The Peace of Wild Things, by Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry

The Mystery of Gray "Days"

The grayness of a day neither declares nor determines the value and ultimate beauty of its weather.  We know this because we have learned about the importance of all types of weather for healthy soil and animal life.  But during a gray, rainy, seemingly lifeless day, it's often difficult to recognize any ultimate value resulting from said weather. 

Often, this is the way we feel with regard to the seasons and realities of our own lives, isn't it?  Be it the wounding gray we've experienced at the hands of others, or the painful gray we ourselves have brought into the lives of those around us by our own struggles and mistakes.  It's so difficult to see any ultimate value in confusion, pain, or suffering, particularly when we are in the midst of it; we may not even want to.  We might even be angry that someone would dare to ascribe anything positive to the mess and suffering of life.  That's ok, and it makes sense...

We virtually never see the whole picture, regardless of whether our souls are experiencing a season of "Februaryish" gray milieu or one of refreshingly bright April mornings.  So how can we even begin to gain a more ultimate perspective or sense of real hope in the midst, especially, the darker seasons?  And where is God in the midst of it all?  Does he care?  Is he involved-positively or negatively?  Does he have any control at all?

These are some of the realities of life we explore at Starting Point.  We would love for you to join us as we wade into the questions honestly, without any presumptive or Pollyanna declarations.  We believe God respects humans too much and is far too honest for any of that.   

A Poem by Wendell Berry on Mystery, Life, God, Eternity

It takes all time to show eternity,
The longest shine of every perishing spark,
And every word and cry of every tongue
Must form the Word that calls the darkest dark

Of this world to its lasting dawn.  Toward
That rising hour we bear our single hearts
Estranged as islands parted in the sea,
Our broken knowledge and our scattered arts.

As separate as fireflies or night windows,
We piece a foredream of the gathered light
Infinitely small and great to shelter all,
Silenced into song, blinded into sight.


"VIII Sabbaths 2004"
from Wendell Berry's collection titled Given Poems

The Gift of Finding God in Everything...

“You will find the living God in the pages of the Bible. You will find him also just exactly where you are…He leads through all events, all the circumstances of your life. Nothing in your life is so insignificant, so small, that God cannot be found at its center. We think of God in the dramatic things, the glorious sunsets, the majestic mountains, the tempestuous seas; but he in is the little things too, in the smile of a passer-by or the gnarled hands of an old man, in a daisy, a tiny insect, falling leaves. God is in the music, in the laughter and in sorrow too." -Mother Francis Dominica

We'd love to hear about and explore the places you sense you've seen God in and around the things/places of your own life...Come join us!

Faith: Rational and Deeply Mysterious, Paradoxical, Supernatural

"...since the message of faith is rational, it can be understood. The revelation in the Bible throws light not only upon the purpose of God but also upon the human situation…

“At the same time the truth of faith cannot be translated into a finalized, coherent system which denies the mystery and paradox in faith. This is because the truth is supernatural as well as rational.” -Donald Bloesch

We Invite you to "Find your place in the story."

By grappling with our deepest, most mysterious and troubling quesitons we might begin to recognize how our personal stories connect to one another's and the larger story of life, of God. Answers to the big, existential questions of life are almost never obvious or easy; in some cases we may never get them. Grappling with the questions as we journey with small communities of others though, might offer, in and of itself, some the most important "answers" we could hope for. We invite you to join us.

Questions That Deserve More Than Answers

Join us for the discussion...