A Friend Touches Friends
Good morning... Before Saturday's memorial service for a young man who is deeply missed, one of his high school friends did her healing part to share the words on her heart, offering a touching tribute to her three classmates who have died since their graduation in 2017. Here are segments of her loving words. ****** We sat in the auditorium together, butterflies in our stomachs and dreams on our hearts. I think back to that [...]
Our Conversation Continues
Good morning... After I shared with you an image and a paraphrase of Zepheniah 3:17 from the inspirational September newsletter sent by one of my spiritual mentors, Jan Johnson, one of you shared with me encouraging words from the September newsletter of one of your spiritual mentors, Amy Julia Becker. ****** Dear friends, What do speaking to 70 independent school faculty members, visiting the US southern border with Mexico, and sending a child [...]
Our God Says This
Good morning... Through one intimate image our God speaks volumes. What did each of us need to hear from this captivating picture shared in yesterday's post? "In this picture Jesus is barefoot, coming to me. His hand slices through the transparent barrier between heaven and earth. He sees me in my drowning state and has the strength and compassion to pull me up. The light of God is above him, and with this [...]
What Do You Need To Hear?
Good morning... At 1:23 am this morning, I received the monthly devotional newsletter sent from Jan Johnson, a California professor who taught our spiritual direction training program at Ignatius House Retreat Center here in Atlanta, the author of a beloved book we later studied as a class in our living room, When The Soul Listens. One image Jan shares in her newsletter continues to capture my attention. When your own soul listens to [...]
Savor Sabbath: Rooted In Trust
Good morning... Eight out of ten times our family worships God at church on Sunday mornings, but today we will savor this Sabbath differently. My husband will worship God this morning at a coffee shop, meeting up with a Lovett School grad who wisely unplugged from college for the weekend to come home to talk vulnerably about the ways he is struggling. Uncharacteristically, I will worship God this morning around the breakfast table [...]
Today They Bury Their Boy
Good morning... “Hi Sue, I hope you are well,” wrote a friend from last year’s Sr. Moms Study. “I have prayed over whether to share the news of this latest suicide with you. While mine and my family's lives have been touched by several of the other incidents in our community, this one hits the closest to home. This young man’s father used to practice with my husband and our families were extremely [...]
One Trusting Wife
Good morning... On September 10th at 9:48 am, after reading our post, We Are Learning To Trust, one reader wrote me a touching email. "Last night my family and I moved my husband of 63 years into hospice care. Your writing about trust spoke to me profoundly this morning. My journey these next few weeks or days leaves no option but to trust. Which I do every day. The only way to survive [...]
Our 9/11 Bond
Good morning... "We all have something important in common," she said softly, as we neared the end of our first fall gathering of our Sr. Moms Study. "We were all pregnant on September 11th, 2001." "Pregnant or caring for a newborn," I quietly added. Our youngest son was born on June 5th, 2001, so he was three months old when the planes plowed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, striking [...]
Trust God Radically
Good morning... "May we have faith in the unfolding of our lives," hoped yesterday's paraphrase of Psalm 106, "and radical trust in the universe." What does it mean for us to learn to radically trust the Sustainer of our universe? Researching the meaning of "radical" in its original language, two Latin words pop up. The adjective "radicalis" means "of, related to, or proceeding from a root." The noun "radix" means simply "root." To trust [...]
We Are Learning To Trust
Good morning... I crossed my legs and closed my eyes as she privately read aloud to me an excerpt from Nan Merrill's paraphrase of Psalm 106. ****** May we become bearers of joy, we who are invited to share in the Cosmic Dance! We pray for the gift of wisdom, that the motivations of our heart might be made pure, That we may recognize the perfect timing of all things and know the [...]
In Fire And In Flood
Good morning... Worshipping at church yesterday, one sentence touched me deeply, reminding me of the challenging week we have collectively experienced. "You're with us in the fire and the flood." I came home and googled the title of the song sharing this most powerful promise. Now it is your turn to be strengthened by the music video God drew me to discover. Wake up and strengthen whatever you have left, teetering on the [...]
Savor Sabbath: Opportunity Abounds
Good morning... After crafting yesterday's post, We Live In Layers, I returned to my email and received this message from a dear friend: "Please consider helping my neighbor as she tries to rebuild her life from a devastating house fire on Wednesday night. https://www.gofundme.com/f/house-fire-recovery-for-dale-pierce-taylor?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet." As I read through her difficult story and scrolled through the list of "Go Fund Me" donors, I saw many names of people I know and love. One small part [...]