Savor Sabbath: Be Comforted
Good morning... Our posts from this week start and end with a video of a statue created by God through the young hands of Michaelanglo. The statue is named the Pieta, which is an Italian term for pity (compassion, commiseration, condolence, sorrow, sadness, sympathy). It is a sculpture depicting Mary lamenting over the lifeless body of her son Jesus resting in her arms. Monday: "Isn’t it amazing that Michelangelo created the Pieta when he was in his [...]
Rest Here
Good morning... "Hi Sue," one of you wrote earlier in the week, after watching the video of Michaelanglo's statue, the Pieta. "The words of healing and strength from you and others is always needed and much appreciated. I hesitated to share my Pieta experience since it doesn’t reflect deep sorrow or grief, but it shares a small taste of a very different emotion." "At age 17, in 1964," she went on to share, [...]
A Eulogy for Cole
Good morning... It was Saturday, July 6th, the first morning of our family's vacation at my mother-in-law's log cabin on a tiny lake in Pennsylvania. I was leisurely floating on an intertube, chatting with my sister-in-law, when my husband Steve and my son Kyler called me over with these words, "Hey mom. Come here for a second. There is something we need to tell you." I paddled over to their intertubes, and Kyler [...]
Pulled Up From The Pit
Good morning... "Thank you for your blog," she wrote after our post Someone You Know Needs This. "As there are no coincidences, the Jesus Calling message for the same day, July 16th, is along the same lines." Responding to God's nuanced nudge, I google the July 16th message and, through author Sarah Young, God whispers these words. ****** Jesus Calling, July 16th Self-pity is a slimy, bottomless pit. Once you fall in, you [...]
Sadness Is A Liar
Good morning... "That 'letter' is very well done," one of you wrote to me after yesterday's post, Someone You Know Needs This. "What many people don’t understand is that the sadness is also a liar. And a really good liar. And the sadness will surely tell the person it is living in that all of those people would be much, much better off without him or her. That really suicide would be doing them [...]
Someone You Know Needs This
Good morning... "In the wake of losing someone special," she wrote, "maybe you know someone who needs to read this. Hugs. Take care." New post on Sean of the South Dear Sean by Sean Dietrich DEAR SEAN: I know you usually write about good things, but I am pretty down and I don’t know what to do, I think about ending it all sometimes, but don’t know what to do about it. I [...]
We Comfort Each Other
Good morning... Artists over the years have depicted differently the lifesaving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Replaying in my mind is the intimate video of the statue Pieta shared in yesterday's post, Savor Sabbath: From Pain To Peace. Michelango deeply depicts not only Jesus' full-bodied surrender, but the suffering sacrifice of his mother, Mary. After viewing this video yesterday, one subscriber I have never met graciously took the time to write me: "I have lost [...]
Savor Sabbath: From Pain To Peace
Good morning... "Sue, I’m sorry so much tragedy has visited you, your family, and so many other people you love," a subscriber wrote yesterday. "Your post today brought to mind the Pieta, the amazing sculpture by Michelangelo in St. Peter’s Basilica. I’ve seen it three times, and on each occasion the rendering of Mary holding Jesus’s body caused tears to flow. It’s such a beautiful reminder that the terrible sadness of death is [...]
Pitiful Post
Good morning... "Pitiful post." I was woken from sleep yesterday morning, almost hearing audibly, "Pitiful post." I scurried out of bed and grabbed my phone. Had someone judged negatively Friday's message, We Honor Cole's Life? No. No judgement. I felt relieved. All of the responses received from yesterday's post were loving and affirming, from people grieving alongside me after this sad, senseless loss. So, God, why the phrase "Pitiful post?" I google the [...]
We Honor Cole’s Life
Good morning... Receiving this sympathy email from the church, our community's loss is formally announced. Sympathy Northside Church extends its deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Cole McAfee Hagood, who passed away on Saturday, July 6, 2019. Memorial Service The Memorial Service will be at Northside Church in the Sanctuary on Friday, July 12, 2019 at 2:00 PM. Inurnment A private inurnment will be scheduled at a later date. Expressions of Sympathy [...]
New Fruit From My Branch
Good morning... I love the Scriptural image ending yesterday's post. You've had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God's pure kindness. Then you'll grow up mature and whole in God (1 Peter 2:3, MSG). We are each nursing babes nourished intimately by God. As we daily drink deep, increasing amounts of pure kindness flow as we grow mature and whole in God. But what happens when [...]
Do You Ever Feel Judged?
Good morning... Over the years, my husband and I have been criticized, subtly and not-so-subtly, for not being “Christian” enough. Has similar judgement ever happened to you? People judging people feels so toxic. Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do…It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! (Galatians 6:16, MSG). Through a life of personal prayer, I focus [...]