Our New Selves
Good morning... Yesterday, in the middle of the night, I felt drawn to write about the metamorphosis of a butterfly. Then by midday, I read for the first time the following words in our assigned book chapters for this week. ****** Excerpt from God's Joyful Surprise by Sue Monk Kidd Not long ago my daughter received a butterfly garden, a large box with big windows for viewing. Along with it came a package [...]
That’s An Old Photo
Good morning... Going through old boxes of old stuff in our basement, I came across this old card. I chuckle every time I look at the butterfly driving a car with a caterpillar on her driver's license. She sheepishly tells the officer, who has pulled her over, "That's an old photo." This old card came to me when I was cocooned in my deepest time of depression, when I was being transformed by [...]
Is Change Good?
Good morning... As we walked the streets of Asheville, North Carolina last weekend, we happened upon three words etched in sidewalk chalk. I just had to snap a photo. Change is good. Really? I'm not sure what I think about this statement. Part of me loves it. We are always changing. Always growing. Always evolving. Part of me hates the statement. Change is disruptive. Change is frightening. Change is unsettling. Sometimes it takes [...]
Mangled Mobile Home
Good morning... Last Sunday, I worshiped with my friend at Swannanoa Church in Swannanoa, North Carolina. Hurricane Helene devastated much of the area one year ago this week. Friendly, multi-generational, bursting with authentic connection, the community church felt real and restorative. "There is nothing like living through tragedy together to create a lasting bond," I thought to myself. "We must limit ourselves to the speed of relationship," said the pastor, as he welcomed [...]
One Year After Helene
Good morning... Last weekend, I visited a friend in Black Mountain, North Carolina. I asked her to take me around to see places devastated by Hurricane Helene, and I listened as she shared her experience of the tremendous tragedy. The vicious storm struck in the middle of the night on September 27, 2024, (one year ago right now) leaving catastrophic flooding and damage across Asheville and Swannanoa, Black Mountain and Biltmore Village, along [...]
Audrey’s Joy Is Ours
Good morning... Yesterday, we celebrated our friend's birthday in her beautiful, newly-built abode. Her welcoming home has been a two and a half year building project, a complete labor of love. Our fabulous friendship has been a nearly twenty year building project, a complete gift of God's love. We have journeyed beside Jennifer DeShelter (top left corner) as she has lived life to the very fullest with her precious family of four. Battling [...]
Live Without Regret
Good morning... On Saturday afternoon, I received his email. A tried and true friend, his words always boost me. "Hi, Sue," he wrote. "I encourage you to read Patricia Holbrook’s column on page C2 of today’s AJC, entitled 'When grief teaches us to live without regret.' I particularly like these words: 'For those of us left behind, though, grief is real and raw. And that is OK. Faith does not erase sorrow; it [...]
Her Heart Stopped
Good morning... A friend reached out yesterday. "Good morning Sue - I know your heart is very heavy, sending prayers for peace and comfort. I am sending you a video link. I saw it right after the devastating flood tragedy in Texas earlier this summer. Pastor Levi Lusko shared his perspective of God moving mountains in light of his own sudden loss of his five year old daughter, and it is really very [...]
Life’s Dance Goes On
Good morning... "I often think I don’t know how people endure the unimaginable," my friend wrote, "but then I realize I actually really do know - only God. And I see evidence of that in so much devastating heartbreak time and time again. I think of that Steven Curtis Chapman quote, spoken after losing his young daughter suddenly in a tragic accident, his older son was the driver. 'We have been to the [...]
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 [...]