Lent Day 22 | 40 to Life

A Pace Lenten Reflection
Saturday 26 March 2022
The Way it is 

Hi Redeemer Family! I’m Allison Pace. Welcome back to our daily Lenten Reflection series, 40 to life. 

On this last day in the third week in Lent, I want to share a poem with you all–this poem is written by William Stafford and is entitled “The Way it is.”

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among

things that change. But it doesn’t change.

People wonder about what you are 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.

I first read this poem while I was at Trinity Retreat Center in West Cornwall, Connecticut, back in January…and I have found myself turning and returning to it over and over again these last few months. As we continue our journey with Jesus to the cross–to Good Friday, I am reminded of the thread each of us is holding onto. 

This is a thread that we don’t hold alone…it’s a thread that God holds with us. A thread that knits, binds and weaves into a beautiful, colorful, brilliant tapestry…it’s the tapestry of our lives–our lives as Christians. 

This tapestry we create with God is what we hold onto–cling to–never let go of–the most constant and true thing in our lives. We hold onto this thread because it’s all we know. 

And even while we follow and hold this thread, things still happen in our earthly lives that hurt: we witness things that make us uncomfortable or sad, and it causes us to lament…and yet, we are called to continue our journey to the cross because we know of a deep hope and love that connects us to this thread…the hope of the resurrection…the love of Jesus…our relationship with God. 

I’m sure sometimes it feels like you can’t hold onto the thread anymore…or maybe sometimes it feels like you can’t hold it as tightly as you might wish you could–and it’s ok to feel that way because when it feels like we can’t hold onto this thread anymore, God will always hold it for us because God calls us into relationship over and over, again–all the time, and will never let us go. 

And so, I invite you to wonder–or better yet, imagine your thread with God…what practices in your life contribute to this tapestry you are knitting, weaving & creating with God? 

*Note about the poem:
The poem, “The Way it is” comes from a book of William Stafford’s poems entitled, The Way It Is.