Here’s a bit of spiritual wisdom on this Lenten Tuesday as we tackle the tough stuff in front of us, our piles, ‘to do lists’ (and maybe things we keep putting off?)
“God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound unto every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)
My Papa broke it down like this:
“God is able to make all grace (not just a little bit of grace), abound (not just trickle), toward you (not just Billy Graham, your pastor, missionaries, but toward you), that you (Paul repeats you for emphasis), always (not just sometimes), having all sufficiency (not just some sufficiency), in all things (not just some things), may abound (not just limp along), unto every good work (not just some good works.)” Dick Woodward
All grace, abounding, all the time – even when we’re stuck in the muck, it’s there like a waterfall powered by God’s love.
My brother & I recently visited Ruby Falls in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It’s a magnificent waterfall on Lookout Mountain, not on top (as waterfalls tend to be located) but deep underneath the mountain. It sparkles when lights are turned on, yet keeps tinkling and flowing when the lights go out.
Like God’s grace that’s there for us in good times and bad, in times of electrifying light and petrifying darkness. It’s the real deal: enough grace for each day, hour, minute to make it through to the next day, hour, minute.
May God’s grace abound in our lives, like this waterfall, in darkness & light.
grace, peace & waterfall groupies
Virginia : )
“If you think you are too small to do a big thing, try doing small things in a big way.” Anonymous
Easter is a few weeks away & Virginia the blogger has been AWOL most of Lent. Not much chance for the post-a-day Lenten gig of previous years, but there’s still time to offer a few bits for reflection. Psalm 27:1&4 are precious verses written in the indelible ink of God’s love across my heart and life. This morning when Msgr. Keeney challenged us every day to pray, “Lord be my strength,” (after he explained about God being our Light), these verses came to mind. I remembered how they influenced these words written years ago when starting this blog & why I chose the name Roses in the Rubble…
As a relief & development worker I documented some sobering issues – child victims of war, ravages of HIV/AIDS, and injustice (mass graves inclusive) in conflict zones & places of poverty all over the world. After collecting flower photographs during my first posting in the Middle East, what began as a hobby (making cards out of flower pics) became something more, especially during the Kosovo relief program. Finding roses in the rubble and capturing them on film. Finding beauty – HOPE – in a disaster zone.
I love flowers – our Creator’s heavenly paintbrush splashing beauty around us. In Africa beautiful jacaranda trees lined a street near our main office. During the month of December when lavender flowers canopied in giant trees fluttered everywhere, it reminded me of elven Lothlorien in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. When I went on (& on) about the beauty of these trees, my African boss said, “the flowers mess up your windshield & make a mess all over your car!”
But, hey, they were a beautiful, inspiring mess!
Sometimes our lives are filled with messy mistakes, failures and piles of rubble. But the thing about finding roses in rubble, you have to look for them. Sometimes they’re hiding behind our fears, insecurities, anger and bitterness. But God can do the impossible & is rather good at bringing good out of impossibly challenging circumstances.
Think of Joseph, thrown down a well and sold into slavery by his MEAN brothers. Never say it can’t get worse: he ended up in the rubble of an Egyptian prison (they are notoriously bad now – imagine what it must have been like 5,000 or so years ago?) Keeping the faith, however, years later he became the second most powerful man in Egypt and saved not only Jacob & his family but the whole region from starvation. Joseph became a powerfully strong rose amidst debilitating, devastating rubble. As he later told his brothers, “what you meant for evil, God used for good.”
I know that God has grown roses out of my personal rubble in impossible-to-comprehend ways and those around me (especially my bed-fast quadriplegic Papa!) I’ve also met many roses living in the rubble of conflict-zones who reflect the beauty of hope to shattered hearts and broken dreams around them. Their scarred blooms are filled with petals of faith, hope, peace and love as they exude the bitter-to-sweet scent of joy amidst suffering.
Living roses inspire us to be more of who we are meant to be: beloved sons and daughters of an Almighty Heavenly Father. Regardless of whether we are pink, purple, red or yellow: we all come from the same human stem of life created in God’s image.
