today, and tomorrow, and beyond

"From death’s perspective, there are no differences between people.

There is just the person, always dear."

-Olga Tokarczuk

Today we pause and reflect.

We laugh and cry.

We mourn for knowing, but not fully knowing.

We celebrate a life well lived.

We thank God for heaven- for peace- for love.

We are held in the arms of our Father.

And though our faith runs deep, death is heavy.

We sit beneath its weight.

AND, this happened. We were 80's posers like the other high school girls we saw in DT Charleston :)

laughing love around us

This is such a strange time in life. I dont know how to even explain this to myself, or others or you. We are happy and laughing and enjoying this learning of each other. We are good. But then, we are living in the home of another. We are searching for jobs and schools and careers. We are looking for community and church. We are wondering how long we will be in Charleston. Its a strange mixture of purpose and purposelessness. These days combine joy and discovery with restless searching.

as love laughs around us, may we have sanity to find our way.

a King and a Son

silence in a boisterous call center
peace when anxiety swirls through vacation-minded members
centering on the cross as trivial matters escalate to tears and curses

this is my task today as my every fiber longs to sit in silence at the feet of my Saviour in order to enter into His moment of suffering for me.

i recall a day in Apopka, another Good Friday of long ago. sitting on the bathroom floor of the Hamlet for 3 hours. a child, desperate to "enter in." our entire family was silent for the duration of our Lord's suffering- a bond we had made together, encouraged by our earthly father. we each chose a room to stay in so that we would not be tempted. i chose the bathroom because my loft bedroom was too open, airy, distracting. i sat on the pine floor in a room with no clocks- crying at times, sleeping at others, mostly overcome by the smallness of my size. i sat surrounded by blue wallpaper, porcelain features, and wooden antiques, wondering if the King of the Universe even saw me on this day. This day that surely, the King and Son honor in their own way. This day, created for me, yet so much bigger than me.

in remembrance of all of this, i attempt to issue peace into the anxious callers. i pray for them as they get frustrated with being locked out, with repetitive system errors, with unintelligible and strange wording. i ask that today, of all days, that i would be the peace of Christ to others as i share courage for today.

in this way, perhaps i can say "thank you" for a gesture far larger than i can ever comprehend.

how will you give courage for another's way today?