Heart Listening

Tomorrow afternoon through Monday lunch I'll be leading a small group of women in an Advent retreat.

In our church year, Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas and is a time of preparation, anticipation, hope, introspection, a time of saying "yes" to God, as did Mary, the mother of Jesus. At this retreat, we'll do some talking as we sit in a circle, thinking and writing about Mary and how we experience her. We'll spend the night in silence until after breakfast Monday.

In the morning, we'll pray together, spend time alone, listening for what God might be communicating, and reflecting on what that means to our lives. We'll spend time sharing in the circle and close with a ritual of celebration and hope. Then we'll eat lunch and launch back into our normal lives. Sometimes people say "back to real life", but I believe all of life is REAL life, even when we don't appear to be doing much.

These times of open waiting, trusting, being, are a much-needed corrective to keep our lives in balance. As Christians we believe in serving, doing good, acting for social justice and peace. But we must also refill our souls from time to time, allow God a word in edgewise, so to speak. Those times keep the inner well flowing, giving us the strength, discernment, and courage to "do". It is one of my greatest joys in life to facilitate these times of retreat, of moving away from the noisy world, of tuning in to the One who wants to do more for this world than we can ask or imagine. May our prayers on retreat touch each of you with blessing!

Don't forget to breathe! And thanks for stopping by.

Thank you to all who work today

As Tessa and I walked our neighborhood on this Thanksgiving morning, we saw a telephone repair truck, its driver checking something out. That reminded me of all the folks who have to work on holidays, or offer to for the sake of their colleagues. How much we take for granted! The police and fire departments never close; the people who must make sure all your services work--gas, electricity, water, etc.; the housekeepers, transporters, nurses aides, nurses, respiratory and other technicians and therapists, cafeteria and kitchen workers, doctors, unit coordinators, and many I've probably left out, in every hospital in the country; they all work today. True, they'll do their best to get patients home for the holidays, but there are still lots who can't go home, not to mention emergencies of all sorts. Some people will be on call, such as chaplains and social workers. I remember how surprised I was, heaven knows why, when I went to work in the hospital to realize it NEVER closes.

We complain about the roads, the taxes, the price of services, the flaws in health care and other systems, often with justification. But today, at least, let us say thank you. Thank you to our brothers and sisters who give of themselves on our behalf every single day of the year. Here's to you and may God bless you richly!

Enjoy your day, however you spend it!

No fool like an old fool

Well, I feel old today. And like a fool, after trying to understand yet another snafoo with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. I thought everything was set up back in March: Medicare, supplemental, and drug coverage. And I thought the premiums would be deducted from my SS check. A couple of months ago I received a first monthly premium bill from BCBS, which I paid, but then began to wonder why I needed to. Finally called this morning.

The good news was that a real person actually answered the phone after the first ring: no recording, no "this call may be monitered...", no menu. I was so stunned, I could hardly spit out my information. The bad news was that after we went round and round for a while, she finally discerned that I have TWO policies--supplemental AND drug. One premium is being deducted; the other isn't. I had no clue of this prior to today and if she's right, and she is 'cause there are two different contract numbers, why haven't I been paying monthly premiums every month since March?

Now I write all this in part to vent, but also to ask if you relate to this situation. Why am I feeling like a fool when the system is so "rigged" against the insured? Guess I'll never understand what I missed nine months ago, but life is too short to waste trying to find out. So I'll pay the damn bills, grudgingly.

Through all the years I worked in a hospital, I probably spent almost as much time comforting those who were similarly confused and overwhelmed about insurance and financial matters, as I did those with physical illness, pain and fear.

Small and unimportant as my little gaff is, it certainly illustrates how hard it is to work with "THE SYSTEM." And here we sit, wondering if any of our systems are going to be mended, reformed, revived, healed. I must say that I am ever more grateful for God's Presence within and around me, which is so much greater and more desirable than money and those who think they control it. And besides, the Good Book says it's good to be a fool, a fool for Christ. So I accept the designation!

As you prepare for the gorging on Thursday, remember to look and listen, to laugh and love, and to breathe!

Well, get ready for PICTURES

Readers, today is a very special day for me and my daughter. We received the DVD of Norris's slide notebooks--all 6,700+ slides--on ONE DVD, can you imagine? The "scan-man" did a fine job; I already have the DVD downloaded onto my hard-drive; and I've gone through all of the photos twice! Now that they're on the hard-drive, I can use photo editing software to work with them when necessary. Some of the pictures are quite old and have faded, but there are SO MANY to choose from, I don't think we'll ever need to use those. So I'll probably be putting photos on the blog more often now.

Going through those pictures was like having a visit with him. I was almost overwhelmed with emotions--and memories. As we enter into this week of Thanksgiving, I am deeply grateful--for the people who did this for us, for the friends and "fans" of Norris who will rejoice in seeing these, and most of all, for the talented and delightful man who created them.

"This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it."