If you are bogged down looking at the rubble around you. Heads up! Look around…the sun still rises & the sun still sets (keeping those Heavenly paintbrushes busy.) If God clothes the flowers of the field so beautifully, will God not take care of us? Have faith and COURAGE.
It takes courage to be a rose when rubble surrounds you!
“The Lord is my Light and my Salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? One thing I desire, and that I will seek after: to behold the beauty of the Lord and inquire in His temple.” Psalm 27:1&4
Today sharing this blog from last year (dust still settling after returning from a two-week trip with my brother, more on that later..) We still miss our Mama, so much!
March 15th is my Mama’s birthday. She would have turned 81 today…
I took this picture to send my uncle after he sent those gorgeous flowers for Mama’s 80th birthday (that’s him in the framed picture with my aunt.) As I blogged last year about Mama’s birthday (click here to read it) in 2014 we held Papa’s Memorial celebration on March 15th, so we didn’t really do anything for Mama’s 79th.
But last year? We pulled out all the stops!
Since my brother was working on the actual day, my sister and I took Mama out for a lovely ladies lunch at a posh place on Duke of Gloucester Street. Notice the chocolate dessert? Mama loved chocolate so she was definitely feted with the good stuff! After lunch we had a grand time rolling Mama’s wheelchair all around Colonial Williamsburg…
Her 80th celebration lasted several weeks — outings with my…
I am so very jealous. Not a good thing to be, admittedly, but still in that green state of envy (as in, green with envy?) Yesterday my brother unexpectedly met Dr. Christine Darden, one of the NASA scientists from Margot Lee Shetterly’s book, Hidden Figures. Dr. Darden, who made massive strides in sonic boom research, served as the first African American woman Senior Executive at NASA Langley.
Dwight not only met her, he also had the privileged opportunity to hear her speak at an event honoring Black History Month for Williamsburg/ James City County staff. With one of his colleagues out sick, Dwight was ‘drafted’ to attend.
Oooh, how I wish I could have been a draftee in that room!
As a space groupie, especially for all things NASA, the movie Hidden Figures made my ‘to see’ list well before it came to town. Zipping down to Hampton, Virginia, a few weeks before Christmas I was amazed to learn the events of the movie took place in Hampton when I bought the book from a local author display. After seeing the movie four times (a ‘must see’ for several groups of family & friends) and reading the book, I am so inspired by the stories of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Goble Johnson, Christine Darden and the pioneering women who served with them.
Women who reached for the stars with their amazing mathematical abilities, drive, tenacity, courage, and verve.
Hidden Figures is a movie for everyone. Each time I saw it the theater erupted in cheers – it’s that kind of movie, now given an Oscar nomination for best picture. If you haven’t seen it, do go and be inspired. It will make you laugh (Mary Jackson when checking out the NASA astronauts, “I have an equal right to see fine in any color!”) It will make you cry (with a romance hidden inside the story.) It will make you want to jump and shout (against incomprehensible segregation.) It will inspire you with the courage of these Hidden Figures who blaze a path of change using their God-given talents.
But Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures book is even better. Delving into the book, I couldn’t put it down. Dense with historical accounts of the challenges these women faced during Jim Crow segregation, it is also rich with personal stories of their families, communities, and courageous achievements at NASA and beyond. Margot Shetterly also provides us with a history of NASA, especially Langley, and the Hampton Roads area from World War II through the Civil Rights era. I highly recommend this brilliant book!
To me, the message of Hidden Figures portends that there are different ways to change hearts and minds. Protests, signs, taking legal action – these are important. But these women worked extremely hard cultivating their God-given talents and mathematical skills, putting them to work in the NASA space program. With their faith, tenacious courage and perseverance, they blazed a trail that changed injustice around them by being the best they could be.
From the book: “As much as Katherine Johnson’s technical brilliance, it’s her personal story and character that shine on us like a beacon. What could be more American than the story of a gifted little girl who counted her way from White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, to the stars? …Her unencumbered embrace of equality, applying it to herself without insecurity and to others with the full expectation of reciprocity, is a reflection of the America we want to be.
