Remembrances

Today, the clouds envelop Tucson Arizona; the rain is reminiscent of the tears that fell 50 years ago today when President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was killed by an assassin's bullets as his motorcade wound through Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was the youngest man elected President; he was also the youngest to die in office. 

Do you remember where you were and how you learned of this tragedy? It was after lunch. Sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Keener entered the classroom and she was crying. We all sat quietly, respectfully until she composed herself. We knew it was something serious. She announced that President Kennedy had died. The resulting sound was that of the wind for all of our collective gasps of shock. The tears, like today’s rain, began to fall. Our Principal, Mr. Sneddon went from classroom to classroom and dismissed us for the remainder of the day. (We did not have a PA system at that time.)

Kennedy’s presidential campaign was the first one I recall as a child. I remember the televised debates with Richard M. Nixon and the one and only time a presidential candidate’s motorcade came through our small Ohio village. Our elementary school went to the town square to wave as he passed by. I was not among them as I had a case of the measles. I cried and cried. I so wanted to see this charismatic man as he drove through our town.

He was elected by a very narrow margin in the popular vote. His Inaugural Address offered the memorable injunction: "Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country." Today, I relate this very quote to church… “Ask not what your church can do for you – ask what you can do for your church.”

I recollect Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy present the White House to “We the People” via television. Mrs. Kennedy was as close to royalty as this country had ever experienced and we loved her. She was a confident, poised woman, who suffered her share of sorrow with miscarriages and premature births; when she mourned – we mourned. Her fashion sense was copied and emulated not only nationwide, but worldwide. Who can forget the renowned pillbox hat? 

The Kennedy years were and still are referred to as the Camelot Era. These were turbulent times with the pressing issues of the Berlin Wall; the Bay of Pigs; the Cuban Missile Crisis and our own nation’s civil rights issues. During this era, school children nationwide practiced not just fire drills, but also nuclear bomb attack drills. We also entered into the space age at the urging of the young President. We found hope and comfort watching this First Family. 

It is 50 years later, and still we mourn… and still we remember.

Simply yours,

Tamara

Thirty-four Years Later

We celebrated our 34^th anniversary on the 19^th. It was a quiet and reflective celebration. We went to lunch after church, nothing special, just nice and quiet. We were given complimentary desserts following the meal.

My devotional from yesterday read: "Our Holy calling [asks us] to live with an open-handed, open-hearted generosity and abandon, holding tightly to that which comes from God and willingly letting everything else go."  –Martha Highsmith, Disciplines 2012 That was an appropriate anniversary devotional, don’t you think?

We also realize that in our current society everything conspires against longevity in marriage. Marriage is a sacred trust. We have not always done everything right. We still don’t. Forgiveness is a large part of marriage as well as looking out for the other’s best interest.

I don’t know if I’ve ever shared this before, but this is a second marriage for both of us. We had history going into this. I brought a daughter into the marriage so we had a ready-made family.

I’ve found that some churches are not as forgiving about divorce as society is. We came to faith after four years of marriage and this issue seemed to be held over our heads and we were not allowed to participate in certain ministries of the church. We were treated as “less than”. I asked one of the church leaders if the forgiveness we had received from Christ was therefore conditional. He had no response to my query.

That is not what I wanted to focus on in this post, however. I want to focus on mortality. I’ve noticed that not a lot of “Boomers” seem to have their affairs in order. No wills or trusts. No pre-arranged funeral plans. Nothing left to say what they would like to have in the way of a memorial or funeral.

Husband and I have pre-arranged plans, so yesterday we discussed for a bit purchasing “shrouds” or some such thing as we have chosen cremation for our plans. I told him I though purchasing nice (but not real expensive) sheets for that time would work well. I also told him that I want the person in charge to allow me to “dress” him (Husband) when the time comes.  Should it be the other way around, then him to dress me. The final care, I suppose and a step in the healing process.

Husband’s mother is 92. We hope she goes before we do as cremation appalls her. It does for a lot of persons. I learned there are some wonderful choices available, such as having your ashes placed into soil with a tree to be planted in memory of the loved one. Nice urns of course, to display the loved one. We’re thinking a columbarium niche for final interment.

