How often do you worry about having what you need? I know I worry often. With the COVID-19 pandemic, I find myself worrying even more often. When I worry, I find it hard to find space for prayer or discernment. I find it hard to open myself to the Holy Spirit. In these moments I feel alone and abandoned.
Yet, God hasn’t abandoned me; I have shut myself off to God. When I can let go of scarcity, I can find the abundance of God’s love. I am able to enter into a sacred space where the Holy Spirit awaits.
But the lure of worrying and being drawn into fear is tempting. Fear has a siren song which pulls at us with terrible strength. It is in this fear that we begin to grab hold of material things and want it all for ourselves. It is in this space where we cannot imagine generosity. Or even a glimmer of willingness to take the risk needed to share what we have with others. In this space, the 5,000 are never fed.
How do we let go of scarcity and enter into abundance? Today, as the freeze on evictions is being lifted across the country and people are choosing between shelter and hunger, How do we even imagine abundance? How do we enter into the long game of the kingdom of heaven when each day is a struggle?
Wendell Berry prods us gently with his poem. What we need is here. In creation, we see God’s abundance. Berry pushes us to quiet our hearts and clear our vision so that we are able to glimpse God’s abundant grace and love. We are invited to set aside our worries and fears long enough to enter into a quiet space where abundance fills us up so that we can move through this life with the understanding that what we need is here.
The Poet's Soul 