A Month of Transition

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009


The past two months at Buxton has included many new additions to our team as well as a departure. Adam Cohn, the Jewish fellow, took a position at a financial firm in DC. While Adam’s departure has been hard for us all, we have add some great new additions to our team. Mac and Alex have joined us from various areas in life. They both bring a new energy and insight to the mission and work of Buxton.

With the changes at Buxton occurring recently and the instability of my life at the moment, I have been contemplating the meaning of transition. Many people in my life are in a state of transition right now. For those of us who just graduated from college and are setting up in a new area with a new community, it is time of uncertainties. It is in this time that we are learning to let go of our parents and follow our own instincts and intuitions. We must not completely dismiss their advice and wisdom, but there is a call upon us to blazing our own path through the journey of life. It is in this place that I find myself very unsettled and honestly frightened. During this time of trepidation and uncertainty I am looking for something in my life that is stable, familiar, and provides me with a foundation with which I can understand how to view the world.

I realized in this time that the very thing that defines what I live for, my faith, provides me with both consistency and a foundational understanding of the world. It is my faith that allows me to engage my culture while at the same time not conform to the culture. It is through my faith that I can turn back to find myself when I find myself changing through many identities. It is also through my faith that I can still connect with whatever community I find myself surrounded by.

Today we talked about our understanding of heaven according to our different faith traditions. We commented on the fact that there are many who hold onto their faith traditions for fear or hope of the next life. I find myself drawn to the idea of living out my faith tradition not only for the idea of the future, but for the here and now. It is in this time of transition when what my faith is built upon will either fail me or compel me to find hope and press on. I am looking forward to the next stage when my time on earth is over, but I am very much clinging to the hope offered through my faith for the here and now.