Friday 5 on Saturday

I'm sitting here doing some catching up before delving into General Assembly and Sally from RevGalBlogPals posted 5 questions for pondering that I would like to answer:

1. Share a moment/ time of real encouragement in your journey of faith:
Last year I was at the 100th Anniversary of my home church (First Christian Church, Corpus Christi, TX). There were lots of former ministers attending including a man named Jack Meyers. When I was 10 and my maternal grandmother, to whom I was very close, became ill with cancer, Jack was there with the family. When my grandmother died, Jack came over to the house and I don't really know why, but I started crying when he walked through the door. He saw me crying and walked past all of the adults to the chair where I was sitting and he knelt down and began talking to me in a way that I could understand. He embodied God's compassion and I've never forgotten it. So it was very poignant to me, when after this Anniversary celebration last year, he pulled me aside and took the stole that he was wearing off and put it on me. I cried again. It was a cathartic moment and almost a commissioning--a symbol action reminding me that it is now my turn to embody God's compassion to others.

2.) I love what another person wrote--modesty...or moderation. I have grand visions a lot of the time for work, family and ministry...and then I realize that I need to just take one step at a time. There will always be items left on my "to do" list; but, if I am being faithful and doing the best that I can, that is enough.

3.) I will hire a youth/education minister =) Open a food pantry and contribute large sums of money to the Yakama Christian Mission. AND I would write more and speak more at retreats and other spiritual renewal events. AND maybe get a doctorate (I think I need to go back to moderation =).

4.)I think I have to let myself sit with the feeling of disappointment for a while. My default is to move on as quickly as possible, but if I can sit with it for a while, sometimes new thoughts or ideas come to mind. Conversations with a few trusted souls helps me through disappointing times. But it is prayer that really keeps me going.

5.) I wonder about number 5--is it familial roots or church roots? My familial roots are really important to me (even though I now live thousands of miles away from family). As I learn more about family history, I begin to connect with my ancestral history. I thought I was a pioneer by become a female minister, but I think there were a lot of devoted, strong women in my family paving the way for me. My church roots are really important to me. I see those roots embodied in two areas--focus on Scripture (and the freedom to interpret the "non-essentials") and in the sharing of Communion every Sunday.