In our epistle lesson, we are reminded that: "Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day." When we are in our 20's, or 30's, or even our 40's, we may recognize the truth of that statement in our heads, but few of us have come to know it in our hearts. Our bodies continue to cooperate for the most part with what we ask them to do. By the time we hit our 50's, however, most of us begin to notice that some things aren't working as well as they have been. And by our 80's, there is no longer room for denial that our outer nature is wasting away.

The question is whether or not our inner nature is being renewed every day. We know that God is with us here and now, that "the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lam. 3: 22-23) But are we open and available to receive those mercies, ready for what God has prepared for us? Just a little crack in our resistance is all it takes to give God a toehold in our hearts to begin to draw us into the Beloved's embrace. Once we experience the Divine Presence at work deep within, we want more.

The Holy One is infinitely patient, waiting for the opportunity to renew our inner nature, but it takes our cooperation for the renewal to be accomplished. Over the centuries, folks have come to realize that spiritual practices prime the pump, so to speak, to ready us for God's continual renewal. Spending time with the Beloved, soaking in scripture, prayer, meditation, and contemplation, creating art, music, movement, journaling with our questions, revelations, thanksgivings as they arise, accepting what is, opening ourselves to God's Love more and more, we will find that, indeed, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.