
were giving her a new kind of beauty.
Every morning and every evening
they stood in silence
and celebrated together
the sacrament of waiting!
And Jesus said:
Now if that is how God cares for the wild flowers in the fields which are here today and gone tomorrow, will He not all the more care for you…?
Excerpt from Seasons of Your Heart: Prayers and Reflections by Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB – pgs 8-9