El Salvador - reposted

Posted by Terry McNichols

(I chose to repost this memory of one of my trips to El Salvador.  This is the month when a team will be visiting this same village, arriving in the country on July 17th.   I will be returning in January, leading another team, but will be waiting anxiously for news of these loved ones in San Diego de Tenango.) 

Where do I start to write about my recent trip to El Salvador to visit the village of San Diego de Tenango? So many memories. I find it difficult to process at this point in my journey. I felt the same after a visit to the same village last year. My brain and heart fills to capacity, and I need some time to let the joys and sorrows sink in. Our main purpose in visiting is to build relationships with the people. We do some physical labor, working with the people, but mostly we are challenged to work on relationships. Our village has had an ongoing relationship with Agros and UPC for 6 years now. But it has been the last 3 teams (July 07, January 08, and July 08) that have seen an opening up of the villagers to us. Many of our team members were now on their second visit to the village. We have one member who has visited this same village 5 times now. The villagers are beginning to trust us and seek us out during our visit. And we find commonality in the hopes, dreams, worries that we all share as humans.

I have always noticed that returning missionaries show slide after slide of people. I confess I have often found myself slightly bored, waiting for the pictures of scenery, houses, animals, flowers. But anyone with a heart for missions soon realizes that the faces of the people are the pull on the heartstrings of the caring. I give you faces from San Diego de Tenango .

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

When God Stirs Your Nest - reposted

Posted by Leona Bergstrom

I have a friend is going through a very difficult transition. It seems as though their once-thriving business is all but defunct, the home mortgage is nearly impossible to pay, and their health is deteriorating under the stress. They are experiencing more loss than ever before in their married lives. Yet, some time ago they asked God to show them how to best serve Him. I thought of this article that a friend gave me 25 years ago when we felt that God was doing something to change our lives drastically. He did. We moved, started over. I’ve had to re-read it several more times in the last two decades because God has stirred the nest often!
I sent the article to my friend.

Nasturtium Seeds - reposted

Posted by Terry McNichols


My father has always been a crusader for nasturtiums. He is the Johnny Appleseed of the world of nasturtiums, harvesting seeds every year and packaging them up in homemade, hand-colored seed packets and sending them off to relatives around the country. Last year my seeds only sprouted tiny little lonesome nasturtiums, but this year I have a whole mound of them starting to appear. My children, my siblings, my friends have all planted dad's seeds and we all try to remember to send him pictures of our successes and even of our failures. My father has loved flowers as long as I've known him. I recently came across a picture of myself at about 3 or 4 years old surrounded by his flowers, and didn't realize that my own love of flowers must have started at that moment. My daughter loves flowers and my two sons both garden with extreme passion and blog about it! Oh that all the things I wanted to pass down were so enduring! When my parents moved to a retirement community in Arizona, my father defied the rules and planted and tended beautiful nasturtiums for many years, until the management finally required that he stop. Is the love of flowers or gardening hard wired in the family genes? Thanks, dad, for the seed packets -- and the genes!

Feelings About Long Life - reposted

Posted by Leona Bergstrom

We have worked hard at adding years to life – through research and medical advancement.

But, we meant to add years to our youth.

We want more years when we are 25 and young and healthy and virile and independent.

But added years of life didn’t get credited to that account. They were credited to the later years. That part of life of which we are most afraid, most dread, and least understand. We don’t really get more years to be with our babies, learn and discover new and exciting things, pursue power, money and sex.

No, we get more years to watch our bodies morph on us into something we neither recognize nor appreciate. We have more years to deal with chronic illness. More years to be alone without a spouse. More years to be devalued, unappreciated. More years to be old. More years to be what we were trying not to be.

This is cause for despair. Fear. Angst.

How are we as a generation going to appreciate having more years to live when somehow we feel so gypped and are so resentful?

How are we going to live longer when we don’t know how to be old?

On Turning 60 - reposted

Posted by Terry McNichols

(It is hard to believe it has been two years since I wrote this post.  I'm still getting older, quickly, and my repaired knee is doing great.)

