Mama Mondays

I worked a shift at the hospital Friday and wrote the following reflection after a visit with one of the patients I got to spend time with. I thought I’d share it with you today for this edition of Mama Monday:  😊 As I walked in, he looked at me with kind eyes and a warm, worn smile. As I sat down, the tears came— soft at first, then steady— everything spilling out. How much he missed and loved his wife and daughters. How he wanted them to be happy, to get along, to know—without question— how deeply he loved them. He spoke of wanting to tell them plainly when he sees them again, because there is no time left to waste. He remembered fishing with one of his girls when she was small as he looked back at treasured times together. When I asked if he wanted to hear a song, he chose Randy Travis’ cover of the song  Peace in the Valley. It’s been said that “he who sings prays twice,” and this song became the right prayer for the right moment— a balm for both our sou...

  "Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing away. God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God, lacks nothing. God alone suffices." -Teresa of Avila I've been borrowing these words during this season, aware of some of the conflicting emotion that it brings up in me. Let nothing disturb you. Really? So much disturbs me. And in fact, I think being disturbed is an important reality. It's what motivates us to make a change, to advocate, to speak up, to use our voice. Being disturbed is not a sin or something to avoid. The survival of the marginalized depends on those in seats of power and influence being disturbed. So I've decided that this definition of being disturbed can't be what she meant. It must mean something different. And so in the saying of it, in the praying of it, I'm opening to what it might mean to let nothing disturb me. Maybe it means let nothing take you so far out of yourself that you'r...

 Matthew 3:13-17, The Message 13-14  Jesus then appeared, arriving at the Jordan River from Galilee. He wanted John to baptize him. John objected, “I’m the one who needs to be baptized, not  you !” 15  But Jesus insisted. “Do it. God’s work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism.” So John did it. 16-17  The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”   Lectio Reflections on Matthew 3:13-17 It’s only the third chapter of Matthew still early in the story, but the stage is already being set.   Jesus steps into the Jordan, into the water, into the hands of his friend John. And here God reveals what has been true all along. The skies break open. The Spirit comes down like a dove. A voice ...

  We sang this song at church yesterday morning, and I was so grateful for these words...  New Every Morning - by Porter's Gate  You are not what you have done Or what has been done to you You are something like the rising sun Can't you see that you are new You might have your father’s name Or bear the shame he left behind But there's new life flowing through your veins Leave some room to be surprised You are new every morning You are new every morning Each day a resurrection waiting to break through You could try just for a start To put the judge back on thе shelf All the lovingkindness in your hеart Have a little for yourself You are new every morning You are new every morning Each day a resurrection waiting to break through You are new You think hope is lost but it's just underground The flame might be an ember but the fire won’t go out All the evidence is pointing to the truth That daily resurrection is still happening in you You are new every morning You are new ev...