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Not forgotten

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It’s easy to feel forgotten, overlooked, or abandoned in our heart of hearts. Sometimes small things make us feel that way: not being invited to the party or not being acknowledged for a job well done. Sometimes it is much bigger things: extended illness, infertility, or loosing a job. Beyond this exist even heavier things that we shy away from thinking about: poverty, the loss of a loved one or violence. Whether big or small, intentional or unintentional, inflicted by fellow man or allowed by God, these disappointments leave behind varying levels of deep and painful wounds that are often difficult for anyone else to see.  Our tendency is to guard these wounds carefully and to protect ourselves in any way possible from the pain that they bring. Simultaneously most of us still wish to be noticed and to be known, but our fear of letting down that guard and letting anyone close enough to see our quiet pain or worse touch the pain holds us back. As a result, no one really know...
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Growing in Grace

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--> I love working in a school.   As the school nurse, I have a unique opportunity to interact with all of the students and since my concern doesn’t need to be for their academic progress I am free to focus my attention on their health but also on their hearts.   I am sad when they make bad choices and so proud when they step up and make hard right choices. When I see someone struggling to fit in or worse making harmful choices my heart hurts. When I see a student with family struggles I ache. They stop and talk to me, either because they don’t feel well, or just because they need a listening ear. I love those moments. I don’t take it lightly that they trust me with their hearts. It is one of the absolute greatest joys for me in being a nurse.     I have learned perhaps more from my students then they have learned from me. One of the greatest lessons they have taught me is; never to judge a person and their behavior or attitudes at face value. Th...
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Identity

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This study of John continues to totally captivate my attention. Most recently one of the things that came out of our study was identity. Jesus repeatedly identifies himself in John; I am: the bread of life, the light of the world, the living water, the way, the truth, the life.   So who am I? A wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, an auntie, a nurse, a teacher.........and on goes the list. But none of those are really me. Those are relationships that I have, or things that I do, but they aren’t me.   I spend a lot of time talking to young people and their parents who are trying to identify who they are. So often the discussion is based around the building of a college application. My child is an athlete, an artist, a musician, a linguist, a maths genius........ Then there are the national identities, and the passport identities, and the religious identities. My child is an A student, a C student. And from the children: I am an academic s...
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Life and Light

“In Him was life and that life was the light of men.   The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. “ We are studying the book of John these days on the weekends, and as a family, we are memorizing John 1.   I have always found the language of John 1 to be exceptionally captivating, and at the moment it is my heart’s meditation.   I find myself fully captivated by the above verses because I feel like I am watching them unfold like a story before my eyes.   In Him was life….and light……and NO darkness.   Stop and think about that.   Not any darkness.   Fully life and light.   Can you even really imagine it?   It’s hard for me to comprehend really.   The darkness is so present in this world and in every single one of us.   Even in the most lovely and lovable people we know, there is at least the shadow of darkness:   fear, sadness, anxiety, depression, sickness, pain, loss, anger, frustration. ...
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