in a no word state of mind....

This past month has been very, very good. After returning from Israel, I have gotten into a groove where I am getting a lot done at work (could get more done, I realize, but hey, it is July)...have been enjoying walking the doggies religiously every morning before I do my other morning routines of house straightening, kitchen cleaning, I have been exercising--and feeling good. Shout out to Cheesehead who blogged about being Shredded a while ago, and I found the 30 Day Shred Workout by Jillian Michaels on On Demand....and that has made me strong enough to actually jog a tiny more than 3 miles everyother day. I think, too, I might be losing a little weight!

But that isn't what I sat down to write. What I sat down to write about is the fact that lately, when I have sat down to blog, I find I am in a "no word" state of mind. It is easy for me to pop something whimsical on the page...and whimsy is good. I believe in whimsy.

But I also believe in words, in Word, in digging and wandering about in my heart and thoughts to wonder, in words, out loud. Or, I mean, out blog. Blog out loud? Write. But the words, the subject, the wonderings are not there...I worry about being shallow. O.k., I don't worry about being shallow. I don't want to be shallow, but I guess if I wonder if I am shallow, than I am really not, because I am at least deep enough to understand what shallow is.
Good grief. Now I am sounding like Paul. "That which I would not, That do I do, I wish I wouldn't do it, but I'm already through...."
Hah! Now I just compared myself to a great New Testament author. That would be Narcissism!
Cracking myself up here.

Back to the "no word" state of mind. Perhaps it is fear, I feel, wandering in the formless void within me...maybe I don't have the courage to let Spirit hover over that formless void, to let Spirit breathe, create, and speak what is within, to help me find those words, in their time. Oh sweet One, I pray for the grace to contemplate and meditate and give myself time
in this wordless state of mind.

And, to allow whimsy to be o.k.
Amen.

why I might need a spiritual director.

earlier this week:

me: (at three in the morning, while on vacation)
I can't get A out of my mind. She has been on my heart and in my thoughts incessantly. I can't sleep, because I am thinking of her and her family constantly, and wanting to pray always for her.

God: (at least, I think it was God) Why don't you give her up to me...let me care for her in my arms and constant care and love....

me: You???

God: Well, I am the ONE to cast all your cares on....

me: I don't know....

God: You know I Am.

me: well, o.k., but don't mess up again. A has been through a lot.


Later, about 5 in the morning. I think to myself, did I really tell God not to mess up again???
Oh my.

Easter Blessings...

We had a lovely service today...
beautiful music, balloons, lilies and tulips and hyacinths (sp?)...
happy people, squirmy children, cooing babies...
even some humour....
and a wild story from my colleague about a statue named "Jesus Scourged" that made the rounds of pranks while he was a novitiate in a monastery.
At the end, everyone who wants joins the choir (EVERYONE, including 5 year olds) at the front to sing the Hallelujah Chorus. What fun. And, they even sounded great!
The coffee was fellowshipped, the eggs in the park hunted, prayers were offered....
and then on home.

We took the dogs to Revere Beach (pretty urban, not really pristine, but does lay claim to the oldest public beach in USA). It. Was. Butt. Freezing. Cold.

The poodles had a blast running around the waves, but of course, Venus and Fenway were surfing for beach snacks. Venus even decided to put a clump of ylechly soggy seaweed. Slimy.

We drove around a little...and then home for the Great Resurrection Nap. I slept over two hours...am a little concerned as my throat is scratchy, my body achy, chilly, and a cough developing. I have too much to get done before Thursday a.m...please please please please please please just let this be tired-ness.......

Now...
Am thinking about Easter Supper.
Hmmmmmm.


Anyway,
Hallelujah!

Opening Day

Today is opening day here in Red Sox Nation.
Looks like it might rain, so not sure the game will happen. We will see.
Tonight is the final four championship. GO CAROLINA!

Hah! It sounds like I am this HUGE sports fan. I do love baseball...and like basketball, but I don't live and breathe sports. But, that's what is happening in my world today.

It is good that it is Monday. The weekend, as always, was busy. Much of Saturday was sermon writing, and errands. Sunday, was great, but long. Usually, whether I am preaching or not, I get up around 5:30 just to get in Sunday mode. I pray to be present to the morning of seeing people, engaging conversations, following up on details, etc. Usually, it all goes by too fast. I love Sunday mornings and the gathering of the congregation.

