Letter from Jenny

The gods arrive sideways. ~ Martin Shaw

Dear Springhouse community,

I hope this letter finds you well as we enter the rhythms of early spring. In these letters, I am continuing the exploration of what the Mystery, or the source of life, means to me and to us at Springhouse. This month, I’ve been noticing how the Mystery often comes to us through surprises—small and large.

Spring is the perfect season to be talking about surprises, defined by the Oxford dictionary as “an unexpected or astonishing event, fact, or thing.” All I have to do is walk down my road to experience them. Today, I saw white daffodils for the first time this year blooming on my neighbor's farm. Last week they weren’t there, and now they are. Each white bloom reminds me that ultimately, I am not in charge.

Each month we help with projects at one another’s homes, and this past month was at Sarah and Ian’s. After we finished our work, we shared a potluck meal. As we were talking and eating together, something delightful happened. I watched as Aurora, their daughter, methodically placed small pieces of food on her head as she ate her lunch. Every few minutes, a bit of egg, sausage, or broccoli would find its way atop her fuzzy little head. Her parents said, “That’s how she saves her food.” I watched with utter hilarity as she later removed each piece and ate it, one by one. I have never seen a child do this with such intention. The possibilities of creativity are far bigger than me.

My husband goes down to the river almost every day, usually in the dark hours of dawn, and jumps into the freezing cold Little River. Every Sunday, with great excitement, he brings up the game cam he has set nearby, eager to see if there will be any surprises. For years, he has mostly seen deer and...