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RuthieBinLove

 

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RuthieBinLove

 

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Ruth

good afternoon RuthieBinLove



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Ruth

The Light of the World

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” - John 8:12

I love Christmas.  I love the music and the decorations and the food and the general sense of joy and hope that  surrounds everything and everyone.  It’s the lights that I think I love the most.  

All year long I see traffic lights and street lights and the headlights and tail lights of cars.  But when fall turns into winter, those lights magically look like Christmas to me.  And the last things I want to take down  when the season is ‘over’  are those lights.  

And the real beauty of those lights is that they never go out.  They might not be lighting The Plaza or my home or my tree, and the traffic lights might start looking like normal cars again, but they stay lit in the world… and in my heart.  

Because the birth and the life…. and the death… of the man who is the reason for those lights have changed the world - and my heart - forever.  And, I pray, that even when things appear dark,  I remember to follow the Light of the World.

Thank you, baby Jesus.  

Published in God in the Life of Our Members, Pine Ridge Presbyterian Church, January 2018

Being the Prayer

We do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself speaks to God for us, even begs God for us. The Spirit speaks to God with deep feelings that words cannot explain.          Romans 8:26

I’m reading Why Not Be a Mystic? and love it because the chapters are short and sweet and make me stop and think deeply about what has been said.  Sometimes I write comments and questions in the margins that I want to discuss with my small group, The Mystics.  Occasionally my soul does a happy dance about something that I read that just thrills me.

When this scripture was tied to the thought that prayers don’t need to be ‘laundry lists’ of names and events and needs and hopes and that the best prayers are little more than simply being present with God, in every breath, and allowing the Spirit to pray in me, I was rocked!  What a relief!

There are so many things that are in my heart regarding the people I love and the world we live in.  I worried I was leaving someone or something out.  What a blessing to know God hears my petitions with every beat of my heart, with every breath I take no matter where I am. We are a living prayer.

Published in God in the Life of Our Members, Pine Ridge Presbyterian Church, September 2017

The Peace of God

And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

I'm sitting here, looking at my sweet, confused right-now-very-angry mother and wondering at the twists and turns that life throws us all at any given moment. She's safe. She's well cared for. She's actually relatively healthy, but life has thrown her and everyone who cares for her the regrettable twist of dementia that keeps her constantly lost in time and space. And often scared and angry. 

Who can blame her?

My heart consistently breaks for this once-competent, independent woman who now depends on the kindness of everyday strangers to do everything for her. And other than loving her and trying to be her memory and her one unchanging constant, there isn't one thing I can do to change her situation. 

And to be unhappy about things I can't change is as pointless as being unhappy about the things I can. 

So. I continue to pray for that peace that transcends understanding, continue to be constantly grateful for loving caretakers and friends, and sit here thankful that I still have this remarkable woman in my life teaching me lessons of faith and grace and love. 

Always love. 

Published in God in the Life of Our Members, Pine Ridge Presbyterian Church, May 2017