One of my special joys these days is reading The Walk Series, by Richard Paul Evans, with a group of friends in my congregation. From one of America’s most beloved and best- selling storytellers comes an astonishing tale of life and death, love and second chances, and why sometimes the best way to heal your own suffering is by helping to heal someone else’s.
Each book in The Walk Series, is a journal of the journey made by Alan Christoffersen, a once successful advertising executive, who loses his wife, his home, and his business in a matter of days. He leaves everything he knows behind and sets off on an extraordinary cross-country journey, carrying only a backpack. In search of hope, he plans to walk to Key West, the farthest destination on his map.
I’m struck by the truth of this quote from his travel journal: “We plan our lives in long, unbroken stretches that intersect our dreams the way highways connect the city dots on a road map. But in the end we learn that life is lived in the side roads, alleys, and detours…Life is what happens to us while we’re planning something else…Journeys rarely take us where we think we’re going…I’m not sure if I’m walking away from the past or toward the future.” I’ve known such moments in my life, and I’m sure many of you have as well.
When speaking of the death of his wife, he says she will always be a part of him, wherever he is - ”The question is what part? A spring of gratitude or a fountain of bitterness?” We all have to decide what part past experiences that we carry with us will play as life goes on. “The price for joy is sadness; the price for having is loss.”
Another thought to ponder: “The assumption of time is one of humanity’s greatest follies. We tell ourselves that there’s always tomorrow, when we can no more predict tomorrow than we can the weather. Procrastination is the thief of dreams.”
Taking the journey through these books with friends is a special gift! I give thanks for this journey and for “streams of mercy” to carry us through.
Elizabeth
I was grateful for the opportunity to return to a former congregation to celebrate a life well lived – a person who had been a great encouragement and blessing to me in my life and ministry during my years there. I was there for this moment in time, for this task at hand, but my heart remembered other times in this special place.
During my years there, both my parents died, all three of my children were married and all of their children baptized in this church family. I remembered busy days of 9-5 office hours, working with many committees, Stephen Ministry, Deacons and Church School. I saw children I remembered as being “children on the steps” all grown up, and with children of their own. I remembered the pastors I’d worked with and the things learned from each. I remembered familiar faces no longer there and gave thanks for each one that came to mind.
I noticed many renovations and fresh, new signage; another organist was in place; a new hymnal was used. Beautiful wood floors, minus the red carpet made for wonderful acoustics! The stained glass windows are as beautiful as ever, and I was blessed to remember a story about one of them and the dear child of God who told it.
There was a dear “mentally challenged” member, who once rode her “adult” tricycle to church each Sunday from her home nearby, and now lived in a local rest home. When I visited her one day she told me she watched the service on television. She went on to say, “Jesus still had that little lamb in his arms.” She was speaking of the large window picturing Jesus, the Good Shepherd, watching over his sheep, holding the little lamb in his arms.
Coming back to this sanctuary I see differences all around – in the building, in the staff and in myself. In the midst of all the change, “Jesus still had that little lamb in his arms.” And he always will.
I give thanks for my journey of life and faith, for all the people and places I’ve known in ministry and for the assurance that Jesus still has that little lamb in his arms.
Elizabeth
“You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.” Desmond Tutu These words are the words of my heart as I return from our yearly family reunion.
Traveling from Nevada, Texas, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Florida, we gathered to share in a few days, a lifetime together. I once read that families are like branches on a tree – we grow in different directions, yet our roots remain as one. For me, my branch began to grow when a young Kentucky girl rode a bus to Wilmington to wed a young Marine right before he shipped out to join the troops in World War II. Today, my brothers and I find ourselves to be “the older generation.” As we see our children and our children’s children, we marvel at all the ways we are a part of all that has been, all that is, and all that is yet to be.
In our time together I see that many of us are older and more frail and the younger ones are lending a helping hand and keeping a watchful eye. I see the younger generation developing friendships, discovering family ties and forming lasting relationships. I see the babies and toddlers among us and know the family has a future, as they, too, join the journey. Even more special is the joy of knowing there will be three more little ones among us next year!
Riding much of the way with my daughters at the wheel, telling family stories, sharing life lessons and remembering together; exploring Disney Springs and sharing a “stormy” lunch in the Rainforest Café, with a beautiful rainbow above; visiting in the hospitality room, sharing old memories and making new ones; reconnecting, revisiting, renewing, restoring – all are blessings that come from being together. Seeing my great-grandson passed around the family circle as he met them one by one, was a special blessing. It was a joy to visit the girls in their homes, to share in their family life for a day or so, to reconnect with grandchildren and marvel at how they grown, and to see all of them happy and living productive and promising lives. A special joy was having my son and his family come, so that all three of my children and their families were together in the same place at the same time – something that rarely happens any more.
“The love of a family is one of life’s greatest blessings……..
No family is perfect- we may argue and fight, we may even stop talking to each other at times, but in the end, family is family and the love will always be there….
Family, where life begins and love never ends…Family, a gift that lasts forever.”
“For all that that has been, thank you. For all that is to come, yes!” Dag Hammarskjold Giving thanks for family, and for those streams of mercy carrying us through this life into the life to come.
Elizabeth