RevGal Friday Five: Signs of Hope!
I believe that if we look carefully we can see signs of hope all around us.... as for signs of spring... well, you tell me....
What have you seen/ heard this week that was a :
1. Sign of hope? A pleasant, clear conversation with one of my parish leaders that was... well, not exactly difficult, but not easy, either. Needed to happen, and it went well.
2. An unexpected word of light in a dark place? Another parishioner, who has been suffering some dramatic challenges in her life recently, was able to find her way to our healing service... and afterward, to talk about some of what has kept her silent and away. Nothing more holy than a moment like that.
3. A sign of spring? Baby livestock! Calving has started, and tiny cows are beginning to dot the landscape, shadowing their mothers like awkward little miniatures. Adorable!
And-- garden catalogs-- the first ones arrived this week, giving me glorious visions of what our yard might look like, someday...
4. Challenging/surprising? The unpredictability of the weather here. Oh, back in Indiana we had the "wait 5 minutes and it will change" routine; but the shifts in elevation add a dramatic twist to that truism. When I drove home the other day, I left a foot of snow in Red Lodge, found it sunny and clear in Roberts, blowing snow like a blizzard in Joliet that was gone by Silesia, and calm and grey in Laurel. Amazing.
5. Share a hope for the coming week/month/year....
This Week: To finish the Holy Week prep - bulletins, inserts, all the details. Beyond that: I've hung on to a Lenten discipline of being more intentional about my time-- actually taking my sabbath, for example. It's been good for me, and for all of us here. I purely want to continue that habit.
Bonus play... a piece of music/poem guaranteed to cheer you? Oh, the list of music would be long. Most anything I can sing to-- and by that I mean, "belt out with abandon."-- qualifies here.
But there's also this, posted on the bulletin board in my office:
"You can live with dread of the future and its uncertainties. Or, you can hope and trust and live in faith that if you find yourself at the edge of a cliff, with no where to turn...that God will teach you to fly. "
What have you seen/ heard this week that was a :
1. Sign of hope? A pleasant, clear conversation with one of my parish leaders that was... well, not exactly difficult, but not easy, either. Needed to happen, and it went well.
2. An unexpected word of light in a dark place? Another parishioner, who has been suffering some dramatic challenges in her life recently, was able to find her way to our healing service... and afterward, to talk about some of what has kept her silent and away. Nothing more holy than a moment like that.
3. A sign of spring? Baby livestock! Calving has started, and tiny cows are beginning to dot the landscape, shadowing their mothers like awkward little miniatures. Adorable!
And-- garden catalogs-- the first ones arrived this week, giving me glorious visions of what our yard might look like, someday...
4. Challenging/surprising? The unpredictability of the weather here. Oh, back in Indiana we had the "wait 5 minutes and it will change" routine; but the shifts in elevation add a dramatic twist to that truism. When I drove home the other day, I left a foot of snow in Red Lodge, found it sunny and clear in Roberts, blowing snow like a blizzard in Joliet that was gone by Silesia, and calm and grey in Laurel. Amazing.
5. Share a hope for the coming week/month/year....
This Week: To finish the Holy Week prep - bulletins, inserts, all the details. Beyond that: I've hung on to a Lenten discipline of being more intentional about my time-- actually taking my sabbath, for example. It's been good for me, and for all of us here. I purely want to continue that habit.
Bonus play... a piece of music/poem guaranteed to cheer you? Oh, the list of music would be long. Most anything I can sing to-- and by that I mean, "belt out with abandon."-- qualifies here.
But there's also this, posted on the bulletin board in my office:
"You can live with dread of the future and its uncertainties. Or, you can hope and trust and live in faith that if you find yourself at the edge of a cliff, with no where to turn...that God will teach you to fly. "
posted by Jane Ellen+ at
7:33 AM
4 Comments:
Let's not forget the hope that YOU bring to so many in your area of our glorious Diocese. I believe that any many respects "hope" is catchy... and you are spreading it through a life of prayer, obedience and dedication. Well done good and faitful sister.
Thanks, brother. Speaking of hope, I am regularly grateful for your presence and encouragement, as well.
Baby livestock is always good. One of my friends says every family should be issued a new kitten every spring...although what becomes of last year's kitten isn't yet quite clear...
sounds like Lent is going well for you and your congregations. You are a blessing to all of them there. Glad you came the Montana way.
By the way, you've been tagged.
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