We have been blessed once again with a grandchild, another little boy, born earlier this week. I'm not quite as tired as if I'd given birth, but tired enough. This grandmothering is exhausting, exhilirating work. As I held this tiny child and looked into his bright, eager eyes, I found it hard to believe how much time has passed since his daddy was born. For a time, we were not at all sure that his daddy would make it as he tried to come three months early. Fortunately with the help of good medical care and ten weeks of bed rest by his mama, he arrived safely. What a blessing to welcome his child into this world. I have found that grandchildren are even more of a blessing than I expected. They help keep me young and remind me of God's unconditional love with their trusting innocence and ready affection. So I don't find the passage from the prophet Isaiah, Chapter 11, Verse 6, at all unbelievable: "The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them." I've been around small children a lot of late, and it could happen. Someday in God's good time I pray this whole weary world will be blessed with such peace.
Grace and Peace,
Donna Sue
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Waiting
I suppose I've become a bit better at waiting thanks to my time at seminary, but that's only in comparison to my earlier even more impatient self. Now we sit poised between the past and the future once again as we await the birth of another grandchild. He was due today, but when we talked with his mama earlier, she said he seems to be happy right where he is. And so like Mary and Joseph, we continue to wait for the birth of a Christmas child.
I've learned my job as a grandmother is to wait, a hard assignment as I'm more of a woman of action. For now, however, all of us must wait for the miracle of this child, for God's timing. One thing I've learned in nearly 60 years of living is that it's always better to wait for God's timing. You think I would also have learned to be more patient in the waiting, and I suppose I have, but only in comparison to the past.
Now like the little girl I once was, I'm waiting excitedly for the birth of a child in this Holy season, a child who will change all of our lives, especially those of his mom and dad. I never had a Christmas present this exciting when I was a little girl, and at the moment I feel as impatient as I once felt as I waited for Christmas to come. It always seemed to take forever, yet somehow it always came. I'm sure this baby will come too, just not as soon as his waiting family had hoped.
May you too wait expectantly for the birth of the Holy Child who came in God's good time and changed all of our lives for the better.
Grace and Peace,
Donna Sue
I've learned my job as a grandmother is to wait, a hard assignment as I'm more of a woman of action. For now, however, all of us must wait for the miracle of this child, for God's timing. One thing I've learned in nearly 60 years of living is that it's always better to wait for God's timing. You think I would also have learned to be more patient in the waiting, and I suppose I have, but only in comparison to the past.
Now like the little girl I once was, I'm waiting excitedly for the birth of a child in this Holy season, a child who will change all of our lives, especially those of his mom and dad. I never had a Christmas present this exciting when I was a little girl, and at the moment I feel as impatient as I once felt as I waited for Christmas to come. It always seemed to take forever, yet somehow it always came. I'm sure this baby will come too, just not as soon as his waiting family had hoped.
May you too wait expectantly for the birth of the Holy Child who came in God's good time and changed all of our lives for the better.
Grace and Peace,
Donna Sue
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Season of Hope
Sunday was the first Sunday in Advent for 2007, and Sumner and her family lit the candle of hope at the front of the sanctuary at the start of the worship service. Advent always seems to arrive each year just when I most need the reminder that this is still God's world with a lot of good things going on in spite of the bad news with which we are inundated on a daily basis. Advent arrives when I am in need of hope.
Emily Dickinson wrote something like: Hope is the thing without feathers that perches in the soul and sings the song without words and never stops at all. One of the Biblical writers wrote something like: Without hope the people perish. I know that without God in my life I would have no hope and my soul would shrivel up and die.
This past weekend, I personally participated in a bit of hopeful good news that will never make it onto CNN. My husband and I live in a remarkable neighborhood, where we know each other by name, and know the names of the kids and even the names of the pets. We are in short extended family here, even those like us who have arrived fairly recently. Saturday morning we had a neighborhood workday, which often means picking up the trash thrown along our private road. This time the workday meant yard work at the home of a recently widowed elderly neighbor with Alzheimer's.
For two hours, Scott with his gas powered hedge trimmer, and others with their clippers trimmed hedges and shrubs that had grown ragged and were trying to eat the mailbox, while others like me picked up the trimmings and stacked them for the next trash pickup. When one of the workers went to tell the woman we were finished, her response was "God bless you." What a blessing to be able to do yard work for someone who cannot. Then we gathered for a cookie swap and hot chocolate.
My heart was warmed by the experience of working with a group of neighbors who I know for a fact disagree with each other about many issues, especially in politics and theology. But we all agreed that our neighbor needed help. What a blessing to be able to play a small part in providing that help and to know others felt the same.
Each year I wait for that moment in Advent when God's kingdom breaks through the gloom once again to shine in my heart. This year I was blessed to experience that moment early, when neighbors came together with shared purpose. And the "thing without feathers" perched in my soul once again sang "the song without words." Thanks be to God that will be enough to see me through the new year until Advent once again arrives to remind me of God's eternal hope.
