Cry. Listen. Hug.
Good morning... On this day designated "World Gratitude Day", we experience the raw bittersweetness of life. As a praying community, we prepare for tomorrow's memorial service for sixteen year old Benji Reiser. "Good morning Sue," a friend wrote yesterday. "I read Benji's obituary and genuinely cannot imagine the devastation not only in his family but also among his friends at this age when all of life seems ahead of them. Just so senseless [...]
Mourning Benji’s Life
Good morning... At church this week, I stopped in the hall and talked a while with our Director of Student Ministries. I told him that I had heard he had done a really good job supporting the students who came to youth group on Sunday night. The night before, one of our own, sixteen year old Benji Reiser had been killed in a motorcycle accident. (His obituary shares the vibrancy of a life [...]
How To Hold It All
Good morning... For two fertile hours, I held it all, touched the joys and honored the sorrows. Our second fitness class, The Ministry of Movement, brought creative connection to about twenty-five vibrant women. Some have been through knee and back surgeries. Some are grieving the loss of loved ones. Some are living with a dreaded diagnosis. Some are new combers joining the old faithfuls. To energizing praise music, all of us listened to [...]
Surrender Into Trust
Good morning... My friendship with inspiring fitness instructor Martha Kimbel is truly a gift from God. At 6:07 am yesterday, Martha texted me. "I have our new song on repeat this morning & it’s better than coffee! 💃🏻🎶 Loved your message again this morning & I’m so deeply honored to be in the same writing as Katherine Wolf. You have blessed me beyond measure. I love you, my darling Sue.💕😘" "God is such [...]
Suffering Changes Us
Good morning... As thirty of us gathered at Mend Coffee last Tuesday morning to meet with author Katherine Wolf, she told us about the massive brain stem stroke that nearly ended her life at age twenty-six. As Katherine was fielding questions about her book Hope Heals, one woman said, "When you were unable to speak for a long time, you eventually used a communication devise. The first thing you typed to your family [...]
The Spirit Moves Us
Good morning... Six weeks ago the Spirit of God moved, undeniably. It happened after an energizing walk and talk through the neighborhood of my longtime friend, Martha Kimbel. She and I were sitting at her kitchen island drinking water after our walk when, out of the blue, I felt nudged to ask, "Martha, would you ever consider coming back to teach a fitness class at the church?" For twenty-five years, Martha was a [...]
It’s Gonna Be Alright
Good morning... Too much conflict. Too much chaos. Too many opinions. Too many opposites. Too much agony. Too much angst. Too many words. Too many worries. Amid the world's volatile violence, God, we come to you, vulnerable. Please sing your timeless truth into our soul. You leave us breathless when Your awesome works answer us by putting everything right. God of our liberation— You are the hope of all creation (Psalm 65:5, VOICE). ...Sue... [...]
Dad’s Scan Results
Good morning... As I visited my parents in Ohio last week, my dad had a PET scan to test whether his active cancer spots were inside or outside of his prostate. So many of you have been supporting our family with prayers, heartfelt prayers. Yesterday was the day my brother went with my parents to learn from the doctor about scan results and my dad's suggested treatment plan. In the mid afternoon, my [...]
This Hard, Heavy 9/11
Good morning... As we prepared to celebrate my husband Steve's thirty years of service to the Lovett School community, I found our wedding photo album from 1987. I snapped this photo of the photo of my dad walking me down the aisle. I was 24 years old. He was 51. Fast forward to today, September 11th, a day saturated with grief from this tragic date in 2001. Since it will always be remembered [...]
Wow! What A Day
Good morning... Wow! Yesterday was an incredible day. I started out at Mend Coffee with thirty friends from Northside's Morning Mission Circle. I took notes in the back of my Hope Heals book, as author Katherine Wolf told her life-changing story of narrowly surviving a massive brain stem stroke at age twenty-six. Forty days in the ICU. Disfiguring disabilities. When she was unable to speak, she typed, "I am the same on the [...]
What Bonds Us All?
Good morning... My parents wake in Ohio awaiting Thursday's doctor visit, hoping for positive scan results and a clear treatment plan for my dad's prostate cancer. The DeShetler family and college friends wake at Notre Dame following last night's moving mass which honored the eternal life of Audrey. This morning, fifteen women recovering from homelessness and addiction wake to the healing of the ISP Retreat at Ignatius House Retreat Center. Those who will [...]
We Learn By Paradox
Good morning... To the light of the full corn moon, let's ponder a poem shared by a friend. As we read it now, slowly and aloud, what word sparkles most? ***** Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is [...]