There were lots of visitors yesterday--some I was expecting, and some who were totally new. I preached on the Passion of Christ and the anointing woman, entitled "A Beautiful Thing". I wasn't sure how it would all come together, such a hard Sunday to preach--after hearing the whole passion narrative. It was more of a serious service, I think. The music was unbelievably gorgeous. Ahh!

During coffee hour, we celebrated a 95 birthday....I missed most of it, because I was busy talking to visitors. One couple I met, are here on sabbatical from Korea. He is teaching religion at BC, and is a professor at a Jesuit university in Seoul. I asked him (wild stab here) if he knew my dearest friend who is a professor at a another theological school in Seoul. He said, oh, yes~~I know her work! Guess she is doing pretty good over there--she is a prolific writer and theologian. Small world. And very cool. After swishing into to coffee hour, I talked to another congregant who was looking for simple children's prayers she could record so her child could listen to them at night before sleep. I showed her our resource room, and she was in heaven picking out prayer books (I have a pretty good library of children's books in our resource room. It is really nice.)Then there was a meeting to talk about the landscaping plan in front of the church--we are repairing crumbling columns and uneven sidewalk (replaced with brick)...and pulled out some really unruly yew bushes. It will make the front of the church a little more inviting. The whole plan emerged quite quickly, but it will look great, and take care of some much needed repairs.

Then, home...did a little work in the back yard, talked about 40 minutes to someone who needed to vent and be listened to...and got back to church for a youth karaoke party at 3:00. I got home after 7.

So...you see why I am happy it is Monday!

A little down time is good.
I am going to take the next hour and journal and pray...then do some mopping and kitchen cleaning...run out for an appointment....squeeze in some time to finish some little pottery boxes I am making, exercize...and be ready for a meeting at 7:00.

Today,
Dear God,
there is much in my heart...some of it is unbloggable, some of it I just don't have the energy to articulate...
I am grateful for this day...
Grateful for your presence.
I just need to rest in you today.
amen.

a little more on prayer....

I mentioned before that I am in a group of colleagues praying daily during lent, and we check in once weekly.

How has this been transforming?

For me, I have experienced an abundance of love and compassion and joy and connection
with everything and everyone around me..and to Christ within.
It is like I want to embrace it all and say...
Oh, oh, oh!
You are loved!
You are wonderful!
You are...baptized, a child of God, and the Divine knows and cares.

I found myself walking with my youth in Times Square...and we stopped at a light, and I just was so crazy with delight for them, I leaned over and said,
"I know this is nutty, but I have to tell y'all, I just LOVE YOU!"
They grinned.
Then we walked into the M & M palace or world or whatever.

The same tenderness breezes through me as I sit at potluck dinners with four 90 plus year old women as we discuss the movie Chocolat and God....

or when I am walking in the park, marveling at the tenacity of Canadian Geese swimming in the freezing Mystic River.

Just thought I would share that.
No point. Just sharing.

p.s. to those asking about family in ND--all is well and all are holding up. My immediate family lives in the NW part of the state, and reports from other extended family is that everyone is holding their breath, but so far....so good. Thanks for asking!

holy spirit sighting

today I was jogging in the park along the river. (jogging slowly)
I came upon the stone pillar in the middle of the lawn that marks the name of the park, and a huge redtail hawk was perched on it....we were eye to eye, about five feet apart. The hawk calmly watched me as I ran by...and then I stopped and turned around to gaze at its wild beauty until it flew off in majestic glory, soaring over the river, circling back, and landing in a tree, with another gorgeous redtail.

Hawks are fierce, strong, a little scary sometimes, but for me, a symbol of the Holy Spirit...I need that wild fierce presence of God filling me and with me for the living of these days.
Amen.

Prayer

I am in a cohort of people being trained to be a church coach for evangelism and vitality in our Conference. One of our projects together is reading the book, "Unbinding Your Heart" by Martha Grace Reese which is a forty day commitment to daily prayer, and weekly meetings to pray for one another, and talk about how our prayer lives are moving (or not) as well as talk about some of the ideas in the book. The "unbinding" series is part of a larger "real-evangelism series" written for mainline denominations that are wanting to embrace growth as a mission, and learning the practice of invitation rather than relying on the attraction approach of growth. (If we are doing what we do, people will be attracted to us and come). Outreach is a whole other topic, and I digress.

