Daily Message and Prayer from Rev. Mary White
Good Day and Blessings.
Since the beginning of my memory, a picture of my maternal grandmother hung in her bedroom. It was obviously from the 1920s with the short wavy hairstyle of the time period. I remember thinking how beautiful she was with her clear pale skin, blond hair and blue eyes. I commented to my grandmother about her beauty and how much I liked the perfect picture. My grandmother smiled and nodded.
Following her death in 1987, my Aunt Helen, knowing how much I admired the picture, gifted it to me. I recall my excitement and joy at having been given such a beloved keepsake.
Having it in my hands, my curiosity began to get the best of me. I looked at the back with hopes that there would be a date written there. There wasn’t; so, then I decided to carefully remove the backing of the frame. The first thing I saw was a portion of a calendar with the date November 1925. It wasn’t a concern because I was aware that people would put paper or some other thing in a frame to keep the picture from slipping.
I removed the calendar and to my surprise, the picture came out with it. It was a calendar photo from 1925. I immediately contacted my mother and asked if my grandmother was a calendar girl. It was only then that the whole story came to light. My grandfather upon seeing the October photo recognized the likeness to my grandmother and decided to get it framed and gifted it to my grandmother those many years ago.
I continue to cherish the picture that will always be remembered as a likeness of her hanging in my grandmother’s bedroom. And, having the background story makes it even more beloved.
Ecclesiastes 11:7-9 (MSG)
Before the Years Take Their Toll
Oh, how sweet the light of day,
And how wonderful to live in the sunshine!
Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted.
Take delight in each light-filled hour,
Remembering that there will also be many dark days
And that most of what comes your way is smoke.
You who are young, make the most of your youth.
Relish your youthful vigor.
Follow the impulses of your heart.
If something looks good to you, pursue it.
But know also that not just anything goes;
You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.
POEM Blue Beans
from “Where Are The Altars” by Joy Mead
The welcome is sensitive, warm with understanding.
Here is many-scented hospitality, free moving of thought and feeling, a growing place where I am glad to be.
In this space the art of caring is natural as carefully chosen pictures and pure soft bed linen.
Nurtured plants come up with beanstalk speed and might surprise me one day with a magical crop of blue beans.
This is exactly how things are – organic, oddly coloured and promising that all shall be well.
Spirit of Life and Love
Prayer of the Day
You breathe life into being and we are overjoyed to be given such wonderful unexpected gifts.
We ask that you continue to meet us in a place of hope where there is the thin line between earth and the cosmos.
Be with us as we hold onto the hope in our waiting.
As we put our faith and trust in You, may your Love and openness continue to grow in us.
As we put our faith and trust in You, may we be grateful for the gift of your forever presence in our life.
These things we pray within the heart of the Triune God.
Amen