Grace and Peace,
Donna Sue
Emily Dickinson wrote something like: Hope is the thing without feathers that perches in the soul and sings the song without words and never stops at all. One of the Biblical writers wrote something like: Without hope the people perish. I know that without God in my life I would have no hope and my soul would shrivel up and die.
This past weekend, I personally participated in a bit of hopeful good news that will never make it onto CNN. My husband and I live in a remarkable neighborhood, where we know each other by name, and know the names of the kids and even the names of the pets. We are in short extended family here, even those like us who have arrived fairly recently. Saturday morning we had a neighborhood workday, which often means picking up the trash thrown along our private road. This time the workday meant yard work at the home of a recently widowed elderly neighbor with Alzheimer's.
For two hours, Scott with his gas powered hedge trimmer, and others with their clippers trimmed hedges and shrubs that had grown ragged and were trying to eat the mailbox, while others like me picked up the trimmings and stacked them for the next trash pickup. When one of the workers went to tell the woman we were finished, her response was "God bless you." What a blessing to be able to do yard work for someone who cannot. Then we gathered for a cookie swap and hot chocolate.
My heart was warmed by the experience of working with a group of neighbors who I know for a fact disagree with each other about many issues, especially in politics and theology. But we all agreed that our neighbor needed help. What a blessing to be able to play a small part in providing that help and to know others felt the same.
Each year I wait for that moment in Advent when God's kingdom breaks through the gloom once again to shine in my heart. This year I was blessed to experience that moment early, when neighbors came together with shared purpose. And the "thing without feathers" perched in my soul once again sang "the song without words." Thanks be to God that will be enough to see me through the new year until Advent once again arrives to remind me of God's eternal hope.
Grace and Peace,
Donna Sue
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Giving Thanks
I am totally bummed at the moment. We were supposed to be on our way to San Antonio early this morning to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow with our middle son and his family and in-laws. I'm sorry my husband has been stricken with a virus that has left him highly contagious, though I'm grateful he's not seriously ill. The timing is terrible. Time will tell if we can gather with our imnmediate family on Saturday. So I'm watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV (I do love parades), and writing this as an exercise in gratitude even though at the moment I am as my husband noted, heartbroken. It's not often that we are able to get our family, so the prospect of missing that has me feeling really sad.
But, enough on that. I'm grateful to be here with my husband with a day to relax. I'm grateful for a warm, dry place to spend the day and for food to prepare an unplanned Thanksgiving dinner later. I'm grateful that I can see and hear and walk around this morning, and that while my husband is ill, we are both generally in good health. I'm grateful for my wonderful sons and remarkable daughters-in-law. I'm grateful for our beautiful grandkids. We are blessed with good health, good relationships and work to do that we find rewarding. I'm grateful that we live here in peace and safety. Too many of God's children in this world have none of these blessings that I too often take for granted. Thanks be to God for all the ways my life has been blessed. May you find time this day to thank God for your blessings as well.
Grace and Peace,
Donna Sue
But, enough on that. I'm grateful to be here with my husband with a day to relax. I'm grateful for a warm, dry place to spend the day and for food to prepare an unplanned Thanksgiving dinner later. I'm grateful that I can see and hear and walk around this morning, and that while my husband is ill, we are both generally in good health. I'm grateful for my wonderful sons and remarkable daughters-in-law. I'm grateful for our beautiful grandkids. We are blessed with good health, good relationships and work to do that we find rewarding. I'm grateful that we live here in peace and safety. Too many of God's children in this world have none of these blessings that I too often take for granted. Thanks be to God for all the ways my life has been blessed. May you find time this day to thank God for your blessings as well.
Grace and Peace,
Donna Sue
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Nearing the end
I once again find myself stumbling toward the end of the semester. I'm not sure who is the tiredest at this point, me or my students. It has been a great run, but it's almost time for the hardest part of the semester for me--saying goodbye. But before we reach the end, I have to write a few more exams and grade a lot more exams and papers. I was told this week that the policy had changed and finals could no longer be optional, so I'm going to have another two dozen exams to grade than I had counted on. At the moment with Mount Everest in front of me, I'm not all that disappointed that I will not be teaching next semester. But I will be when January rolls around, and I'm not getting prepared for another semester. Hopefully in the future they will find another class for me to teach. I do love the interaction with the students. They are an immense blessing.
But God has been not so gently calling me to "honor my gift," and I'm still sorting out what that means. After much prayer it has become clear that whatever my gift may be it is no longer being a lawyer. It was hard to give up teaching business law, but I know I made the right decision to pass that baton on to another lawyer who is excited about a new opportunity. I think part of what I have to do to honor my gift is to pick back up with the writing. My class seemed intrigued this morning when I told them I was going to go back to my research on Christian vocation and professional ethics and finish the book I started. One student wanted to know if I'd already written it. I still have that part to do. Bob reminded me of my plans for the book, which I will tackle next semester, when he commented that one good way to judge your ethics is by what your mom would say about your actions. Wise advice, and not surprising as he is a wise man. So I shared the title I've come up with for the book: What Would Your Mom Say About Your Professional Ethics? Now I just have to write the essays to live up to the title. I wonder what my mom would say about this project? Unfortunately I'll have to wait until the next life to ask her.
