The Grace of New Beginnings
The sounds of spring are abundant in Wisconsin this time of year. We are now hearing the familiar honks of the Canadian geese and the unmistakable sound of the chorus frogs, better known as “spring peepers.” Ice-free streams are gurgling again, and spring rain showers are tapping on our roofs and windows. All of these signs of new life are a balm for our tired souls.
Signs of new life are at the heart of the Jewish celebration of Passover and the Christian celebration of Easter, both of which occur this week. The stories of these traditions point to the truth that suffering and death are never the final word, but instead, they can, over time, both be transformed into new beginnings and new life.
Both traditions speak not of a return to life as it was but a dramatic move forward to a changed life. The stories of Passover and Easter remind us though that new life is never without fear, vulnerability, and risk.
Irish poet, author, and priest John O’Donohue writes beautifully about the risk of new beginnings. His poem "For a New Beginning" came to mind this week. I will close with it, along with best wishes to all who this week are celebrating Passover, Easter, or any other new beginning.
FOR A NEW BEGINNING, by John O'Donohue
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life's desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.
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