My Mom Is Home
Good morning... Since I took this photo of my parents last July, a lot has changed in their lives. Her fall. Her stroke. Her stint in the ICU. Tons of prayers. Miraculously she came back to us. A second fall. More time in the care center. A COVID outbreak. Ugly symptoms. Today for the first time since her second fall in May, my mom wakes up at home. Though she is confined with [...]
Put Aside Anxious Thoughts
Good morning... "Sue," he wrote, "while you’re probably familiar with these comforting words of Francis de Sales, your message, Too Much Suffering, brought them to mind. 'Have no fear for what tomorrow may bring. The same loving God who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. God will either shield you from suffering or give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then and put [...]
A Letter From My Dad
Good morning... Opening the mail yesterday, I received a letter from my dad. As promised, he sent me a check from Ohio to support PAWkids, the non-profit ministry in inner city Atlanta with which I am actively involved. He sent a donation in honor of the three year old grandson of the Norwegian exchange student who stayed with our family in 1975 for her junior year of high school. Living in Norway, little [...]
Too Much Suffering
Good morning... Weakened by her two falls, two breaks in her femur, and her recent stroke, my 84-year-old mom is now struggling with COVID - congestion in her chest, fogginess in her mind, loss of taste and appetite. Today is Day #4 since she tested positive, and we hope to see a turn around soon. Today is also an important day in my mom's recovery as she is scheduled for an x-ray to [...]
Processing Our Pain
Good morning... Weakened by her two falls, two breaks in her femur, and her recent stroke, my 84-year-old mom is now struggling with symptoms of COVID - congestion in her chest, fogginess in her mind, loss of taste and appetite. Today is Day #4 since she tested positive, and we hope to see a turn around soon. Today is also an important day in my mom's recovery as she is scheduled for an [...]
Where Do I Belong?
Good morning... At 3:24 am, I finished yesterday's post and pushed send on our message, A Peacemaker Prays. The Henri Nouwen quote highlighted was sent by Ignatius House Retreat Center earlier in the week, along with the calming song and images. Our blog ended: "We actively pray, 'Lord, make me a peacemaker.'" I climbed back into bed for a bit more sleep. Waking for a second time around 7:00 am, I opened the [...]
A Peacemaker Prays
Good morning... "A peacemaker prays," writes Henri Nouwen. "Prayer is the beginning and the end, the source and the fruit, the core and the content, the basis, and the goal of all peacemaking. I say this without apology because it allows me to go straight to the heart of the matter, which is that peace is a divine gift we receive in prayer. In his farewell discourse Jesus said to his disciples, 'Peace [...]
My Mediocre Mess
Good morning... I have been enjoying Kate Bowler's Joyfully Mediocre Summer Blessing Series. Each Wednesday her weekly email arrives in my inbox. Yesterday's morning message wove itself into me. ***** God, I can’t tell which person I will be today: kind and loving, turn-the-other-cheek and I’ll-be-right-here, soft but strong. I will keep no record of wrongs. I might be someone else entirely: brittle and judgmental, I’m-taking-my-share and you-deal-with-it-alone, hard but weak. I will [...]
Weary And Wounded
Good morning... Sharing honestly from her heart, she texted. "With respect to this week, frankly, it is hard. The days just are hard. Things are hard in this chapter. I know that God will give me the strength I need," she continued. "I know that this will work together for something I don't yet understand. Right now though, I just feel weary and wounded." "Weary and wounded," I texted back. "Those [...]
Caught In An Avalanche
Good morning... Yesterday we huddled around my husband's cell phone to watch a viral video. This week's footage of an avalanche closing in on a vulnerable hiker sparks an honest prayer. "Oh God. Oh dear God." The Lord is my Rock, my fortress, my place of safety. He is my God, the Rock I run to for protection. He is my shield; by his power I am saved. He is my hiding place [...]
How Might I Pray?
Good morning... As if panning for valuable chunks of gold, I sift through a New York Times opinion piece to discover some very important nuggets. Author Anne Lamott, wise and sassy, provokes the potential of authentic prayer. "Prayer connects us umbilically to a spirit both outside and within us, who hears and answers." "Prayer says... 'I am tiny, helpless, needy, worried, but there’s nothing I can do except send my love into that [...]
We’re Supposed To Change
Good morning... As we consider the possibility of spiritual transformation, it is good to be reminded: "We're supposed to change." When staying stuck hurts more than total surrender, we take the risk. Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have [...]