Grace and Peace,
Donna Sue
But God has been not so gently calling me to "honor my gift," and I'm still sorting out what that means. After much prayer it has become clear that whatever my gift may be it is no longer being a lawyer. It was hard to give up teaching business law, but I know I made the right decision to pass that baton on to another lawyer who is excited about a new opportunity. I think part of what I have to do to honor my gift is to pick back up with the writing. My class seemed intrigued this morning when I told them I was going to go back to my research on Christian vocation and professional ethics and finish the book I started. One student wanted to know if I'd already written it. I still have that part to do. Bob reminded me of my plans for the book, which I will tackle next semester, when he commented that one good way to judge your ethics is by what your mom would say about your actions. Wise advice, and not surprising as he is a wise man. So I shared the title I've come up with for the book: What Would Your Mom Say About Your Professional Ethics? Now I just have to write the essays to live up to the title. I wonder what my mom would say about this project? Unfortunately I'll have to wait until the next life to ask her.
Grace and Peace,
Donna Sue
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Travelling to the Dark Side of the Moon
This past month has been way too busy, with classes, volunteer obligations and a bit part in the Sound of Music at my church, followed by a mission trip to Cuba from which we returned earlier this week. Now I find myself in the grudging stage of knowing I need to return to my life here, but resisting leaving behind the people and the memories of our trip to Cuba. The mission on this trip was to demonstrate to our Christian sisters and brothers in Cuba by our presence that they have not been forgotten.
It was not easy to obtain the required religious license from our government to travel there, and as that license expires the end of this month I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to see these new friends in this life again. I hope so. For in Cuba I saw once again the churches aflame with the Holy Spirit as they proclaim God's kingdom in the midst of poverty, both physical and spiritual.
A familiar Bible text from the prophet Joel was on the lectionary while we were there, and I realized I was seeing it lived out before my eyes, for God's spirit has been poured upon them and their sons and daughters are proclaiming God's message, their old people are dreaming of the kingdom and their young people are seeing visions of a future blessed by God. Once again, as at the end of my first trip to Cuba a year and a half ago, my heart wants to be both there and here at home.
Please pray for all of those Christians who proclaim the reason for the hope they have by their lives and their actions, as the pastor preached last Sunday at the Presbyterian church we attended in Havana. We proclaimed that hope by our presence worshipping and sharing communion together, those of us from the U.S. and the Cubans. I pray one day soon we will be free to travel easily from one country to the other. I want them to come and share their remarkable faith with my fellow Christians here, and I want to be able to return and see the people I have come to know and to love.
Grace and Peace,
Donna Sue
It was not easy to obtain the required religious license from our government to travel there, and as that license expires the end of this month I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to see these new friends in this life again. I hope so. For in Cuba I saw once again the churches aflame with the Holy Spirit as they proclaim God's kingdom in the midst of poverty, both physical and spiritual.
A familiar Bible text from the prophet Joel was on the lectionary while we were there, and I realized I was seeing it lived out before my eyes, for God's spirit has been poured upon them and their sons and daughters are proclaiming God's message, their old people are dreaming of the kingdom and their young people are seeing visions of a future blessed by God. Once again, as at the end of my first trip to Cuba a year and a half ago, my heart wants to be both there and here at home.
Please pray for all of those Christians who proclaim the reason for the hope they have by their lives and their actions, as the pastor preached last Sunday at the Presbyterian church we attended in Havana. We proclaimed that hope by our presence worshipping and sharing communion together, those of us from the U.S. and the Cubans. I pray one day soon we will be free to travel easily from one country to the other. I want them to come and share their remarkable faith with my fellow Christians here, and I want to be able to return and see the people I have come to know and to love.
Grace and Peace,
Donna Sue
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Prayers for peace
Our pastor included a request for prayers from the Office on the Middle East, Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and the Iraq Network PC USA, in our church's latest newsletter. I read this contribution this week as I have been contemplating once again the incessant violence we humans inflict on each other around the world. It is a timely reminder that we have Christian brothers and sisters in Iraq, including fellow Presbyterians. And also a reminder that all of the Iraqi people are suffering, not just our fellow Christians. The message asks Presbyterians to pause for prayer each day at noon Eastern time and to pray for our Iraqi brothers and sisters in Christ, all the people of Iraq, Iraqis who are refugees or living in Diaspora, men and women serving in the U.S. military as well as those serving in the militaries of other nations, the people of the U.S. who are impacted by the ongoing Iraq war, and all in positions of authority. The invitation to prayer has been communicated to Presbyterians and other Christians in Iraq "in order that we might stand together before God's throne of grace." To which I can only add, Hear our united prayers, O, Lord, and grant us your peace. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Donna Sue
Grace and Peace,
Donna Sue
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