cultivate.

I have always been drawn to the transition of seasons. There is such beauty in that suspended time just before it becomes its own, clearly defined by the hallmark imagery we all know. A free space, a breath, a time of process before the snow flutters, the leaves change, or the flowers blossom. As we step into a new month I couldn’t help but dabble in the suspension of time in my own life. I step into a place just before a new season, a place of transition, a desire for spiritual transition; a closeness that surpasses my experience.

September - a time for seasonal and spiritual transition. Rest. Revive. Connect. Cultivate.

My time seems all accounted for, but I know how You move. You always prove to be my Father Time. This month I want to slow down, to recenter. I want to rest, be revived, connect, cultivate.

Rest in my body and soul. I want to spend more time breathing in Your presence, spending more time resting in Your embrace, and just allowing You to gaze at me and I at You. Grant me Your yoke (Mt 11:28-30).

I want to give You my heart, give you all the places shadowed by pain, the places aching from old wounds, or present fears and anxieties. These places of my heart that pull me towards death, I want to lay it all open at Your feet and allow Your gentle hands with a single touch to revive me. Revive these quiet places of hidden heart so it beats loudly, completely intertwined in Yours. A heart fully alive so Your love will course through and out of it to Your people.

With my heart revived, I desire deep connection. Connection with Your most sacred love, connection with my spirit, mind, and body. In each shared moment I long for deep interpersonal connection with the soul You place before me. These moments are gifts, these people You place in my life are gifts and I want to give them space in my heart.

With a rested, revived, and connected heart, Lord, my heart will be nourished, pliable, and laid open ready to receive Your cultivation. My ever-changing garden awaits a new springtime. At the hands of her great Gardener, she settles into the freshly tilled soil, the deep aroma of its rich nourishment, bare and open to the Son, the cleansing rains. And with each new day she lets His master plan take root until the hours and days of cultivation make way for the most beautiful new life.

September.

As you transition into this new season read the newest Fall issue of Ember, a catholic magazine released at each season. I was given the opportunity to be a contributing writer this season. I have a spiritual piece and a feast of recipes for you to enjoy. I hope your transition cultivates a spirit of rest, renewal and growth. I pray your fall season is one of beauty and new life.

Many blessings,

x courtney.