Making Space for Surprise (Advent together)

Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous

to be understood…

Let me keep company always with those who say

"Look!" and laugh in astonishment,

and bow their heads.

—Mary Oliver, from “Mysteries, Yes”

Wonder, curiosity, imagination, risking, doing, trying, being... these are the warm flames of Life in the coldest of seasons.⁣

—Scott Erickson

“Nothing surprises me anymore.”  

I heard these words fall out of my mouth and immediately questioned whether they were true, and better yet, whether I wanted them to be true. 

A friend had just shared some really distressing, unexpected news and then asked, “Are you surprised?” 

Without thinking, I described myself as unsurprisable…really? Is that true?

Over the last 15 years of pastoring—and the years before that as an occupational therapist—I have heard some pretty wild, heartbreaking, hard-to-hear stories. Stories people carry quietly, stories they never imagined they would live.

So yes, I’ve heard it all, or at least it feels that way (no need to test that though!).

Yet, this is also true:

I never want to lose my capacity for surprise. Not just surprise at how hard life can be, but surprise at the resilience that shows up when we thought we were done. Surprise at a tenderness we didn’t see coming. Surprise at hope sneaking in through the back door. Surprise at the mysterious, quiet ways the Sacred breathes life where we assumed all was lost.

This Advent, we are making space for “surprise”. We’ll explore some surprising images and reversals in the story of scripture and hear the stories of surprise from those in our community.

What might it look like for us to notice and nurture surprise this Advent?

Maybe it will look like paying attention to the small, ordinary gifts that appear when we weren’t expecting them. Maybe it will look like noticing the unplanned moments of encounter, connection, or camaraderie. Maybe it will look like surprising someone who’s struggling with a show of support.

However you and I journey through this season, may it open us to being people who say “Look!” — people who bow their heads at beauty — people who make space to be surprised—by God, by one another, and even by our own hearts.