The book is intended for congregations--for forty days, a congregation cancels all meetings, and instead, they work through this book--personally and corporately in small groups that meet weekly. I understand that congregations that have gone through this process are markedly transformed. Understandable. They are praying for one another and the world in a focused, regular way.

Gay Reese's reflections are really wonderful, I have to say. They are accessible for anyone, and yet deep. They remind the reader/prayer of mindfulness in everyday life, and she provides an array of scripture to read and reflect upon. My prayer life has become incredibly consistent by using this tool, and I have to say I am beginning to be much more "all of me here in the moment" than I ever have.

It's a little scary, too. I am learning that I am the kind of person that doesn't easily give up control--she makes the remark that some people are the kind that say "oh, thanks God, for the tip! It all makes sense. So give me back my life now, I can take it from here". OOOhh. I get that. I pray, I receive, and then go on my independent way.

I pray for a heart and life steeped in prayer. But, if this sort of things happen, I better, as Annie Dillard says, get a crash helmet--it is the Creator of the Universe I am being vulnerable to, you know? This is pretty risky.

Can I live this way? I pray I can.
Amen.

polyphonic afternoon

I close my eyes..
and listen..
to the grey whistle of the wind whipping against everything...
and underneath that is the traffic of trucks and cars racing down the avenue..
but a little above that is the humm and gentle gurgle of the radiator...
while Daisy's snoring keeps the rhythm
and sometimes the faint roar of a jet enters in, on its way to Logan, or just taking off to somewhere,
somewhere,
somewhere...
and then there is the occasional solo line for a sparrow, chirping alone from the tree beyond my window...
and Lucky cat, warm against my side, breathing so softly,
blocking my way
so I can't get up without disturbing his peace...
so instead, I breathe in his peace, and the ordinary symphony of this moment.
amen.

yet to be revealed.

(picture from a national geographic forwarded email thingy with lots of other great pix)
Sometimes, I feel like this monkey, free, happy, in the middle of a treasure.

I was fortunate to be able to have the weekend off last weekend. A trip to NYC made it all the more fantabulously fun, in spite of frigid temperatures. A highlight, among many, was seeing the musical "Billy Elliott." Elton John wrote all of the music. It was so great. I highly recommend.

Today is our weekly snow day, it seems like. Once a week we seem to have a dump that snarls traffic and waylays plans. Poor kids around here are going to be in school until the end of July because there have been so many snow days. (slight exaggeration.)

Am trying to settle in and plan my women's retreat for the weekend. Of course I have a theme and many pieces, but it is putting it all together. PLUS not overpreparing. My church girlfriends like to have plenty of time for talking, talking, talking, and just having fun. It's a balance, for sure! The theme is from that beautiful Mary Oliver poem that asks, "Tell me, what do you plan to do with this one wild and precious life?" I have asked everyone to bring a poem, piece of scripture, or short reading that has been a source of strength for them. We are going to make prayer beads (how fun will that be?) and have time for large and small group sharing around strength, faith, and spirituality.

I am in a good place. In spite of obvious concern about the economy, the strain it puts on people's lives and budgets, as well as the strain on all of our church budgets (I suspect there are many congregations facing shortfalls this year), I have hope. Or, at least, I have no worry. My heart trusts in what will be, and I truly believe Julian of Norwich when she says "all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of being shall be well." (I might not have this strictly quoted.)

So. We do what we can do, be kind as often as we can to whomever we can--when we remember--, we acknowledge that the people we encounter have lives that have trouble and joy just like our own...and we hope that we can be as gentle to others the ways in which we hope others are gentle to us.
Oh. yes. and we pray.
Amen.

putzing...

I am having a hard time getting my teeth into anything right now. In other words, I think I am slacking a bit, and when I slack, I feel guilty. I should be out changing the world! I should be scheduled for the day within an inch of a minute!
I should be praying until my knees are bloody! I should be ahead of my game, or on top of my game, or at least...PLAYING my game!

