Uphill idealist

This post is published at We Talk, We Listen Blog. If you would like to see that post there visit: " Pregnancy, Mary and Me " Painting "Let it be unto me" by Pastor Tara L. Eastman As a pastor, I spend a lot of time in hospitals and nursing homes. It has been common for me when visiting an elderly person – most often women; that after communion or prayer to ask if there is anything they would like to talk about and they say with wide smile and glimmering eyes, “Oh I see that you are expecting – when is the baby due?” While there is sweetness to this statement, the truth of the matter is that truly, “I am not pregnant.” When this first happened to me, my ego and self-image took a deep dive. The defensive statements both internal and external bubble to the surface, “My children are grown!” or “Am I really that heavy?” and “Why do I keep being asked this question?” Not too long ago, I was wrapping up a visit with an elderly woman and I asked her if there...

It's important for you to know, that I hate to clean out my wallet. While I love to see it all organized and tidy, the process of un-stuffing and sorting is at the bottom of my list of "things I like to do." However, in the process of un-stuffing my wallet I found something of beauty. I came across a purple crayon. This purple crayon. Yes at first it reminded me of the kid's story, "Harold and the purple crayon" , and then it reminded me of a friend who always stops to take photos of every purple flower she finds.  Hold that thought.  Every. Purple. Flower. Is. Something. To. Take. Note. Of. So when I took the purple crayon out of my wallet. I thought of Harold's Crayon. Then Elle's purple flowers. The purple iris's I saw on a nature walk this week. Every. Purple. Something. Is. Something. To. Take. Note. Of. Purple beauty is everywhere. There is beauty all around us, that hides in plan sight. Crayons are stuffed in...

“Chloe, how big is your family?” Points to her family and counts.. “1, 2, 3 aaannnndddd...” “Four”, I say and point to her. She smiles. “Ok Chloe, how many people are in God’s family?”  Without delay she says, “All the people!” Yes Chloe, God’s family is for all people. 

From the book Heart Talk author Cleo Wade says this about the heart of welcome… “We are here to connect, not compare. There is a reason we are not in this world alone. It is because we are all connected and need each other to function peacefully, purposefully and powerfully. We cannot know happiness or our true power if we are constantly in a state of comparison and competition. ..Connection rejects the idea of competing for any one thing and runs, instead, on gratitude and abundance, which weave us more deeply into each other’s lives so that we may better support one another in the world. Connection knows that everything we accomplish in life is much more fulfilling when we help others along the way.” Her words make me wonder, can actions of welcome be the glue of building connection between people? What would be possible if we truly welcome one another - from the heart? One of the most extreme experiences of heart welcome I've been in the receiving end happened in an u...

Like a foot that has fallen asleep, the process of "waking up" those toes isn't comfortable. Like the eyes that have grow accustomed to the cool darkness of a movie theater; there is much squinting and stumbling when reentering the light of day. Feeling and seeing are necessary to life. These senses help to keep us safe. But when we tamp them down... to save time....         to save energy.......                 to save face in relationships..... We aren't saving anything at all. In fact, we lose ourselves and walk in a stupor of presence minus engagement.......                       a warm body but a mind that meanders over old tapes and trappings..........                                             a life lived in relation to people, inste...