Stale

My sister works in a bakery and sometimes brings home the almost stale leftovers--muffins, bagels, and occasionally a sweet treat. It's nice to have something almost fresh-baked without the mess to clean up.

I'm feeling like my relationship with the church is getting a little stale. Maybe what it is is that I don't have a community of spiritual support around me that I can tap into regularly. I'm the loan bagel among a dozen blueberry muffins. It's isolating to have an intense spiritual encounter or to be on a certain path towards Divine understanding and connection and feel like no one else gets it. It leaves me feeling tired and alone.

I really identified with how Yearning Minds and Burning Hearts brought to light Jesus' similar situation--alone and misunderstood, even by those closest to him. As if Jesus was a nice 3-seed loaf in the midst of a sea of unleavened bread. Somehow, that's normalizing--to know that God actually experienced isolation, too. While living with his "friends", Jesus realized they just didn't get it. What a frustrating place to be.

I'm heading back to Academy next week. It will be nice to have a break from the stale muffins surrounding me and to be among fresh-baked bagels. I just hope someone remembers the cream cheese.