The Rev. Canon Anne E. Kitch
Canon for Ministry Formation and Transitions
You, O Lord, are my lamp;
my God, you make my darkness bright.
Psalm 18:29
The meeting has gone longer than I anticipated and I yearn for home. I drive along rain-soaked darkened streets, the surrounding night, more than the hour itself, telling me it is late and time to retreat from the work of the day and seek rest.
Returning home is part of the rhythm of my day, each evening providing an opportunity for homecoming, for rest from the journey, for hospitality and connection. A time for the dispersed to gather. A time to tell stories. A time to count blessings. These things do not dispel the darkness so much as hallow it—a familiar blanket that encompasses our joy.
Home is not without struggle and difficulty, suffering and passion. Because of, rather than in spite of, its complexity, it provides a particular kind of arena in which to practice patience and kindness, to discover the resources to know and love God.
Darkness and light are both of God. Returning and rest as much a part of the journey as setting forth and work. Each day offers its own pilgrimage, its own sacred path.