Something Beautiful for God

To show great love for God and our neighbour we need not do great things. It is how much love we put in the doing that makes our offering something beautiful for God. ~ Mother Teresa

I read Malcolm Muggeridge's book about Mother Teresa almost two decades ago. The book had a powerful effect on my life. I wanted to change my ways afterwards—to live differently. I went off to Washington, DC to work in the inner city after that. I was never the same.

Sometimes it is not grandiose things that change the world. In the daily routine of life, we are created and creating anew. Today I spent time with a family that I had not seen for almost a year and a half. They called me an angel because of the work I did for their son. I have a couple of families on my caseload who call me their angel. It is rather humbling.

At the centre of my work, when I am doing it well, I may well be God’s angel, as I offer up my task as something beautiful for God. I struggle to maintain this some days but today was a reminder that we all have the potential to change the world for the better. Do small things with great love, Mother Teresa also says. If our efforts are for God, we should have love at the centre of them and then something beautiful will definitely unfold.

Peace,

Suzanne

If parents snicker at racial and gender jokes, another generation will pass on the poison adults still have not had the courage to snuff out. ~ Marian Wright Edelman

During my morning devotional time, I read this line, Love is reached through a journey, and it requires practice. It comes from a larger context by Enzo Bianchi in which the topic of loving your enemy is examined. Maybe my mind is still on loving those who are different than you because of last night’s play. I think that I am on a journey of loving better and that requires practice. I find myself having conversations with a young person in my life and challenging her to think more broadly. She made a wise crack about someone’s physical appearance on TV the other night and I asked her why she would do that. I am still learning how to deal with jokes about racial, gender, and sexual orientation. I don’t laugh at them, but sometimes I don’t know what to say to show my disproval of them and the toxic language lingers in my mind and all those who have heard the poison.

The photo is from my trip to Burundi. It is the site of a massacre of one race by another. The Hutus murdered Tutsi students and staff here, hacking them with machetes or burning them alive at this spot. When I was there fourteen years after the genocide, I saw the struggle to love your enemies. I met people who were finding the courage to snuff out the racism and hatred. These people have learned to love in ways that most of us will never have to be challenged by. They are working on raising a new generation of children who will not hold the racial grudge. I wish them ever success in their venture. In the meantime, I am going to continue practicing on my own personal journey of discovering my own courage to do the same.

Peace,

Suzanne

The opposite of love is not hate; it's indifference. ~ Elie Wiesel

It has been over 20 years since Canada had a shooting at Montreal's École Polytechnique that took the lives of fourteen women. For those unfamiliar with the incident, a man stormed into the engineering class and separated the men from the women and then opened fire on the women, expressing his anger towards feminists, and women in general. Canada was shocked at this violence against women and wondered how this could happen in our country.

Tonight I went to see The December Man, which is an award winning play that does not focus on the women or the shooter. Instead, it looks at one of the men who was separated from the women and the aftermath of his trauma and guilt. It is a cleverly done drama, working backwards through time, showing the unraveling of the young man and his parents.

I had recently returned to Canada after living in Washington, DC for a year when the historical event took place. Shootings were commonplace in my American neighbourhood. Canada was home though and such things did not happen. I had actually come through Montreal on my way home to visit a friend who was living there. I called her when I heard about the shootings. She was safe but she knew someone whose sister had been killed.

The shootings changed me. I was taking night classes at the university at the time. About a week after the shootings, I stopped at the washroom before walking home. As I washed my hands, I heard running in the hallway. My heart stopped. What was going on out there? Was there a copycat shooter? Was I going to die in the women’s washroom? It turned out to be nothing but the reaction was so strong in me that I realized I was no longer the same person. I no longer felt safe being a woman. I had always considered myself a feminist but now I knew that came at a great cost. I was angry about the shootings for a long time. I think as a nation, Canada was too. I think it is why we still honour these women every December 6.

The play took a broad stance. As the family moved through its existence post-trauma, it was obvious that sweeping the violence under the carpet did not work. Indifference and hatred are the opposite of love. Apathy destroys people. The man who left that classroom that day could not live with what he had done, though no one blamed him. How could anyone have blamed any of those men that day? We had never experienced anything like it in our history. No one knew what would happen. As a country we mourned and those who remember will probably not be indifferent to the violence that women experience. I know that I remember every December with sorrow and anguish. I pray that women don’t ever have to be afraid because they are women but some days that prayer seems ludicrous. Most days, however, I know that being a woman is one of the best gifts I have ever received in spite of all the hurdles faced.

The play reminded me that violence against women hurts everyone, not just women. It tears apart lives and families and the very fabric of our society. May we all choose not to be indifferent to the violence that we see.

