I was washing dishes when Vera who was sitting at the kitchen table said, "Say, would you wash this off?"

"Sure."  Having no idea what she was asking, I turned around, and she handed me what appeared to be a large marble. I glanced up at her face and saw the empty eye socket. Yikes! Her glass eye!  
Her twitching lips informed me that as much as desiring her eye rinsed, she was hoping to freak out this teenage girl just a little. 

One of my earliest jobs was as a companion/helper for a woman in my community who had become blind as an older adult. Arriving at her house each day, I would help with clothing and cooking, drive to appointments in her big brown Bonneville, and keep her company.  She had never visually seen the apartment in which she was now living, so there were strings from her bed to the bathroom, from her bathroom to the kitchen, and from the kitchen to the living room to serve as guide ropes.

Each day she would talk me through the preparation of food I'd never before made. I had to trust her mind's eye as under her tutelage I prepared chicken in a terrifying pressure-cooker; I fried zucchini and made mashed potatoes. Oh, I also had to call the plumber since the celery  I put into the garbage disposal choked all the moving parts with its fibrous self.

There were times our communication struggled as Vera's 70-something word set was different than my juvenile self's lot, and when she asked for her "pants" she did not mean the same thing I did. I suspect her patience was greatly stretched.

I am so grateful to Vera for teaching me not only about cooking but also about adversity and resilience. There are parts of our story for which I'd like to have "do overs," but it is what it is, and I am thankful for the relationship and opportunity.

"[Sunday's] texts are all about sight, both physical and spiritual," Brother Mick's presermon notes state. "They invite us to consider moving beyond whatever deeply imbedded, knee jerk reactions are so commonplace to us and consider other possibilities that may be present....Are we locked into our assumptions or can we allow the call and touch of God to expand our sight?"  The sermon passage is John 9:1-41 with adjunct scriptures from I Samuel 16:1-13 and Psalm 23.

You are welcome to join us!  The worship service begins at 10:15 AM with Sunday school at 9 AM.

I just had a great conversation with Heidi updating me on Ashlea's progress.  She is home and healing! Let's continue to hold her in our prayers.

Would you like to sing in the Easter Choir? After church you'll have an opportunity to meet the Mark Jackson who is directing.  :)

Prayer for today:  The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. Psalm 24:1 Gentle Shepherd, open us to sight and understanding greater than ourselves that we may see the earth and its people as your earth and your people. Let us take care of each other and our world as we live in relationship with You. Thank you for Ashlea. We request your continued healing and loving Presence to be made tangible to her.  Come Kingdom of God. Be done will of God, here on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus name. AMEN. 

Without question or doubt, you are loved by God, and I love you too! 

Love and Light,
Carol

Ridgeview Mennonite Church

"Always remember who you are, whose you are, where you are going, and what you believe, because it does make a difference! Oh, and don't forget to attend a church of your choice this weekend." jd

Encounters

Ranck's United Methodist Church 

Would I get the creamy and delicious broccoli cheddar soup with the Mediterranean veggie sandwich or perhaps the chipotle chicken panini? Hmmmmm and Mmmmmmmm! Panera Bread

I arrived a few minutes early for my lunch date with Joanne, and there were a gazillion other people who were in line pondering their lunch options. Opening the door for young moms, elderly couples, mothers and daughters, and friend groups, I made myself the unofficial greeter.  A man of undistinguishable age and ethnicity came in and paused.

"I think the nicer weather must be bringing them out," he said. "It's busier than usual for this time."
His clothes were shabby with a combination of layers not unlike Raj from "The Big Bang Theory"(Raj),
and the way his collar laid flat against him caused me to consider if they were also his pajamas.

"Church" entered our conversation, and he said, "I used to go with my girlfriend and always left feeling
inspired and cleansed." Wow.

As people continued to flow through the doors, he got in line, and we bid one another a "good day." I was kinda wondering if I should offer to buy him lunch, but I didn't.

The soup and sandwich won out, and now Joanne and I had the daunting task of finding a place to dispatch our fare. Every table and booth in that place was occupied.

"We could sit in the car," I half-jokingly suggested.

About that time the man I had been conversing with earlier observed our plight and with a smile and a nod beckoned us to join him at his table for four. For the next ten or fifteen minutes we made small talk as he ate his bagel with cream cheese, and we enjoyed our lunches.

Isn't it ironic that I stood in line wondering if I should buy this man lunch, and he freely offered a welcoming place for Joanne and I? I wonder what his story is? I wonder what encounters I'll have today, and if I'll be open to seeing God?

