Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
Today is our anniversary—thirty-one years. That Beth has faithfully loved me all this time despite my faults (I am not as wise and saintly in real life as I sound in Unfolding Light) is, if not proof of God’s existence, at least a sign of God’s grace and power. That we forgive each other; that our hearts have deepened and expanded in one another’s care; that I, who am plenty self-centered, have learned to find joy in loving and serving another—these are evidence to me of God’s great mercy, and revelations of how God works in our lives.
That we have been changed by the Covenant that has held us, that in one another’s embrace each of us has become more beautiful, that in fidelity to the other we have become more truly ourselves, shows me something of what God’s faithful love is like. At the burning bush when God said “I am” God might as truly have said, “I do.”
That Beth might find joy in my presence hints to me that God might do the same. That I have grown in love assures me that there is a deeper love within me than my own passions. That I can love Beth unconditionally, despite her imperfection, evokes in me the capacity to love without cause other than simply for another’s blessing. That I keep learning how to love reminds me that God is not done with me yet.
That out of our love for each other we have produced three lovely sons suggests to me that God is a God of creativity and new life, that God works through relationships, and that God really likes people.
In these mercies God is present, and I know God. I come to know myself. I am shaped by God’s faithful love. I am filled with deep joy and gratitude. I thank God, and Beth, for this extraordinary gift. I hope I have returned some of the blessing to both of them. And I pray for each of you friendships, communities and other experiences in which you know God’s faithfulness and your belovedness, and come to love more deeply.
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve
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Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net