Life is different than I thought it would be...

Life is different than I thought it would be...
Well, isn't that the truth! Who in the world would have predicted 2020?!?

Who in their right mind would think that we'd be staying home..no really STAYING HOME all the time.

Who could have imagined a world where I would enter a bank, a grocery store, or the hardware store wearing a mask and dodging strangers to make sure we don't come close to one another?

What kind of person would imagine that our communities, our families, our friends would be so divided and unable or unwilling to see from the point of view of the "other"?

So, life isn't as we planned. I'm not doing the thing I thought I'd do forever. I'm not snuggling my grandbabies, going to all the crowded places that I love, or having coffee with friends. The list of things I'm not doing is long...and yet.

I am able to:
→ take time to learn about and listen to the point of view of the "other"
→ consider the beauty of an evening walk or a drive with my husband
→ see my grandbabies, even if it's at a distance
→ appreciate all the ways that my needs are met
→ have long and deep conversations
→ express gratitude
→ remain hopeful
→ show compassion to people with whom I disagree
→ remember that this too shall pass...try not to miss all the amazing things about 2020.

 


  

Holiness in every day life

I'm not the first person to pen those words....not even close.
But it has taken me more than just a little while to embrace them. Like many people who respond to a calling into ministry in the church, I became completely and wholly engaged in it, and in the process I forgot that God is present in the every day of life.

Is it possible that while spending so many years trying to be holy in my work, I missed the way God weaves holiness into so many other things?
The mom who welcomes, plays with and feeds all the neighbor kids.
The woman who listens to the heartache of a stranger.
The man who cares for his ailing wife.
Work.
Rest.
Solitude.
A well prepared meal.
Needles and thread.
Standing in line.
Staples and new fabric.
Carrying heavy things.
Old things.
Rocking a crying baby.
Laughing with a friend.
Provision in the face of uncertainty.
A rambunctious two year old.
Quiet evenings with people you love.
A great glass of wine.
Noticing God's image in the faces of every other person you see.
Saying no to good things.
Saying yes to something new.
Desperate prayers.

The list goes on and on...and so little of it needs to be led or organized, recruited or staffed, an offering bag passed or announcements to be announced. I still believe that God can use the Body gathered, I'm just beginning to appreciate the effectiveness of each of us being willing to embrace the holiness of all that God calls us to in the every day.

It's time to write again...I think

You can't experience God's sustaining grace while resisting His will.

So, I opened up my blog tonight and found this sentence ^ ^

I have no idea why I wrote that in 2014 but tonight it seems heavy with meaning and challenge. You see a few weeks ago I stepped away from my role in the church. It was unavoidable really...it was time. 

My heart longs to be used to shine light in darkness, to see God use me to help, to restore, to reclaim, to see beauty grow from ashes. I don't know what the grand plan is but tonight I'm going to do my best to stop resisting so that I can experience God's sustaining grace. 

Good Morning?!?

If you know me, even a little, you know that morning is not my favorite part of the day.  I much prefer to work or play late into the night and sleep right through sun up.  Yep, I'm one of those people.

Ok, that isn't really all that interesting, but for the last few months (for reasons that you don't really care about) it has been necessary for me to arrive at work by 6:30 am several times a week.  I'm fairly certain that the balance of nature is being upset by these occurrences!

Here are just a few of my observations (in no particular order...I'm too tired for that):

• I am actually thinking in complete sentences at 7:21 am, what is up with that?
• I enjoy music more when I'm alone in the office
• There are other people outside at 6:00 am
• Night Owls are still night owls even when they have to crawl out of bed at O'dark-hundred...really!
• Night Owls have time staying awake between the hours of 11am and 3pm when they have to crawl out of bed at O'dark-hundred
• I still love Jesus in the morning, but we still have better conversations in the evening
• It is still rude to call people before 9am...even if you have been awake for hours before then

I've probably killed enough time...should get busy on that list of things that I could do with this (precious) time that I don't normally see.

Have a beautiful day!