Mother's Day LIturgy

When one in six couples struggles with infertility, mother's day can be a painful time for many women in the church. This blog post (from "The Messy Middle") addresses the topic beautifully and includes this fabulous liturgy:

To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you
To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you
To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you
To those who experienced loss this year through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you
To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.
To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you
To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you
To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you
To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you
To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience
To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst
To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you
And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you
This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.

I love Greek!!!

I love how words speak more clearly when we hear them in a different context!

The scripture passage for this Sunday is the one where Paul begs God to remove the "thorn in his flesh" and, instead, God says "My grace is sufficient for you."

Usually when I read God's response, the tone of voice (in my mind) is the same one I use when talking to my cat before bedtime. "No, Mia. I'm not feeding you again. Once is enough....your dinner is sufficient."

It's like God is saying, "I've already given you so much grace! Be satisfied with what you've got." (translation: stop whining, Paul! Toughen up.)

.....BUT THEN I looked at the Greek.

Instead of "(My grace--subject) (IS--verb) (sufficient--adj),"  the Greek actually looks more like this: "(the grace of me--MY OWN grace--subject) (suffices--verb) (to/for you--direct object)"

...God's grace makes us sufficient!!!

ἀρκέω (I'll want to look this up in my own Strong's)...but Biblos.com defines the verb thusly:
"to be possessed of unfailing strength; to be strong, to suffice, to be enough (as against any danger; hence, to defend, ward off) ...my grace is sufficient for thee, namely, to enable thee to bear the evil manfully; there is, therefore, no reason why thou shouldst ask for its removal."

THEN, the "for" (as in "for power is made perfect in weakness) is more like a "because" (and it works better the other way around--like a dependent clause. A modifyer):
          "Strength is made perfect in weakness. (Because of this...just like this...) My grace is enough for you."

...strength coming out of weakness like like the Holy Spirit who helps us pray in our weakness (Romans 8:26)

Thomas Merton Prayer

My Lord God,

I have no idea where I am going
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself,
And the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death, 

I will not fear, 

for you are ever with me
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

17th Century Nun's Prayer

Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself, that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing, and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others’ pains, but help me to endure them with patience.
I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessing cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a Saint – some of them are so hard to live with – but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and talents in unexpected people. And, give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.
AMEN

Cancer is So Limited...

It cannot cripple Love

It cannot shatter Hope

It cannot corrode Faith

It cannot destroy Peace

It cannot kill Friendship

It cannot suppress Memories

It cannot silence Courage

It cannot invade the Soul

It cannot steal Eternal Life

It cannot quench the Spirit.

-Author Unknown

Yup. Funny

THIS is my new favorite website!!

and ...this one is funny too

And....let's not forget this old classic favorite!

Power and Authority

Another great article from my super sup.: Power Games.

The section on table-space reminds me of Morse's book, Making Room for Leadership.

And Merritt's article brings mixed feelings and highlights a little of my own uncertainty. On one hand, as a young, 5'2" female, I'm very conscious of being "less powered" (I refuse to use 'powerless!'). On the other, I'm not really sure that I want it! I don't want to not do things out of fear...Like clearing the table at a previous potluck. Should I not do that in the future? Will that servant-image shake my already tenuous authority? Isn't the servant-image (exemplified by passing papers and pouring coffee)--isn't that EXACTLY what pastors should be emulating? Or is such an example only effective when it's done from one who already HAS authority?

The story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet is hailed as a wondrous example of servanthood and hospitality! ....and yet Abigail washes servants' feet in1 Samuel 25:40-42. Why is that less remarkable?