Stay Alert

Stay Alert

As I write this, I am working from home so that my low energy and discomfort aren't shared with the people that I would meet on an ordinary day. It I s ironic to be writing about alertness while alternating between veging out to the drone of daytime television and being convinced by the dogs to just give in to the persistent temptation to nap.

Buen Camino, pelegrinos.

 As pilgrims on the road, I am reminded of our adventure together by the Price Is Right's mountain climber (Yodel a he, yodel a he, yodel he who). The Lenten journey that we started last month has been a little surprising but I hope you are enjoying the adventure. Each week we have climbed a little further up the mountain of transformation. We decided our path by asking "what happens in church that would freak people out if it happened in Walmart?" It turns out that each of these odd traditions have transformation at their core. With each step we take, we climb a little higher (Yodel a he, yodel a he, yodel a he who).

Let us recall the Camino in mid trek. We started with the Peace of Christ. We learned that this is a peace of complete integration and wholeness. Tasting this peace is life changing. Giving this peace away changes us again. We explored fasting and learned that intentionally making space in our lives is spiritual exercise. We wrestled with confession and found that dealing with guilt and shame can lighten our load in life. We exposed the practice of intercessory  prayer and learned that we can transform our relationships from comparison into compassion. If we look back, we have the opportunity to notice that we have come pretty far up the mountain.

Now it is time for alertness. On a journey like this, the view is constantly changing. In the movie "The Way" Martin Sheen's friends groused, " what is his problem?" sheen continued to press on with the mentality of completing a forced march. "Doesn't he ever stop to smell the flowers?" Staying alert is about smelling the flowers. God has been hard at work all this time. Each day is filled with the fragrance of God's love; the beauty of renewed creation, the healing power of supportive relationships. Have you taken time to notice these? Are you staying alert?

This Sunday we will be alert. We will awaken to moments that usually pass us by. We won't just see the gifts that are in our path, we will unwrap them as well. Until then, Buen Camino.

Enjoy God,

pg

Hannah Rose

1 Samuel 1:4-9a

⁴On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; ⁵but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. ⁶Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. ⁷So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. ⁸Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

⁹After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord.

Circumstances can certainly be tragic but they are not everything. In fact, it is important to God and it is important to Diane that people are able to realize that we are so much more than the circumstances that affect us.

Our scripture today tells the story of a woman that was pushed to the 

margins. The women of her community judged her and mocked her because she was childless. She was brought to tears with self-pity and self-loathing. She was brought to her knees; crying for mercy from God or anyone that would listen. Her name was Hannah. But I think the story shows us that she went through a name change. She went from Hannah; the name given to her by the family that raised her, to Hannah Rose; the name she lived into after she was raised up by the power of love.

It is no accident that Elkinah saw the sorrow in Hannah’s circumstances. It is not coincidence that Hannah would get a double portion from the person that loved her. Hannah needed to know that she was loved. Hannah needed to know that she was lovable. She needed to feel the joy of being the object of someone’s affection and the center of someone’s attention. And when the proper nurturing was experienced, Hannah Rose.

Hannah rose! She didn’t stumble to her feet. She didn’t get up as if it were just an alternative to being down. Hannah Rose! She lived. She thrived. She became a whole new person – a resurrection person. From this point on Hannah’s life would never be the same, because love put new life into her. Love would redefine her. Love would call her from the tomb of despair. Love would rename her. It is a beautiful image Hannah Rose; it is a beautiful name Hannah Rose.

Circumstances were difficult when I met Diane and her family. Diane was in the loving care of nurses from Hinds Hospice. She would begin the process of completing the journey of life among us. She had been assisted by the caring people at Mission Gardens for more than thirteen months. She had suffered with dementia brought on by Alzheimer’s disease for more than ten years. Yet, even under these circumstances there was beauty in the room. The family recalled Diane’s passion for humor and laughed at memories of Monty Python movies shared. They supported one another; a daughter would recall her memory of mom’s love for her husband Jim, A sister would remind her brother of the deep affection his mother had for him. A parent would relive the adoration that Diane poured out upon her grandchildren even as a grandchild stroked her hair. There was beauty in this room. There was love in this room. And from this nurturing bed of love Diane Rose. Diane rose a new person. Diane rose into the eternal embrace of God’s undying love –  a love that she had shared and expressed upon the people in her life for all of the years that she lived.

I watched the news yesterday; heartbroken by the tragedy of Ebony Wilkerson. Ebony is a young pregnant mother in Daytona Beach, Florida. She has three children 10, 9, and 3 years of age. And she is terrified. She is haunted by the specter of demons, the memory of abuse, the threat of danger from people that should have been her shelter in the storm. She was the woman that had a psychological break and drove her car and her family into the ocean. Thankfully, all were rescued. Even as this story was being told on the evening news; I thought out loud, this world needs more people like Diane Glidden. This world needs more resurrection people.

A resurrection person has the ability to believe in resurrection because they have lived through one. Diane had been through the depths of depression and she had seen the other side – Diane rose. And when she did, it changed her life and the lives of countless others.

When Diane rose she would go back to school, she would graduate with honors, she would get a master’s degree in social work, she would study the causes of depression in women, and she would become a licensed counselor. When Diane rose she would broaden her understanding of a loving God. When Diane rose she would not rise alone.

She would give her husband the space to follow his joys and his dreams. She would impress upon her children Joshua, Rochelle, and Laurie the importance of loving people without judgment. Diane would model the value of accepting the things that they cannot change. the power of changing the things they can, and the wisdom of knowing the difference. Diane would make sure that her children and grandchildren knew that they were loved and lovable, she would spend hours playing, gardening, singing, and dancing. She would focus deeply on the objects of her love sketching the beauty that she saw in each and every one of them.

When Diane Rose she knew that she could not rise alone. In complete, confidence she counseled the women in our community that lived anxiety filled lives in secret and in sadness. Women like Hannah in the bible, Women like Ebony Wilkerson in the news, women that would not be named if not for the power of love. The power of love that was expressed through Diane would name these women beloved and change their lives forever.

Thanks to Diane and the loving God that inspired her, we have new people in this world; resurrection people in this world. Maybe they have new names as well; names like Hannah Rose, Ebony Rose, Sally Rose, Katie Rose, Maria Rose, Ayesha Rose, Natasha Rose, Mary Rose. Do you have a new name today by the power of this amazing love?

Just like I said before, we need more people in this world like Diane. We need resurrection people that will love the desperate into a new life. If you were touched by Diane, the seed of resurrection was planted in you. 

Rise to the calling of love. Rise.