Memorial Day

Well, here we are the day after Memorial Day. I had the desire to post yesterday, but no idea how to address the holiday. I hate the thought of war, and my heart hurts for those who experience it firsthand. My parents were members of the "Greatest Generation". My dad, along with my grandfather, 2 uncles, and many friends fought in WWII. My dad was a First Lieutenant in the Army who "flew the hump" piloting a supply plane over the Himalayas.  My grandfather was a Lt. Col. in the Navy and was one of the first engineers trained as a frogman. His tales of how a rescue boat would speed by to pick up the swimmers were hair-raising. You got one chance to grab your rope and come aboard. They were brave and did their duty with honor. I am proud of them. 

But I still have trouble with the knowledge that war has been with us since the beginning of time. It seems to be triggered by things we try to avoid in our walk with God - greed, fear, nativism, prejudice, and arrogance, among others. We have watched for over a year as Russia has carried out an unprovoked attack on its neighbor Ukraine. People who have taken on the mantle of leadership have no choice but to take a stand and choose a course of action.

As I was working in the yard today, I remembered a gentleman who made a generous donation to the music department were my husband was chair for 10 years (he also coached me on the use of mulch in my garden beds). This lovely man, who became our friend, was career military. His appointment was primarily in procurement. As a retiree, he donated a 'quartet' of stringed instruments - 2 violins, viola, and cello - to be used by students who didn't own a nice instrument to play during college.

Carl spoke at the chamber concert when the instruments were dedicated. And this is what he said (in my words, but close): I have seen much of the worst that humans can inflict upon one another. I have seen war up close and personal. I have lost friends and comrades, and know the grief that war inflicts far and wide. That is why I made myself a promise that, after my service, I would seek out opportunities to contribute to the beauty that humans are also capable of. I hope these instruments will help some of our students rise to their potential and put more beauty out into the world. If you can find some spare shekels to put toward the good things, you will be repaid many times over.

Isn't that a beautiful statement of resurrection, of Easter joy in the world today?

Loving God, hold in your care all who engage in military service throughout the world. Make Your presence known to them through the blessed Holy Spirit. Keep them safe in body and mind. Receive those who die on the battlefield into Your glorious presence. Strengthen and guide all who work for peace in our country and around the world. Give our leaders the will to take care of those who come home bearing the traumas of war. Sustain soldiers and families whose lives are changed forever. May we work for "Thy Kingdom Come" where there is no war and no suffering.

Amen

Water

It is good to be back in town, although we thoroughly enjoyed our time at the lake. A common theme between going to our cabin at Beaver Lake and trail riding at Lake Sequoyah park is water.  Each day at the cabin we walked down to the neighborhood dock and sat with the water.  Unlike this weekend, which will be a time of partying and crowds, we had the dock to ourselves on the weekdays.  Today I went on 2 trail rides to take out people who had booked a ride on the farm's trail string, something we do most weekends. We ride right alongside Lake Sequoyah, a man-made lake on the White River, then come to the river itself below the dam. An 8-year-old girl on our first ride was absolutely delighted that her horse likes to splash in the water. The giggles were infectious!

I was trying to think of what I could write for a post tonight and was reminded of the prayer we say over the water when someone, often a baby, is baptized in an Episcopal church.  It is about my favorite prayer in the current prayer book.  It was said at the baptisms of my 2 daughters and my 2 grandchildren, but would not have been said when I was baptized in the '50s.  I'm so glad it was added to our worship.

We thank you Almighty God, for the gift of water. Over it the Holy Spirit moved in the beginning of creation. Through it you led the children of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt into the land of promise. In it your Son Jesus received the baptism of John and was anointed by the Holy Spirit as the Messiah, the Christ, to lead us, through his death and resurrection, from the bondage of sin into everlasting life.

We thank you, Father, for the water of Baptism. In it we are buried with Christ in his death. By it we share in his resurrection. Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit. Therefore in joyful obedience to your Son, we bring into his fellowship those who come to him in faith, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

The Book of Common Prayer, p. 306

No wonder I feel transformed in the presence of water.

Amen

Gifts of the Spirit

Well, I thought last night's post was the last before my trip to the lake, but I got clobbered with another 'coincidence' (hello Holy Spirit!) this morning. I mentioned in "Commencement" the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit. Then this morning, Rev. Joanna Seibert's "Posts from Daily Something" touched on them as well. 