I believe I will leave you with an assignment today. It is a difficult assignment. Write your own obituary. What is it you want people to know and/or remember about you when you’ve passed on? Write it out.

I have a file that is titled “In The Event Of”  for that very purpose. I can tell you in all honesty that purchasing a pre-arranged plan, leaving directions for a service (to include musical selections) and writing a will or trust are the easy parts. The obituary is the difficult part.

The phrase “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” comes from the funeral service in the Book of Common Prayer, and it is based on Genesis 3:19. That passage says that we begin and end as dust. Where did the ashes come from? The compilers of the Book of Common Prayer were careful to produce what is called metrical text—text that when a congregation reads it, it all comes out even. So they pulled in Genesis 18:27 and Job 30:19, in which dust and ashes are both components of the human body. 

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust” is poetic. That exact phrase is not in the Bible, but it is Biblical through and through.

Each church of the Anglican Communion has its own version of the Book of Common Prayer. In the current American version, this phrase appears on page 485 (Burial Rite 1) and on page 501 (Burial Rite 2) in a prayer that is said by the priest as earth is ceremonially cast on the coffin:

In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God our brother ; and we commit his body to the ground; earth to earth; ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Lord bless him and keep him, the Lord make his face to shine upon him and be gracious unto him and give him peace. Amen.

The funeral service is poignantly meaningful and a literary masterpiece that has rightly become part of the literary treasure of the English language. You’d be surprised how many pastors whose churches have no formal liturgy use the Book of Common Prayer as a worship resource.  From http://www.kencollins.com/answers/question-27.htm

Simply yours,

Tamara

Psalm 48:14

Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹⁴ For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide [even] until death.

Remembrances

re·mem·brance

  [ri-mem-bruhns] 

noun

1.

a retained mental impression; memory.

2.

the act or fact of remembering.

3.

the power or faculty of remembering.

4.

the length of time over which recollection or memory extends.

5.

the state of being remembered; commemoration: to hold someone's name in remembrance.

In your heart, in your mind’s eye, where is it you call home? I know, I know… we are to call Heaven our home, but the picture I posted yesterday reminded me of my childhood home.

I grew up in a rural community in Ohio next to the Erie-Lackawanna railroad. The trains lulled me to sleep on hot, humid August nights. The sound of the train cars clacking down the track singing their song which for all the world sounded like, “don’t look back, don’t look back”. Yet I find that is what I am doing. Remembering… remembering the sights, the sounds and the scents of my childhood.

I remember watching the man from the Post Office bringing a big canvas bag to hang on a pole facing the railroad tracks. This was a daily chore at a prescribed time for a certain train’s pickup. Then he and I would watch as the person in the last car used a hooked instrument to snag the bag and take it into the train, where presumably the mail was sorted by postal employees.

We witnessed too, the early evening when the bag was torn open and letters, bills, payments and other sundry items went flying across the rural countryside. In short order the authorities were on site attempting to locate lost mail and fill out and file all the appropriate government forms, I’m sure.

Ohio is a land of water, of moisture, of humidity. There is nothing fresher than the scent of the vernal spring in Ohio. It is a moist, earthy yet clean smell. I am sure the scent of an Ohio rain must ascend to the throne room of God. The rain in Arizona has its own scent, not unpleasant, but different, almost musty. It is Ohio’s scent I miss.

It is May and soon the fireflies will wing their flight. I miss the magic of fireflies. They are not a part of Arizona. I wish to share the enchantment of these faerie-like creatures with my Arizona Grands, as this is something they have never seen. At dusk, these creatures begin their dance, their ballet, if you will, through the deep woods, the meadows and the fields. They are fascinating to watch.

It was a summer ritual where we would try to catch them and put them in a mason jar with holes punched in the lid. We children would them put them in our room at night and be mesmerized into a deep sleep as we tried to watch them. In the morning the captives were set free.

I’ve almost been able to simulate the fireflies in a mason jar effect by putting a string of lights in a jar. We use it as a night light in the bathroom when the Grands stay with us. It’s a good effect, but it is too “white” and not quite golden colored enough to actually resemble fireflies.

Simply yours,

Tamara

John 15:4The Message (MSG)

⁴ “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.

