Redeemer Review
The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer
June, 2006
From the Vicar
Notes from the Coach: Upon Further Reflection
As you all know by now, my busy life was brought quite literally to a crashing halt on April 7
when husband Jay fell down the stairs to our garage and broke his tibia. He was wrapped up in
three successive casts and for the first two weeks after the accident, found himself quite
immobilized by pain and the adjustment to walking on crutches. A heavy duty wheelchair was
prescribed that was fine except for two things: it would not fit through the doors of our house and I
could not lift it without damage to my back. And then, as some of you also know, my father got
quite sick a week ago. He, too, is on the mend, but again I was reminded how, in the words of
Psalm 31, “You are my God. My times are in your hand.”
Some of you may be laughing gently by now. Many of you have been through far more
difficult periods of care, or have experienced being immobilized yourselves. You have lost parents,
spouses, friends. You know. You know what an iffy thing life can be. You know how adversity both
makes a person crabby and helps them grow strong. You know that grief takes us places we never
thought to go.
A parishioner stopped by the other day just to ponder with me. She said, “How often do any
of us have the chance to simply appreciate that this day is a gift from God? How often do we get
to ask ourselves, clearly and simply, why am I here? What difference can I make? That’s why I love
the Bible stories. They are all about love for one another. Just think of those friends who opened
the roof and lifted their paralyzed friend down so that Jesus could heal him.” I was so moved by
our conversation that I went home that night saying “Thank you God. Thank you for this day. Thank
you for the chance to love.”
When I met our Bishop-elect, Marc Handley Andrus, I felt so moved. Even a brief encounter
was lit with gratitude and prayer. I have heard from those who know him that he is a deeply
spiritual man. He practices yoga and puts God at the center of his day. He is a storyteller. His
stories speak of love between people, the kind that dissolves walls of fear and opens the heart to
receive the Good News of God. That he speaks in stories reminds us that the Episcopal Church is a
faith of storytellers, of poets, seekers and doubters, not one that answers to the clarion call of
certainty.
Like God, life refuses to be pinned down. It can surprise us with gifts both wondrous and
worrisome. As I’ve said many times both to others and myself, a gift is something we haven’t asked
for. Even adversity is a gift for it comes from God, and even in adversity, God is good. The month of
May, with its terrible deadlines and end of school tears, with its rising heat and rising anxieties is
over. Summer is come at last, dear ones. And we are here. And we have each other.
Let’s take some time together to sit in silence with God amid the breezes and trees and
let God show us the way.
Blessings,
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