Becoming
By Father Charlie
In her book, Becoming, Michelle Obama shares stories of the joys and challenges of being the first lady, a wife, a mother, and the first woman of color to be in this role. I can’t imagine the stressors involved in raising a family and maintaining some sense of normalcy in this setting! Her stories, though, speak to her priorities: the importance of family and a call to create spaces in which children have opportunities to flourish.
The following poem by Rainer Maria Rilke comes to mind . . .
I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not ever complete the last one,
but I give myself to it.
I circle around God, that primordial tower.
I have been circling for thousands of years,
and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?
Living life in relationship with God is always about the process of becoming. We circle and we circle. There are times when we wonder who we are or what we are about. There are times when we just want to land the plane! But our God is always calling us to become. Our circling, we pray, is leading us to our fullest expressions of who God imagines us to be and become.
Are we a falcon, a storm? Are we a first lady, a first-grade teacher, a first responder?
Are we . . . . ?
God knows us fully and loves us fully. Our greatest and most important call is to give ourselves over to God’s shaping hands – to become the great song that God is singing into the world.
See you in church,
Charlie+
Preferred pronouns: he, him, his
You can call me “Charlie” or “Father Charlie”
The Rev. Dr. Charles T. Dupree
Rector, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Richmond, Virginia