Good morning... Around 3:00 pm yesterday, from Jennifer DeShetler our small group of friends received a text. "Audrey just passed." Then privately she wrote me. "Who is the pastor on duty?" "I will ask," I replied. "Will get back to you." "Please asap." I connected her to Dr. Bill, our head pastor at Northside Church. Soon after, I [...]
Good morning... Last night, on the grounds of my parents' senior living community in Ohio, I went on a walk at dusk, around 7:30 pm. At 7:56 pm, I received this update from the DeShetler family. I gave my full focus to [...]
Good morning... This morning, my soul possesses the Spirit of the living God. So does yours. So does Audrey's. So do the souls of her family and all her many loved ones. Our souls all possess the Spirit of the One and Only, the everlasting God. The eternal power of God is not contained by heaven and earth. [...]
Good morning... At 10:00 am at University Hospital near Cleveland, Ohio, my dad had surgery scheduled to remove a cancer spot on his leg yesterday. I stayed at their villa, caring for my mom. At 9:30 am yesterday at CHOA in Atlanta, Georgia, Audrey DeShetler was scheduled to have surgery to put in a stent to open up [...]
Good morning... "I'm having surgery on my leg to remove a cancer spot on June 5th. Is there any way you could come in town to be with your mom during my procedure?" my dad asked in April, as I visited my parents in Ohio for my dad's 88th birthday. I felt honored my dad asked. To be [...]
Good morning... My inner clock is set at ten minutes late. Actually, my problem is this: I get so caught up in the present moment that I have a hard time ending what I am doing now to move on to comes next. And... Atlanta driving is always quite iffy, so add that to my equation, and I [...]
Good morning... As Margaret wakes the day after the memorial service for her husband Tommy, I pray that you take her hand, Lord. Please guide her, moment by moment, step by step. "The substance of grief is also the substance of love," writes author and artist Jan Richardson. "They are made of the same stuff, and if we [...]
Good morning... This Memorial Day weekend, my 88 year old dad drove nearly four hours to lay geraniums at the foot of my grandparents' grave. This annual tradition of remembrance was foregone for a few years as my mom's health issues took precedence, but this weekend my sister stayed with my mom and my dad drove on his [...]
Good morning... "Tommy died yesterday," her text came into our group at 8:02 am. "He has gone to 'green pastures' as Margaret describes." "Thank you for letting us know," I was the first to respond. "What a bittersweet journey. I will keep Margaret and the family tucked in my prayers." Then short responses cascaded into my phone. "He [...]
Good morning... "I loved this and thought you would too!" a friend texted me this image at 7:36 am. "God spoke in flowers today, and I, who was looking for words, almost missed the conversation," said the quote from Ingrid Goff-Maidoff. My friend is right, I loved it, a wise way to begin a new day. Then at [...]
