Dear Ones,

I am so grateful for the respite of breezy days in the 80s after the intensity of humid days in the 90s. Today, I notice the flowers encouraged to more thriving, the leaves no longer wilting, after hours of dedicated deadheading and watering. I filled the bird feeders, and the yard is once-again busy with black-capped chickadees, cardinals, sparrows, goldfinches, and Downy woodpeckers. This morning I watched a chickadee trying to eat from the hummingbird feeder. Pure entertainment. The feather pictured here appeared outside my garden shed. I don’t know who gave it,
but I love it.

I am so grateful for these days. Those unbearably hot days remind me that the earth is warmer than it has been and that we need to shepherd our resources in new ways. Celebrating life and beauty, against the worry and pain of destruction, that is a path to gratitude and an embrace of the possibilities that life always holds out to us. Even as life calls out to us to save it and ourselves.
May you find moments of beauty, resilience, and humor in your days, as you remember, today and every day, that you are loved, you are worthy, you are welcome, and you are needed. May you feel it so, and may it be so.

Blessings, Rev. Rita
minister.uumankato@gmail.com