The term “holding space” was first popularized by Heather Plett which she described holding space as “being willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they’re on, without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome.” (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/between-the-generations/202305/what-does-it-mean-to-hold-space)

Holding space is a spiritual practice and acknowledges the sacredness of the moment and with being present. Innately it offers a sense of empowerment and hope, two words that are aligned with our advent theme for this first week.

In the scripture read was God’s address to the Israelites who were stuck in the past, petrified in the present and afraid of the future. Fear made them stand still without growth and without progress living as if the past was their only way of being. That is a hopeless situation. God tells them that there is no need for fear because God will be the refuge and God will provide safety and care if they remember that under any circumstances, God is there. Change was not something they needed to fear because God was the one creating the new space and God was the one holding that space for the Israelites to embrace their current situation and be hopeful for what the future held.

Let’s first remember the hopefulness of what holding space is: It is being willing to walk alongside someone in whatever journey they’re on, without judging them, without making them feel inadequate, without trying to fix them or trying to impact the outcome. It bars judgementalism and any ego-related activities, producing safety and a secure space in which to listen. When it comes to our own lives, how do we hold space to listen to God or to actually learn what our life is trying to teach us?

The Israelites were waiting for a messiah. To live righteously had become distorted for them and they had begun to fixate on religious ritual and scripture, without seeing the deeper meanings of either, or being able to envision a different kind of messiah. God was asking them to hold space for this new possibility. The more they looked for the messiah, the more they began to be stuck in rituals and empty scriptures, holding tightly to what they thought the past was for them. They were asked to hold space for the past, present and future, with hope and excitement rather than fear.

What does that mean to us, and how can we open ourselves to this time of advent in a way that is not overtly religious but present and open to change?

For instance, to hold space for the past is to revisit it without changing, romanticizing, or debilitating it. Be willing to let go of nostalgia. I love putting up the tree every year. There are ornaments that belonged to my great grandmother, my grandmother, my mother, my friends from childhood that I like to look at and remember. This year I was too sick to help put up the tree. Without putting up the tree and walking down memory lane, I was able to see the tree in a new way this year. It is not a part of my history but full of the present holiday spirit.

Even if your past was traumatic, consider it realistically. Find a way to embrace the reality of it, and especially what good grew out of it, empowers us or fills us with hope for something better. Challenging circumstances have the power to transform us and reveal strengths we never knew we possessed.

During times of stress, disappointment, or uncertainty, we are forced to confront our present limits, question our assumptions, and adapt to unfamiliar circumstances, not just run to what we know of the past. The insecurity faced by many trials and changes can make us cling to our ways that worked in our history. But what if these new moments encourage personal growth, offer lessons in patience, persistence, and humility? These are things that may not have been learned when things are going smoothly. It is an important realization to help our past be just that. If we hold space for the past as the past, we are willing to find a way to accept it for what it was. This is true even if it means forgiving those involved or agreeing to process the traumas we may have been denying. That includes ways we have done things in this church. Can you let it go like a balloon to the sky? Then you can look back at the events with an openness of being present with yourself in a new way.

We can also let the past go even if it was a good experience. I also might have looked at trimming the tree in a new way, but Joe, Jay and Jimmy got to put the tree up without my background noise about what was happening when this ornament or that was made. They were able to be fully present. Just because the past was good is not a reason to live there. We can and do learn lessons from good times too, but we shouldn’t get stuck there.

Looking at our past and our present with openness can transform how we approach challenges and setbacks. Rather than running back to our past we can find gratitude for it. We can unlock the potential for growth, resilience, and deeper appreciation of life’s journey by being willing to reflect on the good and bad of our preceding life — to reflect on it but not get stuck there.

There is a Buddhist saying that I find important to me, “No mud, no lotus flower.” It takes the boggy dark mud of the tributaries and marshes for the lotus flower to bloom with abundance. This flower reminds us to be present in the moment, not looking backwards or just remembering how it used to be with our humanly distorted memories. Isaiah says God said, “I am doing a new thing.” Embrace the relationship that you can have with God now. Broaden what it means to have a messiah and what it means to have a relationship with God.

The first step in holding space for what is happening now is to be in the moment, to be present with all the good and bad of this time in your life without getting stuck in old ways. Live in the now, not even with the coping skills that worked in the past but don’t work anymore. Don’t spend today holding yesterday’s grudges or yesterday’s dreams. Allow God to do something new in you. Bask in what is. Give that space an openness so that you can feel what is going on and relax the need to control and reframe the past around the present.

Ask yourself, “What is life trying to teach me? What is new in my life? How is this affecting me?” Focus on creating safe spaces around you for you and for others.

Be prepared to ask yourself, “where is my faith on this journey? Am I listening for God’s presence? Am I willing to be fully present with this and see its spiritual aspects?

You can hold space for hope without living in the past or the future. You can hold space for possibility, hold space for creativity and hold space for resilience. Don’t just plan based on what has been done before even if it worked well. Be willing to try something fresh and new.

Embrace today with love and excitement. Because what keeps us from embracing what is possible is fear, and with love there is no fear. God is love. So have faith. If you are following a leading, go with it, even if it doesn’t happen like you had hoped or unfold how you imagined.

Be willing to move forward. Any new situation is hard to feel comfortable with. But uncomfortable is not bad. It’s embracing that God made this new situation and that you have the ability to embrace it outside of your comfort zones to be fully present.

Let’s have faith that God can do a new thing with each of us and collectively as a community and as a church. Let’s open ourselves and create space for where we might be going in the future.

• What new thing is God preparing you for?
• How can this be met with hope and encouragement?
• What new thing is this church being prepared for?