Wilderness Wanderings

by Paul Olsson

A voice cries out “In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”  Isaiah 40:3

It’s wilderness time. At least that’s what I’m sensing as we move into the Second Sunday of Advent. Isaiah develops an image of a plaintive voice crying out in the wilderness. From his wilderness space, we’ll also hear the voice of John the Baptist loud and clear this week, and he hangs around for another Sunday preparing the people for the One who is to come. The whole image of being out in the wilderness has spoken powerfully to me this year as I settle in to new ministry with you here in Vermont. It’s there in the wilderness that all our pretenses of being in charge, being in control are stripped away from us. It’s in those stark, barren wilderness places that we gain some perspective on our life and God’s role in it. In the wilderness, we can expect the unexpected. 

Now I’m not suggesting that I consider my new home in Vermont “the wilderness”. It’s a much more spiritual and emotional wilderness that I’ve entered at this time. Moving away from all that was so comfortable and familiar back in New Jersey does have its built-in challenges. Like most of you, I crave some sense of certainty, some sense of groundedness in my life to feel fully at peace. I’ve heard it said that one of the most stress-filled events for any person is moving a household and settling in to a new home. I can attest to that. I’ve left behind the known, and am embracing the unknown each and every day to make it my own. That’s the sort of wilderness I’m confronting this season of Advent. And in the midst of it all, searching for the face of God to appear.

Your warm and heart-felt welcome has been the one thing that’s made my wilderness wanderings so much more manageable. You’ve shown tremendous care for me in these first few weeks. So many of you have gone out of your way to introduce yourself, provide some home-cooked meals for me and help me sense a little bit of the spirit of St. Stephen’s. The pounding last weekend was an overwhelming display of care for me, and I can’t thank you enough for the many thoughtful gifts that you bestowed on me. I am so well supplied with food, drink and household goods that I probably won’t need to shop until 2021! Thank you to Linda and Beth for planning it all. I’m grateful beyond measure for the warmth you’ve all shared with me.

So, as you and I continue to journey through the wilderness time of Advent, may we all learn to be open to the promptings of the Spirit, safe and secure in the knowledge that our loving God has something great in store for us when we reach the highway.

Paul+ 

PHOTOS BELOW FROM THE POUNDING!