St. Luke's Blogs

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe, and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

O God, you are my God, I seek you,
    my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
    beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
    my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
    I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
    and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
    and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

For several years, a group of ladies have gathered most Friday mornings to knit, crochet and quilt. I have watched as they take a tangled-up ball of yarn and make a beautiful scarf, a colorful lap robe, or a pair of tiny baby booties. They convinced me that I could make the same beautiful pieces that they do. But, my first pieces didn’t quite look like theirs! I struggled with dropped stitches, misread instructions, and a lack of patience. Sometimes, I took a tangled-up ball of yarn and ended up with an even more tangled-up mess.

A tangled mess; sometimes that’s a good description of my life. I keep trying to fix it, to untangle the yarn, but I end up with an even bigger mess. My mess overwhelms me! In tears, I take my tangled-up mess of a life and lift it up to God to ask for His help…

In Luke 23:34, Jesus says during His crucifixion, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Throughout Jesus’ teachings, we are told to love our enemies, for they are more than the sin they’ve committed. In the above verse, it sends a message that we need to forgive those who have sinned against us. However, it is just as important that we ask for forgiveness as well. This can be seen through the Lord’s Prayer, “Father forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.”

This season of Lent, one of my focal points is to intentionally practice the forgiveness Jesus has repeatedly given to me. I often find myself getting so caught up in my own pride that I become nearsighted, only seeing how I am affected rather than seeing a whole situation. Due to this point of view, I will catch myself being judgmental towards my brothers and sisters in Christ.

I remember having a conversation with my grandfather several years ago. He was telling me stories about his childhood and different teachers he had growing up in school. He could tell me every teacher’s name, what they taught, and specific memories he had with all of them. Most of those were 70-80 years ago, yet they made such an impression on him that he still was talking about them as though it was just yesterday.

I was incredibly impressed by his memory. Not only because he could still tell me about all of them after that many years, but because I realized I could not remember all my teachers’ names, and I wasn’t having to remember back as far as he was! In fact, as I started thinking about it, I could remember more of my Sunday School teachers than I could my school teachers.

I started thinking about people like my kindergarten Sunday School teacher at St. Luke’s, Ms. June Blumhof…

When I was a kid, one of my favorite outdoor activities was jumping rope. I would run as fast as I could to the playground with these amazing jump ropes in hand. They weren’t really ropes, but rather a long nylon string covered in cylindrical, plastic tube-shaped beads. They made a satisfying swoosh, swoosh sound when you used them. They were especially fun to play with a group; two people were the turners and everyone else took turns as jumpers. If you didn’t miss, you got to keep on jumping. If you did miss, the first thing you would ask, “Can I have a do-over?” You really hoped that your friends forgave the missed jump and let you go again. Having a “do-over” meant a second chance, an opportunity to keep on playing.  It felt good to try again.

We all like a chance to try again. Even as adults, we like the opportunity to do something again and to not be judged for that one moment when we weren’t at our best…

In my profession, I encounter the word “grace” in multiple titles and lyrics in a vast variety of music. There are many choral, hymn, vocal and instrumental musical options with grace as the theme. One of the most requested hymns to be sung in memorial services is Amazing Grace! How Sweet the Sound. A line from that hymn sticks out to me: “that saved a wretch like me.” Wretch, referring to an unfortunate or unhappy person or circumstance. I consider myself to be a fortunate and happy person, someone very blessed. However, certain people and events will challenge that and put me in a “wretched” situation.

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ?  Save yourself and us!”  But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?  And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”  And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Hear my cry, O God;
    listen to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I call to you,
    when my heart is faint.

Lead me to the rock
    that is higher than I;
for you are my refuge,
    a strong tower against the enemy.

Let me abide in your tent forever,
    find refuge under the shelter of your wings. Selah
For you, O God, have heard my vows;
    you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

My mother passed away when I was 15. By that point, all of my grandparents had gone to Heaven, along with my brother, Brian. Because my father was in ICU, along with us having been estranged since I was born, there was no other option but foster care. To be blunt, it was horrifying. I will save the gory details, but you can imagine I struggled with issues such as trust and abandonment for years.

I met my husband in high school at the height of this trauma and, to be honest, barely noticed him. He claims it was love at first sight, but that feels a little one- sided…