2019: What Shall We Fear?

Merle2 CommentsLife Lessons, Spiritual Growth

My mother had a lot to think about. She felt responsible to care for a large family, with the prospect of many more offspring to come. Her experiences in the Great Depression likely contributed to her concerns about having enough of life’s basic needs. To add to Mom’s anxieties, a common theme in the ’60s was the threat of frightening and global changes to our existence. The church and the news media both promoted a fascination with the end of the world as we knew it. When I was a child, I remember Mom’s musings about saving things–even considering saving worn-out shoes in case Read More

Celebrations

MerleLeave a commentLife Lessons

I remember numerous Christmas experiences from childhood, and I’m very fortunate that they are happy memories, for the most part. I grew up in a very large family where relationships and togetherness made the Christmas season feel like a happy occasion. I’m not making that up. My parents didn’t put a high value on buying gifts. Maybe that’s because shopping for 15 children would be a daunting project. By the time I came along, there were already in-laws and grandkids added to the family. Gifts were limited, and gifts were small. What seems remarkable is that while we eagerly anticipated Read More

With Us

MerleLeave a commentSpiritual Growth, , ,

I want to be near birds. I love to observe them, to pursue them for learning about them, and to identify them. I love the challenge of getting near enough to get a good photo. I feed birds, so that they come closer. I learn to recognize their language so I can persuade them to come closer. I don’t like it that birds are so flighty. Sometimes the smallest movement causes a whole group to swirl into the air and leave the area. Just when I think I’m quietly getting near, the bird I’m pursuing takes off for another part of Read More

Fully Aware

Merle1 CommentLife Lessons, Spiritual Growth, ,

It was a wake-up, for sure. I suddenly became aware that I was looking out at the receding highway through the back windows of an ambulance. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised; but I didn’t know how I got there. So I asked. I got a short explanation. For the next hours in the hospital emergency and critical care unit, awareness was still an illusive and elusive thing. I thought I was aware. Then I realized I hadn’t been. Then I thought I had a grip on it. Then I realized it had escaped me again. I have never been as aware Read More