Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ

INTRODUCTION

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By the time you read this, our 13-year-old Subaru Legacy will have reached 200,000 miles. As the third owner, we have not put all the miles on it, but we recognize this click of the odometer as an important milestone. The car does not feel or look new, but it is dependable and comfortable in that “worn in” way. Even in the 3 years we have owned it, it has carried us to points far and near; to work and school, holiday travels, taking our son to college and daughter to camp, to the airport and countless errands around town. It does especially well in the snow too! It has become part of the fabric of our lives.

We recently hosted a German family for two weeks. On a number of occasions, we traveled by car to sights outside of Madison. Since the three teenagers had no idea where we were going, they often asked that perennial question, “are we almost there?” In jest, I usually answered that there is a Buddhist saying, “wherever you go, there you are.” By the end of the trip, they were telling each other “wherever you go, there you are.”

The season of Lent is part of the long journey of our lives – a season of particular reflection and devotion, but only a season. Like our old Subaru, most of our lives have included geographical and spiritual travels. Most of us do not look or feel “new”, but we are grateful for our health, our families, our loved ones, our work and our ability to enjoy life.

This devotional series contains insights and reflections from within our congregation, however, because “wherever we go, there we are.” Our spiritual lives are a mix of hope and discouragement, clarity and confusion, history and future, faith and doubt. We have gathered these writings together because they allow us to share with one another where we are in our lives. We have invited reflections on the theme of spiritual renewal, and what you will read here includes a wide and amazing range of ideas, insights, practices, and experiences. If our spirituality is going to have meaning and purpose in our lives, it must be characterized by honesty. I am grateful to the 30 or so of you who have shared a piece of your lives with openness, honesty, hope, and clarity. In order to fill out the rest of the days of Lent, we have added a few from other writers and thinkers.

Welcome to this part of our long journey. Welcome to this place in your life. May this season be one that pulls you deeper into the mystery of God’s movement in your life. May the reflections you read give your days a wee bit more focus and clarity. Read them as you can. Drop a note to the author if you are able. Pray for your own spiritual renewal, the spiritual renewal of your loved ones, and the ongoing renewal of our congregation.