Will you be my friend?

 "At its core, life is not about things, it is about relationships.  It is the hands we go holding in our hearts at the end that define the kind of life we have led. Our relationships determine the quality of life as we have know it.  They show us the face of God on Earth.   They are, too what batter our hearts into the feelings of life."  Joan Chittister, The Gift of Years 


Earlier this year, I send a request via Facebook  to my friend Christie, "Will you be my friend?"  Friends since the 1980's, we share a special bond from our work together at the YWCA in Anderson. Visiting at Starbucks in Anderson, the years melt away as we talk about our shared history.  We are laughing one minute, the next, tears are slipping down my cheeks.

Christie Smith Stephens & Stanley Stephens

The joy of a renewed friendships

together

we weren't all

under the same roof

but we were

all together

separation is a

spiritual condition

something Tillich

labels sin

communion is a

spiritual reality

something unbroken

called love

we aren't all

under the same roof

but we are

all together

above and beneath

the stars

thanks be!

christie/thanksgiving, 2010

Engraved on the palms of His hands...

How can you comfort a friend?  What words of wisdom do you share?  What do you say when a friend is struggling?  Maybe they are experiencing a loss. Whatever the situation, when we point others to a loving God, we trust in His grace to meet their needs.  

A friend shared  this scripture many years ago, "Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.  Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. (Isaiah 49:16) What a comfort to me, God never forgets His children.

being there

it's the kind of relationship

where you had to be there

if you weren't there then

you can't go there now

so much happened

eyewitnesses and participants both

we speak in half sentences

knowing what is meant

the reference point---fixed

constant in our minds and hearts

we know where we were on that boat

just before it went down

we were moving chairs and singing

when nothing else could help love lifted me

trying to save the ship passengers crew

but the captain was going

headlong for the berg

we made it to the shore

lived to tell the story

we are stronger for it

other ships and seas

are smooth sailing

compared to that voyage

these years later

meeting under the star

still singing John 3:16

we remember the ride

talking as good friends

should and do

with humor only survivors

can understand

our hearts go on

it's the kind of relationship

deep friendship

where you had to be there

and she was . . .

**************************

for Jacqueline

with profound appreciation

and abiding love, 11-21-10

Christie

sparrow, a song

do the birds count sheep

when they cannot sleep

retrace in their minds

trips they have flown

do they fret about babies

now on their own

do they beg the favor of god

do the birds down pills

sip warm milk

when their nests give no rest

do they toss do they turn

do they ache do they yearn

waiting for the morn

or do the birds sleep undisturbed

dreaming the sweetest dreams

do they fly do they soar

as never before

catching the currents and streams

or do the birds sleep undisturbed

beyond forty winks

do they fly do they soar

forevermore

knowing the eye never blinks

august, 2010, published november 15, 2010

copyright ecss

Today I return to Oregon to visit my precious granddaughter. I am always apprehensive about flying, but see it as essential in order to visit family. I will be part of the "village" she needs in order to be cared for and nurtured while her babysitter is away. A good book and a neck pillow seem to ease the angst of flying.

The other day as I was hiking in a beautiful area of southern Kentucky, I tried to blend my being with nature by asking myself this question: If I could be a rock or moving water which would I want to be? A rock is solid, strong, secure, changing little over time, always there. A stream is fluid, ever changing, always moving. Yet water is still always there, just changing forms. They both have qualities that I both admire and disdain. Where would I fall in the comparison or better yet, which would I prefer to be?

Light

My friend Carol was diagnosed with cancer last week. The following poem is her story from childhood. She told me this in response to a Leonard Cohen lyric: "There is a crack in everything that's how the light gets in." Your prayers for Carol are deeply appreciated.

Leonard's Lyric

She remembers

The farm at night

Dark hayloft

Straw sticking her legs

Eerie for a city child

Unused to rural life

Lying on stacked bales

Her mind wanders

Wondering what

Might be lurking

In the midnight corners

She is grateful

For the barn roof cracks

Allowing tiny streams of

Starlight to enter

To shine To take away

Her fear

In the distance

A bird sings

Of Michigan and

Long ago

Christie for Carol

praying for starlight

with love, September 28, 2010

Relaxing

 I am thankful for a full life.  After years of a wonderful part time job, I am in the midst of seeking full time employment.    Today, I was taking tests... answering questions...screening...
It was a stressful day. I came home and lit a candle.  Peace and quiet can do wonders to quiet my spirit. 

Poem for November 1st

Thank you, Jacqueline, for the kind invitation to be a part of this conversation.
My husband Stan had surgery, 4 bypasses of left artery near the heart, four weeks ago.
He is doing well.

Poem for November 1st

Rarely have I been
So grateful for
November
With its almost bare trees
Brown limbs stretching
Against the dark morning
Of shortening days
But this year
November feels a lot like
Fresh air deep breath
The hopeful season of
Sunshine green buds
Buttercup rising
Robin appearing
Singing at daybreak as
Life begins again. . .

Thanksgiving.

Christie, 2010