Sitting on the Porch

I’ve found my favorite place in the world. At lunchtime, I sneak out to a bench on the church patio. Then I just sit and gaze. Three old elms provide a natural awning on sunny days. Cool breezes gently bless the saints resting in the Memorial Garden. Parents and children walk the labyrinth together, though few complete the whole journey. On Lake and Kenilworth, bicyclists and pedestrians amble by, along with babies in strollers and seniors in wheelchairs. The stones of our church building stand strong and silent, at the still point of a turning world. It centers my soul to sit there for a few minutes and contemplate God’s extravagant generosity. This place overflows with beauty and peace. There on the labyrinth we blessed Peggi and Mike Mizen, longtime members of our church who moved to Ohio last month. During this season of travel and transition, the labyrinth is a perfect symbol of our lives. We may walk in different directions, but we are all joined in the center. We travel past one another, and meet again in the middle. God bless all who are moving this month – Kris and Connie Ronnow to Presbyterian Homes in Evanston, Bob and Janet Haisman who will move to a condo near the church, and so many others. Soon I will be sitting on the porch of my new condo in Oak Park – on Austin Boulevard, just south of Lake Street. My youngest daughter will graduate from high school May 31 and I will be sending both of my daughters off to college in August. Summer is a good time to sit on the porch. It’s a good time to come away and rest. Find a porch somewhere (the church patio is big enough to share), and spend some time with Jesus. “The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. . . . He saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.” – Mark 6:30-31, 34 In Christian love, Julie

An Ounce of Mother

I just heard a Spanish proverb that's perfect for Mother's Day: An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. All the moms out there should know that you have great power to shape your child/children's spirituality. What you do and say has much more impact than any sermon we can preach. Thank you, God, for mothers who train their children in faith, for they will never depart from it.