Next Monday it will be six years since Judge Robert Docherty of the 5th Judicial Court in Minnesota declared my daughter and me a legal family. For almost two years before that Lucia had been in and out of my home in foster care and respite care. These eight years, from age nine to seventeen, have been marked by a series of lettings-go. From having Lucia physically with me almost every minute she wasn’t at school or camp, to allowing her to spend a few hours home alone in the parsonage.

You’ve probably heard someone say, “I feel closest to God or most connected to the Holy or most spiritual or most centered _______________” . Fill in the blank at the beach, in the desert, in the woods, on a mountain, by running water. “ So I don’t need to go to church.” You may have said it yourself, sometime in the past or very recently. Lots of people say this.

I probably won’t be with you in the parade tomorrow–not physically. I need to help transport the Savannah State choir to the church for the concert, and the end of the parade is too close to the start of the concert. But I’ll be with you in spirit. And, in fact, I’m already there in my imagination.

Last week I reminded us that "wherever we go, there we are." Today I am going to add some nuance to that observation: "wherever we go, there we are–but sometimes we get lost anyway." Sometimes we lose track, not so much of where we are geographically or in physical space, but where we are, the us of us.

At a party the evening of my ordination a four year old friend stood by my side helping me unwrap gifts. We’d undo the wrapping paper and he would exclaim, “It’s a box!”. We’d open the box to see what was inside (the adults would ooo and ahh their surprise and approval). Then we’d move on to unwrap the next package. Again he would exclaim, “It’s a box!”

This may sound like a bold or perhaps peculiar statement to make on Animal Blessing Sunday, but here goes: I don’t watch cute cat videos. Or cute puppy videos. Or avidly devour feel-good stories about animals saving lives or predicting the outcomes of elections or traveling thousands of miles to be reunited with their families

Where and when, I wonder, have you felt the greatest sense of belonging in your life thus far. Perhaps here at UUCS. Perhaps in an educational setting. Maybe within your family of origin. Or perhaps in the family you married into or the gathered friends you’ve chosen as family. In a small town or in an urban setting.