But, mostly, right now, I feel quiet and still and like I am marinating on something unknown. And in the midst of that, I have putzed this morning. Cleaned the kitchen, (btw, takes forever as we are out a dishwasher. it broke. in the middle of painting said kitchen and changing all door hardware and it is all a cluttery mess...however, because of the broken dishwasher, we decided to replace both dishwasher and fridge--an unpredictable appliance in our home---but the dishwasher hasn't even been scheduled for installation, which means I will be throwing a luncheon for 10 people on Friday in the middle of chaos. Thank God for amazing Italian restaurants that make meals for 10 and are delicious!) Back to the moment.
It is grey and soggy and icy and wet snowy outside. My early morning meeting was cancelled,and my next isn't until 1:00, so I decided to work from home this morning...catching up on email and reading blogs and pondering.

Wish there were something more profound niggling at my mind and heart, something to hash out, but maybe, frankly, just having peace for awhile is something to embrace...instead of feeling guilty for! Moments of peace I think surprise us, because they rarely linger, and when peace lingers...well...it is a bit foreign and I feel like I should get busy rather than take the luxury of lingering with the peace.

my charge today: be peaceful. be at peace. amen.

p.s. while I write this in the quiet of my attic office, my skitzy Lucy cat is sitting in the window and leaping into it, everytime a bird flies by, as if she can catch it. Her tail is doing that swishy thing, and now one bird is on the sill. It is as if the bird knows she is quite safe and is happy to torment my silly Lucy. And Lucy is definitely falling for the sparrow's antics.

so, I will be at peace...and belly laugh with the Buddah.

amen.

brrrrrrr

January 1, 2009.

Wow.
2009! Crazy.

Today...
1. is bitter and cold, beautiful and bright
(can you tell I grew up with farmer parents? I always report the weather!)

2. I am so grateful for the snowplower who plowed our street, because he/she actually did a careful job, making sure that there wasn't a five foot berm in front of my driveway.

3. In spite of being pleased with my Wovel, I am enormously thankful for the two of neighbors, next door and across the street, who are young and happy with their snowblowers, and feel like they should plow our sidewalk because we are middle aged old ladies. No, they don't say that, but can't you see them thinking that? I am grateful for their parents who raised such considerate men ;-)

4. I am waiting for the coffee to brew, and then I am going to get back into bed and read and ponder Sunday's sermon. And then write it. I want to go cross country skiing on Saturday.

5. 2008 was a year for us, like for many, full of dramatic contrasts. The world news and economics paints everyone's personal lives in so many different ways. So, there is that. Then, my nephew died from suicide. B's mother died. There was lots going on at work, stress. And then, so many things to be grateful.
I would say that 2008 was full, full of the work and joy of life and living.

6. May peace be real, and hope a way of life in 2009.

Amen.

tuesday.

The snow is pretty today. It is still cold, but brilliant with sun. Hard to believe that all of this will melt (well most of it) in the next few days.

This is a funny thing about Boston. If people dig their cars out on the street, they are allowed to put cones or folding chairs to mark their "spot" while not parked in it, for at least 48 hours, sometimes more. It is your...reward, I guess, for doing all the work. So, when you drive around the streets, if you see cones in parking places, you better NOT move them and park your car there. It is grounds for getting slashed tires! Thank goodness we have a driveway!

Not much going on here at the office this morning. I am piddling, you could say. I need to write my sermon for Sunday...so I could get a start on that. If I can get it sketched out, I am going to reward myself with a manicure. ( I actually have a gift certificate with money remaining on it.) My new favorite color is OPI's "We'll Always Have Paris". I ought to tidy things up a bit, too.

I feel like I am in a good space. It feels a little empty, but that is good. Maybe I am making room in my inner inn to be ready for the wild blessing of Christ-mas.

Open me, even more.
Help me be receptive to where and how the journey unfolds...
in these moments, in this day, in this week...
Amen

monday morning wanderings

It is cold and windy here in Boston. (not as cold as North Dakota, though)
I spent the good part of the weekend, among other things, shoveling 15 inches of snow. Am really looking forward to getting my wovel...or a snowblower. There are no snowblowers to be had, though.

The Christmas Pageant yesterday was great. We even had a real baby Jesus who could not have been more precious! The only thing that wasn't covered is that there was no one assigned to put away costumes. Needless to say, there was a mess. I just stashed everything in the CE Resource room, and will ask those in charge of the Pageant to deal with it. Afterwards, we had a pizza party with decorating cookies and Yankee Exchange with the Youth.