Peace,

Suzanne

Journeying with Jesus

We must carry Jesus in our hearts to wherever He wants to go, and there are many places to which He may never go unless we take Him to them. ~ Caryll Houselander

Today an interesting event happened at work. A colleague was coming to meet with me and some other people needed to meet with him but no interpreter was available. I volunteered to interpret their meeting prior to mine. Later in the day, after the meetings, one of my colleagues stopped by looking for someone else and she looked at me, and said, “Stand up. I need to give you a hug. You are one of the kindest, most generous people I know.” It caught me totally off guard. I did not really think what I had done was that special.

I think that is how it is with Jesus. He just shows up sometimes, when we least expect it, and does not make much fanfare. He has the potential to change lives through us. He has the ability to change our own lives if we pay attention.

I have a neighbour who has some issues. I am not quite sure what they are but he is not super friendly towards me. When I left the house today, I turned and locked the door. Then I listened, wondering what that sound was I was hearing. I looked up—no, not rain. Hmmm…..it sounds like water. I could not figure it out. I went around towards the back where my car is and then I saw the source. My neighbour’s outdoor tap was on full blast. He must have opened it in the fall after the freeze. Today was a glorious day, with temperatures above zero.

I was wearing only shoes and I could see that the water had been running for some time. I envisioned a flooded basement so I jumped into the snow bank between the houses and turned off the tap. Then I went to work. Then I realized that if the basement was flooded, my neighbour might not find it because he did not know that the tap had been on. When I got home, I knocked on his door. He was surprised to see me. I simply told him what I had done and turned and walked away after he said thank you. It was actually a good exchange. Despite saying he is not friendly towards me, we have had a couple of decent things happen between us. He helped me one day when I was frustrated by my bike stand.

Anyway, this day sort of taught me that if I carry Jesus in my heart with me throughout the day, special things can happen, even in the most ordinary exchanges.

Gotta love it!

A life lived in love will never be dull. ~ Leo Buscaglia


Since it is Heart/Love Month, I thought I would share the following list with you.

Ten Things I Love Today:

1. The Colour Purple....ok, I know, I love that everyday but today I wore it.

2. The restaurant in small town Manitoba that I went to for lunch that makes everything from scratch.

3. Driving with my window down in FEBRUARY!! Yes, it was –1. Woohoo!

4. A clean car….after days of minus kazillion degrees, I was finally able to wash it.

5. Not having to plug my car in….(ok, is there a theme here?)

6. Vampire Diaries should be on later tonight.

7. The pasta dish I am about to have for supper.

8. Groupon Coupons—today’s was one I will definitely use!

9. Learning that my sister-in-law’s sister will have a room named after her at the place she worked and changed lives of teens.

10. My friend Ren who is celebrating a birthday! Happy Birthday to you!!

Love Hurts

And a sword will pierce your own soul. ~ Simeon in the Gospel of Luke 2

Today is the Presentation of the Lord or Candlemas in the Catholic Church. I was able to attend mass and the congregation processed in with our candles singing. The readings were about the presentation of Jesus in the temple with Simeon and Anna rejoicing that they have seen their Saviour.

For those who have been in love with anyone, you know that by loving you open yourself up to the potential of pain. When Simeon warns Mary that her soul will pierced, she has no idea what that will mean. Most of us would not want to know what is going to cause us pain in advance. I had a great chat this week with a friend who was telling me if she had to pick problems out of a jar, she would still pick her own over someone else’s. She was telling me an incredible story about loving her child. I could feel though how a sword was also piercing her heart. That is the cost of love—it ain’t cheap!!

Heart Month

Rest your heart in God, let yourself float on the safe waters, loving life as it comes, with all the rough weather it may bring. Give, without counting how many years are left, not worried about surviving as long as possible. ~ Brother Roger

February. I have written daily for one month. I must confess I am delightfully surprised by my discipline.

February is heart month. Heart and Stroke Month is one spinoff of that theme. Valentine’s Day makes its appearance. Working in the education setting, February is also I love to read month. Hearts abound in this month.

What is happening in your heart today? Is it a healthy heart? Is it a happy heart? My heart is resting in God today. These past few weeks have been full of unexpected events, many sad. Even in my weariness tonight though, I must confess that I love life. I always have, turbulent weather and all. Brother Roger of Taize was such an amazing man. Taize is a place that I adore. I thought I might return there this year to celebrate my half century. I am still debating that.

In my heart today, I hold my uncle and his/our family, and my sister-in-law and her family. It is one week since my uncle and my sister-in-law’s sister died.

peace,

Suzanne