An "Auld Lang Syne" Friday Five
Five memorable moments? Hmmm................ The good, the bad, the ugly -- Let's start with the ugly:)
1. Being stuck in the Newark airport for 5 days last January. Hard to find an up-side to that. Still - I did manage to complete all the reading I had been putting off for 6 months.
2. Launching a dear friend and colleague in ministry into a new career - the one God has been calling him to for years. I know that's life in the church - saying goodbye and all that - and it was a glorious moment of God's grace. Still - I miss him, my family misses him, my church misses him.
3. Watching a man I thought of as a friend stand up in a congregational meeting and shake his finger in my face and call me names. I know his life is falling apart and I understand doing crazy things when one is under a lot of stress. Still - definitely a moment I hope never to have again.
4. Breaking my ankle two weeks before moving into a new home. Never broke a bone before. Never want to do it again. Still - a humbling experience all things considered and an opportunity to reflect on the goodness of those who love me. Anyone who could have loved me on crutches must be very good.
5. Moving into a new home with my husband, my son, my mom and two dogs - six weeks before Christmas. See number 3 above concerning crazy levels of stress. Still - it feels right.
Bonus question - a transparent liminal moment of God's grace.
A young woman in my church shared her college application essay with me a day or two ago. Her family has crashed and burned in the last couple of years and it has taken its toll on her - eating disorder, cutting, depression and anxiety. But she has come out the other end of the tunnel and is stronger and more beautiful than ever. In her essay, she writes that growing up is learning that no one escapes tragedy forever as much as we might hope to. She claims her tragedy for her own and lifts it up as an example of God's grace. In her tragedy, she found God's love and mercy and forgiveness through the faith that her church held for her when she could not find her own. In a year that otherwise could pass into history unmourned, I'll take that. It makes the rest of the garbage more than worthwhile.
Happy New Year to all - and to all - God's grace and mercy in 2008.
1. Being stuck in the Newark airport for 5 days last January. Hard to find an up-side to that. Still - I did manage to complete all the reading I had been putting off for 6 months.
2. Launching a dear friend and colleague in ministry into a new career - the one God has been calling him to for years. I know that's life in the church - saying goodbye and all that - and it was a glorious moment of God's grace. Still - I miss him, my family misses him, my church misses him.
3. Watching a man I thought of as a friend stand up in a congregational meeting and shake his finger in my face and call me names. I know his life is falling apart and I understand doing crazy things when one is under a lot of stress. Still - definitely a moment I hope never to have again.
4. Breaking my ankle two weeks before moving into a new home. Never broke a bone before. Never want to do it again. Still - a humbling experience all things considered and an opportunity to reflect on the goodness of those who love me. Anyone who could have loved me on crutches must be very good.
5. Moving into a new home with my husband, my son, my mom and two dogs - six weeks before Christmas. See number 3 above concerning crazy levels of stress. Still - it feels right.
Bonus question - a transparent liminal moment of God's grace.
A young woman in my church shared her college application essay with me a day or two ago. Her family has crashed and burned in the last couple of years and it has taken its toll on her - eating disorder, cutting, depression and anxiety. But she has come out the other end of the tunnel and is stronger and more beautiful than ever. In her essay, she writes that growing up is learning that no one escapes tragedy forever as much as we might hope to. She claims her tragedy for her own and lifts it up as an example of God's grace. In her tragedy, she found God's love and mercy and forgiveness through the faith that her church held for her when she could not find her own. In a year that otherwise could pass into history unmourned, I'll take that. It makes the rest of the garbage more than worthwhile.
Happy New Year to all - and to all - God's grace and mercy in 2008.
posted by Nina Reeder at 7:20 AM
8 Comments:
Your bonus is wonderful. Thanks be to God.
And...5 days in airport! YIKES!!!!
wonderful post.
your bonus is beautiful--thank you for sharing
blessings in 2008
You bonus was so worth the reading. Would that we all learn that. And you have been through a lot yourself. Hope it gets better. Sorry you went through the disappoiontment with someone you thought you knew. I have been there too. Hang in there and may you have a blessed new year!
Bonus reflection, yes, wow. And 5 days in an airport, oh my...oh my...blessings for 2008.
Yes, your bonus question was awesome!! Blessings in the new year!
What Mary Beth said...and man...you had a tumultous year, eh?
I LOVE your God moment -- it's moments like this that mean so much in ministry...
thanks!
Your bonus is an example of why we stay doing this pastor thing in face of experiences like #3.
God bless and happy new year, Pastor Nines!
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