What A Friend We Have
Good morning... Up in the middle of the night, I crafted a message with God. Then some technical glitch clogged up our communications, and, tired, I decided to go back to bed. I hoped things would work more smoothly after waking from my second sleep. Then an interesting thing happened. I was stirred awake by a song. A song from my childhood sang sweetly in my brain. What a friend we have in [...]
Praying Out Our Grief
Good morning... By 10:00 am last Monday, three innocent 9-year-olds and three loving educators were killed in the safety of their small Christian school, before police put down the 28-years-old suicidal shooter. Then, by 10:00 pm that very same night, forty migrants (most from Guatemala) were left to die in their locked retaining cells as fire ripped through a detention center in Juarez, Mexico. It was one of the deadliest migrant tragedies in [...]
We Can’t Answer “Why?”
Good morning... At this time last week, things felt a little safer, a bit more predictable, a tad less confusing. Then a few violent minutes in Nashville, Tennessee stole the life of three innocent children and three caring educators in one little school. An excerpt from an article appearing last Tuesday morning verbalizes our haunting question: "Why?" ****** Weeping in Nashville: Where is God when unspeakable acts beget unspeakable sorrow? by SCOTT SAULS, [...]
Love Never Gives Up
Good morning... Tomorrow marks the beginning of Holy Week in Christian churches across the globe, commemorating Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem for the last week of his earthly life. The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in God’s name! Yes! The [...]
May We Breathe In Peace
Good morning... Waking on the day we would celebrate the brief, full life of Chris Kimbel, I was thick with intense emotions. The service of healing from the night before left me in a state of ongoing prayer for our friend battling bladder cancer, and news of another longtime friend losing his job abruptly weighed heavy on my heart. Deep needs were tangled up inside me. Talking with a 'soul friend' over the [...]
Coping With Our Mixed Emotions
Good morning... This is the perfect week to learn from a training on trauma. School shooting. Images of war. Cancer returning. Laying to rest a beloved husband. Powerful pleas for God to heal. In my tiny corner of the world, I am processing a plethora of strong emotions. Do you feel the same? Two takeaways from our training on Tuesday can help us in very practical ways. [...]
It Hurts To Be Human
Good morning... Yesterday I took magazines, glue sticks, scissors, and evocative pre-cut images to our PAWkids therapeutic community group. I also shared my growing deck of Soul Collage cards, providing an example of our creative activity for the day. When we checked in with one another, as we do each week, one woman quickly picked up the card above, a card I had created the night before as I was prayerfully processing news [...]
Chris Went To Heaven At 67
Good morning... "Sue, Chris is in the arms of Jesus." My dear, longtime 'soul friend' texted on Saturday evening. "He passed away this morning. All is well. Love you." Wow, what a touching message. Having walked and talked through this journey together for years and years and years, Chris went to heaven at age 67. Early onset Alzheimers could not diminish the immense love surrounding Chris Kimbel each day of his married life. [...]
A Heavy Thing To Process
Good morning... In our PAWkids therapeutic community group last Tuesday, we used "Blob Ridge" to describe our feelings. We colored in the blobs with which we resonated most. I felt like the orange person on the far right, being hugged and supported throughout my best birthday week ever. At the same time I felt like the yellow person sitting beside the bridge on the left, witnessing and processing the diversity of our shared [...]
Let’s Take Time
Good morning... I hold in my hand one of the Soul Collage cards created on my 60th birthday. I feel held, kept, carried. Eyes closed, focused inward, taking quiet time, I glide through these middle-of-the-night moments resting with God. I turned and witnessed something else under the sun: the race does not always go to the swift, the battle is not always won by the strong, bread does not always fill the table of the wise, wealth does not always accrue to the skillful, and [...]
Here’s To Our Friends
Good morning... For my 60th birthday, my friend Ginna hosted a Soul Collage party for a small handful of individuals from various walks of my life. I knew each of the ten women very well, each represented special facets of my evolving story, but most did not know one another. Open to a creative adventure, we came together to celebrate life for ninety meaningful minutes during yesterday's gorgeous spring afternoon. Ginna began our [...]
On My 60th Birthday
Good morning... As I wake in these wee hours on my 60th birthday, my thoughts turn to a story I met this week. I am inspired to savor some cinnamon toast. ****** "Great Things Have Happened" by Alden Nowlan We were talking about the great things that have happened in our lifetimes; and I said, "Oh, I suppose the moon landing was the greatest thing that has happened in my time." But, of [...]