Dear beloved Passing the Peace Readers,

I want to let you in on some of what I've been up to in my spare time. I always imagined that my love for arts and crafts was a silly hobby. I absolutely loved kindergarten because we got to make crafts all day and I think it’s a shame that as I got older I learned along the way that crafts were either for children or professionals. It didn’t stop me from dabbling a bit with jewelry making, puttering around my mom’s sewing room, and absolutely loving my time as a camp counselor where most days I went home covered in glitter and glue.

These days I am realizing I’m falling in love with anything that involves ‘slow magic’: anything that requires you to slow down, being mindful and present, and takes time and practice to unfold. I’m learning to be a bad beginner and my inner perfectionist hates it but my inner child loves the opportunity to play!

Crafting is a practice and I love the ways it is also teaching me about faith. Lessons about being gentle, dedicated, and focused are ideas I can weave in my practices of prayer, discipleship, Bible study, and so much more. Recently I learned how to knit and I learned the power of how you can ship your love and prayers across a country in the form of a baby blanket. I also have been learning how to weave willow and have been meditating on gentleness, strength, and trust as each strand of willow invites its own relationship with me as it becomes part of a larger basket.

May the Peace of Christ be with you this week in the form of play and creativity,  

May the Peace of Christ inspire you to try new things, to find joy in imperfect offerings,

 

Yours in Christ,

Rev Michiko