Now is the Time to Abide
The point of the spiritual life is learning to abide in the midst of the terrible.
Abide with me: fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
—Henry Francis Lyte
Dearly Beloveds,
When I heard of the Supreme Court’s decision granting immunity to the president for any crimes committed while in office, I felt like throwing up. What the ruling means for a potential second presidency for someone I will not name out of dissent and defiance is, well, terrifying.
It’s scary for me as a woman, sure, and it’s even more horrific for people of color, poor people, unhoused people, LGBTQIA+ people, the natural world, and any others who do not identify as white, wealthy, heterosexual, and male. Further, even white, wealthy, heterosexual men who do not ascribe to Christian nationalism, which seeks to establish a particular exclusivist version of Christianity as the dominant moral and cultural order, will likely be on the outs (though likely not fearing for their lives) if an ultra right wing presidency occurs.
Every person I talked to last week was riddled with some form of anxiety founded on our experience with the person I will not name out of defiance and dissent as president already, an experience in which many women, people of color, poor people, unhoused people, LGBTQIA+ people, and the natural world suffered and died.
We are right to be anxious, worried, and afraid. If we’re paying attention at all, we see the warning signs, which leave us feeling powerless and undone.
In response to the legitimate feelings of disempowerment and chaos, some of us spin and circle. Others of us free fall into a pit of despair. Some of us bury our heads in the sand. Many of us research moving to another country while others of us begin to plot someone else’s demise. Those traditionally pushed to the margins are likely fighting for their ever loving lives.
For those of us interested in living an authentic spiritual life, for those of us who attempt to follow Jesus and the women whom he followed, we must remember that the point of the spiritual life is not to rid ourselves of all anxiety, worry, and fear. Rather, the point is to hold the anxiety, worry, and fear alongside the call to remain.
The point of the spiritual life is learning to abide in the midst of the terrible. Learning not to run, not to hide, not to self sabotage, not to insult, not to injure, not to despise, not to despair.
Rather, learning to wade in the water. To be here now. Present. Awake. Alive.
Learning to consciously choose the beautiful, even and especially when it’s so disgustingly grotesque we fear we cannot go on.
Learning to honor the paradox that allows us to know beauty in the first place.
Learning to honor the dead by fighting like hell for the living.
Look, I’m not saying not to circle the drain and not to fall into a pit of despair. How can we not? I am saying to try to not let the despair drive. To remember that when Jesus says, “Do not worry about your life,” he’s only able to say this because he knows what it is to worry and fear only to find abiding Love on the other side of it.
Listen, beloveds, the only way through this is through it, and we won’t make it without one another.
I’m convinced that the only way the Israelites were willing and able to dive into the Red Sea not knowing if they would sink or survive was because they waded into those waters together. Because they looked to their right and to their left, in front of them and behind them and saw, with their own eyes, that they were not alone.
Now is the time to hold onto one another. Now is the time to follow Jesus and the women whom Jesus followed. Now is the time for those of us with any modicum of privilege and protection to risk losing some of it (all of it?) for the sake of others.
Now is the time for the creators to create and the writers to write and the mothers to mother and the truth-tellers to tell. Now is the time to choose beauty even still, even here, even now.
Now is the time to abide.
Love,
Claire
***
ORGANIZATIONS + PEOPLE WHO HELP ME (AND WILL HELP YOU, TOO) ABIDE
***
JOIN ME FOR A “WRITING AS SPIRITUAL PRACTICE” CLASS THIS AUGUST!
I’ll be joining The Porch’s teaching roster this August for a three-week, in-person class on “Writing as Spiritual Practice” here in Nashville. The Porch inspires, educates and connects writers and readers of all ages and stages through classes and literary events, and I’m thrilled to get to facilitate this class for all those who long to write, not so much to produce, but to connect with Spirit. I’d love to see you and yours there!
***
Blessed Are the Women is what they call an evergreen book. She’s a faithful companion in all seasons—for personal and communal spiritual practice, sermon and worship prep, contemporary connection, feminist midrash, reclaiming women’s stories, and more. As we head into “ordinary time” in the Christian calendar year, as spring comes to and end and summer begins, let Blessed Are the Women accompany you and yours in the day to day grace and grind of it all. She and the women are here.
Thank you for reading my Substack. This post is public so feel free to share it.
Balm for my soul today. Thank you
♥️