“By recognizing the full complement of extraordinary ordinary women who have contributed to the success of NASA, we can change our understanding of their abilities from the exception to the rule. Their goal wasn’t to stand out because of their differences; it was to fit in because of their talent.”
There’s so much more, so, read the book!! See the movie!! And then, be the best YOU can be where you are… like these Hidden Figure who reached for the stars, and became stars shining bright with quiet light that influenced others around them.
In stores, emails, tweets – it’s all LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. Mushy sentiment to the masses. Sweethearts and sweet tarts (do they still make those little heart-shaped ones?)
The thing is, maybe there’s no sweetheart in your life right now (or partner, boyfriend, girlfriend, loving kangaroo?) So, what’s up with getting down on Valentines?
This down can be a real downer, like the nobody-loves-me insecure one that vies with the bonanza of big-time bashed-up relationships. When fittingly fleeting ghosts of lost chances lurking in the dark corners of our memories put in an appearance, the downer dives lower.
Sigh.
The thing is, there are all kinds of love. Love is not just kisses, romance and that life-commitment love ‘thang. (Although, it must be stated: commitment is a rather important ingredient of the love ‘thang that lasts… and lasts.)
There’s friendshippy love: the comfortable sort that hangs out with us dressed up or dressed down. (When we’re into frowns or jumping up & down.)
Then there’s parental love, the kind that lifts our skinned knees, bruised hearts and pimply insecurities with super-sized hugs and supportive arms that never let go.
So much more to say about different aspects of that love ‘thang, but instead of getting the Valentine blues (a hazardous potential for singletons and single-agains), why not think about how our love can lift others?
As previously shared, my Mama wrote love notes she slipped stealthily under our doors. (They mean even more now – we miss her so much!) But, one night during my care-giving gig I slipped an I-love-you note under her door. When I went into my parents’ room the next day, the note stood proudly framed on a prominent shelf.
Needless to say, it now stands on my shelf as a reminder of what a hastily scribbled note meant to my precious Mama. ‘Twas humbling, that.
How many times do we think about saying or writing the words: I love you? Or, hey, if that’s hard to communicate, just a ‘luv ya? Or, if that’s too uncomfortable, sharing a smile filled with lots of affection? (not a freaky smile, but an affirming one? or you can, like me, draw highly sophisticated smiley faces.) 🙂
Whatever our comfort levels, we may need to focus on sharing that love ‘thang a little more freely in these crazy times.
“That is what we are here for: to bring love like a searing weapon against the dark, and to do so without fanfare and applause, without a care for sneers.” Brian Doyle
Now, here’s a Valentine’s treat for everyone (& I mean everyone!) My sister, Cindy, reached out with a singleton blues-busting gift a few years back. Everyone benefited as our new gift paraded all around the house leaving a wake of joyful giggles.
(Video brought to you by Virginia’s iPhone – her first attempt!)
Happy Valentine’s Day to all!!
grace, peace & hoppin’ love from Hippy the Frog
Virginia : )
p.s. The very cool owl pillows pictured in the video (staged for VA’s iPhone) were created by Leanne, an amazing artist in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, using soft felt made from recycled plastic water bottles. Dwight & I have been collecting her pillows at MarsCon & RavenCon the past few years (we have several more not pictured – Hippy’s staging area was only so big!) But you can check our her Studio Arethusa samplings online by clicking here: StudioArethusa.com
Yesterday morning when I told my brother that home-made mashed potatoes were on our dinner menu, I added, “Shere (our big sis) makes the best mashed potatoes. My mashed potatoes are never as good as hers.”
Dwight immediately quipped, “Practice makes perfect.”
Taking his helpful advice, I practiced with these vegan mashed potatoes made with olive oil & coconut milk. Not as amazing as my sister’s, but still, a tasty try (all plates scraped.) Plus, the new pecan-mushroom stuffing was pretty fabulous (in the cook’s sated opinion.)
Gotta love Dwight’s quick comeback. Since he really likes mashed potatoes, his helpfully-hopeful advice could be considered slightly self-interested. However, whether it’s food, music, sports, public speaking, or loving our neighbors?