I turned 60 last week and it was a day I was dreading. I didn’t expect that 60 would come so quickly, or that it would be fraught with aches and pains. I always assumed I would age gracefully and beautifully, able to stay active, travel, enjoy my life. But sometime before my birthday I somehow injured my knee and couldn’t take my walks, could barely get in and out of my car, couldn’t garden, and couldn’t get down on the floor with my grand babes. Guilt upon my head for all those times I walked ahead of my own mother, agonizing at her slow speed and trying to hurry her along. It is not easy to slow me down and I resent the very idea that I might not be able to do whatever I want to do.

Sure you can keep telling me that I still have many wonderful years ahead, but I believe that I am going to need to work hard to make that happen. So I am resolving to work diligently on that knee and keep it functional for just a few more years.

It is pretty easy, during the down times, to start to think that my usefulness is pretty much in the past. Maybe I don’t have any more energy or talents or gifts to offer for the betterment of the world, I begin to think. Time to shrivel up and call it a wrap. But in the midst of thinking these happy birthday thoughts, a thank-you card arrived in my mail from Leona’s mother, an 81-year old widow who is still actively living out her place in the world. The quote on that card is the theme of this blog about grace and gravity. Leona and I have always dreamed about teaming up on something, anything. We’ve teamed up on many great family outings (yes, she’s married to my brother), lots of fun times together, great conversations, dreams, ideas, years of supporting each other and our families. We’ve weathered a lot of storms together. And now we are venturing out, to see if we indeed have anything new to offer to the vast internet community. Here, then, is the quote:

"BLESSED ARE THE AVAILABLE
Blessed are the conduits, the tunnels, the tools.
DELIRIOUSLY JOYFUL
are the ones who believe that if God has used
sticks and rocks to do His will, then He can use us."
Max Lucado

Descent and Ascent - reposted

Posted by Leona Bergstrom

During the month of July, we will be reposting some of our favorites.  We have now posted 434 times since our humble beginnings.  Once in awhile we like to remind you why we took on this awesome task by reposting our "welcome."  We hope you are enjoying our "joyful, delirious abandon."  Some of our posts are trivial -- some profound -- and we are enjoying the process!  Here it is:


Simone Weil was one of last century’s most interesting, albeit controversial, philosophers and thinkers. She coined the phrase “grace and gravity” when describing life. In fact, a posthumous publication of her writings was entitled “Gravity and Grace." She wrote that two forces prevail in the world, light and gravity. Gravity reflects our humanness; light reflects God’s grace.

Those two words, grace and gravity, describe for us the struggle we have between counting the joys of a life long lived and blessed, and the realities or gravity of considering life’s meaning and significance, the end of life, and the realities of eternity.

Weil wrote, “All the natural acts of the soul are controlled by laws similar to Gravity. The only exception is grace.”

In our efforts to face the arguably exciting days of our 50’s and 60’s, we have chosen to look at the process through a new set of eyes. We know that we don’t have a choice about aging, but we do have a choice about living. We are choosing to live with eyes wide open. We want to see more clearly all that is going on around us in our families, communities, around the globe and on the living room floor. Life is about the big things and ideas that haunt us – like social justice, poverty, and the price of real estate. It’s also about washing mud off our grandson’s hands and sitting very still to hear crickets squeak. We both want to experience the grace of aging with joyful, delirious abandon. But we both understand that there exists an irresistible pull of gravity – not the force that causes our skin to sag, but the realities of the difficult things in life. Like the bone-crushing gravity of the death of a friend or a newly diagnosed disease. We want to absorb it all, process it through our life experience, profession and perspective, and then write it down. Seeing our feelings in words somehow emblazons the experience on our soul, and pain is redeemed, joy is reclaimed, and life takes on new vibrancy.

Welcome to our journey of grace and gravity.

