West Coast Wedding

"It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love." ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Hesed is a love that not many of us know on a personal level. We would long for it if we did. This weekend at the West Coast wedding of a friend, the pastor spoke of hesed as a loyal and steadfast love. When the bride entered the church….well, after she snuck in and then after a moment in hiding behind a screen, called out, “Sorry I’m late!” she stood with all eyes on her and looked down the aisle at her soon-to-be husband and she welled up with tears. The journey to this moment has been a long one, and those gathered felt the joy and intensity of the love being celebrated.

Today’s Gospel was about the inclusion of someone from community due to leprosy. The wedding yesterday was about community, strong and broad, borne out of fidelity to God, family, and friends. I cannot imagine being cut off from community. Joining my friend for her wedding seemed like something I had to do, to stand with her as she exchanged her vows, to bless them as they began their life together, and to affirm the decision that was reached.

Jesus reached out to touch the leper and he longs for each of us to experience his healing touch and the joy of hesed. May you come to know it if you have never experienced it before.

Peace,

Suzanne

Love and Marriage

"Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing." ~ Goethe

I am getting excited. Tomorrow at this time, the hall will be decorated for my friend Shelley’s wedding. We will have broken bread together and blessed her and her fiancé.

I love this story of love and marriage. I remember the summer Shel met John…her excitement and joy. I was intrigued. This summer I sat with them having lunch. We had ice cream in White Rock later. We sat in the living room as it grew dark, talking non-stop. We forfeited a walk along one of my favourite beaches in the world as John and I got to know each other better. By the time I left, I was hoping an engagement would be forthcoming. Hurray!

On World Happy Day, they will exchange their vows in front of a relatively small cloud of witnesses. I pray that this marriage will be the real thing for both of them, grounded in their love and in God who has called them together.

Peace,

Suzanne

One Moon, Two Countries

“Those are the same stars, and that is the same moon, that look down upon your brothers and sisters, and which they see as they look up to them, though they are ever so far away from us, and each other.” ~ Sojourner Truth

I do not have a photo of the amazing full moon that peeked over the horizon as I drove home the other night. The orange half circle made me gasp when I first saw it rising. When I got home, a woman I know who is hanging out in Bali these days, had psoted a photo of the full moon there…except that she had posted hers 13 hours earlier. Same moon, two sets of eyes, thousands of kilometers away, half a day apart. Amazing, I think!

Peace,

Suzanne

Hunted

"And Simon and his companions hunted for him." ~ Gospel of Mark, Chapter 1

Hunted is an odd word choice and is later revised to a more acceptable “searching” in the next line. Hunted gives the sense of urgency on the one hand—hunted high and low for him—and of being stalked like a prey on the other hand. Jesus had slipped away in the dark to a deserted place to pray in the morning after a busy previous day of healing. I can understand why people might have wanted to hunt him down. If he cured many in one day, his disciples would be concerned if he suddenly disappeared.

I sometimes think I hunt for the cure for my diseases and come up empty-handed. If I knew that someone could cure me, I would certainly look high and low to find that person. Job cries out in the first reading that he is allotted months of emptiness and nights of misery. When we are in pain in any way, we may seek desperately for God or for Christ. The wonderful thing is that in this reading, we find Christ praying and ready to get back to the task at hand of healing.

Peace,

Suzanne

Our Fathers

"Father! - to God himself we cannot give a holier name." ~William Wordsworth

My friend’s father’s funeral was today. Her mother died about six months ago. The four children and four grandchildren gathered to send off this man graciously and tenderly. The grandchildren all spoke of their memories and my friend and her husband signed their accolades. He had now gone to join his beloved wife and he had managed to die, quite suddenly in the end, at home, as he wished. At his wife's funeral, he had said see you soon and he was serious, as he was about many things in life.

My friend who is Deaf began by sharing that her dad never learned ASL—which was true—but they would still communicate, resorting to pen and paper if need be. She spoke of a man who she knew loved her. I knew him. In fact, I know the family quite well. I had not seen the daughter who had moved out of province for a long while. When I went to extend my condolences, both she and her husband looked at me for a moment as I said her name, and then she cried out, “Suzanne!” and gave me a big hug. I had written in the sympathy card to the family that their parents had raised a solid family and as I went to each of them during the reception, I knew that this was true. They knew that they were loved. Our fathers make a lifelong impression upon us. I know mine has.

Peace,

Suzanne

Worth the Work

"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."
~ Beverly Sills

Today was another gorgeous hoarfrost day. Our staff spent the afternoon in mediation. I am not sure what to think about where we are going however I do believe that it will be circuitous and lengthy.

Trust is challenging to achieve when people have been burned. One of the activities was to share something about the changes and challenges. Only five out of eleven of us spoke. I hope though that those five inspired others to consider the activity next time.

Waving a magic wand is not possible. We need to arrive at our destination properly and in good time. I am hoping that there might be healing for myself and others on this journey.

Peace,

Suzanne

Hoar Frost Wonder

“Forests, lakes, and rivers, clouds and winds, stars and flowers, stupendous glaciers and crystal snowflakes - every form of animate or inanimate existence, leaves its impress upon the soul of man.” ~ Orison Swett Marden

I took a bit of a hiatus from writing but I thought today was such a stunningly gorgeous day that I had to post. February 2 and the groundhog saw its shadow. We will have six more weeks of winter but we have had a great winter thus far so I can put up with it.

Today the hoarfrost decorated the city all day long. At one point, driving past one of the parks, I burst out, “God, you did a great paint job today!” which made me smile bigger than I was already smiling.

Peace,

Suzanne