Of Snow and Resurrection

 

Easter Sunday:  Pine Island Presbyterian Church

A  few years ago at Christmas time I pondered the weather ~ wishing for snow instead of rain ~ and was reminded that God does not need the ideal conditions for Love to be born.  That seems in part having to do with the gift of grace but that’s a thought for a different day.  As snow fell this past Friday, lots of snow, at least ten inches of snow…

      

I pondered again how God works in wondrous and mysterious ways in less than ideal conditions.  Most of the people I spoke with recently had hopes for pleasant, 30 something degrees on Easter, without a pile of snow.  Certainly all those who planned Easter Egg Hunts in city parks for Saturday morning had hoped for spring-like weather, without a pile of snow.  And this morning, instead of standing on a hillside, watching the sun rise on this Holy Morning, I stood in my backyard and watched the moon set behind the trees, just above the crystal white blanket of snow.

I was reminded that this cycle of life and death and new life is so much larger than our individual lives, that it is lived out within the natural order of things, and that it is inner resurrection, hope renewed and revived within the human soul, that can happen regardless of the weather outside.

There may have been snow outside but our Table and Worship space inside reminded us of this inner beauty.

 

And we heard the story once again of the resurrection, of life and love having the last word, of hope rising up in what certainly was less than ideal conditions.  We sang of hope within us: “Because You live, O Christ, the spirit bird of hope is freed for flying; Our cages of despair no longer keep us closed and life denying.”

   

And, “Break the bread of new creation where the world is still in pain…Drink the wine of resurrection, not a servant, but a friend.”

May hope, may the persistence of love,

rise within you and around,

even in the midst of less than ideal conditions,

for our God is a God of great mystery!

Alleluia!!

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“Rising Like the Sun”

My dear friend Martha Louise shared this poem with me yesterday and I’m pleased to share it with you.  She was writing poetry when we first met ~ it was our very first day at Alma College ~ and I marveled at her use of words then, wondered how someone writes poetry.  I’m now learning.  And, I’m rejoicing that she is once again putting pen to paper and sharing the words of her heart and the journey of her soul.

                          

Rising Like the Sun

The water will

never be the

same

again,

neither will

the  sun.

Neither will

my life again,

rising,

just begun.

 

                        

     

 

 

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Thyme…

My Thyme Garden in the summer of 2005:

 

My Thyme Garden in the autumn of 2007:

 

Some things in life just take thyme, and occasional weeding.

                               

Is there something in your

life that needs its own sense of thyme

in order to flourish?

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Resting and sleeping ~ there’s room for us all

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Pine Island Presbyterian Church

I sure don’t remember the name Eutychus as one of the Bible characters I heard about in Sunday School nor do I remember it from seminary.  But there he is in the book of Acts, sitting next to a window while listening to Paul preach.  Paul carries on for a while, a looong while, and Eutychus falls asleep and then tragically falls out the window to his supposed death three stories below.  Paul goes down to check on him and proclaims “do not be alarmed, for his life is in him”  and then returns to his preaching.

I thought about the bulb resting before growth (see here) and Eutychus sleeping through the sermon.  Neither is typically put before us as a model of upstanding and righteous faith ~ whatever that might be ~ but I’m venturing a guess more of us can relate to needing to rest or falling asleep during a sermon than we can to standing in front of a burning bush, giving birth at the age of 80 something, or traveling from country to country preaching the gospel.  These obscure stories about little remembered and often un-named folk in scripture remind us that there’s room for us all, even if we don’t feel as if we have our act together.

Lately Christine has been inviting us to lean into the darkness and unknown, Lucy writes of unresolved grief, and Karla ponders living authentically with grief.  I’m recalling an article I read several years ago entitled “The Freedom to be a Mess” (unfortunately I don’t remember the author nor the publication – maybe the title is enough of a message…)  Perhaps all this has to do autumn, with this season of changing and dying, leaves falling from the trees, geese flying south, and fields becoming barren.  It seems that in every direction I’m invited to let go, to surrender, to rest, to sleep – but hopefully not fall out of a window!, to stop trying to get it all figured out.  So I’ll follow the way of the bulb that’s resting, of Eutychus who sleeps yet still receives grace, and see what lies ahead.  

On the worship table, nestled in the basket, were these beauties:

This is the dried form of the “Money Plant” ~ it’s far lovelier in its dried form than when it’s fresh and growing.  It’s a wonderful invitation to surrender to the innate processes of life for beauty to come forth, which sometimes comes late in the journey. 

 

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What I Heard

 

 

While I was at the lake I became very aware of the many faces of water.  Within minutes the lake could change from calm to rough, it could look angry or it could offer beauty, the wind could shift from north to south.  The color of the lake changes often.  Sometimes the water seemed to reflect my inner life ~ churning to calm, or restless to peaceful to angry. 

                            

One of the gifts I brought home with me was the call, once again, to authenticity ~ to claim that nature, in deep and wondrous ways, restores my soul, offers healing, and that I need to be in its presence often.  In particular I marvel at the ways water both receives and gives.  When I am grounded (pun intended) I am more authentically myself.  And, the many faces of the water remind me to claim my many and varied faces and moods and desires. 

  

What calls you to authenticity? 

How do you hear the call to live more authentically?

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Returning…

 

I am returning, this time by train and my parents’ car (and leaving the driving to someone else), to a place of healing.

                              

It is a thyme of rest, 

of listening to the water,

 

and of sitting with the trees.

                                        

 I have been given the gift of retreat at my favorite place,

with the love and care of the ones who brought me into the world,

yet space for solitude and refreshment.

