I'll be back...

These past three weeks have been filled with family visits and work;
some joys, some frustrations, but mostly a steady stream of people leaving or arriving. It's Lent, of course, too, and we have a great deal going on at church.
I'm writing a series of Lenten devotions at another blog (here) so there seems to be little time for the personal reflections I'd been getting better at posting here.

I'll be back, one of these days.
In the meantime, I'm wishing you well and keeping you in my grateful prayers.

photo from here.

Waiting and Hoping

Waiting and hoping are so similar.

This Lenten journey of waiting is fraught with hoping for the residents of my home.
DH has been without employment since the end of January. His resume was scooped up by a potential employer earlier this week and he's at an interview this morning.
SBC packed his gym bag for baseball practice and will learn before school is out if he made the freshman team. I'm waiting for my father's flight to arrive from Denver, anticipating a lovely six day visit from him. They're little things in a global context, but they're pretty monumental in the lives of those interviewing and trying out and heading to the airport.

For those who wait without an end in sight, for those who wait for an outcome that might be fatal, final or unchangeable, waiting is agonizing. For me, it is a reality that I do not wait alone. I am convinced that I am accompanied on this life's journey, and I become more, not less, convinced of it over time. I am grateful in my bones for knowing this and for how real it feels.

This lovely picture is from makingthishome.com.

I've yet to spend any significant time this Lent in any extended time of quiet reflection. I have a lovely quiet fifteen minutes in the morning with a cup of tea and Radical Grace, Richard Rohr's great devotional. It would be wonderful to have some longer stretches of time for prayer, meditation, praying in color. Instead, here's what's happening in my little corner of the world:
* show the new near neighbor pastor the way to the hospitals and nursing homes this afternoon
*meet with our two seminarians about their plans
*finish writing Sunday's sermon
*await results of SBC's freshman baseball team tryout (75 kids trying out for 15 spots on two teams...)
*pick up my dad at the airport tomorrow
*lead a presbytery workshop on Saturday for new elders
*enjoy a fun evening Saturday night with the confirmation class and their mentors centered around a game show theme: Are You Smarter than a Confirmand?
* preach and lead worship on Sunday
*enjoy a new members' class
*head off to Indianapolis for Spring Concert I of FBC's college concert choir tour
*return late Sunday night
* enjoy concert II in Chicago on Monday night with two of FBC's friends spending the
night with us.
*play day with all of them on Tuesday

and so on.

Good times.
graphic from Praying in Color.

Monday, Monday

It was an action-packed weekend. Chaperoning the dance turned out to be a startling, yet fun evening. I was an excellent coat checker and refreshment refresher, but it was a little bit harrowing to wander around the actual dance. A thousand kids in a gym with music that made our insides vibrate was nearly as daunting as the gyrations of the masses. I've been living in a bubble... Our SBC reports that we were not at all embarrassing. I think we've fulfilled our obligation for the duration of his high school career.

Worship yesterday was a quiet beginning to Lent. Our wonderful organist played subdued music throughout the service, reminding us all again of the profound influence the music and the musicians have upon the entire worship experience.

I spent the early part of the afternoon with our More Mature Members group, out to brunch and am pleased to report that I made healthy choices therein. I made hospital calls and bought healthy snacks at my favorite grocery, Trader Joe's. In the evening, we had an evening educational program on addictions and resources to help individuals and families find help.

Overnight we had a small snowfall and today's day office promises some fabric shopping and more preparations for my dad's arrival.

So, with thoughts from the weekend swirling in my head and looking at the texts for next Sunday's lectionary, I'm pondering God's covenant with Abraham and Sarah, how congregations reach out to people living with addictions, and whether or not we should paint the upstairs bathroom the same color or change things up. So many decisions are made in crisis or at the point of transition. I find that's true in my own life. How interesting it would be to experiment with that a bit in Lent, and seek help or wholeness because it's a free choice, unaffected by an ultimatum or a catastrophe.

Flikr photo