The Pilgrimage

March 22^nd, 2012, heralded an adventure known as the Walk to Emmaus. It began as a two hour trek to Sierra Vista, Arizona where I was taken to a restaurant by my ‘sponsor’ and treated to dinner. I was then dropped off at the church where I would spend the next three days in close communion with the ladies and spiritual advisors for Walk #216. We were divided up into tables of five or six and each table was named for a woman of faith. My table was Queen Esther and for those of us there for the first time, we were Pilgrims on a spiritual pilgrimage.

Three days… in the belly of a great fish? Three days… in a tomb? Three days to reflect on where I am and where does God want me to be. Fittingly, Thursday evening culminated in a vow of silence for the remainder of the evening.

There are no secrets in the Walk to Emmaus, but oh there are surprises! And some of those surprises are most humbling, indeed. To date, I haven’t written about this experience only due to it being so fresh, so spiritually encompassing. Often when I try to share with someone about how meaningful this pilgrimage was, I find my eyes welling up with tears of gratitude.

A series of fifteen talks are presented. Every talk shared in some manner on the subject of grace.

Prevenient grace draws us from conception to conversion. Simply put, it is

·       the love of God wooing us

·       the will of God drawing us

·       the desire of God pursuing us

·       the gift of God freeing us

·       the activity of God empowering us.

Justifying grace is the grace of God’s covenant love. Again, simply put, it is God is calling us back into the relationship for which we were created. Further,

·       responding to grace is an act of faith

·       we cannot do anything to merit a relationship with God

Sanctifying grace is God’s active love – to me! It is God’s love in action to others and to the world. Therefore, it stands to reason that our response to Sanctifying grace involves both love and action. It is the desire to grow spiritually and provides the divine energy that transforms our hearts, our lives and through that, our communities. It is

·       Restoring our relationship with God and that of others

·       Imparting new life, new light, new strength and a new heart

·       Perfecting us in the image of God and the likeness of Jesus Christ

·       Equipping us to do the work of Christ in the world; to be Christ’s hands and feet

The three legs of the proverbial stool, shall we say?  Oh, I’ve always believed grace was more than amazing, but learning and knowing the different aspects of grace was quite clarifying. It helped me to understand where I was, where I am and where the Lord is leading me. One Grace experienced in three ways and doesn’t this remind us of the Trinity?

On day two, there was a wonderfully prepared banquet that we were led to from campus site to campus site holding hands. We entered into an area where we had not previously had access to. It was dimly lit and our “Cookies” were dressed formally. We were invited to share the cup and the bread with them. I cannot begin to tell you the joy I felt as I shared with the “Cookies” in some measure giving back to them what they had been so lovingly sharing with us throughout these days. The “Cookies” were the ‘servants’ of our pilgrimage and you could sense the love and attention to detail they put into their work, their labor of love. They served us as if they were serving Christ. I was humbled beyond measure by their actions.

After perhaps one of the most memorable meals I have ever been served, we went back to our tables and continued with talks.

Then we were roused again for another trek, holding hands and snaking from campus to campus… how could anything exceed the banquet we had been served? We reached our destination, the Sanctuary that was darkened but glowing with candle light and the most wonderful music I had ever heard. When we entered, tears were steaming down my face and I turned to one of the spiritual leaders and asked, “Is this what heaven will be like?” People’s voices were raised in songs of praise and worship, waving candles and welcoming the new pilgrims… even now as I type this, the tears are flowing.

When finally your eyes became accustomed to the light you began to see pilgrims greeted by members of their own family and members of their home church. Wonder of wonders, Husband (who went on the Walk the week before) was there to greet me and present me with a rose. When our processions had snaked through the sanctuary several times and we were all sufficiently in awe, the lights began to brighten and the persons who welcomed the pilgrims slowly and quietly exited the sanctuary. I cannot believe how far some of these persons drove to shower us with agape love!

Looking back on what I’ve written doesn’t even come close to describing what I experienced during this three day event. I am looking forward to is being able to do this for other pilgrims during upcoming walks.

