Stations of the Cross Journal Journey #13

May 31, 2025 

After writing only yesterday that Station #5 was complete…today we begin Station #6! No, I don’t feel ready, not physically or mentally. But we got behind during the spring — grant-writing, preparing for a Stations-based retreat, and leading worship at Easter, among other demands — and so we must press on if these are to be complete by the end of the year. I am feeling very thankful for an assistant who assures me we can get back on track no problem, and also who will be here to support me and spur me on to reach our daily goals. The completion of this piece will get us back on track. Which does not mean the demand will not continue.

Because it will.

The creation of 13 pieces of art over 12 months was an ambitious, though doable goal. I am reminded about the process of ‘doing’ the Stations. When I have led this devotional experience, I explain in the beginning that the process takes about 90 minutes. And that in the beginning, it is easy to think ‘oh this is going to take forever!’, but then we drop into the process and the art. After a while we come out the other side, transformed.

So as I push into the creation of this next Station, and don’t feel ready, I am reminded that that is part of the process. There are so many things we do in life before we feel ready: things that surprise us and push us into new stages of life such as an illness of our own or of a loved one, moving one’s young adult child away from the home nest for the first time, or indeed when we ourselves move away. There are things we must do in life that we will never feel ready for such as saying goodbye to those we love who have died. And yet, do them we must.

Necessary following these moments of resistance is a process of acceptance. I have a distinct memory of a friend at the funeral of her young daughter who died in the days following her high-school graduation. She was fragile and strong at the same time, drawing on her love for her daughter. 

Once, in a moment of resistance, I joked to another friend that I should have a ceremony for it! And the person I was talking to said - yes! That’s exactly what you should do! So perhaps today I will have a ceremony for Station #6. I will welcome its creation even when the timing feels rushed. I am not alone in what will be a beautiful act of co-creation with my God and with others.

This is what I trust today.

P.S. Soon I will share the deets about Station #6!