We stand on the cusp of a new year, another threshold, which, oddly enough, tends to get us thinking not about where we are standing at that moment but about where we\u2019ve been or where we might be going. Caught between regret and fear, we often miss the wonder of what is right there in the liminal space of the threshold moment. We cling to the figurative doorframe of our lives hoping we won\u2019t have to step into the unknown, but there is no way around it. We can either go kicking and screaming or embrace it and walk through with grace and trust.<\/p>\n
The poet and artist Jan Richardson, writing in her \u201cBlessing for Epiphany\u201d \u2014 which we will celebrate in just a few days \u2014 says: \u201cIf you could see \/ the journey whole \/ you might never \/ undertake it; \/ might never dare \/ the first step \/ that propels you \/ from the place \/ you have known \/ toward the place \/ you know not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Such true words. Looking back over our lives, many of us recognize that had we seen the entire path in advance \u2014 including the eventual losses, illnesses and other difficulties we all inevitably face \u2014 we might have hunkered down and refused to budge. But in hindsight, we can reflect on the difficult moments and marvel at the strength and faith that got us through things we would otherwise consider unimaginable. Often, we also marvel at how those moments shaped us, and our lives, in ways we would not want to erase, even if we wish we could erase the painful parts.<\/p>\n
As we prepare for the arrival of the Magi at the cr\u00e8che in Bethlehem, we often forget what was required of them. They did not have a GPS or comfy hotels or any guarantees they\u2019d find what they were after. But they had a star and a belief in something so powerful that it literally moved them into the unknown. If they had been able to foresee the dangers they would face along the way, they might have come up with any number of reasons to stay put, but they trusted the movement of the Spirit and approached the threshold with curiosity and wonder. Epiphany moments don\u2019t happen in the regrets over the past or worries over the future; they happen in the now.<\/p>\n
In her book, \u201cOpen the Door,\u201d writer Joyce Rupp says: \u201cThreshold experiences contain tremendous energy. They hold the power to unglue and shake us deeply, to enfold us with a seemingly empty darkness that makes us yearn for relief. They can set an imprisoned spirit free, nurse a wounded heart back to health, and bring peace to a desolate mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
As we cross the threshold into a new year filled with things we can\u2019t possibly see from our current vantage point, we have a choice about how we approach what\u2019s ahead. Most of us \u2014 because we are human, after all \u2014 can\u2019t help but go forward with some trepidation. We may not know the specifics, but we know life is usually not easy. In some ways, that in itself can be freeing. It\u2019s a given that some days will be challenging, so how do we navigate this grand adventure? Step by step.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is nothing \/ for it \/ but to go \/ and by our going \/ take the vows \/ the pilgrim takes: \/ to be faithful to \/ the next step; \/ to rely on more \/ than the map; \/ to heed the signposts \/ of intuition and dream; \/ to follow the star \/ that only you \/ will recognize,\u201d writes Richardson.<\/p>\n
We can only recognize our star if we ground ourselves in God and prayer. There, in the landscape of our souls, the signposts will come into focus, showing us the thresholds we are meant to cross, not with fear and hesitance but with faith and hope, even if they unglue us along the way.<\/p>\n