  

It may be a season of laying fallow:  it has been very dry at home and the grass has stopped growing, missing the Worship Arts Table at worship, very little movement in the housing market, an invitation to rest deeply.  It may be a season of renewal: the last burst of growth of the summer season, water outside the front door for swimming, lots of space for emptying and filling.

               

Blessings to you on these last days of summer, whether they bring rest or renewal…

 

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A Place of Healing

Last week, when I wrote, “after a 5+ hour car trip” I had no idea just how big the “plus” could be.  21 hours of plus!!  Suffice it to say that when the car is towed twice in one day, you have to spend a night at a hotel and you get a police escort to the hotel (no taxis in small towns), and 3 mechanics don’t know why the car stalled while driving ~ I started to wonder if I was crazy to put my daughter, her friend (who may never want to get in a car with us again), our dog and myself though this kind of trip.  Afterall, there are cottages and lakes closer to home.  But once we arrived, and I’d been swimming a few times, I remembered why we make the trip every year, even if it takes 26 hours instead of 5:  for me the lake is a place of healing.

  

While there, I swam at least once a day without having to drive; I soaked in the warm and healing rays of the sun; I, and everyone else, enjoyed good food; I drove the boat at sunset and let the wind blow through my hair and through my soul, dusting out the cobwebs; I began to rest; I was in company of family who have gone before me – my grandpa who helped his father build this cottage – no small feat in 1926 when the cottage is on an island, my grandma who spent many summers there quietly welcoming family and friends, my parents who were there with us, receiving the news that my mom doesn’t have to start treatment for cancer right away.  While there, I had four days, four whole days, of relatively little pain.  Gift ~ pure and simple gift. 

    

By grace – and much prayer and many kinds words to the car – we returned home in 5 1/2 hours without any unplanned stops!  And now I am making plans, pony express style – part bus ride, part ride with a friend, then ride with family – to return so I can rest some more.  Without worry of a car, or pets, or schedules.  And to listen to this place of healing that I may receive more of its gifts.

Praise our Creator for places of healing!  May your journeys, however long or short, challenging or restful, take you to a place of healing.

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Grand Lake, Here We Come!

This will be our life for the next few days…

well, after a 5+ hour car trip,

then hauling all our stuff into “Tin Lizzy” ~

our infamous mode of transportation to get to the island,

unloading all our stuff from the boat,

then a big sigh of relief…

The forecast is in our favor: sunny!  So

sunscreen, swim, rest, eat, read,

repeat.

til we return…

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The First of the Season

How do you mark the start of a new season?

 

This is one of my favorite ways: a bonfire and s’mores.  My daughter is having a bonfire with her friends tonight, and I have the official job of starting the fire (all those years in Girl Scouts were good for lots of things including almost always being able to build a good fire.)  It’s a beautiful evening, the temperature is pleasant, and the teenagers haven’t arrived yet!  So I broke open the marshmallows, graham crackers, and dark chocolate Hershey bars.  The first marshmallow burned so I added it to the wood in the fire and got a second one and roasted it just right. 

 Ahhh, the first bonfire with the first s’more…  Here’s to the start of the bonfire season!

~ Cathleen

 

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How do we say Home?

    

Earth Day, Pine Island Presbyterian Church 

                                                          

This past Sunday we were reminded in a very real way that we are not far removed from the world.  On Thursday of last week there was a perceived threat to Kalamazoo Valley Community College and authorities responded quickly by closing the entire campus until this past Monday.  We usually worship in the cafeteria of KVCC so plans were quickly made to worship at Pretty Lake Camp, where we worship when the college is normally closed.  Fortunately the items for the Worship Arts Table travel easily, as easily as the members of the congregation.  We were recognizing Earth Day and were encouraged to wear our gardening or work clothes so we could participate in clean-up projects after worship.  Our jeans and T-shirts fit right in at the camp setting.

                                                                 

As we heard again in the Creation story that “God saw that it was good” and wondered how much of creation is still good in the eyes of the Creator when we live more as consumers than stewards, and as the children were outside discovering some of the creeping and creepy creatures (an unexpected benefit of being at the camp on Earth Day!), I anticipated singing one of my favorite hymns, “God of the Sparrow.”

    

     God of the sparrow, God of the whale, God of the swirling stars

     How does the creature say Awe, How does the creature say Praise

     God of the earthquake, God of the storm, God of the trumpet blast

     How does the creature cry Woe, How does the creature cry Save

     God of the rainbow, God of the cross, God of the empty grave

     How does the creature say Grace, How does the creature say Thanks

     God of the hungry, God of the sick, God of the prodigal

     How does the creature say Care, How does the creature say Life

     God of the neighbor, God of the foe, God of the pruning hook

     How does the creature say Love, How does the creature say Peace

     God of the ages, God of the hand, God of the loving heart

     How do your children say Joy, How do your children say Home.

           (Jaroslav J. Vajda, GIA)

                                                         

Both the words and melody speak to my heart.  The whale and the hungry, our neighbor and the grieving ~ they are each part of the Story, each need to be cherished as we learn to live and respond as stewards rather than consumers.  The guest pastor told us that at the first Earth Day in 1970 it was said that our eco-system is like a spider web ~ strong yet delicate, and interconnected.  27 years later I hope that statement carries even deeper meaning for us.    The grieving and bewildered at Virginia Tech need our compassion as much as the care of the landfills and polluted waters.

                

Our setting on Sunday didn’t provide the wide window-scape as a backdrop to the Table, but we did have windows to our right, and I was blessed to sit by one that was open.  A gentle breeze blew in from the lake.  It brought refreshment, and invitation as only the Spirit is known to do, to care more deeply for this strong yet delicate web in which we have both the privilege and responsibility to live.

 

                                                

How do we say Home……

     The Alchemist 

 

 

 

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