drop the stones

This week, I had the great fortune of sharing my faith update in my women's church group. The process of preparing for my faith update led me down a purposeful path of reflection - where I had been, the challenges that have served to shape me, and the opportunities that I still sit with in the present - all guided by the grace of God. One of the concepts I leaned into to express an area of present focus is that of dropping stones of offense. It is both with great blessing and with great challenge that we have all encountered painful offenses and wrong-doings in life. We are presented the opportunity to learn from these experiences and also to not be hardened by them. Simultaneously, we are deeply enticed by a desire to carry with us the proverbial stones from these battles for use in future warfare. Our 'stones' may form in the way of psychological defenses, doubts, fears, or anxieties, or they may exist in the form of retaliatory readiness to judge, speak ill, or protect our personal judgments. The unfortunate reality is this arsenal is heavy, not helpful.

In learning to (trust we can) drop the stones, we invite the idea of imperfection into lived reality. Yes, I have acquired stones. And I have also thrown them. By laying these stones to rest, I am opened to the grace and goodness that is also within me - establishing a sense of ease and softness that can only be found in releasing these judgements and exercising forgiveness. Judgement is not mine to issue, nor is it mine to be concerned with when others attempt to impose their own. <-- This is freeing. This is humbling. And this is a work in progress.

Schedule a time to connect & let's continue the conversation.

In health,
Amy Rena Erickson