One Year Later

It was a year ago yesterday that Hurricane Dolly blew in upon us with her not-too-friendly "Hello!" And it was one year ago today that we awoke to water coming in around the foundation of our home. That day saw us journey from frantic, frenetic activity in attempting to salvage our home and its belongings to quiet, exhausted acceptance of its loss. You can read more of the details in two former blogs, And the Waters Came and Then Came the Angels.

Today we find ourselves comfortably settled back in Iowa, surrounded by family whom we are enjoying immensely. As I have written so many times previously, the blessing of being with loved ones can only be appreciated by those who have been apart from them for a significant time. The opportunity that has been afforded us through this move can only be understood as a backhanded gift of a loving God.

As we have been approaching this anniversary of our water upheaval, I have vacillated between gratitude for the new life that we have been gifted with here in Iowa, and a renewed sense of loss for our South Texas home and life. Not that I want to go back. But this one-year time of recollection seems to be necessary to bring the past to some sort of closure.

In the midst of reflections on the past year, which in some respects has passed rather quickly, and in other ways seems to have been eons long, God seems to be moving again. We are investigating a move to a rental home out in the country. The possibility of enjoying the beauty of nature and the privacy of the country tugs at us very strongly. God seems to be opening a door in that direction. We will see where it leads. Stay tuned.

Planting the Future

Tuesday evening I was gifted with more than an hour with My Love helping her plant more "goodies" in her garden. Together we put in potatoes and onion sets (red, white and yellow). Yes, I know, the potatoes were supposed to be put in on Good Friday, but they only arrived this week from the seed company. Apparently, due to the economic slump, there are so many people planting their own food this year that the seed companies cannot keep up. Isn't that a wonderful thing! Think of all the quality time that people are taking to get back to the basics of life.

I couldn't help but think of my Dad, who always had a garden. When he would come home from work at the end of the day, he would go out to pull a few weeds, or water, or pick some vegetables. It was his time alone, time for peace and quiet before coming into the house to deal with us children. Somehow we knew enough not to disturb him during these precious few moments alone.

Anyway, instead of Good Friday, we celebrated Great Tuesday. It was a great feeling to get my hands into the soil and experience the hope and anticipation of the harvest as we placed each small onion and potato. In Texas, we tried one year to have a garden, but the heat was too intense. We needed to water the plants early in the morning before going to work, and then again after we came home in the evening. Then we only harvested some scrawny little vegetables. It wasn't worth it, especially when we could go 1/4 mile down the road any day of the week and buy fresh fruits and vegetables off the back of a truck.

As we were finishing our task Tuesday evening, a few drops of rain began to fall. Throughout the night and yesterday all day, we continued to receive on-again off-again light showers. It was truly God blessing our efforts! I am reminded of Paul's words in 1 Cor 3:7: "Neither he who plants nor he who waters is of any special account, only God who gives the growth."

Isn't that the way it is with everything in life? We are planting seeds, or watering what others have planted. Maybe we are even harvesting what others have labored over. But all of it is a gift from God who has given it to us.

What are you doing today? planting? or watering? or harvesting? Do it with a grateful heart.

Signs of New Life

Trees and lilac bushes budding out. Robins, red-wing blackbirds, meadow larks and other songbirds singing. Grass beginning to turn green. Rabbits and squirrels chasing their prospective mates around the yard. My Love nurturing her garden seeds in small cups in our office window and waiting anxiously to get her hands in the dirt as she and her sister, Annette, plant their garden together.

All these signs of New Life we celebrated as we gathered on Easter to rejoice in the Resurrection of Jesus. Besides the Risen Life held out to us, we also thanked God for the gift of life of Annette's husband, Jim, who had a birthday on Saturday. In between the delicious food, the marble games, the naps and the laughter, My Love and I reveled again in the blessing of renewing family traditions.

Together with her mother, My Love had enjoyed coloring eggs last week, making up baskets for various neighbors, friends and family members. This tradition was revived from our days together in Texas when the two of them would play together in the kitchen preparing for the Easter feast, something which they again did on Friday and Saturday.

It was even enjoyable to witness the disappointment on niece Rita's face as she came into the home of her Grandparents on Sunday morning to realize that the Easter eggs were not hidden, but out in plain sight. As a college graduate-to-be (next month), she still looked forward to the family tradition of hiding, searching for, and finding the eggs!

All these small celebrations of life and family traditions are nothing as compared to the New Life that this Easter season presents to us in Jesus. Each of these small "resurrections" is but a reminder of the Resurrection of Jesus that is ours to participate in each day as we choose life over death, hope over despair, love over resentment. Truly, He is Risen. So are we!

Easter Greetings

How wonderful it is to be here in Iowa to celebrate Easter with our families! It is a true experience of the Alleluia that fills our lives because of Jesus' Resurrection.

A year ago we were happily rejoicing on this feast in our home in Edinburg, Texas. Friends (Denny and Linda) and relatives (Catherine and her son, Dan) joined us for Easter dinner. A great time was had by all as we ate, laughed together, and celebrated New Life.

Little did we know that our lives would be so quickly and dramatically changed by Hurricane Dolly on July 24. As we watched our beautiful home slowly sink into the rising flood waters, we knew that God was calling us to return to our roots, rejoin our families, and celebrate our new life back in the Midwest.

This year we are gathering with My Love's family to celebrate Easter Life. Also, we are rejoicing in the gift of life of my brother-in-law, Jim, whose birthday is April 11. With fine food, delicious wine, laughter and love, we will renew our faith, hope and love in the Resurrection of Jesus.

As we do so, know that you, our larger family and friends, will be present in our hearts and in our prayers. We wish you could join with us at the table. May you also find cause to sing an Alleluia in the midst of your own life.

Triduum Pattern

These are my favorite days of the whole faith year: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, or, as they are more properly known, Feast of the Lord's Supper, Celebration of the Passion and Death of the Lord, and the Easter Vigil. In actuality, they are three parts of one reality, and are called the Triduum, or the Three Days.

When I was a child, Lent would end for us at noon on Holy Saturday. We would have been doing our Lenten penance for six weeks, that is, giving up candy. All those sweets would be piled up in a box. Then at noon on Holy Saturday, we would pig out, making up for all the "suffering" we had endured during the previous month and a half. It was at that point that the true suffering would begin as we over-indulged in the mountain of sugar we had denied ourselves.

Now, Lent ends with the beginning of the celebration of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday. At that point we focus on the re-presentation of the Suffering, Dying and Rising of Jesus by moving through the three day faith celebration, culminating in the hope, joy and triumph of Easter.

I guess the reason these days are so special for me is that they illustrate so powerfully and graphically the CYCLE of LIFE. This is the paradigm for interpreting my own experience, my own Sacred History. As I look back, I see the pattern repeated: suffering, dying, rising, suffering, dying, rising, over and over again. New life, new hope, new beginnings only come about out of the ashes and agony of the dying process.

With that realization, and the opportunity to celebrate in the midst of a faith community, I feel more hopeful, more joyful, more positive about whatever the future may bring. After all, if God could raise up Jesus after his suffering and death, God can surely bring me through my death experience to a new life. What an awesome God we have!