Dear Friends in Valhalla Parish, 

How is it with your soul? This is a question that was asked of me recently, and it made me to stop and think. This question isn't the same as our typical "how are you doing," a question we often gloss over with a simple "fine," without too much thought. But this question, how is it with your soul, stopped me in my tracks. 

It got me thinking about the last year, and the ebbs and flows of our relationship with God over this time. How would you respond to this question? How is it with your soul?

This question got me thinking about a difficult January and February. It was a time of feeling disconnected from God, and a time of searching too. There were also moments of surprise and joy and connection that came in the midst of that time too. These months were followed by increasingly worrying reports about a new virus and growing pandemic. This year has had so many ups and downs. There have been times when I have felt God's deep and abiding presence, and others when God has seemed far away.

My relationship with God has shifted over the last year. I think that it has deepened somehow. As I've been reflecting on this question, I'm starting to understand that deepening a bit better.

Perhaps as a result of the pandemic, and all of the chaos around us, I find that I spend more time in prayer these days than I did before. Something strange happened in the pandemic. Suddenly I love getting up early in the morning, before everyone else in the house. I love the quiet of the house. I love the first sip of the first cup of coffee. I love sitting in my chair in the hushed silence for morning prayer. I look forward to the days when the sunrise will once again coincide with my time in prayer for our world, for this Valhalla Parish community, our neighbours, friends, and family. 

How is it with your soul? I wonder how you would answer that question. How is your soul in relationship to God in this moment? Do you feel connected to God in this moment? Is your soul searching? Inquisitive? Skeptical? Content?

As we enter into the season of Lent, this is a practice of self-examination that I intend to take on more intentionally. Perhaps you have a practice like this feeds your soul. Perhaps this is something you are seeking.

I wonder what it would be like if more of us cultivated such a practice throughout lent. How might we use this time to pay attention to our relationship to God. How might our lives change as we notice the ebbs and flows of that relationship? How might this time provide each of us an opportunity to nurture our relationship to God, as we intentionally journey with Jesus towards the cross, and the very heartbeat of our faith. 

Every Blessing

Andrew