Good morning…
Today is a special day of Sabbath as a good friend lays to rest her beloved mother-in-law at 3:00 pm. Right after last week’s post, We Memorize A Mother, she wrote me these God-inspired words.
“Hello Sue,” she began. “God’s timing in honoring your friend’s Mom surfaced on your blog this morning, greeting us just after we lost our own Mom, Naomi. She was hanging on so long that toward the end we said, ‘It is ok to let go.’ When last I spoke to her, I mentioned the fact that her Harry, her Mom and Dad and beloved brother were all waiting for her. I asked that she also say hello to Margie, my Mom. Then saying goodbye, not knowing if she would make it to another visit, I told her I loved her and what an incredible Mom she has been to us all. I prayed for her peace. What brings me back around to your post is one of my Mom’s favorite hymns was “How Great Thou Art.” She sang it in the choir, and it was sung at her funeral. Playing it today from your blog, I sang it openly and out loud. Could Naomi have been saying hello to Mom right at that very moment? Thank you, for adding it to you post. I may go back to sing along again in the coming weeks.”
God’s timing is impeccable, and our living LORD is present. Let’s look back over our week, noticing God’s fingerprints, celebrating life.
Monday: Last Monday morning, Rev. Catherine Boothe Olson and I prepared the space for our noontime Enneagram class. As people began slowly trickling into the sacred chapel, I felt like a “welcome” greeter in heaven. As the pews began bursting with over sixty people, I thought to myself, “I think this is what heaven is going to feel like.”
Tuesday: Now the gift of One Quiet Video ripples on, as we open a few minutes in our busy day. We give God our quiet. We give God our time. And God gives us abundantly, increasingly more.
Wednesday: Over the past nineteen years, I have learned a lot about the dynamics of change.
- Change is inevitable, so why even try to white-knuckle an old phase?
- Taking time to miss “what was,” embrace “what is,” and hope for “what will be” makes every day worth living.
- Memories are like butter, through life’s churning motion, over time the best parts of life rise to the top rich, delicious, spreadable joy.
- “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time,” sings artist James Taylor. I vow to enjoy this last year with our last child in our home, noticing, savoring, appreciating the blessings of our emptying nest.
- Amid life’s changing seasons, we are extravagantly loved, deep and wide, by the One God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. To remind ourselves of our living LORD’s ever-presence, why not revisit regularly One Quiet Video from yesterday’s post?
Thursday: “Today’s post really resonated with me. We are on the front end of your story with a new Pre-K child and a 1st grader, but I can’t help but feel that time is flying by already (how are we already out of diapers and cribs?). My consistent prayer these days is for God to slow down my perception of life’s fleeting moments and help me to really soak in daily blessings so that I can be tear-free when we get to where you are. I love your perspective on this wisdom in today’s message.”
Friday: She continued: “I prayed that he was looking down on us, healed, whole, and happy with his Lord that night, proud to see all who cared so much for him. Not long after, a beautiful blue butterfly landed where I was standing and just stayed on the tablecloth so still and beautiful and peaceful. I knew it was the Lord reassuring me that Tommy was indeed at peace and still with us everyday, feeling our love.”
Saturday: “You have memorized Marscha and your sweet mother for years. You have watched how they love. You have treasured how they make you feel. You have imprinted who they are onto who you are becoming. Such a beautiful life-long task, to memorize our loved ones. When we witness together the joys and the sorrows of life holding hands peacefully, we learn to trust God’s repeated whisper, ‘Do not be afraid.’ Wrapped in oneness with God, even at the end of our earthly life, we have absolutely nothing to fear.”
Celebrate with me, friends! Raise your glasses—“To life! To love!” (Song of Solomon 5:1b, MSG).
…Sue…
