Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers and friends! Whether we grew up together, are part of the same family by blood, marriage, or choice, met through church or school, have shared community at some point, or you simply stumbled your way to Becoming All Flame, I am grateful for each and every one of you!
The first time I prepared to hit the “publish” button on Substack, it felt scary and bold. This might seem strange coming from a preacher, but this is one of the first places I’ve shared my thoughts regularly without another institution as an intermediary. The fact that you keep showing up with kindness has been a grace.
My dear friend, Alda, wrote in her brilliant book on Thoreau1 about the community that is established through both reading and writing. Both can seem solitary. But the written word is meant to be read by a community sharing ideas and experiences. I love the way she describes how picking up a book inaugurates a person into a specific community that extends across time and space. Whether the author is living or dead, whether the words are old or new, in the writing and the reading of them a community is formed and continues to grow.
So thank you for being part of this community! Whether your table is full today or your day is quiet, know that you are among the ones I’m giving thanks for.
Much love,
Lindsey
Balthrop-Lewis, A. (2021). Thoreau's religion Walden Woods, social justice, and the politics of asceticism. Cambridge University Press.
Just got around to reading your Thanksgiving post. So good to be together this weekend. And to see that you are doing well. Love and hugs, Mom
Thanks Pastor. You are a big blessing to me. God continue to bless you and your family.