It’s something to keep in mind: practice makes perfect.
Hmmn, maybe not perfect (memories of missed soccer goals come to mind), but practice can make us better than if we didn’t try at all.
Just ‘sayin.
grace, peace & practice, practice
Virginia : )
“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.” Mahatma Gandhi
Tomorrow many folks of many faiths will fill the streets of Washington, D.C. to raise awareness for unborn little ones in the 2017 March for Life. I realize the issue of abortion pushes emotional buttons, but here are my thoughts – again – and why I will be marching tomorrow in D.C. with them.
Imagine a world without Andrea Bocelli or Beethoven – what a dull place. No beautiful tenor’s voice melting your heart or truly great music (Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, one of the most amazing choral pieces ever, his 9th Symphony, his 5th, or, good grief, any of his music!) But despite potential birth defect challenges, their mothers chose life… as did mine (thankfully) & yours (obviously.)
Since January 22, 1973 when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in Roe vs. Wade, however, many mothers & mothers-to-be have not chosen life. Thousands are marching for Life in Washington, DC to raise awareness of these little ones who are no more – an estimated 50 million over the past 44 years.
44 very long years for this issue to polarize & desensitize us to the real issues at stake: the human rights of little ones who can’t speak for themselves… and wise choices, responsibility, education, respect (of all shapes & sizes), and love.
Abortion is such a divisive issue. For some reason, it’s been easier for me to stand between soldiers shooting children in a conflict zone than to speak out on this. Kinda weird for an ‘in-your-face, hey soldier, can’t you see that’s a child you’re shooting?’ gal, but I have friends across the political spectrum & after working in the HIV/AIDS arena in Africa (saving lives) many dear colleagues have very differing views.
I respect their views. I’m so grateful for friendships & amazing work done together and I understand there are many issues at stake, especially women’s rights. I have supported women’s rights for eons, working many years in programs that empowered women in difficult places where few rights and little opportunity exist.
As an outspoken juggernaut working overseas in my 20s I asked the visiting male CEO of our large relief & development agency, “we are all about empowering women in our projects, why aren’t there more women National Directors & Vice Presidents?” (Not shy was I!)
As a university student, I thought women should decide and that there should be more education & prevention available, so women wouldn’t face such a heavy choice of life vs. death inside them. Then a friend and I memorized Psalm 139. Gradually, (it took a few years) those verses moved from recitation in the mind to the inner recesses of my heart.
“…For You created my inmost being, You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully & wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works; and that my soul knows right well…”
…to a change of views, views for the most part privately held and not the kind of thing to march about. But a few years ago, Kathleen, a friend from church, encouraged me to participate in the March for Life.
What an amazing experience.
We started with a 6:30a.m. church service, then prayed our way on the buses up to D.C. where we joined thousands upon thousands of people: young, old, students (elementary – high school – university – grad school), pastors, priests, nuns, short-haired, long-haired guys, and folks from all over the country. There were Baptist church signs next to Knights of Columbus, folks singing, praying (lots of that going on all over.)
All raising voices for the voiceless Little Ones… so dear to the Heart of Jesus, so close to the heart of God, our Creator, the Giver of Life, & so close to the Heart of Mary. (Oops, tilt go the heads of my non-Catholic friends! But for sure, as the Mother of Jesus, go figure Little Ones are close to her Heart. She also asked Jesus to look after turning water into wine at a wedding feast, so she is more than, more than alright in my book.)
Mothers are little-life-generators. How noble to be a mother, not an easy job with diaper disasters, scraped knees, terrible teens and all that. Being a mama is tough. Kinda intimidating if you’re young, unmarried & pregnant.
My sister, Cindy, worked in a Crisis Pregnancy center years ago in a conservative area of North Carolina. Many gals from secular backgrounds were open to having their babies if they could figure out ways to support them, whereas girls from conservative Christian homes tended to choose abortion: “our families won’t understand.”
Egads! It’s not just laws that need changing!
