A new way of living

But the Holy Spirit prays for us

Romans 7:6, 8:26 Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit. … And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us.

We got home at midnight last night from our mission retreat in Colorado, where we focused on the theme of aging faithfully. Since the age range of our mission team is from early 60s to mid-80s, this was appropriate! We studied the wonderful book Aging Faithfully by Alice Fryling as preparation for the retreat, which allowed us to go deeper under the leadership of our facilitators.

I have a lot to continue thinking about, but one highlight for me was realizing I’ve tried to do marketing of my books within a transactional framework (if I do this, I will get that result), rather than transformational, in which I depend on the Spirit’s leading and don’t get stressed over the kinds of results most marketing approaches work toward. As a start, I’m switching in my own mind from using the term “marketing,” to the word “sharing” of what God has given me. I feel hope about an area of my life that I’ve found extremely stressful. Hope for a new way of living guided by the Spirit.

This weekend our family will be saying goodbye to my older sister, who will be moving from a town an hour north of Pittsburgh to a retirement village in Oklahoma. So I’m thinking about the “new way of living” she will soon undertake. There are obvious benefits—like being able to simply open her door to be with people and participate in activities, in contrast with the increasing isolation she’s felt as her vision limits her ability to drive.

At the same time, she’s leaving behind so much that is dear to her, from possessions to people whom she loves. Starting over in a place where no one knows she was a college professor, published author, chaplain, ordained deacon in the Anglican tradition, and cared for 23 foster children over the years—along with her skills in so many areas, her creativity, her wisdom about surviving trauma, and so much more … Well, it’s daunting, to say the least.

A planter Linda built last spring–just one of so many things she’s leaving behind.

As I feel with her the stress of this move and grieve for myself the distance that will shortly exist between us, I am comforted by these words from Romans: the Holy Spirit, so attuned, so active, so perceptive of what God wants for us and what we need. I hope thinking about this will comfort you too, especially if you are in the throes of embracing any kind of “new way of living.”