Welcome Revisited

During the month of July, we will be reposting some of our favorites.  We have now posted 434 times since our humble beginnings.  Once in awhile we like to remind you why we took on this awesome task by reposting our "welcome."  We hope you are enjoying our "joyful, delirious abandon."  Some of our posts are trivial -- some profound -- and we are enjoying the process!  Here it is:

Simone Weil was one of last century’s most interesting, albeit controversial, philosophers and thinkers. She coined the phrase “grace and gravity” when describing life. In fact, a posthumous publication of her writings was entitled “Gravity and Grace." She wrote that two forces prevail in the world, light and gravity. Gravity reflects our humanness; light reflects God’s grace.

Those two words, grace and gravity, describe for us the struggle we have between counting the joys of a life long lived and blessed, and the realities or gravity of considering life’s meaning and significance, the end of life, and the realities of eternity.

Weil wrote, “All the natural acts of the soul are controlled by laws similar to Gravity. The only exception is grace.”

In our efforts to face the arguably exciting days of our 50’s and 60’s, we have chosen to look at the process through a new set of eyes. We know that we don’t have a choice about aging, but we do have a choice about living. We are choosing to live with eyes wide open. We want to see more clearly all that is going on around us in our families, communities, around the globe and on the living room floor. Life is about the big things and ideas that haunt us – like social justice, poverty, and the price of real estate. It’s also about washing mud off our grandson’s hands and sitting very still to hear crickets squeak. We both want to experience the grace of aging with joyful, delirious abandon. But we both understand that there exists an irresistible pull of gravity – not the force that causes our skin to sag, but the realities of the difficult things in life. Like the bone-crushing gravity of the death of a friend or a newly diagnosed disease. We want to absorb it all, process it through our life experience, profession and perspective, and then write it down. Seeing our feelings in words somehow emblazons the experience on our soul, and pain is redeemed, joy is reclaimed, and life takes on new vibrancy.

Welcome to our journey of grace and gravity.

Truth Telling

Posted by Terry McNichols

 
Along the lines of telling the truth, here's a quote by Maya Angelou I've used before in this blog:

"Let's tell the truth to the people. When people ask, 'How are you?' have the nerve sometimes to answer truthfully. You must know, however, that people will start avoiding you because they, too, have knees that pain them and heads that hurt and they don't want to know about yours. But think of it this way: If people avoid you, you will have more time to meditate and do fine research on a cure for whatever truly afflicts you." Maya Angelou in Letter to my Daughter (Random House)

Forgiven

Posted by Terry McNichols

Some blog posts haunt me until I get them written.  This is one of those.  I struggle sometimes with exactly how vulnerable I want to be in these posts.  So I was struck in the gut by the sermon from my pastor recently when he said “Be honest about your failures.  We need to allow Christ to hold our moral failings in His grace!”  So, here is a story of my recent moral failing.  You might think it a petty failing, but to me it was an important turning point. 

I recently sold an expensive item on eBay, agreeing that I would pay the shipping and have the item packaged professionally so that it wouldn’t be at risk of breaking.  I was very pleased until I found out that the total cost of such a promise was $87 at the UPS store!  As I was recovering from my shock and disappointment, the clerk said, “If you’re a member of AAA, you can have a 5% discount.  Are you?”  I immediately responded, “Yes.”  She then completed tallying up my bill and then asked for my AAA card for verification.  This prompted my need for a second lie.  I mumbled something about not carrying the card with me and felt my face grow red.  She offered to let me come back with the card and I dug the hole even deeper.  She then added the discounted figure back into the cost and I went on my way.

Now I am not lying when I say that I do try, at every turn, to be totally honest.  I have had some “small” slips where I justified not going back into a store when I realized that something wasn’t charged correctly, and I am the first to try to get store clerks to go above and beyond a coupon saving if possible.  I’ve noticed myself becoming more lax, justifying myself for not doing the Abe Lincoln penny thing.  But this moral lapse was definitely a choice, made in an instant, to try to save exactly $4.35! 