When the holidays come, my grief in not having children is heightened. This year is no exception. It is always a source of suprise that I never have had a baby. B and I consciously decided not to, but still, there is that part of me that lingers in some regret. It's o.k., we talk about it, and B is always wonderful to listen to my grief without taking it personally. Or, if so, we talk about that. Anyway, I would have been a wonderful mom. I know that. Literally, all of my friends have families. I love their children. I love all the children and babies and young people I get to work with...and my adopted nieces and nephews...and my two nephews are precious to me. I just find it curious that the unfolding of my journey hasn't included being a mommy. Just mulling on that today. A little, anyway. sigh.

So. On another note, I spent some time in my studio this morning, and am headed back down there, shortly. I working with some terra cotta clay today, doing some experimentation with carving and glazes. As soon as I finish up some stuff, I will post the pictures. The photo above is scraffito through yellow slip on brown stoneware--the picture is taken before it had been bisqued.

Peace to you on this cold and windy winter day.

hope

yesterday,
in worship,
my colleague described Moltmann's idea of hope as a restless waiting.
indeed, this fits my heart these days...
Moltmann also describes hope as a "passion for the possible"...
and I can resonate with this.
so much more is possible...
and yet, the time isn't now...
it is a balanced pull between present in the restlessness, and still having passion for what is possible.
in this threshold, liminal place I am, I pray for gentleness and mercy and grace.
amen.

dark at 4:30 and wandering....

The hardest adjustment I have had to make living in New England is the darkness of December. It's 4:30 pm and night has fallen all around me...and I still have meetings to go to, and if it is before 5:00 pm, shouldn't it at least stay light for rush hour traffic?
I want to curl up on the sofa and read a book, sip tea, and fall asleep.
Lucky my office only has a church pew from the 1800's and you know, people were smaller back then.
I know that for Advent, it is fitting for it to be so dark...we wait in darkness...we look for the light..we hope for the light...
we just hope...
sometimes just to endure the darkness.
Morning always comes.

I am very aware of the shroud of shadows today. I am restless...I am not feeling very challenged (NOT PRAYIN' FOR CHALLENGE, THOUGH. That's like praying for patience.) o.k.--I am not feeling creatively challenged right now...and that creates restlessness. I remember when I was a chaplain in an institution that was incredibly so much more conservative than me--not theologically (although many were)institutionally. Tradition above all else was to be kept, in spite of the fact that it held the institution back. Anyway, I felt like I had to fold up my wings and pin them inside my back...and because I didn't feel like I could fly sometimes, it really affected my groundedness. In fact, the balance was so off, I was simply stuck.

My wings now, are not necessarily folded up...I wouldn't say that at all. But I don't think I am flying creatively as much, either. Hence the shroud of shadows. I need a flight plan that will keep me rooted and free at the same time.

That's where I am wandering in the darkness today.

last day...

I am looking outside the window at a foggy, frosty, silvery grey misty blue ridge mountain morning.
Sipping coffee, watching the gas logs burn (pretending that they are crackling, real wood logs but grateful not to have to tend a fire), writing, my mind seriously wandering,
I am content.
This has been true rest this week. Soaked in the bones and heart and mind rest.
It has been pretty amazing...we have been completely satisfied with just spending every evening in, reading, watching old movies, unwinding in the hot tub.
Typically, on a trip here, we would go into hippy town almost everynight, to enjoy fabulous dinners and pubs at the wonderful diverse delectable restaurants...but this time, not so much. One night, sort of...but mostly, we have grazed on leftovers and little things from the store...yesterday was lunch out, but yesterday we shopped a little (ooooh, new setting for my ring, originally made by these artists and now they will re-make it into a more sturdy setting since I have a tendency to be a little hard on my rings...and ignore the price tag. The original was much, much less, and I had my own diamond, and the re-making is a tiny, tiny, fraction of that tag. Not that I need to justify, but well, it is a luxury, I know.)
Back to the point.
My body is loose, (except where I am sore from hiking and dancing in the yard)
My breath is deep and clear...
My mind, is rolling a few things around but for the most part, open and fresh...
and I know I say this all the time,
but I am so grateful.
For this moment.
For this amazing life I have.

