The Holiday that Lives On

Previously, I wrote about how wonderful my Valentine's Day was this year. As a part of this celebratory day, my sweet husband brought home flowers and Valentine's Day balloons. I enjoyed having the flowers around for a couple weeks but of course they died somewhere between week 1 and 2. I placed the balloons up in our house as well, expecting that they would follow in a similar pattern. I've never received balloons that have a life beyond a month or two.

However, I think Kevin brought home super balloons! Currently it is May 29 and they are still floating around with lots of air still left.

So, while it seems weird to still have Vday balloons in our house in nearly June, I refuse to pop them. I'm hoping they last even longer than I expect.

Not to be sappy or anything, but what a fun reminder of the happiness of marriage in our first year. . . .

I'll let you know how long the balloons live. Kevin and I have a bet going about it. We'll see who wins. . . .

Tired

Recently, I was hanging out with a colleague friend of mine while we were both discussing what we were going to preach for our next sermon. My friend needed to come up with a short sermon for her preaching class that would coincide speak to the theme of what it means to share your sorrows with others. She had a theme, but was not given a scripture.

After a game of Bible trivia between us and then realizing that it might just be easier if we looked some phrases up online, we came to this perfect text that would meet my friend's requirements for her preaching class assignment.

Jesus said: "Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

Even though Matthew 11 wasn't my sermon to preach, for the past couple of weeks, I've thought often about this verse.

About what a great promise it is . . . .about how so many of us need this type of comfort . . . and how few of us take God up the peace offered to us.

We all are a lot more busy running around than we are being still and offering to God our burdens. That simple word surrender is harder than it seems, you know?

I'm currently quite tired and the busy summer schedule hasn't even started. Weekends are already booked up for months down the road. No free time seems in sight. But, it not just about activity or trying to carve out pockets of time for relaxing things during the summer season Activity will always come and go. It is more about a state of weariness for me currently.

Where is the rest? (Maybe in late August??)

Maybe God's peace might just find me sometime soon. I hope it finds you also . . . all of my tired friends out there too! Peace might just be the gift we all need in this day.

Our Pets

It seems when you get married, if you don't already have pets, everyone expects you to get them. Seemingly they show that you are settling down, nesting or as some people say getting good practice for the responsibility of having children one day.

Yet, there are a couple problems with this traditional pattern in our case. First, I'm allergic to the hair of most cats and dogs, especially cats. Even though I grew up around dogs, when I go home for a visit, I know have to take an allergy pill as soon as I get there. Second, Kevin and I are not the "settling down" type. We love our freedom of going out on the weeknights to have dinner with friends or spending a whole day on Saturday in the city. All the responsibility of being at home to take the dog out is just not for us right now. Third, pets are often create a mess and are expensive. I don't like cleaning up messes and I don't like spending unnecessary money.

For all of these reasons, at this time we do not have any pets...

However, we kind of do. Our house sets beside a large pond. A flock of geese makes it home beside it all year. The winter doesn't even drive them away! These geese are not your average cute animals.

They are loud. Kevin has been known to wake up in the middle of the night because the geese are barking at each other. They frequently do their business on the walking path beside our house (it is gross, let me tell you). And sometimes they even chase me when I'm walking or running on the track. I am not afraid of them though... I just keep running!

The problem has gotten much worse over the past couple of months that Kevin has begun to talk to them in the morning on his way to work. I've heard him telling the geese that he really appreciates his sleep so if they could keep their fighting to daylight hours he would appreciate it.

It's really all so funny!

So, yes, we have all the pets... more than we could ever want in our backyard! Want to come and visit them?

Rain

Dolly Parton once said: "The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."

Yet with a April/ May that we've already had in my part of the country, around the US, and the world, sometimes it is hard to trust in such a fact.

I just heard last night on the news that my area has experienced more rain this May (more than any other spring in the last 10 years). Already our rain fall totals, make this May the top five wettest Mays on record. Wow!

While our house had not received flood damage, there are several homes in our community which have. Images of people floating around on rafts in their neighborhoods have filled the evening news.

But, not only here. It seems that every time I'm preparing to give a pastoral prayer over the past several weeks, I've been forced to mention a particular group of people suffering as a result of a natural disaster like tornadoes and floods in the Midwest and cyclones in Burma. It is mind boggling to to take in when you really think about it. People are dying in grief. Many continue to struggle to find food and shelter, simply because the weather has led them astray.

Where is God?

Where is hope?

Where is the possibility of a bright future?

It's hard to know, sometimes . . .

The more I think about it though, the are moments when rainbows can be found even in the tragedy of loss. I have seen this in the goodness of human community.

Comments made to me by friends who usually aren't in the giving spirit asking me if my church is taking up a relief offering for Burma. They echoes of human sadness have touched their hearts to the point in which they want to connect through giving.