I left the store, still burning in my own shame, and drove home.  I believed that the store clerk surely knew that I had lied to her, based on my behavior.  Had I gotten away with the lie, would I have been moved to make it right?  Probably not.  I would have gone on my way, happy to have “deserved” the discount since the price was so exorbitant anyway -- and wiped the transgression out of my memory.  In fact, if my memory serves me correctly, I think I might have gotten away with this AAA discount issue once before.   But the realization that I had lied for such a silly, pitiable reason, still brings me shame. 

In my defense, I now finish the story.  Within moments of leaving the store, the still small voice in my head said, “Terry, you have to make this right.  You have to apologize to the clerk.”  “NO, please don’t make me do that!”  “Yup, that’s what it will take.”  “NO, please, not that!”  "Yes, that is what it will take to get rid of my voice.”  I came home, picked up the phone and called the clerk, apologizing for my lie and asking her forgiveness.  Needless to say, she was quite shocked and told me what a wonderful person I was (wrong!) and was more than willing to let it go.  I hope that I can return to that store, forgiven, next time I have something to ship.   I told no one else of my indiscretion, too embarrassed to tell the story on myself.  I hope and pray that I can look in the mirror and see my “true self is emerging.”  (Pastor George)
So here I am.  With all my warts exposed, in need of forgiveness, wanting once again to be trusted with the very little, so that I can then be trusted with much. 

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.   Luke 16:10, New International Version

In Search of Wisdom

Posted by Leona Bergstrom

I’ve said it many times: Midlife and older people should be involved in all areas of ministry in the church because it needs their wisdom.

While it is true we yearn for sage insights, wisdom doesn’t come automatically with the passing of years alone. American comedian Tom Wilson is quoted as saying, “Wisdom doesn’t necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up by itself.”

Almost synonymous with the word “wisdom” is the name Solomon. After all, he was not only a great king who governed his people with integrity and renowned good judgment, he was an esteemed philosopher, writer and teacher. Scholars widely agree that many of the words recorded in the Book of Proverbs are those of a reflective statesman and father writing counsel to the next generations. “My Son,” is often the prelude to words of exhortation pointing toward artful living and godly choices.

I often wonder how Solomon got so wise. The opening words of the book of Proverbs say the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (1:7), but where is the starting point for wisdom?

It seems that wisdom comes through the difficult work of analytically processing life. Solomon had the writings of his father, the great King David, who through his years had lived in the finest of palaces but also in the darkest of caves. His poetry, psalms and songs reflected a level of introspection rare in most of our personal experience. Solomon must have thought long and hard about this heritage, even as he examined life around him. His confidence that God could be trusted was seared by his own disconnect between faith and reality. His personal wrestling match with knowledge, experience, faith and life are public record in Ecclesiastes. Some of his conclusions are rather dire and almost depressing, but his quest for wisdom will forever be inspiring. The final statements in Ecclesiastes say of the writer, “He pondered and searched out... and what he wrote was upright and true.” A final admonition? “Fear God and keep his commandments,” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Dr. Monika Ardelt, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Florida, has done extensive research in the area of wisdom and how it relates to aging. She states that wisdom is the rediscovery of the significance of old truths through a deeper and more profound understanding of events. She adds that while wise people do not necessarily learn more facts than other individuals, they comprehend the deeper meaning for themselves.

How are we, the Boomers and Beyond, doing at being wise? Are we dispensing knowledge that has been marinated in God’s wisdom found in deep contemplation and thought, or do we give advice similar to Job’s counselors, whose words he describe as “tasteless food?” (Job 12:12).

Dr. Ardelt says that wisdom comes in old age from reflection, assimilating and seeking understanding. The great preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, “To know is not to be wise. To use knowledge is to have wisdom.”

It is our obligation not to simply offer knowledge or advice to the next generations. It is to impart wisdom. This comes through knowing the Word of God, applying and praying it into our lives, wrestling with the dissonance, reflecting, seeking understanding and ultimately finding perspective in light of eternity.

May we be a generation that truly searches for and offers wisdom.
(Written by Leona in her role as Co-Director, Converge Worldwide 2nd 1/2 for Him)
(Photo by Jenn Larsen, shared via Flickr)