February 22, Ash Wednesday

The Way It Is
William Stafford

There's a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn't change.
People wonder what you're pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can't get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time's unfolding.
You don't ever let go of the thread.

[William Stafford, The Way It Is: New and Selected Poems (Saint Paul, MN: Graywolf Press, 1998), 42.]

For Reflection: Lent is a journey, inviting us to walk through days of wilderness and desert with Jesus. During Lent we are invited to be honest with God and with ourselves about who we are and how we are following Christ. The season reminds us that our discipleship is not conditioned on favorable circumstances. Stafford suggests that through all the seasons of life, there are constants that we hold onto, that lead us and carry us through. The poem is particularly poignant on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.

What thread have you held onto through all the circumstances - both good and difficult - of your life?
What has held you steady?
What has been the "constant" for you?
Reflect on that thread and talk to God about it in your prayer.