This week Brother Mick's message is called, "It Can't Be. Can It?" His sermon text is John 4:5-42 which is the story of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Mick in his presermon notes says, "It makes perfect sense to me that there will be times in our lives when, like the Samaritan woman, we will have an experience or gain an insight and ask ourselves in all sincerity, 'This can't be God, can it?' Such as this, I think is the way Jesus frequently comes to us. Not beating us over the head with cold hard truths or knocking us about because of our brokenness and sin. But rather offering the invitation to accept, to believe, to follow. To struggle with our own doubts and find faith. For the truth is, even the smallest event, the seemingly insignificant word or touch can be God's presence in our lives."
Our worship service begins at 10:15 AM with Sunday school at 9 AM. This is the third Sunday of Lent. "We encounter God through nourishment that meets our needs."

Since I did not blog last week, you may be unaware that our young friend Ashlea Loncosky Good had a brain aneurysm about 2 weeks ago. She is doing amazingly well and has moved from Hershey Medical Center to rehab.  Please join me in prayer as Ashlea heals.

An Easter Choir is in the works with Mark Jackson as our guest conductor. Would you like to sing? Sign up in the lobby or be in touch with Joanne Dietzel.

Prayer for today:  O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In God's hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are God's also.The sea is God's, for God made it, and God's hands formed the dry land. Psalm 95

Gentle God, as you wrap us in your love and grace in unexpected and seemingly insignificant ways, open our eyes to the gift, power, and beauty of these moments.  Grant us courage and wisdom, grace and peace as we relate to our neighbors, both friends and strangers. Forgive us our hubris, and help us to love with our whole hearts. Help us to practice gratitude and joy and know that in you, Jesus, we are "enough." Wrap Ashlea and her family in your healing and comforting light. Come Kingdom of God; Be done will of God; Here on earth as it is in heaven.  AMEN

Without question or doubt, you are loved by God, and I love you too! 

Love and Light,
Carol

Ridgeview Mennonite Church

"Always remember who you are, whose you are, where you are going, and what you believe, because it does make a difference! Oh, and don't forget to attend a church of your choice this weekend." jd

Winter and Spring Struggle

Vultures 

Eastern Bluebird 

"Are we like Judas, who was so overcome by his sin that he could not believe in God's mercy any longer and hanged himself, or are we like Peter who returned to his Lord with repentance and cried bitterly for his sins? The season of Lent, during which winter and spring struggle with each other for dominance, helps us in a special way to cry out for God's mercy." Henri J.M. Nouwen, Show Me The Way.

A powerful question, isn't it? Judas or Peter?

Lent has begun, this time of "springtime for the soul." I suspect the imagery of winter and spring struggling is especially poignant for many of us this year. Perhaps this long, harsh winter can itself be part of my Lenten discipline as the struggle of seasons intensifies.  Perhaps rather than despairing in the piles of snow and naked trees, I can live in the hope and knowledge that spring will, indeed, ultimately triumph; that when the forecast mentions snow and ice,  I respire "Yah-weh" breaths and hope in the merciful fecundity of spring; that this time of grappling seasons is not unlike the contention in my own soul.

Judas or Peter?  

Brother Mick's message is "Limits, Boundaries, and Freedom." "The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier....How do we understand our freedom as offered by God? Is it a freedom from or a freedom to choose?" Worship begins at 10:15 AM after the 9 AM learning and sharing hour. There is an elective on Spiritual formation to which everyone is invited even if you can attend only one!  We'll also have corporate singing in the rec room from 9:55-10:10 AM.

Penny Power is in full swing. Bring your nickels, dimes, quarters, pennies, and bills to drop into the big jug for this MCC food program project.Relief Sale Penny Power

Although I'm not quite 55, I may have to slip into the "Alive with 55" group on Tuesday to hear Marvin and Mary Lapp, parents of Glen Lapp who died while returning from a medical camp in a remote part of Afghanistan while serving with MCC, share their story.

Rejoice in the Lord and be glad,you righteous, sing, all you who are upright in heart! 

God of compassion, reveal yourself to each of us today that we can truly understand a little bit more of your love and grace to turn from our ways of self harm and harm of others. Help us to listen to your whispers of encouragement and direction. As the winters and springs of our souls wrestle for dominance, teach us; guide us; grant us mercy.  Thank you for the life of each reader, and give each one courage to step onto the Kingdom Way; to be transformed into the beings we were created to be. Supply wisdom and courage, insight and protection, healing and hope. In your name, Jesus, we lay our thoughts, desires, thanks, and requests.   Come Kingdom of God.  Be done will of God, here, on earth as it is in heaven.  AMEN

Without question or doubt, you are loved by God, and I love you too! 

Love and Light,
Carol

Ridgeview Mennonite Church

"Always remember who you are, whose you are, where you are going, and what you believe, because it does make a difference! Oh, and don't forget to attend a church of your choice this weekend." jd