Angels among us

     They stay in a box in my attic from January 1 until the day after Thanksgiving. They were a gift from my mother when she took a ceramics class when she and daddy lived in Coquina Crossing. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of their appearance in the manger scene that is a part of my Christmas decorations.

     Each of my children is represented by an angel. They are all angelic - most of the time.

   Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent. We light the candle of LOVE.

    The candle also represents the angels who helped prepare the way for Jesus' birth.

     The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she, a virgin, had been chosen to bring the son of God into the world and an angel told a dreaming Joseph who was betrothed to Mary, the same thing. And then angels appeared to the shepherds and sang to them:

    "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace goodwill to all"

     At the same time mother made the three angels, she also created this pair.

     They took on more significance this past summer when mother passed away and we began to think of her and daddy together.

     I don't think they have become angels in their death. But I do like to imagine them together like this piece of art represents

     Recently I was asked if I have a guardian angel. I'm not sure about that. There have been times that I could almost hear Rich Suhey's response when I was trying to make a decision. 

     Scripture records that the angels were a preparation tool with regard to the anticipated birth as Mary and Joseph were told and that they proclaimed the actual birth when the shepherds were visited by the angelic hosts on the night of Jesus's birth.

     One thing I know about our parents - they prepared us for what was ahead. They took us to Sunday School, they proclaimed their personal faith and trust in Jesus and they taught us to love.

     Daddy was born on this day (12/18) in 1921. He grew up to love God, our mother, us and our children and grandchildren, golf, and the gators.

     Both of our parents taught us to love each other and our neighbor.

     Don Goodman and Becky Hobbs wrote the song Angels among us in 1986 and Alabama recorded it in 1993. These words speak to me:

"I believe there are angels among us. . .

 to show us how to live to teach us how to give 

to guide us with the light of love. . .".

     In my daydreaming kind of world, I'd like to believe that the little nudge I get might be from Rich or one of my parents. But I don't believe that anyone who has gone on "from here to there" as was my granddaddy Nesmith's favorite way to express one's passing has become an angel.

     I do believe that my parents loved each other and us beyond measure. I believe that Rich Suhey truly loved me.

     And they all get some of the credit for teaching me --

To Love!!!

 May your life have enough sunshine, 

                                                      To make you appreciate the shadows

A bird dog named Joy

 The third candle of Advent is JOY

I've been minimally interested in dogs for most of my life  A cocker spaniel named Nicodemus when I was a child, a basset hound named Samantha when I was a senior in high school, and a miniature French Poodle until Tray was a baby have been the extent of my connections with dogs.  I can tell you that the connection to dogs was closer than my interest in cats but that's another story.

And then just about a year ago I met a bird dog named Joy.  When I visit the home where she lives, I am met with great excitement.  I love to watch her run across the yard.  She reminds me of what I think a gazelle looks like - so graceful and so sure of herself.

True her owner is my best friend and I have known of his love for bird dogs as long as I have known him which is by now just shy of two years. He says she's learning to hunt for quail.  I say she's here for my enjoyment.  He won't let her come to my house for a visit.  He says it's because there's no place for her to run in my yard, but I know it's because he fears that she will climb up on my bed and enjoy a cold winter's night.

Why does this dog mean this much?  She arrived just prior to Christmas.  She was supposed to be housebroken, but she wasted no time trying to destroy a Christmas tree and all of the glass ornaments.

Was JOY the right name?  Maybe Destroyer would be better.  However - she has by now lived up to her name.  

I mean really how could she not?

    

This week our Advent emphasis has been on joy. 

 "Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us", (from the Collect, the Red Book of Common  Prayer, Third Sunday in Advent).

Sometimes in our everyday life, we are sad or discouraged.  And, sometimes our lives feel like my friend's living room looked after Joy arrived.  Each of us has a cross to bear, but we don't have to dwell in the mire of defeat.

When we make an effort we can find joy even in our grief.  My cousin, Evelyn Nesmith Campbell's husband, Jim, determined for his life to be one of joy even as he knew that life was going to be shorter than he wanted.  Since his death more than 7 years ago now, Evelyn has been such a great example of choosing Joy,

I would be less than truthful if I claimed to have joy all the time.  Even though a bird dog named Joy makes me smile, I know that it takes a little more.  It really is a dedicated attitude of the heart.

And a determination to make these words a practice of my life each day:

Sometimes we have to add a little joy to our struggles and let God STIR it all up!!!!

 May your life have enough sunshine, 

                                                      To make you appreciate the shadows

All is well. . .

The second candle of Advent is peace.

Do you have words that you often repeat? They are called a catchphrase.

I knew I often say, "all is well" and I was "pretty sure" of the meaning but I  googled the word "catchphrase"  just to be sure. "it is an expression recognized by its repeated utterance".

So, I wondered why have those three words become a catchphrase for me.

And not only did I wonder -- I pondered.

That made me think of the words of Mary the mother of Jesus when the shepherds came to visit the baby who had been born in a manger but I'm concentrating on the second Sunday of Advent, and we are awaiting the birth.  You might say I'm getting ahead of my story.

Which is why do I say, “all is well".

Because it is.  In other words  "I am at peace".

"When peace like a river attendeth my soul, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot thou has taught me to say it is well, it is well with my soul. . . "

Those words are from a song that has been dear to me since I was a high school senior. I think that's the first time I remember hearing it.  The story of how Horatio Spafford a successful attorney and real estate investor lost his fortune and a child about the time of the 1871 Great Chicago fire. He determined that a family vacation would be good, so he put his wife and their four daughters on a ship to England and planned to follow them. The ship was involved in a collision and all four daughters were lost.  His wife survived.  He set sail for England right away and when the ship arrived at the spot of the tragedy, he penned the lyrics for what would become the song "It is Well with My Soul".   Later Philip P. Bliss wrote the music.

When I think about the amount of pain that Stafford was surely feeling as he knew he was on the very spot where his children had perished it seems unimaginable to me that he could write such strong words of belief in God. Sometimes just a photo of my three children makes me shudder and tear up. The thought of losing any of them is unbearable - but all three. No way.

And feel a sense of peace???

I am fortunate that I often have the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the river and creek that are near my home. Sometimes it's because I am at the Episcopal Church of Our Savior and sometimes it's because I am at Walter Jones Park.  Then I can appreciate the St. Johns River. Sometimes I need to cross Julington Creek in order to visit my children, or my aunt and until this past July my mother when she was a resident at Westminster Woods. And yes, sometimes I get to enjoy Julington Creek from the home of my best friend.

Which is to say that I understand the words - peace like a river. I also know that sometimes that same body of water can be anything but peaceful as was the case a few weeks ago when the winds of hurricane Nicole brought the water beyond the banks of both our beloved river and our creeks.  Hurricane season is supposed to end on November 1. It was November 10. Schools and workplaces shut down. Fortunately, the storm did minor damage. That might be a matter of opinion...  It still made the creek rise.

However . . . 

It is a good picture of life. . .which can be so unpredictable.  A joyful time can turn to one of sorrow quickly. But a distressing situation can become a blessing.

That's why it's good to know - the way the song ends.

"Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say  It is well, it is well with my soul"

Yes. I know I am a Pollyanna. I know I always think things are going to work out for the best.  I also know that sometimes best is a difficult pill to swallow.  

I just know that my best recourse when the sea billows roll, and the river seems far from peaceful is to put these words into my heart:

 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6,7)

Those words and my belief that they are true are the foundation for me to continue to respond

"All is well"

                                                May your life have enough sunshine, 

                                                To make you appreciate the shadows