The Power of Touch

We had a Healing Team meeting today.  After we did a few readings, Father Ted asked us to say The Lord's Prayer together.  I closed my eyes, bowed my head, and clasped my hands in my lap.  We were just a few words into it when Beth S., who was on my left, reached over and took my hand.  It lit me up. It's amazing what the power of touch can do.  It took me few seconds to come back to myself, and then I reached out for Joe B.'s hand who was on my right.  I don't who in the room reached out first.  It may or may not have been Beth, but she is the one who reached out for me.  And I'm so thankful that she did.  It was in her touch that I found God today.

Family Time

My sister and her boys were in town for the holiday.  She's in the middle of a tough custody battle so we never know for sure when we'll get to see them.  Today we got to spend some time together.  We drove to Jennette's Pier and watched the big waves crashing; then we went and got some food at Kill Devil Grill.  We laughed, talked, and enjoyed each other's company.  It was like we were never apart.  Jeff and I had such a good time with her and my nephews, and it was made more special by the fact that we got to spend Good Friday together.  It was in that now rare family time that I found God today.

East to West

I was listening to some music today, and a song came up on my playlist that I hadn't heard in a while.  It refers to Psalm 103, verse 12, "as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us." The lyrics in this song are deeply affecting, and even more so during this week.  There's a line in it that says, "I'm not holding on to you, but you're holding on to me", that just about makes me tear up every time I hear it.  It's a powerful song in my opinion, so give it a listen if you can because this is where I found God today. (Click the link below - it will take you to a Youtube video.  It's the only way I know to link to the song.)
East to West by Casting Crowns

Pancakes

I love pancakes!  Unfortunately, I don't get them often since I had to start eating gluten and dairy free.  I can never eat them out; I always have to fix them myself.  I still believe it's by the grace of God that I've been able to figure out how to make so many of the foods I love without gluten and dairy.  It's been awhile since I've gotten around to doing pancakes, but I made some today.  I always make a big batch and freeze them so I can enjoy them for a while.  I didn't start on them till close to lunchtime, so by the time they were done, I was starving!  So guess what I had for lunch?  Yummy, hot, pancakes with honey dripping off of them.  Totally gluten and dairy free so I could eat to my heart's content.  It made me so happy!  Pancakes for lunch - that's where I found God today.

The Dogwood Tree

I love taking pictures of trees.  One of my favorite ways to photograph a tree is looking straight up from underneath.  Until today, I had never done that with a dogwood tree, and I don't know why since dogwoods are one of my very favorite trees.  The sunlight was glowing through the leaves and the flowers were peeking through - it was just beautiful.  One of the things I love about photography is you learn to look at things from different angles, which is probably a good lesson for life in general.  I found God today looking at a dogwood tree in a whole new way.

The Mailbox

I had to pay bills today. Ugh..  Jeff and I are not big spenders, so even in these tough economic times we haven't had to struggle too much - until recently.  We got slammed with several big unexpected expenses almost all at once.  I'm sure you know the feeling.  I had been waiting for our tax refund to provide some relief, but it seemed to be forever in coming.  So paying bills today was not a fun experience.  I finally got through it wondering the whole time how much longer things would be this tight.  After I put everything away, I went to the mailbox and found a huge pile of mail - catalogs, junk, and... YES!  The tax refund!  It made me so happy!  I just felt the stress melt away.  I know they say money can't buy happiness - and I believe that - but it sure can buy some relief in tough times.  And with God's perfect timing that relief came on bill-paying day.   I said a joyous prayer of thanks to Him, so I guess you could say I found God in the mailbox today.

The Pause

In church today, we read The Passion of Jesus Christ according to Mark 14:1 - 15:47.  It's set up where different people read different parts along with a narrator.  The congregation reads aloud the part of the "crowd", and when they all shout "Crucify him!", it's pretty powerful.  But the moment that got to me the most was near the end when David F. reading the part of the narrator said, "Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last."  And here he paused.  It was the right thing to do and the wise thing to do because the weight of those words was truly felt. The silence was palpable.  It was all I could do to hold back my tears.  It was in that pause that I found God today.  In the heavy weight of silence felt by all of us re-living Jesus' last breath.