Stories on the news of families bonding together, looking out for one another to make the best of the bad circumstances facing them in the future. Sharing what they have.

Efforts of relief organizations with humanitarian workers on the ground in treacherous area, willing to give of their time so that others might know that someone cares for them.

All of these pictures give me hope. The hope that beautiful days of rainbows are coming. Yet, my belief, is that rainbows come more quickly as we all do what we can to to connect to our human brothers and sisters around the world who face deep loss. We must all do our part.

I Heart Mother's Day

In the Baptist church, where we are usually fond of frequent meetings that often include Sunday morning and Sunday night church-- there are a few exceptions. These exceptions in tradition have become their own high holy days of sort, even though they have nothing to do with religious practice (as sad as that is): Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Father's Day, and the Fourth of July. These are days in which we deviate from tradition patterns and often have special events. Often times, this means special thematic worship services and Sunday evening activities are canceled.

To test my theory, I conferred with my parents and in-laws and a couple of friends who are devoted Baptists in different states. All of them told me that on the dates I just mentioned, there was no Sunday night church.

While I am very annoyed that in many Baptist churches we allow cultural traditions to rule our worship planning (What really does Mother's Day have to do with God anyway? What about those women who want to have children and can't? What about those persons who have recently lost a mother? How does a service devoted completely to their mothers make them feel?), I am thrilled to be in such a season of special events.

Why? Because it means I get a more manageable Sunday. I actually get the chance to rest like everyone else. I get to walk into my Monday feeling refreshed and more productive, instead of dragging around. Last night we did not have Sunday night church and I was incredibly happy! It felt like getting an extra day off.

I was able to enjoy a trip into the city to have lunch with my husband. Even though neither of us to be with our families on Mother's Day, we enjoyed the company of being together. I also took great pleasure in a long Sunday afternoon nap without having to set my alarm to make sure I was back to church in time for a meeting. Kevin and I then got to have dinner with a friend with enough time left over to finish up some house chores before our favorite Sunday night tv show came on: Brothers and Sisters (it was the season finale- so sad!).

While I realize that Sunday night events and activities are a great time for Christian discipleship and fellowship especially when week nights are already jammed packed, my personal opinion is that that practice of Sunday night church/ activities is outdated. Sunday is a day not only for worship, but for rest and family-- not more meetings.

But, for now, I'm only the associate pastor, and to Sunday night church I will continue to go. I leave you with two closing thoughts: I love Mother's Day. I can't wait till Memorial Day!

A Normal Day

So often times my young professional friends or people I meet without a background in the church ask me what I do during the week? They say, "How hard is your job? You just work on Sundays, right?"

Well, no. I work usually 6 days a week, sometimes if I'm lucky only five (like most people . . . well, those who don't work in a driven town like Washington).

As you might imagine: Sunday is my busiest day. In a program centered congregation like ours, there are days when I can work from 8 am-8 pm at night, especially during the school year. I am the first pastor in the building to unlock the church, I often teach or am in a supportive role for Sunday School, lead in worship, have a thousand conversations with congregants, attend and lead meetings in the afternoons, share in a dinner time conversation with somebody and teach an evening class. (My mental state on Mondays are usually reserved for what I call ministerial hangover after all of that).

But, the rest of the week is just as important.

Through the week, there are planning meetings of all sorts to attend and sometimes lead. There are visits to make at the beds of the sick. There are funerals to participate in (but not all the time). There are emails and more emails to answer. There are sermons and teaching sessions to prepare for. There are people to call. There are administrative needs to discuss. There are people who come to our door seeking help with physical needs like food and bill assistance. I met with persons who want to join the church. And, if I'm lucky, I have time for a lunch meeting with a colleague or a friend to keep me focused and encouraged.

Yet, no day is ever "normal."

Even though I try to plan to accomplish certain tasks on certain days, it almost never works out the way I would have planned it to. At a moment's notice I could be at the hospital or on the phone with a person wanting spiritual guidance.

But I don't want my job, no matter how religious it is, to sound overly spiritual. Yes, there are many moments of spiritual encounters through the day with people. But, there are many more things that I do which are like what other people experience in the business world.

I keep up with a budget and organize receipts.
I keep trying to keep my office clean with the clutter always coming back to find me...
I keep track of my calendar and plan for vacations.
I look forward to going home in the evenings and eating dinner with my husband.
I have bad days.
All just like anyone else. . .

Two of the reasons why I like this vocation is that I get to be present at so many important moments of individuals' lives and because really I never know what is next. The fun of the job comes as I drive to work-- really not knowing what I'm in for in the day ahead. Some days are more interesting than others. Some days I spend more time in front of my computer than others. Some days I spend talking to people more than others. But, all in all, I hope that with each day I can find joy being present with others and knowing that I did something that will last.