"Faith"fully Yours

  It is Election Day and somehow it feels safe for me to once again take up my keyboard and jot some musings.   I have found these past months with the political drama, the civil unrest and COVID-19, that I am exhausted.   How about you?   I try to focus on my work and friends and family, but everything I do is colored by these realities.   I cannot plan to see my friends or family without figuring out how to do it safely.   I have become adept with the technologies of FaceTime, ZOOM and kids messenger.   Reimagining how do to everything takes so much energy.   At Bethany House we talk of how “open” can we get the shelter and food pantry and keep the guests and volunteers safe.   At Church, I cannot bring communion to those who really have a desire to receive because I am afraid I might bring them more than the Eucharist.   With friends, we negotiate any type of gathering with questions like “how comfortable are you with …” or should we just ZOOM?   The political drama playing itse

I wrote this for another website:  God's Word Many Voices and wanted to share it here as well. God is merciful, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.” “Encourage one another, live in peace and the God of love and peace will be with you.” “God did not send his son into the world to condemn but to save.”  These are the important phrases of each of the three readings given to us today.  This weekend we celebrate one of the great mysteries of our faith, the mystery of the Trinity.  Also this week, our global community continues to grapple with COVID 19 and all the physical, socio-economic and emotional stresses that have come with that. Finally, in our nation we wrestle with deep seated racism, white privilege and white supremacy spanning several generations.   Richard Rohr, in his book The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation, suggests that the Trinity is that divine energy generated when the Creator, Redeemer and Spirit are working together to renew the fa

A friend of mine has suggested that this time of living with COVID-19 is really a call to live even more in the present moment.  I used to think that I did a pretty good job of living in the moment, but I am learning how untrue this is.  As long ago scheduled events drop off my calendar like leaves from a tree in autumn and as I try to figure out what to do each day, I am learning that I am a creature of habit; that I like being productive in a predictable way; that I believe in some longe range planning and that I define myself at least somewhat by my position/occupation.  I believe that each of these things are valuable to a point.  However, when this is all we have, then staying in and appreciating the present moment is a real challenge. As a person of faith in the divine, in a God who became one of us to show us the way to return to God, I believe that God is in everything.   Even when I find myself in a mess of a relationship or a difficult decision or trying to negotiate the ch

In this new “pandemic” reality in which we find ourselves, I struggle with the thought that all of this is of God (or a punishment from God) and if we just had enough faith, we would be okay or that the virus and all its effects; physical, practical and economic would be straightened out and we would go back to the way things were.   These are my thoughts and by sharing them, I am hoping to open the conversation, rather than cause distress. So many have referred to a “new normal” toward which we are headed.   Social media is peppered with spiritually uplifting memes meant to remind the reader that underneath all the fear and upset is something more solid and reliable.   For me, as a believer, that something is God.   I believe in a God who created the universe and all its inhabitants out of a deep love and a desire to be in relationship.   I believe in a God who loves the world so very much that God became one like us in every way except sin. This is a God who is present and active

A friend of mine recently shared a poem by Mary Oliver called “Sometimes.”   Here is a quote I find particularly meaningful at this time:               Instructions for living a life. Pay Attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. How are you today?   Are you “living a life,” just marking time or somewhere in-between?   I suspect if we are honest, we are somewhere in the in-between.   Life as we knew it stopped somewhere in the month of March of this year and we have been actively trying to figure out what comes next day to day, moment by moment, ever since.   Living with the reality of COVID-19 has all the earmarks of living through a time of great upheaval and loss.   If you are anything like me, these days have had buoyant highs during which we rejoice in the many ways people are looking out for one another and trying their best to stay safe and healthy while at the same time grow in appreciation of the gifts and sacrifices of others.   There have also been very weighty lo

Last week was kind of a “slow starter” sort of week. Not every day, or every part of every day, but as I look back on the week, that certainly characterizes the week.   What do I mean?   Well, most mornings it was hard to get up and start the day.   I did not feel unwell, but I did not feel “right” either.   My early morning prayer time seemed more like a time of trying to quiet the noise in my head than a time of listening for the presence of God.   Sitting down to whatever tasks of the day seemed like navigating through a sea of molasses.   And there were some “tasks” that did not get done – like the writing of these reflections. So here I am, at the start of a new week with some new energy and renewed direction.   This time of “stay at home” orders and living daily with the reality of COVID-19 is unlike any we have ever experienced. For many of us, our usual coping mechanisms aren’t quite up to the task.   And the stressors are new and different too, so moving through this t