This morning I prayed a 96 year old woman into her next life. I midwifed her dying. The room was so sterile, so empty, and the other priest, the woman's daughter and her friend stayed so far from the bed. I just walked up to her and touched her - stroked her hair and forehead... and as I asked God to receive her, she died. I don't remember clearly what I said - I certainly wasn't prepared for her to die 'under my hand' - I might have chosen my words more carefully. Thank God the Spirit prays for us when we don't know what to say.
As I reflected on the experience later it came to me that midwives assist the passage from one state of life to another... into life in this world, on to life in the next world. I too am a midwife. And like birth, some deaths are easy, natural and peaceful, and others are more stressful. This was so easy, so gentle - one last breath. What a gift!
And then, in the way that I am discovering Fridays can be such a microcosm of life in all its fullness, I watched 2 lively passionate interviews on TV (while my car was being serviced), I sat and listened to an 85-year old trying to figure out how to live what remains of her life after she is released from hospital (and translated her doctor's questions for her from French), and I attended the vernissage of an exhibit by a childhood-friend-become-potter-of-reknown called 'Veritas' ... in search of Truth! Isn't that what it's all about? Every day, as I stay alive and awake in each moment, develops my Truth - helps me refine my Truth and learn more about what is Truth for others. It is complex, and deep, and surprising, and changing ... my unique essence - and yours!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
New address: Heaven?
What more could I ask? Those lovely crisp nights, with deep yellow moon and bright stars; only 4C when I first approached the thermometer this morning; and this afternoon, 22C. We have to enjoy these days when they come - live in the moment, we keep saying - so I came home from hospital visiting and what felt like a million errands, donned my capris and rubber boots and headed for the garden. There must be something there that needs attention on an afternoon like this ;)
The almost-last green beans (still enough for several meals), the produce of a couple of potato plants, the last little purple topped turnips, a few onions whose tops are broken and won't be growing anymore, a beet or two, and surprise! Those carrots whose tops looked so pitiful have been busy underground! Lovely! Sweet and fragrant!
I am so blessed by this return to rural life...the somewhat hectic pace of a 'newby priest' still needs the occasional reminder of slow, conscious breathing, but the whole environment here is so healthy. As I walked down the hill from my 'borrowed' garden patch, I wondered about the seniors I visit - they must miss these moments. Everyone around here had or has a garden. They must have enjoyed the satisfaction of the harvest, the sore muscles and healthy exhaustion from a day preparing the firewood for winter, or planning/weeding/harvesting food for their tables. But now many sit in their rooms, in the hospital or care-facilities, not really noticing the weather outside their windows, lost in boredom or all-too-often unhappy memories. How can I open their eyes to these beautiful experiences? Bring back these healthy, happy memories? Perhaps tomorrow I'll take a few of those luscious carrots with me on my rounds...they just might evoke a smile or two...
And tonight, when it's dark and cold outside, I'll return to the waiting paperwork and reading and planning! (If I can resist a peak at the stars!)
PS For anyone who's hoping for pics and reflections on Ordination Weekend, I promise to get them up soon. It was such an amazing time - I'm finding it hard setting it to words...how to capture something so special on paper?
The almost-last green beans (still enough for several meals), the produce of a couple of potato plants, the last little purple topped turnips, a few onions whose tops are broken and won't be growing anymore, a beet or two, and surprise! Those carrots whose tops looked so pitiful have been busy underground! Lovely! Sweet and fragrant!
I am so blessed by this return to rural life...the somewhat hectic pace of a 'newby priest' still needs the occasional reminder of slow, conscious breathing, but the whole environment here is so healthy. As I walked down the hill from my 'borrowed' garden patch, I wondered about the seniors I visit - they must miss these moments. Everyone around here had or has a garden. They must have enjoyed the satisfaction of the harvest, the sore muscles and healthy exhaustion from a day preparing the firewood for winter, or planning/weeding/harvesting food for their tables. But now many sit in their rooms, in the hospital or care-facilities, not really noticing the weather outside their windows, lost in boredom or all-too-often unhappy memories. How can I open their eyes to these beautiful experiences? Bring back these healthy, happy memories? Perhaps tomorrow I'll take a few of those luscious carrots with me on my rounds...they just might evoke a smile or two...
And tonight, when it's dark and cold outside, I'll return to the waiting paperwork and reading and planning! (If I can resist a peak at the stars!)
PS For anyone who's hoping for pics and reflections on Ordination Weekend, I promise to get them up soon. It was such an amazing time - I'm finding it hard setting it to words...how to capture something so special on paper?
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