Oh holy one,
on this day, this first day of advent,
knowing that we begin in shadows and flickers of light,
hopefully hoping against all hope but with deep hope because you give it...
the candle in my heart is glowing, firm, strong,
and today, this week,
help me to offer that light and warmth
to places that are cold...and on short fuses...
amen.

just today...

beloved and I are have rented a rustic cabin in the Western North Carolina mountains for a week. we have been here since last Monday afternoon. we have slept a lot, read, hiked, jogged, and ventured into hippy-town to do a little grocery shopping and sampling of local micro-brews. ;-)
in the past, when we have done this, we probably would venture into hippy-town almost everyday. but this time...not so much. which is mildly ironic, since the cabins we have had in the past have been less rustic than the current one....
anyway.
we have hiked my favorite all time hike,
we jogged on a river trail that brings back so many memories--but that is a separate entry...
I cooked thanksgiving dinner--abeit with a little help from expensive grocery boutique store...
and we have watched both nights of the finals of Dancing With the Stars, as well as football, Saturday Night Fever (yes, with John T.) and another movie with no point...
oh,
and we visited Highwater Clays
showroom and store, and after I almost had a heart attack when I walked in-the tools! the wheels! the underglazes and frits and clays!! the slabrollers! the gorgeous books and breathtaking pottery all around!!--I am pretty sure I left drool on everything I touched and looked at. What bliss.

so...today it is grey and shrouded in frost and cool temperatures. it is quiet, with the smoky aroma of fresh coffee on the pot, the gas logs warming the cabin...beloved is sleeping...
and I am breathing deep..
the wonder of it all,
the beauty of fulness,
the love of this perfect moment..
oh yes,
how grateful I am.
Holy One..
thank you,
for being so present in this moment (ah, I hear you singing thru that bird outside in the tree...)
a call, I imagine,
reminding me that You Are as present in every moment as this moment.
Grant me the grace to know You more.
Amen.

"Through You, I am at Play"

It's Wednesday.
Just out of 90 minute staff meeting.
A staff of three, and we meet for 90 minutes weekly. Yes.
Anyway.
I have been thinking about this line from A Prayer Book for the 21st Century by John McQuiston II from the Wednesday Morning Canticle (Thanks to RevCrystalk for the recommendation)

"Before the oldest of my works,
From the timeless I was...
Before the beginning,
I was there...
My delight is in you day after day,
and through you I am at play.
I delight in the children of all people."

And through you, I am at play...
I wonder,
How God is playing through me today?
Is it the brief but lovely phone calls that connect me and my beloved during the long workday? I think so.
Did God play through me yesterday, when only one of my commission members show up for a meeting, so we played with our iphones for an hour, exchanging ideas for great applications? Silly, but yes.
Will God play through me this afternoon, as I administriviate? How?
Keep it light,
the Holy One beckons and reminds me...
Live in the play, the dance of life.
This is it. Enjoy dear one.

Oh Holy One,
Play through me,
fully and wonderfully today.
Help me remember how to play.
Amen.

How is God playing through you today?
p.s. my word verification is ferrhe, or furry. God plays through my furry fun friends, too!!

wanderings....

This morning I...
- ordered some yummy books from Amazon...including The Green Bible, how cool is that?
-penned our weekly e-newsletter
-am still in my pajamas at 11:04 AM
-but got up at 7!
-But am working on administrivia
-am considering going to my alma mater seminary for inauguration of the new president.
-am considering going to the RevGalBlogPal Big Event.
-am thinking about the future.
-cooked dogfood
-should clean the kitchen, take my shower, get on in to the oficina
-can't believe I don't have a meeting scheduled for all day.
-am thinking about lunch since is is now 11:04
-excited about vacation in two weeks.
-am looking at two chipped nails that I can either paint over, or remove all paint from all nails. hmmmm. which will take less time since I really need to get in gear?
-am thinking about these clogs but know they would be a crazy purchase.
-am thinking my shoe wardrobe should contain more than clogs, but I like them.
-am listening to Venus bark b/c she wants to be let back in. I am on the third floor.
-am wondering why my thoughts are so random and not so deep...
-am grateful. I feel good today.
-am grateful. for health, for ministry, for love, for challenges...even for procrastination in moderation.

Amen!
Can she just wait? Like two more minutes? Venus! Be patient!

pain and suffering...

am acutely aware this evening
of loved ones tonight
that are in pain,
that are in soul-suffering,
that are so very dear and brave and courageous and good.
please send Your sweet angels
to hold them,
to offer courage,
to affirm their wisdom...
and bathe them in your comfort and your grace.
amen.