Every day after the Three Day Emmaus Walk is Day Four! Day four is where our feet hit the ground. I’m sure the event and the effects of the pilgrimage will fade, but it is now my job to continue on through spiritual disciplines of study, prayer, gathering together and grouping with like minded women to keep the flame alive! I need to nurture the vision God has placed upon my heart.

I had been asked for years to go on The Walk but I always declined. I am the woman who goes to seminars and women's gatherings and comes home saying, "God? Am I yours? Do you love me? Why am I leaving so much emptier than when I came?" I would feel like the program, seminar was meant for everyone but me. The Walk to Emmaus touched me deeply. I knew I was  am God's, that Christ was is my Savior, and that I was am called to a higher purpose!

Every part of this event was God ordained and had been bathed in prayer for months. The Esther table was divinely selected with just the women I needed to be surrounded by. Not all women at the tables were pilgrims. Some were leaders who helped us to stay on track and gently guide us back to the subject at hand. Some were women of God who helped us to see our God given talents and where God might be directing us. Even so... Amen!

…to be continued!

Tamara

PS 

Luke 24:

²⁸ Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. ²⁹ But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.

³⁰ Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

³² And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” ³³ So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

 

Stones of Remembrance

Genesis 28:17-19 New American Standard Bible

17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” 18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz.

In the old testament scriptures, stones were set out as a memorial for something important and as noted above, Jacob poured oil on the top of the stone.  He anointed it. 

Today, I too have anointed my stone of remembrance.  It has been two years since the heart attack and the same amount of time since I've had a cigarette.  All my recent lab work came back within good ranges. My cholesterol levels are within range and it has been one year since I've taken any 'heart' medications. I only take a low dose aspirin daily.  I'm sure I'll be seeing the cardiologist soon, I'm just waiting to see when they set it up. I'll probably need the dreaded stress test - so aptly named.

Now, before this begins to sound like 'happily ever after' I do confess to having bouts of really wanting to smoke a cigarette. But I don't, thank God. I simply think back to the quality time I spent with Jesus in the MedEvac helicopter and the first two weeks of going cold turkey. I don't want to have to do that again, ever!

The exercise has gone by the wayside and it shows. I need to begin a walking regime again. I did have an occasion where I was transported to the hospital from work - a bit of a fainting spell. Alright, two - I had two near episodes where I had to lay down on the floor before I fell down.  The verdict was dehydration and low protein levels. 

I was going great guns on trying to become vegetarian.  Too well, evidently.  So the carnivore in me has reemerged. But tempered. I'm also using a protein powder and making healthy smoothies with frozen berries, vanilla yogurt and a banana thinned out with orange juice!

On Wednesday of this week, my husband will be having a procedure to manually extract a 12 mm kidney stone. As I understand it, they will try to break it into a manageable size and then place a stent in his kidney. Eventually the stent will need to be removed.

We, the aging Baby Boomers are having health concerns! Thank God for medical insurance and the ability for me to take time off work to assist Dennis with his issues.

And so I pray:

Abba, Father ~thank You for Your provisions and for Your grace.  Thank You for allowing us the privelidge of living where we do and for the benefits provided through my employment. Be with us as we begin to experience health concerns and issues. In Jesus' name I pray ~AMEN!

because we're His,

Today's Devotional Scripture

Today's Verse

As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

~Colossians 3:12 NIV

Thoughts on today's verse...

It's difficult for me to consider myself "holy". I have to remember that holy means to be set apart for God's use. It is nothing, absolutely nothing that I do that causes me to be holy. It is all God and His provision for my salvation through Jesus Christ that makes me holy. God is looking at me through His son.

Then the verse tells us to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. That's a tall order! And there are times that I can reflect those qualities. Did you catch that? R-E-F-L-E-C-T And that is what we have to do, because those qualities belong to Christ and if we are trying to be Christ-like, then we are attempting to reflect Him. Oh, but those other times when I am depending upon my own strength to show those qualities... it just doesn't happen.

My prayer...

Lord God, Heavenly Father... cleanse me from all those things that interfere with our relationship. Forgive me Lord, for my selfish humanity, for my flesh. Help me to reflect you and the attributes described in today's verse. May I be compassionate, kind, gentle, patient and may I show humility. In Jesus name I pray ~Amen.

Yours, because we're His,

Tamara