The fruit of the Spirit is presented to us in Galatians 5: 22-23: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. (I know, that makes 9. All the better). This is the wall of the chapel at Kenyon College in Ohio, where I attended their first spiritual writing conference in 2014. It was a transformative experience.

Lord God, may we all write these qualities on our hearts and pray for your help to live them in our lives. To the glory of your name.

Amen

Commencement

Yesterday (Sunday) we had a graduation party at the farm where I board Jo.  One of our own graduated from high school in the Class of 2023. She has been with us since she was about 7, and we have watched her grow from a precious child into a poised young woman.  She received a generous, well-deserved financial aid package to attend college at a small private school in our state where she will get a fine education. We have her for the summer to help with horsey day camps and ride training horses.  It is easy to celebrate her graduation as she has the intelligence, work ethic, and ambition to chase her dream of becoming a lawyer.

I remember thinking of my H.S. graduation as an "end". The end of my time living at 'home' full time. The end of growing up in my small southern town. The end of life as I had known it to that point.  With the perspective of years, I can see that it was the "beginning" of life outside my childhood cocoon. While I was slow to claim my independence from my lonely, widowed mother, I started a journey that would carry me into the marriage and life I was meant to live.

Prayer for this Season of Graduations

Lord Jesus, draw near to those who are graduating this spring. Help them as they begin college or jobs or travel or partnerships or whatever comes next. Hold them in Your care through these bittersweet days of saying goodbye and forging a path forward. Send them forth with the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit to make the world a better place. Sustain them through disappointments; shield them through times of joy. May the energy and optimism of our young friends and family bring peace to our world and help to relieve suffering in its many forms. In Your holy name we pray.

Amen

P.S. We are heading to the lake tomorrow.  I will be back at the end of the week. Take good care.

Intercessions

I belong to a women's order called the Daughters of the King (DOK). Our main purpose is to help our clergy with the work of the church, so the tasks may differ by congregation. One thing we do in the St. Julian's chapter is pray regularly for the members of our congregation. We divide up the roster and rotate the lists every 3 months such that each of us gets to pray for everyone over the year and every member is lifted up by us as well as our priests. I have not had an easy time with this commitment even though I am experienced at intercessory prayer.  I can easily pray for someone I know to be struggling (one member on my current list was in a serious car accident; another is recovering from covid).  But I find that I cannot simply read my list to God.  God knows better than I do what each person needs, so may appreciate my efforts, but I find it a dry, unsatisfying way to pray. So I asked the Holy Spirit for help (why do I so often turn to this when I'm exasperated and not earlier?).

The answer I got was this: choose 3 people in the morning when you set your intentions for the day. Lift them into God's light throughout the day as they come to mind. Ask God to provide for their needs in whatever way is best for them. 

I often group things into 3s - probably influenced by a lifetime in a Trinitarian tradition - so this seems to be working. Thanks for the help!

God of grace and peace, help me to be diligent in my prayers. Bring people to my mind who need to be lifted up for Your gracious mercy. Soften my heart toward anyone I hold at a distance. As you do what I ask for others, grow me into the child of God you created me to be.

Amen

Faith

I woke up this morning, as I often do, with a hymn in my head. It was an Easter hymn, #209, "We walk by faith". Then I was scrolling through my Instagram and ran across this Daughters of the King post: "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe." - Saint Augustine

Hmmm. To reflect on "faith" is my task today. There are certain things about the kingdom of God that we will not understand on this side. Why do the innocent suffer? Was there really a virgin birth? Did Jesus really walk through walls to appear to people after the resurrection? Why were we given free will so that Adam and Eve had the option to sin in the garden? I don't know.  And I don't trust the statements of anyone who claims to know the mind of God. I like the quote by Anne Lamott in Plan B, "The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty."

So living this earthly life in faith of a heavenly kingdom requires letting go of control. I am drawn to my denomination because there is room for doubt and questions. We believe a healthy faith community creates a safe space for discussion and is enriched by diversity of heritage, lifestyle, thought, and opinion.  May our experience, study, and worship strengthen our faith.

Hymn 209

We walk by faith, and not by sight;

no gracious words we hear 

from him who spoke as none e'er spoke;

but we believe him near.

We may not touch his hands or side,

nor follow where he trod;

but in his promise we rejoice;

and cry, "My Lord and God!"

