“Yes?” asked Margaret, for there was a long pause—a pause that was somehow akin to the flicker of the fire, the quiver of the reading-lamp upon their hands, the white blur from the window; a pause of shifting and eternal shadows.”
― E.M. Forster, Howards End

 

On Saturday during Living From the Heart, we had everyone put on blindfolds (how trusting they were) in order for us to put various foods in their hands to smell. We asked them to open themselves to the possibility of what the smell may bring, without knowing for sure what the item was. Curiously, after removing the blindfolds, one participant, of whom I asked her permission to share, asked “What do you suppose the blindfolds mean in our lives?” For many, the opportunity to be curious and wonder allowed a willingness to receive what was given, even in those smells that were not appealing or resonating with good memories.

 

There is something powerful in a pause. It can alter a conversation, a direction, even the trajectory for life decisions. By taking the time to slow down, choosing to suspend judgment for a moment longer than the norm, an expansiveness occurs to allow for wonder and mystery. In these moments, the Spirit’s movement becomes free to open eyes to see, engage hearts to receive, and initiate actions to be intentional.

 

Selah’s mission is to invite all people to pause. We believe that’s where we meet God, the one who comes to us in mystery, in community, in the bread and wine given to us by Jesus in life, death, and resurrection. The beauty of the pause is that God is always there; the invitation to notice God becomes evident in the pause. While we might not be able to name God in the pause, we can acknowledge that something beyond ourselves wants to greet us, even in the “shifting and eternal shadows.”

 

I wonder if you’d be willing to put a blindfold on, for a short while, to receive with trust what God has for you. Our hope in Selah is to provide those opportunities and to encourage through community the practices that usher in wonder and surprise. Join us where you can.