Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Navigating Life's Peaks and Valleys {Reflections}
How do we gracefully ride the waves of life's highs and lows?" Join me, Ryan, on the Reflections podcast, as I unpack a heartfelt narrative centered around my son Gavin’s flourishing freshman year at North Central College. His journey isn't just a personal milestone; it's a springboard into a discussion on navigating life's rollercoaster moments. Fueled by the wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola, I draw parallels between his teachings and the modern dilemmas of success and struggle. Whether Gavin is smashing goals on the lacrosse field or excelling in his engineering courses, there's a balance to be struck in both triumph and tribulation.
This episode is a tapestry of personal anecdotes, age-old theology, and practical advice on maintaining equanimity through life's peaks and valleys. With St. Ignatius's concepts of desolation and consolation as our compass, we explore how gratitude and faith can be our guiding lights. Listen in for insights not just for Gavin, but for anyone seeking to uphold perspective and grace through all seasons of life. Tune in to find out how to navigate when the path is smooth and when it's strewn with obstacles, ensuring you're prepared for whatever comes next.
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What is up everybody? Hey Ryan here and welcome to our Reflections podcast. So I've got one son in college at Gustavus Adolphus College in St Peter, minnesota, and he's a junior. And my freshman, gavin, just started at North Central College in Naperville, illinois and he calls me and texts me a lot. He's my one kid who is very communicative via text. I love it because I'm the same way, but anyway, he calls me and actually he leaves me these voice memos. It's a text message, but it's a voice memo in the text and so you can kind of read it or listen to it at your leisure and they're great.
Speaker 1:But he sent me this one and he's like Dad, things are going so well, my classes are going well, I love them. He's working to become an engineer. He wants to be an engineer, a mechanical engineer, and the classes are going well. He's doing well in classes. He's a lacrosse player and the lacrosse practices have been going outstanding. He's probably going to get some playing time, maybe I mean maybe be a starter. We'll see, but he's loving it. He's got lots of friends. His roommate is a really cool kid from California and everything's going super well and he's like I know, I know I don't deserve this. I think he has, like sort of this inner sense of guilt. Maybe I don't know, but he's like, but it's just going so well. And so it reminded me of this, of these times, because here's the advice I gave him it reminds me of how, in life, there are these moments when you feel like everything is like going well and it's like lining up.
Speaker 1:For you, these are like mountaintop experiences and it's a question of like, how do you handle this? I mean, conversely, in the valley, when things are going horribly and there's struggle and there's doubt and there's loneliness, or you know what we call desolation. That's hard to handle too. But I think also, at times when times are good, that's also hard to handle. Like. How do you handle these extremities in life when things are going times when times are good? That's also hard to handle. How do you handle these extremities in life when things are going poorly, when you're in the valley of the shadow of death, when things aren't lining up, and when you feel lonely or broken or disconnected? How do you handle it? Also, how do you handle it when things are going very smooth? You might be thinking, oh my gosh, when's the other shoe going to drop? I know that around the corner corner something will go wrong. For me, these are equally difficult things to handle in life. And so here's the advice I gave to my son, gaff, and I'm like, hey, dude, I sent him a voice memo back and I dropped some middle-age theology on him.
Speaker 1:So there's this guy who was born in the 1400s and died in the 1500s. His name was St Ignatius of Loyola. He was the founder of the Jesuits If you know anything about the Jesuit ministries or missions or colleges there's tons of Jesuit colleges around but he was the founder. He had this order of people and he talked about both these moments. He called them moments of desolation and moments of consolation. So desolation are like desolate times in our lives, when we're in the valley, when it's dark and we're lonely or lost or disconnected and feel like we don't know what's going on, or times of suffering or struggle. These are moments of desolation. And then he called the other ones moments of consolation. Like you know, like the word you get the word console from, or comfort. So moments of comfort like these are mountaintop experiences, when you're on the top and things are going well and you're getting good grades and you're on the lacrosse team and your buddies are hyped and it's just a great time of life or season of life.
Speaker 1:And he says this about moments of consolation and desolation. He says, hey, look, in moments of desolation, turn to God and know that moments of consolation will come. Then he says, in moments of consolation, thank God and know that moments of desolation will also come. So I'll say it again In moments of desolation, when times are tough, when there's struggle, when you're lonely and broken and lost, in those moments in the valley, turn to God and know, give yourself hope and know there will be moments of consolation to come. You won't live entirely in the valley. You will find those mountaintop experiences again Around the next corner. Might be a moment of consolation, a moment of comfort or mountaintop.
Speaker 1:But also when you're on the mountaintop, when things are going well and smooth and great and like everything's humming and you like I don't know how to, I don't know if I deserve this or how to handle it, hey, look, thank God, give thanks and praise to God. It's the only response that you can give. It's like, yeah, thank you God. This is beautiful. I love it and enjoy it and it in and revel in it a little bit. But I know that also, moments of consolation will come.
Speaker 1:So, again, in moments of desolation, turn to God and know that consolation will come, and in moments of consolation, thank God and know that moments of desolation will come. So today, wherever you are, if you're in the valley, hey, turn to God and know that it won't last forever. This too shall pass, I believe, and it does. Life has seasons and there will be beautiful moments. The sun will come up again. So, in the darkness and the night, in the dark night of the soul, know that it won't last forever. The sun will come up again and the mercies of God are new every morning and on the mountaintop, when things are going smooth maybe that's you right now.
Speaker 1:It's okay. No need to feel guilty or like ashamed or like, oh my gosh, why I don't deserve this. It's okay because this is a gift of God. It really is a pure and loving gift. The kindness of God is so beautiful and so, thank God. That's all you need to do is just thank God and praise God for these moments and drink it in and enjoy it and share it if you can, and also know that, hey, this will not last forever.
Speaker 1:Life is not only to be lived on the mountaintop, I'm going to have to go back down the valley and moments of desolation will come again, and that's okay, because when I'm there I'll handle that then. So today, my friends, may you experience in graceful ways both of these as part of life. It's the ebb and flow, the yin and the yang, it's the highs and lows of life on this side of the age to come. This is how life goes, but God is in all of it and God can be found in all of it, the grace and goodness of God. And so when you're on the top, hey, give thanks to God and enjoy it. When you're in the valley, turn to God and find him there and know that this won't last forever.
Speaker 1:So, gavin, my son, I love you, buddy, and may you know that, in these moments of consolation and beauty and goodness, that God is there. It's a gift from God. May you enjoy it and may you drink it in. None of of us deserve any of this stuff, man. It's all a gift from God. And know that the moments of desolation may come, and that's okay, we'll handle those when we get to them, buddy, all right, love you guys. We'll catch you soon. Peace, hey, if you enjoy this show, I'd love to have you share it with some friends. And don't forget, you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 830, which is our liturgical gathering, or at 10 o'clock, our modern gathering, or you can check us out online at clcelkriverorg Peace.
