“I love the kinds of hugs where you can physically feel the sadness leaving your body.”
I know not where this quote originated, but I do know its truth.
Author Archives: Patricia Ann
In Honor of Audrey
I attended another funeral yesterday. We lost thirteen members of our church in 2014, and so far two more this month. It has kept our Pastor pretty busy. He always does a wonderful service but this was one of his best ever.
The guest of honor had been a member of our church and choir for over fifty years, and had a special bond with our Pastor, having known his grandmother from a previous church congregation. Audrey’s pet peeve was that Duncan seldom wore his robe, preferring a clerical jacket and collar. I don’t think I have ever seen him in a robe.
Yesterday he mentioned the fact that he now knew that Audrey had always lamented that his sermons could have been better if he had only worn the robe. During his meditation, he stopped mid-sentence, peeled off his jacket and donned the clergy robe…in honor of Audrey.
It is the first time I have heard a round of applause at a funeral.
(Thanks, Alan, for suggesting this blog.)
The Bible on Birth (or God’s DNA?)
Many years ago I was asked this question: “If we are God’s children do we have his DNA?” I have grappled with the question over the years and finally found some answers in the Bible; not necessarily DNA answers but God’s participation in our birth.
No one who is born of God will continue to sin because God’s seed remains in him. 1 John 3:9
…You brought me forth from my mother’s womb. From birth I have relied on you. Psalm 71:6
…Your redeemer who formed you in the womb: Isaiah 44:24
Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God. Psalm 22:9, 10
…You whom I have upheld since you were conceived and have carried since your birth. Isaiah 46:3
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…Jeremiah 1:5
Did not he who made me in the womb make them? (slaves) Did not the same one form us both within our mothers? Job 31:15
Your hands shaped me and made me. Job 10:8
You gave me life and showed me kindness. Job 10:12
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1
And that concludes my search for “the Bible on birth” to date. I don’t know if I have God’s DNA but I do know that he is my Father.
A Prayer for the Depressed
Dear God, there are those among us whose life is a struggle each day due to the darkness of depression. We know that this malady can be caused by an imbalance in brain chemistry and the hormone, serotonin. We know it can be triggered by life’s problems; by some medications or by dementia-causing diseases. Through no fault of their own, many people slip into the abyss of depression, and can’t find their way out. Be their guiding light, Lord. Lead them into the paths of those who can help them in their struggle. Give their lives meaning, and where there is darkness let there be light. Give those of us who are free from this battle, the compassion and the wisdom to be the channel for your healing love. Amen.
A Prayer for the Lonely
Dear God, because of death, there are those who are living their lives without their partners of many years. Their most voiced lament is, “I’m lonely.” They now live alone, eat alone, sleep alone, and venture out alone. Their heartbreak is keen; their grief tear-filled. Lord, may they come to know that when they feel most alone, you are with them. May they feel your presence as surely as they once felt the presence of their loved ones. May they know that although they are lonely, they are still loved. Help us to realize our neighbour’s plight and to reach out to those who need a tender touch. Amen.
When Too Much is Too Much
Last night a man who has lost his wife, sister and son within the past seven months came through our prayer chain. My heart is hurting just hearing this news; I can’t imagine his grief. Here is a person who needs all the prayers he can get.
The Eye of the Beholder
When my eldest daughter was six years old she told me, “You’re pretty, Mommy.”
When her youngest daughter was two years old she told me, “You pwetty, Nana.”
And now they are both pretty women.
It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I see beauty all around me; not only in the young but in the elderly as well. And when I see it, I say it.
My daughter and granddaughter taught me that many years ago.
A teenager once reprimanded me for calling her cute. “Babies and old people are cute.” she said.
Another daughter and granddaughter now tell me I’m cute…hmmmm.
We never know when someone needs to hear that they look good, or some other uplifting words of truth.
Behold the beauty of someone today and let them know they are.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
I Believe
I believe I am always divinely guided. I believe I will always take the right turn of the road. I believe that God will always make a way where to my mind there is no way. Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993)
I believe.
A Prayer for Patience
Dear God, it seems that the times I need the most patience are when I have the least. Help me to recognize that I first need to be patient with myself and my own shortcomings before I can be patient with others; that it is from these shortcomings that I am short with others. Remind me daily that your unending patience with me is a gift to treasure, to learn from, and to share when and where most needed. Amen.
Thoughts on Caregiving
To some of us, caregiving can become a daunting task, especially when it is a loved one who goes from a healthy independent person to almost completely helpless.
Patience is tried, sleep is denied, and nerves become frayed from the enormity of the responsibility.
But think of it another way.
It is an awesome responsibility we have been entrusted with; the caregiving of another human being. We should feel privileged that God deemed us capable and worthy of this task.
“In as much as you did it to the least of these my brethern, you did it unto me.” Matthew 25:40
My Precious Life 