catapult magazine

Taking inventory

by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma

Someone noted recently that my editorials have taken on a more confessional quality as of late. I agree with that observation and it?s been refreshing to admit all of the things I don?t know, rather than bow to my selfish desire to be the bi-weekly bearer of a stunning revelation.

In my experience, confession itself is not nourishing to the body, mind and soul. Right confession is a fast that starves my whole being of the desire for control. However, confession prepares my being to accept the nourishment of grace.

Reading David Malone?s account of eating the perfect strawberry in the feature article for this issue made me consider the grace-full moments I?ve experienced recently that have answered the question of why humans were created with discernable parts.

And so I?d like to list some of those moments I?ve experienced recently that have fed all of me. But first, a confession to chasten me for the luxury of revelry: it?s 11:28 p.m. and the issue will be going online in 32 minutes. Forgive me my lack of transitions as I forgive the non-sequiturs of others.

1. Today, a mother came to our church for a visit with her infant son. Her three children are in foster care after she made a poor decision in the chaos of post-partum depression to use an illegal drug. She sees her son for four hours each week, and yet she asked if I wanted to hold him.
2. I rode my bike to the grocery store the other day with our two housemates. We took the path through the woods, ducking the low branches and dodging the fallen ones. Attempting to avoid an inhospitable path through a new housing development led to the discovery of a patch of blackberry bushes where we stood, ice cream melting, to taste the tangy and wild sweetness on our tongues.
3. The other night, I joined another church?s softball team so they wouldn?t have to forfeit with too few players. I had played softball for nine years when I was younger, but hadn?t touched a bat for the last five. They let me play outfield for one inning and, when the ball sailed past the center fielder, I engaged in the first purposeful full-out sprint I had experienced in?a very long time. I was grateful to be a two-legged mammal whose feet could thump on the earth?s surface with such inconsequential force.
4. Last Sunday evening, Rob and I had dinner at our friend Karla?s house. Pre-dinner entertainment consisted of a guided tour through her back yard and the surrounding woods focused on wild edible plants. I tried my first leaf of sheep?s sorrel. Later, dinner was accompanied by conversation with some of my favorite local folks and a variety of fresh foods grown within a ten-mile radius.

11:48 p.m. is past my deadline and I?m off to attend to my body, mind and soul with a seven-hour sleep. I hope you?ll continue the discussion with examples of your own mysteriously satisfying experiences that engage and nourish all of your self.

Discussion: body/mind/soul experiences

What have you experience that has satisfied your whole being in some mysterious and complex way? Do you usually know these moments as you experience them or do you make the connection later? Can we create these moments or do we encounter them?