Hearts need to change – (as always, mine 1st.) Maybe if we didn’t spend so much time judging, more young girls faced with this challenge might actually choose life.
I am so grateful to God for my Mama. After delivering my oldest sister, Shere, she almost died 9 hours later during toxemia convulsions. After 10 days of round-the-clock nurses she survived, but despite these challenges she went on to have 4 more little ones (since I am #4 of 5, glad she & Papa kept going! : )
Thank you, Mama, for your love & choosing life (5 times!)
Praying that God will transform hearts on Capitol Hill, in the White House, our State Houses, churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, schools, universities… the hearts of fathers, mothers & mothers-to-be… with love for the unborn, the Little Ones.
Imagine a world without Andrea Bocelli or Beethoven…
Imagine a world without me or you!
Grace, peace & LIFE (for the Little Ones!)
Virginia
Here’s a thought-provoking quote from one of my heroes, Mother Teresa:
“We are talking of love of the child which is where love and peace must begin… I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?
How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even His life to love us. So, the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child…. (Mother Teresa, 1994 National Prayer Breakfast address)
p.s.2. Here’s a video of Andrea Bocelli explaining the choice his mother made..
Here in the final week of Advent, Christmas is just a few short days away. As we hurry and scurry amidst the holiday rush, crushed by lists, lines, traffic, frustrations & elusive parking places, it’s a good idea to stop for a minute (or two) and think about the reason for this season.
Sentimental claptrap, Virginia, what are you getting at?
I’m not talking ‘Happy Holidays’ syrupy facades but sharing the real stuff: LOVE.
The holidays can be difficult and lonely. Maybe children and grandchildren can’t come this year, you’re single, or single-again facing an empty bed and empty stockings. Maybe illness has hospitalized your joy. Maybe you miss recently departed loved ones and your heart still smarts with super-sized loss. Or, maybe holiday memories are painful, something you’d rather forget.
There’s a lot of hurting hearts out there, deserts longing for a few drops of love.
“Purity of heart is the heart seeing, feeling and relating through the prism of love.” Father Ronald Rolheiser, OMI
Maybe we need to be better prisms of God’s love this Christmas. Instead of getting crushed by the rush, we can open the eyes of our hearts to see where we might share a little love and joy vs. trudging our way blindly through the frenetic sludge of holiday spirals.
Yesterday as I dashed to mail a package to a friend who will be alone on Christmas, I couldn’t get anywhere near the big Monticello post office. Cars blocked the entrance, there was no way in! Although crunched for time, I zoomed downtown and managed to find a parking place (no small miracle) before running in to join 25 others in line. Undeterred, I started humming a funky jazz rendition of Jingle Bells. Soon a bunch of us in line started chatting: one lady’s college-aged son will be alone on Christmas, the family of another can’t come and so on. Others started humming & we were wishing each other “Merry Christmas” as the line moved merrily along.
For at least five of us, we had all tried (& failed) to get into the other post office. But, 30 minutes later, I left with buoyant spirits, cheered by the shared joy of the rainbow nation in that line. (And, somehow was only 5 minutes late for appointment across town.)
“Where there is no love, put love, and you will draw love out.” St. John of the Cross
Last week as my mind (& heart) munched on this quote, I found a card my mother sent 11 years ago when I worked in Africa. In recent years as I took care of her before she died we had a nightly getting-ready-for-bed routine. After washing her @ the ‘beauty shop’ and getting her into her jammies, I tucked her into bed & said, “Mama, I love, love, love, love, love, love, LOVE YOU!” Then I kissed her on one cheek and my brother would come in to kiss her on the other cheek before we turned out the lights.
(We actually started the love, love, love business with my bed-fast quadriplegic Papa, who always said he loved us before we tucked him into his BiPap machine at night.)
But in this card from 11 years ago, my mother wrote, “know that I love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, love you!”
So, it turns out my Mama started the love, love, love, love business which seems right since she poured buckets and buckets of love into us. But how cool is it that years later, she drew out the love, love, love, love we had for her.
