The Week That Was

Good Morning All,

Reaching deep, very deep, into the recesses of my mind, I remember as part of the old television show, Laugh-In, there was a weekly segment called, TW3—That Was The Week That Was; where the host comedian would highlight the previous week’s current events. This past week certainly will be among my favorites. It began on Monday, the MLK holiday, heading for Greensboro to be among the 25 or so participants in the Disciples Women’s Blitz-Build—a joint effort with Greensboro ’s Habitat for Humanity. The original plans calling for the finishing of a 2 story home for a single mom, Adrianna, and her 2 young sons. Adrianna had already clocked in over 315 hours of sweat equity—well over the required hours each future homeowner must do. She is now quite well-skilled in doing just about anything needed to construct and finish a home!

While I only was able to work this one day, and a lot of our time was spent getting ready to do some of the work, we were able to put scaffolding together, hang doors—OK a few bent nails were lost to the process; cut & cope floor molding. As you can imagine, 25 women in a small 3 bedroom home, filled with 2 table saws for cutting molding, vinyl siding strips, molding strips, folks wielding hammers, etc. the working quarters were quite cramped…but story-telling and laughter filled up whatever space was empty.

Late in the afternoon, I headed home, feeling good about our work, blessed to make new friends and to know that by the end of February, Adrianna and her sons would have a chance at several new beginnings in their new home. And I must admit, as I travelled I-40E, my excitement grew as I anticipated the possibility of the predicted snow fall headed our way…(Don’t ask me which brought me more excitement, OK)? :)

Let’s see…enough food in the house…plenty of hot chocolate…wood stacked on the front porch, my mental checklist was complete…I had all that I needed to be snowed in...I knew that it had been at least 4 years since any significant amount of snow had come our way…were Greg and Chris really reading this right…the meteorologists have been wrong so many times before…and it was just raining as I made my way closer to home…could I be setting myself up for a huge disappointment? Can you tell I love snow?

As I went to bed, I left one window shade up half-way, so that when I would awaken in the night, I could readily see if the snow falling…as I awakened around 5am, I began to hum the old Austrian Carol, Still, Still, Still, “Still, still, still…One can hear the falling snow. For all is hushed, The world is sleeping, Holy Star its vigil keeping. Still, still, still..” Yes!

What a perfect backdrop to Inauguration Day, watching the various networks, picking up on the excitement and anticipation of the millions of folks who were making their way to the Mall, ready to take their 12 x 30 inch space on the ground…to witness the swearing in of our 44th President of the United States . And our first African-American President.

Partisan politics aside, there is always joy and hope as we share in new beginnings…in our own individual lives and now together as a nation…a nation in need of hope and joy in the midst of the overwhelming economic challenges we are facing, with the growing ranks of newly unemployed and homeless; figuring out how we can help those in need and boost our economy at the same time; our involvement in 2 wars; the need to reestablish ourselves as a better-respected player at the world’s boardroom table of leadership…and then listening to our President remind us that we are all in this together…calling for unity of purpose; compassion and restoring us to peace…

And then on Wednesday to be able to see and hear the Inaugural Prayer Service at the National Cathedral, with our own Dr. Sharon Watkins, General Minister & President, delivering the sermon, capped off 2 days worth of celebration…Her message was spot on…centered around words of scripture from Isaiah 58: 6-12 and Matthew 22: 36-40; and began by sharing a Cherokee wisdom story that reminds us that there are 2 wolves struggling within us…one is vengeful, angry, resentful, and filled with self-pity; while the other is filled with compassion, faithfulness, hope, truth, integrity and love…Which wolf wins? The one you feed…

She also spoke to the President about “…how much we need him and the other leaders to be guided by the wise counsel of the prophet Isaiah to work for the common good, for public happiness, the well-being of our nation and the world…in which liberty and justice prevail…”
(To hear the full message; to see a transcript and the service program, go to www.nationalcathedral.org and follow the links). How proud you will be as a Disciples of Christ!

This certainly has been a TW3 week for me…and it’s not over…as we head into the weekend we have an opportunity to be refreshed and renewed as a community of faith as we hear the Word of God come to us with the same challenge to feed the wolf of compassion, faithfulness, hope, truth, integrity and love within us…Come, Satisfy the Hungry Heart as we make our way into this new year that draws us into God’s future together…Blessings, Joanne