Russell J. Levenson Jr. - Finding Shelter: An Autumn Companion

Finding Shelter

Copyright 2020 by Russell J. Levenson Jr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

A version of this book was previously published as Autumn Leaves by Insight Press.

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Cover art: Falling Graces by Russell J. Levenson Jr.
Cover design by Jennifer Kopec, 2Pug Design

Photos on pages vii, 1, 25, 37, 61, 118, 128, courtesy of David Bolin and the Communications Department of St. Martins Episcopal Church; used by permission.

Page 18: Moses Finding Manna in the Desert, attributed to Carl Friedrich Wendelstadt (German 17861840), Northern European School, circa 1800s, 29" x 38 Oil on canvas. St. Martins Episcopal Church, Houston, Texas. Used by permission.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Levenson, Russell J., author.

Title: Finding shelter : an autumn companion / Russell J. Levenson Jr.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019047401 (print) | LCCN 2019047402 (ebook) | ISBN 9781640652699 (paperback) | ISBN 9781640652705 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Autumn--Prayers and devotions. | Episcopal Church--Prayers and devotions.

Classification: LCC BV135.A98 L48 2020 (print) | LCC BV135.A98 (ebook) | DDC 242/.2--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019047401

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019047402

Dedicated to
my wife, Laura, my children and family
with love and gratitude for their unending supply
of encouragement and support,
and to the staff and members of
St. Martins Episcopal Church, Houston, Texas,
with deep appreciation for their prayers, friendship and
the work of sharing the Gospel together

You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will
say of the Lord, My refuge and my fortress; my
God, in whom I trust.

Psalm 91:12

Here is the purpose for this bookto give you a place of shelter in your daily life. What follows is a set of meditations, inspired by selected passages from the Old and New Testaments, with the hope that wherever you find yourself in your relationship with Jesus Christ, or the faith we followers of Jesus call Christianity, you will come to the books end having given a portion of each day during the autumn season to time set aside with him.

I dont know how you do that personally. I find that such reflection time is best in the morningbefore the news is turned on or the email account is opened. I pour a cup of coffee, and try to give a portion of each morning to prayer, study, and reflection. I am not always successful and often failbut I do know when I do this I sense Gods presence more fully in the day that follows.

Let me share with you how this book is set up. I have written four devotional books for seasons of the year: Bits of Heaven, for the slower and longer days of summer; this volume, Finding Shelter, intended for use in the fall; and two further volumes, Preparing Room and A Path to Wholenessforthcoming from Church Publishing Incorporatedfor the liturgical seasons of Advent and Lent.

Throughout the four books, each meditation has a title, followed by a scripture. In the first half of this book, scriptures are taken from the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, and in the second half, the scriptures come from the New Testament. If you are not a regular student of the Bible, I have tried, in most of the selected scriptures, to add a bit of background regarding the author of the chosen verses, the time in which it was written, and a bit of context; perhaps this will encourage you to dig just a bit deeper into parts of the Bible that may be new to you.

Following the scripture, there is a meditationmost of which are based on the kinds of experiences and moments that occur during the fall season. At the close of each meditation, a brief question or comment invites you to look at things with a different perspective, or maybe with just a fresh set of eyes. Finally, there is a prayer, either from the larger Christian tradition or my own hand. Keeping in mind that we dont all learn in the same way, youll also note photos and illustrations carefully chosen to enhance each meditation. In addition, there is space in most meditations to write your own thoughts and reflections.

Some of the meditations are longer than others. The season of autumn is longer than forty days, so you may want to move through the meditations at varying speedsspending a day or more on one, and perhaps reading one or more on others. It is designed as a traveling companionnot a burdensome addition to your daily to do list.

It may seem obvious, but I am writing from the perspective of a Christian who came to faith in Christ in a particular way at a particular time in life. So, wherever you are in your relationship with God, or from whatever faith tradition you comeknow that you have picked up a book offered from one who actually believes all the words I have included. I am honest enough to fully admit that I am on a journey andas I will offer at the close of this workI have so much yet to learn. But what I have now, I share with you.

In his book The Case for Christianity, C. S. Lewis offers some helpful breathing room for those inquiring into the Christian faith. He writes:

I have been asked to tell you what Christians believe, and I am going to begin by telling you one thing that Christians dont need to believe. If you are a Christian you dont have to believe that all the other religions are simply wrong all through. If you are an atheist you do have to believe that the main point in all the religions of the world is simply one huge mistake. If you are a Christian, you are free to think that all these religions, even the queerest ones, contain at least some hint of the truth. When I was an atheist I had to try to persuade myself that the whole human race were pretty good fools until about one hundred years ago; when I became a Christian I was able to take a more liberal view. But, of course, being a Christian does mean thinking that where Christianity differs from other religions, Christianity is right and they are wrong. Like in arithmetictheres only one right answer to a sum, and all other answers are wrong: but some of the wrong answers are much nearer being right than others.

Finding Shelter is offered as an attempt to help the reader get a bit deeper toward the truths that are offered in and through the Christian faith, and a life in and through Christ. My hope, and invitation, is that you simply come to it with an open heart and mind.

And now, I invite you to turn this leaf in the book and begin your autumn journeymay it be a good journey, indeed.

A Prayer As You Begin

O Almighty God, who pours out on all who desire it the spirit of grace and of supplication: Deliver us, when we draw near to you, from coldness of heart and wanderings of mind, that with steadfast thoughts and kindled affections we may be present before you, in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.