Thankful Thursday

How does the time fly by so quickly?
It has been six weeks since my last blog post.
Life has been full and beautiful and hard and demanding.

At the end of July, I drove up to the Jesuit Center in Wernersville, PA, for a week of silence.
Solitude. Good food. Great prayer. Intense journaling.
I drove more than eight hours each way - and traveled safely in both directions.
I love the time I get to spend at the Jesuit Center.
I don't love long drives by myself.
But the healing that my soul experiences there,
the rest that my body experiences there,
the grace that God pours on me there -
they redeem every hour I spend on the road.
I am so grateful.


I participated at the Women's Connection conference at Montreat earlier this month.
Kate Bowler was the keynote speaker. Her recently released memoir is called Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I've Loved. The story of her journey with stage 4 colon kanswer is terrifying, heart-wrenching, hopeful, funny, and life-affirming.
I am enormously grateful for her courage and for her vulnerability.

The two other folks who led us there are a mother and daughter team: Reverend Dr. Diane Givens Moffett and Reverend Eustacia Moffett Marshall. They are truly a dynamic duo of strong, gifted, outspoken, inspirational women. They both preach. They both sing. They both motivated me to continue to do what I love to do with passion and with great joy.

I shared my new favorite video with the retreat attendees who signed up for my writing workshop.

"This is me."

(I dare you to watch this video without smiling,

without wanting to dance.)

The workshop I offered was called "Your body, your story."
Our bodies are telling us stories.
We tell stories about our bodies.
Our society tells us stories about our bodies.
And our bodies are in relationship with other bodies.
We talked about all of that - and did some writing too - in an hour and a half.

I talked about kanswer and bipolar disorder and hope.
I talked about how we are fearfully and wonderfully made -
no matter what we think of our bodies or what society thinks of our bodies.
We took some time to share some of what our bodies have endured.
We also wrote and talked about some of the ways in which our bodies
have astonished us with their strength and resilience.
We laughed. We cried. Truthfully, I did most of the crying.
I am so grateful for the women who came, for all that they shared, for their questions,
and for the ways in which they supported and cared for each other as well.

We watched "American Made,"  this film made by Valarie Kaur and her husband.
Valarie will be the keynote speaker next summer at the Women's Connection retreat.
I hope I get to meet her.

Every time I get to lead people into places of deeper thought,
into deeper questions, into deeper reflection on life and faith,
whenever I get to watch people connect with each other,
discover new ways to see themselves and their roles in the world,
whenever someone approaches me after a talk or a workshop or a
service of worship, and declares that they have a better understanding
of what gives them hope
what keeps them up at night
what makes them laugh
what will get them through the crisis they are in
what they can do with the gifts they have been given
- every time any of that kind of thing happens,
I thank them for sharing their story
I nod my weary head
I say a silent word of thanks to God
because I know that I know that I know
that I have been witness to another miracle.

The miracle of growth.
The miracle of hope.
The miracle of wisdom.
The miracle of discernment.
The miracle of faith.
The miracle of life itself.
And I am enormously grateful.

I have had dozens of funny, sad, meandering conversations with people at my church.
I have listened to their heart breaking stories.
I have held their hands and wiped their tears.
I have preached. I have prayed.
For the first time, I participated in a memorial service.
It was an honor to join in the celebration of the life of that dear man.
I am so grateful.


For old friendships and for new connections,
for ripe peaches and sun-dried tomatoes,
for barber shops and yoga studios,
for rain and for cloudy days,
for chiropractors and herbal teas,
for hospice care and maternity centers,
for friendly neighbors and their rambunctious dogs,
I am grateful.


I am grateful too, for the quote by Dag Hammarskjold:
"For all that has been, Thank you.
For all that is to come, Yes!"