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... Each dark night when I am stirred from sleep, I find myself in search of a pearl, a pearl of wisdom, a fresh revelation. Like a mesmerized mermaid, I dive deep down, deep down to the foot of Christ's heavy cross. There I discover a gem, a gift of the Holy Spirit. [...]
Good morning... Up in the darkness of this night, I pull out yesterday's funeral bulletin to revisit my own handwriting. "Grief is the shadow side of love," said our pastor in his message. It's true, isn't it? What we love, and lose, we grieve. What we deeply, deeply love, we deeply, deeply grieve. Resting in the shadow of [...]
Good morning... Wherever you are this holiday weekend, at home or away, alone or with others, pause to breathe in God's presence. Wherever you are, God is. However you feel, God cares. Whatever you need, God gives. As we savor the pattern of this unique day, You are the lamp who lights my way (Psalm 18:28a, VOICE). ...Sue... [...]
Good morning... "Sue, the full moon is setting over the water this AM in Cape San Blas," texted my friend yesterday morning. "Not a bad spot to spend the week of work!" Her gorgeous photo made me excited all day, looking forward to seeing the nearly full moon from our back porch tonight. Curious, I stepped out to [...]
Good morning... Beneath tonight's full moon, my mind is filled with prayers for the recovering women safely sleeping at the Ignatius House Retreat Center. I don't know them by name and I will never meet them on earth, but I know they are precious in the sight of our Lord. Recovering from homelessness and addiction, I imagine that [...]
Happy Mother's Day... After sharing photos from my dad's 88th birthday party last week, one friend wrote me a very kind email. "Sue, did you know that you and your mom both have a physical glow about you that comes from the inside?" she wrote. "I've begun to notice that [...]
Good morning... One of my closest friends sent a loving email for Easter, processing the last six years of caring for her husband with Alzheimer's. She has loved him so well, beyond his last earthly moments, gently ushering him to heaven this spring. She gave me permission to share her reflection with our written word community, as our [...]
Good morning... Palm Sunday began in the light of a plump full moon. Celebratory. Hopeful. Hallelujah. As we walk our way through this Holy Week, moonlight quietly wanes away. As darkness blankets the outside world, lingering light seeps inside our walls. Before resurrection power rises up in us, we [...]
Good morning... "Our hands imbibe like roots," says St. Francis of Assisi, "so I place them on what is beautiful in this world. And I fold them in prayer, and they draw from the heaven's light." Imbibe. I love this wildly thirsty word. 1. To drink; gulp down. 2. To absorb; soak up. 3. To receive into the [...]