Help then, O Lord, our unbelief;

and may our faith abound,

to call on you when you are near,

and seek where you are found.

that, when our life of faith is done,

in realms of clearer light

we may behold you as you are,

with full and endless sight.

Amen

Healthy Boy

Here is sleepy Luke basset coming home from his vet appointment.  His retired 'hoomans' have spoiled him so much he needs light sedation for his check-up and pedicure. I am reminded what a privilege it is to be given stewardship of our precious animal companions.

Thank you, God, for Luke and Jo and all beloved animals you have entrusted to our care. Give us wisdom and compassion to care for them. They show us a simple love and devotion, much like that of children. I expect to find 'on the other side' that they have spiritual gifts that can swamp ours. I know they bring uncomplicated love directly into our lives and our laps to remind us of Your love. Give Luke a long healthy life and keep me mindful of his needs.

Amen
 

If Ye Love Me

This morning's Gospel was John 14:15-21.  Hearing it read carried me back to high school, when I sang in a wonderful choir of teens in my grandparents' Methodist church.  Thomas Tallis set the text to music, and I commend to you several recordings on YouTube.  I really liked one recorded by the King's Singers, each from their six separate homes, during covid lockdown. What a wonderful message for times of trial. Here is the anthem as today's prayer:

If Ye Love Me, Keep My Commandments

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another comforter.

That He may 'bide with you forever,

E'en the spirit of truth.

The word 'abide' keeps coming up in my life, in music, in blessings, in texts.  These unplanned word plants usually mean I could benefit by meditating on the word, its commonly held meaning, and what it might mean as a guidepost in my life. What does it mean for you to abide in me and me in you? Let us sit with that awhile.

Home Again

We are back from our lake vacation and started right in with a service on my car this morning. It was supposed to be oil change and tire rotation, but ... the front brakes were worn. Gotta have brakes, right? I was reminded on my way to the dealership in Rogers that the traffic on I49 requires a well-maintained car, plus it was raining heavily.  It is harder to find God in this kind of environment than at the lake, but I have much to be thankful for nonetheless.

Lord God, thank you that we are safely home from taking the car north for repairs. It's not that you keep me safe and visit accidents on other people. But I do feel the Holy Spirit helping me to stay focused and calm when the traffic is heavy and the weather a challenge. Thank you for our faithful friend, Marilyn, who came by to care for the dog when we got delayed. And thank you that we have agreed to be cautious with money so we can pay for most unexpected expenses as they come up.  There are always reasons to be thankful during an ordinary day in an ordinary life.

Amen

As you look back on this day so far, can you nurture gratitude in your heart?

Spring Sojourn

 

Hello friends. This is the view of Beaver Lake from the screen porch of our cabin there. We are headed to the lake for a few days, where I have no service. I will be back end of the week. Please let this view of God's glorious creation be my prayer for the day. May you be blessed with eyes to see and ears to hear the Presence all around us. God bless.

Waymarkers

 

This morning in adult Sunday school, we had a wonderful presentation on pilgrimage. Our teacher, a good friend with deep spiritual intuition, recently returned from a pilgrimage in the Holy Land. We will be privy to more personal and specific content next week, but today was an introduction to pilgrimage in general - what it is, how to approach it, what one might hope to accomplish, and how it contrasts with tourism, for example. The talk closed with the notion of waymarkers. I had never heard this term, but it immediately connected. Well-known pilgrim paths are dotted with waymarkers like the left photo, which is on St. Michael's Way in Cornwall, UK.  They point the way, as one might expect. Some are highly visible, as this one; others are harder to locate and require some searching.

With this new concept on my mind, I headed out with a group on a trail ride this afternoon. Lo and behold, our trails have waymarkers! They are red, blue, or purple, and they indicate the equestrian trails in the city park where we ride.  If you were new to our trails, they would show where it is safe to ride horses. You will not be led into the White river, over a cliff, into dangerous footing where a horse might be injured, or into the deep woods where you could get lost as long as you follow the waymarkers. I realize there have been waymarkers all along my spiritual journey.

Beloved Provider God, thank you for the waymarkers. While I haven't always been aware, you have led me to where I am today.  Some waymarkers are people who hold the Christlight for me when I am blinded by pain, trauma, and loss. Some are sacramental. Some come by way of the pen or the paintbrush or the musical instrument when I could use inspiration. Some are angels in animal bodies, sent to teach me a wisdom much more elemental than I can reach by thinking.

