Love is in the Rhythms

The days are shortening. The darkness is expanding.
The leaves have burned bright. But now, they are falling.
The birds are flying far away, seeking refuge in another temporary home.
The bright sunlight is fading into a familiar Pacific Northwest gray.
This is the season of cold, of drizzle, of isolation.
This is the time of stillness and waiting.
 
And yet, I find myself intrigued by the natural cycles that we move through each year. They remind me that we are dust.
They whisper to me, “Pay attention to what creation has to teach you.”
Pay attention.
 
I am learning that love is in the rhythms.
Love is in the familiar. Love is in the ordinary.
Love is in the losses that breathe to life new ways of being.
Love is in the mundane task which sustains us in spite of our ambivalence.
Love is in the rhythms. No season is empty of its presence.
Love is like the moon. It endures, it never changes shape, it never leaves.
We may perceive it differently. Or, miss it altogether at times.
But, love is an unfailing constant, in hardship and in joy.
 
So, as we reflect upon the coming harvest and as we enter into the chill of winter, let us not forget this truth.
Love is in the rhythms.


What stands out to you from this piece? What does it stir up in you? Continue the conversation here!

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Tiona Cage

Tiona Cage, MSW, is executive coordinator at a Portland-based non-profit devoted to using theatre and story to depolarize communities and create healthier ways of engaging difficult societal issues. Tiona is passionate about exploring the intersection of faith, fear, and identity. With a background in international education and community development, she works to support members of the church and wider community in increasing self-awareness and in learning how to more fully hear God and honor the image of God in self and others. Tiona is a past member of the Eden Spiritual Care board, and was also an Eden Spiritual Care class instructor.