Category: BLOG

I walked in the room; the same room I walk in each week. It is a court of restorative justice. A court where everyone comes to experience some movement of life that says, “We are moving forward; we are healing; we are alive.” It is a room where everyone is important and titles are set aside for the sake of recovery. Addiction meets us all in the space no matter our education, our work, or our family.  We are here from many different perspectives; we share a common purpose of recovery.

The faces are mostly familiar because we show up each week, although we have new ones joining us from time to time. One by one people are added. One by one people “graduate” and continue on to life without the courtroom. The journey of restoration and healing never ends, it just moves places. The Judge always has a word of hope, a word of justice.  She speaks from the wisdom of God.  She reminds us that the boundaries that have been set for us are in good places.  A Psalm is spoken maybe without knowing or awareness. (Ps 16:6)

There was in the room today a new face. She sat next to one of us; one who has been here for many months now. Her closeness and the smile on her face said she was his wife, someone beloved.  She got up and walked over to me, “you are Vona…right?”

It only took two short sentences. I am ___________. I am __________’s daughter. Maybe it is a glimpse of what Elizabeth and Mary experienced when they greeted one another during their pregnancies. It is that unequaled sense that God arranged this meeting long ago. And that our journeys have been guided in such a way that when we needed to be reminded we would show up in the same room in a context we would never have imagined…and only for shared joy.

Our mothers have prayed together for over 30 years now. They don’t live in the same town, nor do they share the same life. What they share is Christ. What they hold in common is prayer. What they follow is the Spirit. I wonder if the other Marys that walked with Jesus ever had daughters that showed up in places they never expected to be and greeted one another by the power of their mother’s prayers?

When he came home with the prayer shawl (knitted by someone in my church) a conversation happened. A connection was revealed. From one prayer group’s faithfulness to another. From one friend to another. From one story to another. Indeed, God is with us. You never know who is in the room.

Ghosts and goblins
pumpkins and mums
fall leaves bursting in color,
with nature offering
its poems and hums
Where would we be
without Octobers?

Chill in the air and
Clear skies at night
Friends gathered for
conversation, wine and
delight
of sharing a
new October.

You have never been here;
Though I have long since known
the gift of Tennessee
autumns to see
how my heart has grown
since spring.
And yes! The leaves…
My how they’ve changed!

Costumes and candy
carving pumpkins with songs
knocking on neighborhood
doors
we look to see
where our mask
belongs.

In a sea of disguises
on the wake of storms passing
We share coffee and suppers
quite nearly surpassing
the boundaries
of pain
Disappointments and tears
Casting off the old
nightmares
Letting go of our fears.

It is autumn
It is color
It is f a l l I n g
this October
It is Grace.

Vona Rose Wilson, 2014.

There may be nothing more humbling than the practice of the wedding liturgy. Because it represents so much of our human experience, our human hope. It is the poignant moment of standing with these couples and knowing their stories…THAT moment takes me down to my knees. I remember this bride in 6th grade standing in the hall at church looking for a ride home. I remember that groom sitting at the piano making music. I remember your growing pains, your spiritual journeys and now we keep arriving at the altars where vows of lifetime commitment and love emerge. Your lives change. Forever.

From this day forward…
Honor, cherish, comfort, keep…
With all that I am and all that I have…
I honor you.

It is hard to forget the intent of the covenant of marriage when I am constantly standing at the altars with couples who come to make the covenant. Oh yeah….that IS part of the promise…in sickness and in health. Cherishing IS part of the deal. Honor IS part of the deal. Choosing to be Christ to one another…that IS part of the deal.

I am not the one taking these vows today but I am being refined and sharpened with every word. There is no escaping the promises. The living out of those vows will smooth the rough edges of those who live them. Their hearts will be like the stones in a river that have accepted the current’s refining. Their strength and beauty will increase. What was once “being in love”, becomes a treasure no words can measure. Grounded in God who is Love. Not a bed of roses; but a refuge experiencing God’s love while living in the world together.

And if not…as sometimes happens; If not, there will be crashes. But the river will find another course because Love does persist. Serving as a pastor is the most grounding experience of my life. Daily surrender. Daily confession. Daily awareness of my weaknesses and equally aware of God’s grace to disguise them in divine strength. I live the words Paul penned for us: “My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (II Corinthians 12:9) My life changes. Forever. Every time. Let it be.

The rains of Latin America are different. I can only speak from Nicaragua and Guatemala. It is like the heavens open and a river flows from it. Powerful, destructive, life-giving…..RAIN! I am always happy for it, though it changes everything, a bit like snowflakes (no blizzard required) change everything in Tennessee. The rain in these other countries beg me to come in the streets and walk. They entice me to remember the joy of playing in puddles and being muddy with creation. Rain also reminds me of tears. The tears of war pour down in Nicaragua. They pour out in Guatemala. Sometimes they pour out in me….maybe also in you.

I’ve come to see tears as water for our souls. God created us with them and gave us moments when they well up and pour out; much like a river that cannot stop itself from flowing. The rain this morning takes me back to just a few days ago when we encountered the pouring rain in Guatemala. Every team got soaked, some more than others. On this particular day, a few of us were walking through the jungle path to visit the home of a young girl who wanted to come home with us. She showed up on our worksite ready to go. We know her; and she knows BJ from team’s past. At first glance, if we had only had time to listen to her once and not visit her home, we would have left saying, “She needs the USA”. But that is not what Maria needed or wanted. She needed Love. A little encouragement that she, in her child-like wisdom, knew would heal her.

The rain is watering the earth for life this morning. And when we have tears – like some shed for Maria, or like we release when an experience is too beautiful to contain, or when the land cries from the shedding of blood; no matter what, our souls are being watered. And after the rains…we bloom, a bit like flowers. God’s bouquet. Praise God for the rains and for tears!