I know they are near when my eyes tear up or I am overwhelmed by the majesty of Your creation. Keep me mindful that waymarkers are all around me if I will but pay attention. Help me to seek you out and to recognize when you are leading me in a way I had not been planning to go.

Amen

Meet my Girl

This is my new trail partner, Jo. She is a 12-year-old Paso Fino mare.  She has only been mine about 2 weeks, although I have ridden her extensively since losing 27-year-old Flash in 2021.  After Flash, I  purchased a young quarter horse in training, but she (Barbie) did not like trail riding at all. I was offered Jo in trade, and Barbie will go to a new owner who can put her gifts to better use.  She needs a more intense job that will capture her attention and use her nice breeding. Jo is absolutely perfect for me for now!  She is sweet, sure-footed, smooth (Paso Fino's have a 'gait' rather than a trot), and beautiful.

Thank you, God, for my beautiful Jo.  You are full of the most wonderful surprises, just when I think I have this world figured out. My heart swells with anticipation and gratitude every time I head to the farm where I board. Give us time together to explore your magnificent creation and to further develop our bond.  Make me a good steward of this gift entrusted to me for safekeeping. Thank you for planting in me a lifelong, abiding love of horses.  I have turned to them in every time of upheaval in my life and have found You there. Make me generous with other people who love horses, especially young friends. Horses were shared with me; now I have the opportunity.

Amen

Holy Hands

I got a massage this afternoon. I have a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, and, whatever that actually means, taking care of my body through yoga and massage helps with pain and stiffness. As my therapist, Kellie, worked out the knots in my shoulders and back, I was reminded of a favorite song from Cursillo:

 🎵 These are holy hands; he's given us holy hands. God works through these hands, and so these hands are holy. 🎵

Generous God, bless the holy hands that make this world a better place.

• Hands that prepare food for the hungry
• Hands that care for the children
• Hands that minister to the sick and injured
• Hands that wipe away tears
• Hands that bless and serve the sacraments
• Hands that reach out to lift up a neighbor 
• Hands that tend to your blessed animal kingdom
• Hands that farm the land
• Hands that create art in all its beautiful forms
• Hands that write
• Hands that do ugly work that no one else wants to do

I invite you to add to the list as ideas come to you. May all our hands be made holy to do Your work in the world.

Amen

Tree of Life

 

Yesterday was a footrace, one obligation after another until dinner at 9:00. Today was more under my control. I did some overdue housework, including making up the guestroom bed. My maternal grandmother cross-stitched this quilt for Stephen and me when we got married. It got me thinking about my personal cloud of witnesses, and how I appreciate my two grandmothers now that I have reached that season of life.

They could not have been more different. My mother's mother was a sweet lady who found her bliss in the home arts of her day. She turned out an amazing array of quilts, afghans, smocked dresses, decorative pillows, embroidered curtains and any other handwork she could find.  I still have the little apron we made together one summer during my weeklong visit. She sewed for her small farming community, including a couple of wedding gowns and mother-of-the-bride dresses. She could make an amazing Thanksgiving dinner in a kitchen the size of a postage stamp. Her chicken & dumplings were incredible. I sat on a stool and watched numerous times, but mine taste like wall-paper paste (my husband's colorful description).

My father's mother was a force of nature. When her first husband died, she picked up his business having to do with sampling asphalt. It was no field for a woman, but it never occurred to her that she couldn't handle it. She raised her 2 children to adulthood before marrying the dear man I knew as my grandfather. Her flavor of 'badass' could rub people the wrong way, but I got the best of her.  She would do anything to see that I was cared for and she never seemed to tire of my company. I have needed her strength of character during hard times, and I say 'hi' to her every time I walk by a mirror and see her bright white hair on my head. After I get my eyes checked in August, I plan to pick out a pair of outrageous 'Mammy glasses' for my new prescription.

Thank you, God, for my grandmothers. They loved me, each in her own way, without condition, as do You.  I have them to thank for the joy I find in my grandchildren. I carry each in my heart and have a rich store of memories of good times together. I hope I am building that kind of treasury with my own beloved grandchildren. I hope when I am gone from their presence they will look fondly on our bonds and find unexpected gifts from our time together. Let it be that those two special angels will be waiting with open arms on the other side of this earthly pilgrimage.

Amen