Last Epiphany

The mighty Wabash floods again!

It has been over a week since I wrote here last. Our Annual Meeting was yesterday and I got caught up in that preparation. The Annual Parish Meeting is usually in January, but was delayed because of my sabbatical. I believe that St. Stephen's is in a good place. They have been a parish 168 years now and through good times and bad times God has been faithful to the needs here. Sometimes I wake up in the night and feel the weight of responsibility I have to the people of St. Stephen's. It helps a bit to know that my responsibility is really about being faithful to God in serving here. The ups and downs of parish life leave me breathless at times - I have never been good at roller coasters! It is so hard to see the top of the next hill when you are in one of those dips.

This Sunday is the last Sunday of Epiphany/ Transfiguration. I am so much like Peter in this story from Mark 9:2-10. Jesus and the "boys" - Peter, James and John go up on the top of the mountain. Suddenly Elijah is there and Moses! Peter says, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for Elijah, one for Moses and one for you!" The writer of the gospel notes that Peter did not know what to say because he was terrified. Oh yes, I get that! I think that the great majority of life is lived on the mountainside and my preference would be to build some dwelling places there! Don't get me wrong, I love the mountaintop experiences (with or without Moses and Elijah) and when they come I relish them. But that journey down from the top can be sudden and slippery. I admit it! I like the day to day safety of the midpoint.

This is a piece of collage that I did recently. I have been using pieces of old calendars which have icons on them. The paper of the calendars is such a good quality I just couldn't bear to throw it away! I feel that way about lots of paper that comes across my fingertips; thus, my "stash" of paper is large. My fellow book artist classmates at Campbell realized my love for paper and left me all sorts of bits and pieces on my table. I love to look at them and dream about how to use them. The pattern for this cross was inspired by a book of Celtic art that I have. It is a lovely design and fun to play with. I like the simplicity of it. Here is another one from "icon pieces."

I think it is stunning how these three very different pieces form such a lovely cross. The two pieces for the horizontal crossbar look like heads butting! It is so easy to forget when we are butting heads that God is in the middle of it. Last week I took communion to one of our lovely older members. We read Psalm 46 and the words: "Be still and know that I am God" jogged a place of need inside of me. There is a wonderful way to pray these words:

Be still and know that I am God

Be still and know that I am

Be still and know

Be Still

Be

I have been running up and down these words over the past several many days and it is a great comfort. Like the cross it reminds me that God is in the middle of all the things I am doing and if I can "be still" instead of running headlong into everything I might just come to rest in God's presence.

Here is a fun picture of the cat that shares this home with Katie and me. In her words she would probably say that we share her home!

"Pumpkin"

Both Katie and Pumpkin have been "clingy" since I came back from sabbatical. I suspect that they like me miss Sugar's sweet presence in the house. I do miss her so much. Pumpkin has mellowed into a lap cat which is something new for me. She will actually let me knit while she is stretched out across my lap, but occasionally wakes up long enough to bat the yarn around. I never thought I would have a cat....