I don’t know what you’re facing this Christmas, but try opening your heart wider to receive more of the healing love of Jesus, that you may put love where there is no love, planting seeds of mercy, peace, grace & joy. Maybe one day you may draw love out.
Like the love, love, love, love, love of Jesus my Mama shared with us – and we were able to share with her.
From here @ Roses in the Rubble, I wish you Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year blessed with extra doses of…
grace, peace & love, love, love, love
Virginia : )
p.s. Check out this Christmas medley from fav Jon Batiste & his band, Stay Human
“…And every year I think to myself, who I am and who can I help… And every year I think to myself, what really matters is what you do for someone else…”
Wow, after rocking out to that rendition of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, methinks this new holiday compilation will be a joyful addition to our celebration!! (hint, hint, Santa’s elf disguised as my brother.) 🙂
Advent days can be long and bleak when dreary skies serve up icy drizzles that dampen our toes and spirits. Trudging through the sludge we wonder, where is the sun?
In an interior landscape of dreariness, we can get lost in the wilderness of loneliness, where weeds of frustration choke our peace and locomotives of fear derail our dreams. As darkness descends, we need to pursue the promised Light of Advent to lead us out where our crooked lines can be made straight in the warmth of Christ’s love that shines for us, always bright.
“For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.” Psalm 36:9
“The promises of God stand above us, more valid that the stars and more effective than the sun. Based on these promises, we will become healthy and free, from the center of our being. The promises have turned us around and, at once, opened life out into the infinite. Even lamentation retains the song of these promises, and distress their sound, and loneliness their confidence… Announcing God’s nearness, teaching it and bringing it to others: that is what my life means and wants and what it abides by.” Fr. Alfred Delp, SJ (from Advent of the Heart)
Father Delp (1907-1945), a German Jesuit priest, was imprisoned and executed by the Nazis during World War II for his involvement with the resistance.
grace, peace & Advent Light
Virginia : )
p.s. I know I’ve shared this favorite hymn before (from my Gospel choir days), but this morning I couldn’t stop singing it & then found this really wonderful rendition of “Walk in the Light,” a hymn by Thomas Whitfield. Be blessed!!
As we commemorate World AIDS Day 2016, we remember the 35 million people who have died from AIDS related illnesses and the 37 million people around the globe who are currently infected with the disease.
Before moving to Tanzania in 2002, I thought I knew about HIV/AIDS, but nothing prepared me for its devastating toll until I lived in Africa: mothers – fathers – sisters – brothers – daughters – sons – friends – colleagues – pastors – priests – teachers – doctors – nurses – politicians – the rich – the poor – CHILDREN: dead, sick, dying, soon to be dead.
So many victims, many brave enough to go through testing, often cast out of their families & communities, sick mothers struggling to look after children, children left to care for smaller children…
So much ignorance…communities not understanding, judgmental faith-based-groups offering condemnation vs. open hearts of God’s love for ALL (especially the suffering!)
So much fear…fueling prejudice, apathy, blame, injustice & stigmatization.
…and so much HOPE! From courageous beacons across the spectrum, willing to speak out, help out, step out to educate & eradicate this disease: tireless hearts busy with healing & BEING love in action that have done so much to curb the spread of this disease.
In Tanzania, the government set up TACAIDS to coordinate efforts with all government ministries (not just the Ministry of Health), Parliament & civil society. In the beginning, they put a military general in charge. This fight IS a war, not just against a virus, but against attitudes, prejudice & behavior that needs changing.
Starting with MINE. It’s not ‘us’ and ‘them’ – the victims of HIV/AIDS, however they contracted the disease. That could be ME – but for the grace of God go I…
This is OUR challenge, not just on World AIDS Day, but every day of the year, everywhere in this world, to fight for a world free of HIV.
grace, peace & global hearts (hurting for all!)
Virginia
“The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution that has to start with each one of us?” Dorothy Day
My brother & I recently visited Ruby Falls in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It’s a magnificent waterfall on Lookout Mountain, not on top (as waterfalls tend to be located) but deep underneath the mountain. It sparkles when lights are turned on, yet keeps tinkling and flowing when the lights go out.
Roses in the Rubble 