In the Process of Becoming
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow yourself to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.
The oldest mountains are not usually the largest mountains, but are the smaller that have slowly changed shape over the course of time and erosion. This is just the requirement of life — that everything changes.
Astronomy says: the sun will rise tomorrow,
Zoology says: on rainbow-fish and lithe gazelle,
Psychology says: but first it has to be night, so
Biology says: the body-clocks are stopped all over town
and
History says: here are the blankets, layer on layer, down and down.
— "The Sciences Sing a Lullaby," Albert Goldbarth
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted . . .
Food for Thought
In my classroom, I have a poster that says “delta = k.” It’s become a sort of fun riddle for students to solve throughout the year. Delta is the Greek symbol for change and k is a mathematical symbol for constant. Change is constant. Some get it and write it down in the margins of their papers, and for others it totally goes over their heads. Like a lot of things in teaching, you hope the power of osmosis is activated and your students might remember a few things from their time in your class, even things that take a little longer to soak in.
As a teenager when I read Ecclesiastes 3, the phrase “to everything there is a season” sounded far too much like “everything happens for a reason.” For me, the latter felt a little too problematic in nature – I read it through a lens of seeming predestination, and was unable to take the chapter for what it was – so I never really gave much time to this verse.
As a young adult, I have come to understand that what Solomon may have meant in this verse was to simply say that so much is out of our control. And also, at the same time, some things have a certainty to them: birth, death, mourning, dancing, loving, speaking, stillness. These aspects of living aren’t selective, but are things that each one of us will experience at some point within our lives. As we live through the unpredictability, the uncertainty, the changes beyond our control, it is the more permanent things that allow us to lean into the fullness of all that is, not with passivity or resignation, but with a lighter grip and a constant assurance that the rhythms around us will hold all things together.
In times of transition, I have found comfort in one of the things I find to be certain in this life: nature. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, when I am in a new place, one of the first things I do is find where I can see the sun changing colors at dusk, or find flowing water. Seeking out the steady cycles of nature during change brings me such deep comfort. Though the theater of the night sky looks different in Duke Forest than it does in SoHo, or on a roof in Carrboro, or in my mom’s driveway, or off the coast of Italy – it’s still the same sky.
One theologian describes the imagery in Ecclesiastes as “kaleidoscopic.” I love this description because, as with nature, the essence of life’s cyclical pattern stays the same, yet in each stage of the cycle there is change. Within the predictable cycles of water, land, and sky, each has a period of birth, death, rebirth, and everything in between. Planting turns to blooming, turns to ripening, turns to plucking, turns to withering, turns to gleaning, turns to planting. Weeping, turns to sobbing, turns to shaking, turns to air, turns to breath, turns to laughter. What is stuck in one stage for longer, is never to stay in the same form forever.
This is a helpful and grounding reminder to me in seasons of change. The continuous and cyclical nature of Ecclesiastes 3 that once felt problematic, now gives me so much peace. It’s the sense of impermanence, but at the same time total permanence. A reminder that nothing stays and yet everything is always in the process of becoming. During this season, as we experience nature’s transition into fall — the chilly mornings, the colorful leaves, earlier sunsets — may you find peace in places of permanence, learning to trust that which grounds you. And may you also be reminded to lean into the places in your life that are always changing — that are in the process of becoming — knowing that nothing and everything lasts forever.
Light a candle or enjoy a cool night sitting by the fire. Watch as the flame flickers and glows, shrinks and grows. The fire is constant, but the way it manifests before your eyes is constantly in flux.
What gives you peace in the midst of change — watching the sunrise, coloring, going for a walk, drinking a warm cup of tea, etc? Try to spend 10-15 min intentionally giving yourself a moment of peace today.
For a printable version of today's reflection Click Here!
Blessing
God of change and constancy,
Keep our spirits alive and attuned to your presence in our living. Your mystery is a source of wonder. Allow our hearts to cling to the assurance of your love in all that is changing around us, knowing that in you all things find their peace.
Amen.
A little Table Talk for your table...
What are things that you see as constant in the world? Now, think more deeply about those aspects of life — where do you see change within them?
What is in flux in your life — where have you experienced the unpredictability of living? What has given you comfort or a source of peace in the midst of the change?
How do you hear these words, “to everything there is a season.” What do they mean to you?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Ask your kiddos to draw pictures of the sky at different times of the day. Talk about how it is the same sky even though it appears differently to our eyes depending on the circumstances of light, time, and the composition of the atmosphere.
What does change look like to a child? Ask your kiddo how they think of change.
Change and new beginnings can feel uncertain and make us anxious. Help your kiddos think of some things that are steady and give a sense of peace to their life. Then, remind them that your love for them will always be there — a constant in the changes of life.
Meet This week’s writer!
Blair Ramsey is a high school math teacher in DC Public Schools. She earned both her B.A. in Religious Studies and M.A.T in Secondary Math Education from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While not teaching factoring, she enjoys playing the piano, upcycling, being outside, and laughing with her friends.
To hear more from Blair throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
Here are Five Things to Remember When Setting Your Own Welcome Table!