Sweetness

I recently was talking with a friend who was recounting her experience as a young child in church. She does not remember any words that were spoken. All that she remembers was a “sweetness” that she experienced within her. As years passed, she left the church. After much of her life she longed to recapture that sweetness but was not sure how to find it. What baggage from life would need to be unloaded in order to reach that inner sweetness and then to find a place where it could again be nurtured? Children are deeply spiritual. They come into the world connected to God. We do not need to teach them to be spiritual. They already are. What we need to do is give them safe spaces in which to explore this relationship. The stories of our tradition give them the words to begin to make meaning of their lives. In seminary I did some work on children’s spirituality. I interviewed young children and adults. The main thing that we explored was their first memory of something they would consider to be God. Most adults had memories from very young. On looking back, they knew that was an experience of God though at the time they had no words for the experience. Most of the experiences shared were in nature though there were a few in church. I think all could use that word “sweetness” to describe those moments. That sweetness is like being held in pure love. As we all move through life there are many forces that invalidate that sweetness or cause us to move away from it. There is often no safe place in which to grow it or just to let it be. The sweetness can become deeply buried. CCC provides many safe places for all of us to reconnect with that original sweetness given to us at birth. Spend some time connecting to that sweetness within. If you cannot find it that is ok. Find a group or person where that relationship can be explored. There are many online opportunities now and there will soon be times when we can be together physically. I am grateful for this amazing community where we can grow the sweetness together.