This too shall pass...

It is 8AM on the morning of departure.  Normally I'm excited to depart.  Not so much this time.  I suspect that my lack of enthusiasm is linked to all of the following: life changes, challenges in the lives of friends, the enormity of what will be faced at GC42, more strange beds and missing this little apartment and people that have become important to me... and as I was sitting this morning thinking about what lay ahead a friend reminded me of the words: "this too shall pass..."

This too shall pass.  This present moment of joy, struggle, bliss, hopefulness, despair, angst, ecstasy, misery, frustration.... (and the list goes on) ... "this to shall pass."

The reminder for me is to be fully present to the moment before it is passed.  For, even in the most despairing of moments there may be something to be learned, something that my spirit needs to hear, something that my heart needs to be touched by... And then as the moment passes I need to let go of what I cannot shape or control (which is more than I care to admit) so that I can be fully present to the next moment...

Right now I need to be present to some packing and finishing up a memorial service...

I'll likely share more once I am on the road. I'll leave Amherst by 2pm and hope to visit Jake in Glace Bay for a few hours before heading to the ferry terminal...

This afternoons Memorial Service was such a gift to my spirit.  The woman we were remembering was at one time a foster mother, fostering over 100+ children over the course of time.  The Social Worker who worked her case load was present this after noon and told a story of shopping with Jo Ann while at a conference near about the Christmas season.  She was buying seven of everything. "You only have six children" the Social Worker said to her. "Yes" Jo Ann replied, "but I don't know how many I will have Christmas Eve."  Jo Ann's daughter continued the story, "She did not wrap anything until Christmas Eve so that all were included..."

And then, arriving in Glace Bay I got to
reconnect with Jake and find out that despite all the challenge and heartbreak in his life he is collecting broken bicycles and rebuilding them and giving them to children in the community without bikes... What a kind, beautiful and generous heart!

"This too will pass..." As Jo Ann's goodness has passed so too will Jake's one day... So it is that we must honour and cherish it while we can... And perhaps each in our own way strive to be generous so that the moments in which others encounter us might be ones they cherish and honour. 

...on the Sabbath Road... (On the ferry to the Rock...)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Preparing for a Wild Goose Ride...

Image
It's Wednesday, humpday!  Tomorrow Anna and I will gather with Justin, his girlfriend Kaitlin, her parents and Zack (when he gets home from work) and hopefully his girlfriend Trish to celebrate Justin's 20th birthday. Its hard to believe.  Seems like just yesterday we were rushing to Calgary from Acme anxious for his birth, just yesterday that we brought him home to the Manse and opened the house to family and friends as we celebrated his arrival into the world.  And so on... and so on... Wow!  Lots of memories! As the title notes, I am preparing to ride again.  Following Justin's actual birthday on Friday (and officiating at the funeral of a lady in Sackville) I depart for Hot Springs, NC where I will take part in the Wild Goose Festival. “Wild Goose” is a Celtic spirituality metaphor that evokes unpredictability, beauty, and grace.  The Festival takes inspiration from this concept, as well as many events such as Greenbelt, Burning Man, the Iona Community and SXSW.
Read more

A Blanket of Humility

A Sermon Preached Sunday June 25th, 2017 based on Luke 10:25-37 Jesus told a story in today's Gospel reading so I shall begin by doing the same – it’s a story of an experience I had a few years ago taking part in the Blanket exercise with other Chaplains and Elders serving with the Correctional Service of Canada. The floor of the prison gym is criss-crossed with colourful blankets. We move from blanket to blanket, greeting each other quietly, occasionally trading items – a cornhusk doll for a braid of sweet grass, a piece of leather for a dreamcatcher. The blankets represent the northern part of Turtle Island, or North America, before the arrival of Europeans. The participants in this exercise are immersing themselves in the world, 500 years ago, of the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island, its original inhabitants. Then, the the world changes. A facilitator folds up corners of the blankets, making the land “smaller” as the participants learn about the Indian Act of 1876 tha
Read more

(Day 49) What a Sunday drive!!!!!! Truly a Sabbath experience!!!

Image
After a very restful sleep last night, waking to the sound of the forest coming alive around me (ok, so I had to put my hearing aid in first), I made my way to the dining room in the main lodge where I made a cup of coffee. While sipping my coffee I answered a few emails and then planned a loop that would allow me to see as much as possible of the Mt. Hood area before 4PM when things would start here at the centre.  It was hard to choose.  There were so many recommended roads on the Oregon Motorcyclist website.  Eventually I sketched out a route that would take me around Mt. Hood and along the Columbia gorge - avoiding major highways as much as possible. But it was hard to leave the serenity of this space.  Walking around the grounds in the gathering morning light was so calming.  Light filtering through trees, softly bring a new day to fruition.  Birds rising from their slumber, squirrels already about their business... hmmm... as nice as it is, I know there is much more that I wi
Read more