|
As they do every fall, hundreds of Sandhill Cranes far overhead are chortling to one another as they fly from somewhere north of here to somewhere south. I call out to anyone nearby to stop and listen with me. Though Sandhill Cranes don’t make their home in the Okanogan Valley, their brief presence is part of the annual rhythm that defines “home” for us. Their passing songs are a reminder that the season of tree-ripened, practically drinkable peaches has given way to anticipation of the crisp tartness of Winesaps and Spitzenburgs, two of my favorite apples that also will disappear quickly because they don’t keep well long term. I love these seasonal interruptions from usual routines.
These brief and nuanced heartbeats of “home” are gifts of grateful pause, deep breath, and continued wonder for a beautiful world too often neglected amidst ever-present demands of power, accumulation, and outrage in a divided world. It is heartening to know that paying attention to transitions through rhythms of life have been part of the human experience for millennia, as the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, and Pete Seeger much later put to music:
For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill and a time to heal;
a time to break down and a time to build up;
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek and a time to lose;
a time to keep and a time to throw away;
a time to tear and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.
—Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Individually, we may be in transitions in school, careers, relationships with our own selves or others, health changes, or housing. As people who hold Holden Village dear, we were already in a transition from what the Village has been to what it will be. Now we are exploring Holden as a community in diaspora. Even Road 8301 must find a new path through the woods. Politically and socially, we are in transition from what felt like a predictable world to new unexpected changes. Finding our place in uncharted territory in any or all these changes can bring so many emotions, including delightful excitement, deep grief, and anxious fear, sometimes all at once. My prayer for us all is that we hold one another with grace and compassion these next few months as we go out in good courage. May our busy-ness be interrupted by the transitional, fleeting beauty around us
Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace of the shining stars to you
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you
Lynnette Rose
Fall 2025 HV interim pastor
Associate Pastor, Lake Chelan Lutheran Church
| 
