The trees are showing us there is beauty in letting go.
I read this quote somewhere just before a Sunday morning hike with Tim, my partner, a few weeks ago. We decided be part of the congregation in the woods and hike to Bean and Bear Lake near Silver Bay.
We attempted this six plus mile round trip hike last Spring but were forced to turn around. Back then the snow and ice made the trail way too slippery for me to navigate. I’m at a disadvantage because of a benign brain tumor that was removed 3 years ago. It’s gone but it messed with my hearing and balance. Hiking poles essential or I spend most of our walks on my butt.
So now I was grateful to be back on this part of the Superior Hiking Trail when the October weather was as beautiful as the trees around us. We had plenty of water and snacks and so took our time on the trail as she rose upward. At times, we climbed up boulders, but other moments we were met by rivets of mud. I was glad that in addition to my poles I had worn good boots.
It has taken some time, but I’m getting used to putting on boots and grabbing hiking poles on Sunday mornings rather than wearing a stole. It’s nice to have the choice between sitting in a pew to sing or hearing creation’s song on the trail. Yes, I am learning there is beauty in letting go.
As we hiked, I thought of Joyce Rupp’s prayer for Autumn Days,
God of the seasons,
there is a time for everything;
there is a time for dying and a time for rising.
We need courage to enter into
the transformation process.
God of autumn,
the trees are saying goodbye to their green,
letting go of what has been.
We, too, have our moments of surrender,
with all their insecurity and risk.
Help us to let go when we need to do so.
The Wednesday afternoon after our hike I went to the St. Louis County Jail to lead a Bible study with the women there. I shared the quote about the trees and the beauty of letting go. Without any real prompting the twenty-one women who sat in the circle with me began sharing about the transformations happening within them. I always feel that they are so much better at healing one another than I ever could be. My job is just to help the conversations get started.
As our time together was ending I asked if any of the women would like to pray for the group. One young native woman offered the most beautiful prayer. Before she began the women held hands in our lopsided oval and continued to hold on to one another through out her prayer to the Creator. At the end she said, “Thank you for the warmth I feel in my heart spreading out through my body and to all those gathered here.”
Yes, there is such beauty in letting go, whether on a trail or in a jail.
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