This is a bowl. You can't see it can you. That's because this blog format is being rather "touchy" this morning and won't add the photo that I want to add. If you could see it, you would see a cream colored bowl with a bunch of flowers in the center.
It looks like a plate - but I promise you, it's a bowl. And it is made of wax. And it has a wonderful aroma.
I love the way it smells.
And I love it that the smell reminds me of a lovely person.
I first met Doreen Egeln at a Girls Night Out, the annual Advent Celebration at the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour. She was with my sister in law, Jennifer, and I later learned that they were in a reunion group that is a part of the Cursillo movement. Some years after that initial meeting I became more acquainted with Doreen when she came to our Singles ministry activities.
Toward the end of 2013 I began to see Doreen's name on the prayer list in our weekly bulletin and then I saw a note from the chair of our pastoral care team. Doreen has cancer and is requesting a pastoral visitor.
I could do that.
Little did I know what the next 9 months was going to hold for me.
My first visit was in mid January.
That very first day I noticed a wonderful aroma.
Each visit would include conversation about her three children - Anthony, MariAnne and Bill and the eight grandchildren who were truly her joy. One of them was about to be married, another to graduate from college and another from high school. They were athletes, good students and loved their grandma.
As her illness progressed, I learned about her life with her husband, Bill and the churches they had been a part of. I heard about her growing up days and I heard about her love for golf.
Sometimes I would get to her home during a golf tournament and we enjoyed watching a few holes together.
And through it all I learned about her faith. It was deep.
At the end of each visit, I would pray for Doreen and one day, much to my surprise and delight - just as I said AMEN I heard Doreen's voice - and realized that she was praying...thanking God for her family, praying for her healing (she always believed that was possible) and thanking God for me.
One day I arrived at her home and she handed me a beautiful gift bag.
I don't know if I had ever noticed the pretty wax bowl that sat on the table in her living room. But when I opened it, I knew. She had given me one of those pretty wax bowls.
Now my house could smell like Doreen's.
After many more weeks of chemo, the time came that the chemo was no longer working. I met Doreen's son in the emergency room as she was about to be admitted. I held her hand and prayed for her - and guess what - even in the emergency room, weak and exhausted - short but sweet - Doreen once more - prayed for me.
I've said many times since that Doreen Egeln is just one of reasons that I am "called" to be a pastoral visitor. What a blessing!
"Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair;and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume" John 12:3.
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