Renewing Spiritual Practices

As some of you know, I am a knitter and a beginning crocheter, which means that I often work with various yarns and colors.

I have been working on a shawl and looking back on my work the other day I saw had made a large hole in the middle of the work I had done.  It was not something that I could easily fix so I began to rip it out (process often named as “froging” – because you rip it – rip it – rip it. I know it is a horrible pun.)

Now I am left with a skein of yarn that I keep trying to use for one pattern or another.  Whenever I pick it up and try to begin a pattern; something is just off there is nothing inherently wrong with the yarn: I have worked successfully with yarn just like it before, though in the different shade.  The texture and weight of the yarn are pleasing, but nothing is working.  As I sat with my knitting group beginning a pattern and ripping it out again; they were curious about what I was doing, after all they had seen me work with the yarn, frog it, and begin again several times.  I was just not happy with the yarn, the color, the texture -  nothing worked.

Finally after hours of trying this pattern and that pattern I set the yarn aside.  It may stay in my stash for a while or I may find another use for it, but now is not the time to use it.  So I am picking up another skein of yarn in my stash and beginning again.  This time the pattern came to me easily and the knitting was once again pleasant, even peaceful as I use it to meditate.  All round I am happier with the yarn and will be happier with what comes at the end.

I tell the above story because it reminds me that there are times that things need to be set aside in order to renew. There are times that some faith practices are put aside or beliefs are reevaluated and renewed.  There are times where nothing seems to working, that the spirit seems to not be with us, and we have a choice to put aside the spiritual practice or keep trying and keep going.  Both are valid ways, ancients talk of the “dark night of the soul” when nothing seems to speak to us and we have to get through this time, but we do not have to go through it alone or even in the ways that we expect.

Sometimes spiritual practices are like that – sometimes we need to revisit them to see how they can be renewed.

Faith and beliefs constantly need to be questioned; to be renewed.  Our UU faith calls us to constantly re-evaluate our beliefs, to question, and to look back at our previous beliefs and see how they have transformed.

What beliefs have you put aside?  What beliefs are you reevaluating? Is there anything that you need to pick up again?  This process enables us to transform and renew our beliefs and faith.