The Art of Spiritual Practice

Advent Prayer: “God of the two lights, I love the sun, its revealing brilliance, its lingering warmth; but in the dark of night, let me learn the wisdom of the moon, how it waxes and wanes but does not die, how it gives itself to shadow, knowing it will emerge whole once more.”  Jan Richardson, Night Visions, p. 31.

The moon is a more familiar face to us in Alaska this time of year. The sun sneaks away more minutes each day and we search for the light of the moon on dark nights. I even have an app on my phone that lets me know when it will rise and set and what phase it is in. I appreciate how Richardson says that it “gives itself to shadow, knowing it will merge whole.” That sounds a lot like surrender and hope to me, although I ‘ve never looked at the moon that way before.

It also sounds like a good Advent spiritual practice: Notice the moon. Watch it for a while. Notice its effect on you. And then notice what might be “in shadow” for you right now—a person, a situation, a world event. How are you responding to it? Reacting to it? What would it be like to surrender to it, to wait, to trust that something whole will emerge in time? A hard request. Can’t do it? That’s okay. But consider it. Be with it. Breathe. Let the moon be something like consolation. God is holding space for you in the darkness.

Pastor Marcia Wakeland is a retired ELCA pastor, a spiritual director and a listening advocate. She is interested in the actual experience of having faith and how that is lived out. She can be reached at mwakeland@gmail.com for comments or more questions Her ongoing blog of living out spiritual practices is listeninglife.live