The Great Northwest

The theme for this past weekend was “Adventure!”  On Friday, I traveled to northwest Ohio to visit my friend and colleague, Mary Jo Bray.  She is a very special woman of faith and a blessing to my life and the lives of so many others.  One of the joys of sabbatical has been the ability to worship with my clergy friends.  Our callings keep us from being able to share this sacred time together.  So, this weekend provided time to be with God and Mary Jo!  Thank you!

Sunday morning I attended the 8:30 a.m. traditional worship, Sunday school, and the 11:00 a.m. contemporary worship.

The Rev. Mitch Maxted, Senior Pastor, preached on Luke 15 filled with the parables of the lost (sheep, coin, son). The main point of the message was that the joy is in the finding. Being found by God is filled with great love, hope and grace.  Mitch summed up my experiences of the weekend.  Whatever our adventure, God kept finding me in moments of joy and filling them with love.  Worship also brought a special invitation to Christ’s table by Mary Jo (both times).  Her joyful spirit reflected Christ’s light and welcomed all to come as one and share in the meal of salvation.

God found Mary Jo and I throughout the weekend and often surprised us with incredible moments. Friday night we laughed harder than I have laughed in years. Have you ever laughed with friends and God? There’s something so uplifting and spirit filling in these moments.  On Saturday, Mary Jo took me on a Wyoming adventure where we found God in creation. We traveled to a Native American Buffalo Preserve in Fremont, Indiana (not Wyoming – just felt that way).  We were taken in a safari-style truck out into the middle of a large herd of buffalo.  We were blessed to see a two-day-old calf (pictured below).

Our guide shared with us that the calf would most likely not survive the winter.  Most buffalo calves are born in April, May and June giving them time for their hides to mature and put on weight before winter.  Unfortunately, this little calf may not have enough time for its body to mature.

 

Following our trip to “Wyoming,” Mary Jo invited me into a piece of her soul.  She took me to her cottage on the lake.  God blessed us with moments of awe and grandeur.  We enjoyed the landscape of beauty before us as we ate lunch, and then we canoed around the lake.   It was as if God created perfect the weather and setting for us to pause in divine spirit with one another.  We concluded the evening around a fire with more family and friends of the northwest.  To say the least, my weekend in the great northwest Ohio, was filled with love, laughter and light!

 

I miss hearing your stories and where God is feeding your soul.  So, please share in the comments below where God is finding you and bringing joy into your lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On another note… We have reached the midway point of our sabbatical time.  Only 47 days until I return.  I continue to use the hammers in my prayer time, and hold each of you in my prayers.  Next week I will be traveling to the Davidson Centre for their Clergy Renewal Program.  Over the past weeks, I have been reading and journaling in preparation for my time at Davidson.  The week promises to be one of divine renewal, growth and self discovery.  Thank you for this opportunity to grow, heal and live in God’s divine Light!

with love, Laureen 🙂