Good, Good, Very Good.
resting in the goodness of what is
Let your life rest
on what is already good.
- Kate Baer
I have two shirts with lines from Kate Baer poems1 on them. One says — What Kind of Woman2 (which is also the title of her first book). My husband asked if people would know what the shirt meant, and I said: I wear it to make friends in the wild. It works — in the school pick-up line, at a restaurant, and at a child’s birthday party I’ve had women comment on my shirt, mentioning something about Kate Baer. The noticing launches us into easy conversation, a knowing.
My other shirt says: Already Good. A reminder of the words from Baer’s poem, Invitation3, she writes: let your life rest on what is already good. This shirt is a heavier weight so it’s just getting back into the rotation after a long summer tucked away. I wore it to an appointment yesterday and running errands. While standing in a check out line I began to make a mental list of things that are already good — drawings my 5 year old makes, listening to people’s stories, anticipating a weekend away with a friend, a good book that keeps me up into the night.
As I made my list, my mind wandered to the creation stories from Genesis. To God's repeated declaration as God breathed life into the chaos — it is good, good, good. Very good, God says.
It’s hard to make sense of goodness in a world with genocide and hunger, gun violence and hurricanes, polarization and hate mail. What do we do with Baer’s words, much less God’s? How can we let our life rest on what is already good when it feels like the world is crumbling around us? How do we find the goodness?
I don’t know the answer, but I do know that we can name what is already good in our lives — dinner with friends, pumpkins waiting to be carved, an autumn breeze, noticing lines from your favorite poet on a stranger’s shirt — and say this is where we begin. We name the good. We recognize the activity of God in and among us, this is where we start! It’s not turning away from the groaning of creation. It’s naming the good and finding rest in what is.
May your life rest on what is already good, good, good. Very good.
Holly
P.S. I hope you’ll start right now — with a mental list, a comment, or simply noticing your soft pillow, a picture of your niece, the warmth of your morning tea, or a new leaf on your favorite plant.
Links & Spiritual Direction Notes
On December 3rd, I’m offering a virtual Preparing to Wait lunchtime retreat from 12 - 1:30pm CT. This will be a spacious time to prayerfully consider how you would like to enter the Advent season. More information to come, but I hope you’ll add it to your calendar!
If you know someone (or are someone!) who might be interested in meeting with me for spiritual direction, please follow this link.
What Kind of Woman - Kate Baer
What a gift your words were today as a reminder of what is already good in my life. I love this so much—it's something I'm going to hold and ponder as I move on from here. I'm also going to be on the lookout for a shirt like that!