These words flowed out of me on my sabbatical, as I processed the experience of grief. The unchosen journey. While the words did resolve the pain, the practice of writing helped me to sort through all that was stirred.

And reading the words of others, finding an articulation of that nebulous sense deep within has been a healing balm for me in many seasons and in many different hardships.

Perhaps you have had that experience, too? Or perhaps you have felt at a loss for what to say or do when someone you know is in grief? Or perhaps you have fielded the calls, texts and responses of well-meaning others as you drown in your own grief process, where words were wounding yet silence was unbearable…

My friend, pastor and writer April Yamaskai, generously offers a reflective and practical guidebook born from her own journey of loss.

Hope Beyond Our Sorrows is a beautiful, accessible and deeply personal collection of reflections and practices for navigating grievous times. Recognizing that there is no moving on; there's only moving with, April provides a wide range of prompts for processing grief. Weaving together her own honest and vulnerable accounting of the loss of her Dearheart along with scripture and gathered wisdom, Hope Beyond Our Sorrows is a gentle guide for those wrestling with grief or for those companioning someone through a significant loss.

I am so honored to be included on April’s launch team for this necessary book. You can use this link to pre-Order Hope Beyond Our Sorrows so that it arrives on your doorstep when it releases on June 24. Or perhaps you have a friend or family member who could use these words of hope and encouragement. Instead of a flower arrangement or a casserole, consider the gift of a book!

You can learn more about April’s work on her website and subscribe to her substack. And, you can check out her other books (that I have deeply appreciated, too!): Sacred Pauses and Four Gifts.

Doing more rarely gets us where we want to go, but instead wears us out and distracts us from the actual work, connection or transformation that needs to take place. The discipline of minimalism is about creating white space. It is about having less stuff to care for and maintain so that you have time and energy to invest in the things that matter most.

For me summer and sabbath are connected. Summer (perhaps in an imagined way) has the aura of rest and fun. Even if the plans don’t include a vacation getaway, often our rhythms and routines shift with the change in season. And sabbath is an opportunity to step into what God has created; it is not yet another to-do on the list, event to plan and organize, nor life optimization practice to be hacked. It is an invitation to rest; an exercise of deep trust.

Time is our most precious resource, ever moving and unstoppable. Being both reflective and purposeful about our commitments and priorities roots a meaningful existence.

Consider:

• What do you need more of in the next few months?

• What do you want less of?

• How do you want to feel at the end of summer?

• What rhythms (both spiritual and otherwise) would be life-giving over the next few weeks considering the commitments and constraints of your schedule?

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A Blessing for the Summer

May you experience the ways that a less cluttered space (and schedule)

yields a less cultured mind (and heart)

and may the discipline of simplifying

lead to the clarifying of what matters most

And when you are tempted to do more,

working harder and hustling

may you slow, still and trust God

discovering that simplicity brings its own form of abundance.

May it be so.

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If things are stirring that you would like to process in a soul care conversation, you can schedule a session here.