Over the last three years I have had a subscription to the “Gather” magazine. It is a small publication put out by the Women of the ELCA, based in Chicago. It contains several different articles, related to a particular theme that month, as well as a bible study that is meant to be shared with in your congregations.
I will admit, the first article I read, I thought this magazine would be rather “preachy”, or “religious”. However, being the dutiful pastors spouse, it might be good to start looking at it in case someone asks me about it. What did I know? I’m new to this pastors wife thing. Aren’t we all supposed to be reading this magazine? Aren’t we all supposed to able to hold a bible study from our home? Anyhow, I digress as usual.
The next article I received contained a bible study and articles about a journey. This theme would run for a couple of issues. It talked about biblical journeys and journeys of today. I found it comforting to help adjust to the move to Dubuque, even if it was still a tough struggle. However, the articles all said they same thing about the travel and different struggles people face from Cultural differences to the simple state location.
Over time I have read many articles, some inspiring, while other not so much. Not every article can be a winner, much to the editors disappointment. Nonetheless, I continued my subscription. I have participated in bible studies from those magazines both in my home and while on our internship. What prompts this message today was an article I read in the September 2014 issue. “Abiding Presence” by Kathryn Haueisen.
The article grabbed my attention, and while reading the article I was both amazed and awed. The writer wrote about a women, who as child endured many hardships, but she remained faithful in prayer and faithful in God’s protection and comfort. The article pointed to an absolute God moment for this women.
The women’s name is Karen Davidson, a widow who had lived alone for many years, but had lived in her home over 40 years. One evening she was climbing the stairs up to her room for the night and fell backwards down those stairs. She was shocked of course, who wouldn’t be. She was laying on her back at the bottom of the stairs with her legs caught between the banister railings. Amazingly, after the initial shock, she picked herself back up, walked to the living room and sat in her chair. She then decided it was best to try and go back to bed. So up the stair she went. In the morning she had feelings of numbness, contacted a neighbor who was a nurse, who provided transportation to get her to the hospital immediately. While there it turns out she needed emergency surgery. So Long story short, she really should have died or should have been paralyzed. Her neck was broken along with 3 vertebrae that were missing. During her recovery she had time to reflect over her life and saw where God was present and saved her from some very real disasters. She doesn’t call them miracles, but she does say how God has a plan for her and her job is not completed her on earth. So she continues to pray faithfully, and works with programs through her church and in the Gulf Coast Synod.
I have told Doug on several occasions how I wish I could be hit over the head with a Holy 2×4, to figure what’s going on in my life. I try to hold the biblical parable of the mustard seed. I have that mustard seed, I just haven’t let it grow completely within me. This article made me reflect over my life too. No I’m not injured, or deathly ill. I am not homeless or alone. I am no different than many others. I wanted to reflect, now, not wait until I have a near death experience.
If I really look back over my life, I do see God has been there along. God’s son Jesus has walked along side of me, and has tried to give me direction. Directions I chose to either ignore or refused to see. I don’t have amazing stories like Karen, in the article. I only have little things.
I’m still alive and relatively healthy. Both my kids are still breathing and with no alignments or threats of doom. I’m still happily married, have old and new friends. I have life experiences, and more to come. I just need reminders along that way, that God is near. That my prayers do not fall on deaf ears, but my prayers are not always answered the way I want them to be. Sometimes, God says NO, or Not yet, wait. Although not easy, God’s time is always perfect and his path for me is perfect. I just need to cultivate and work on that mustard seed, so I no longer have doubt.
To steal a quote form Karen in the article. “God really is in charge of my life.” I’m not sure where this last quote fits in, but it is my new favorite.
“Sometimes the Devil allows people to live a life free of trouble, cause he doesn’t want them TURNING TO GOD”. from the movie “GOD NOT DEAD!
Kris – another great post. In Jesuit spirituality there is a daily practice called the “examen” in which one pauses in the evening to reflect over the events of the day. Specifically, this review is to help the person see how God was working in their life throughout the day, often in unexpected ways or from unexpected directions. It is also a time to reflect upon one’s response to God throughout the day. Over time, this practice helps a person more quickly recognize God as events are occurring and fosters holiness in responding. The nightly review is not meant to be a long an arduous affair. It’s just a few minutes to connect the dots with respect to God in your life. St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits, also developed something called the Spiritual Exercises. Essentially it is an expansion of the examen and takes place over a period of about a month. Every Jesuit is asked to engage in this at least twice in their lifetime. There is a condensed version of this that I have attended over a weekend at a retreat house. It’s something you might want to consider doing someday.