Show Us the Way . . . A Labyrinth Reflection

Our two boys thought that labyrinth meant maze. They couldn’t wait to step into the long missed but not at all forgotten gym at church! They were so excited that they even talked my mother, their grandmother, into coming with us. Then we walked into an unlit gym. The boys immediately ran to the labyrinth and Merrick confessed he thought it would be more like a corn maze that had walls he had to walk through in which he couldn’t see the path as a whole. We commented about how quiet it was and how usually they are playing with balls “that live in this closet right here” (showing my mom). We all recognized and processed in a few breaths the change this last year has brought–our disappointments, redirected hopes and blessings. We recalibrated what this year means now. Then one rushed to the activity, one needed to read the instructions, one just sat, one was contemplating the candle wall, and one simply observed.

As we have also learned this year, there is no one right way. The same is true for the labyrinth and what your heart might be needing. Walking the labyrinth (which is a mat for any others hoping for a maze!) guides you to the center of the mat and back out by way of long straight easy passages and then quick and multiple twists and turns. Maybe you think about what’s been heavy for you this past year, or the three striking images that have been positioned at the side of the labyrinth for meditation, one of which might speak a special message to you. Our oldest said he liked the image of the boat because you can always find a path out of the storm, it just doesn’t look like it while you are in it. We can’t all continually have this opti-mism, but we do have God to lean on when we lose our strength, our way, our optimism. I feel like we all took away more than we expected to from our few minutes at church. Likewise, maybe will you gain nothing more than a joyful few minutes being at church and changing up your routine; but be open, give it a try and see what you find. You never know until you try it!

Kylie Lange