Along the Way

If internships have theme songs, ours should be “On the Road Again.” We just arrived back in Mobile late last Friday night after a weeklong trip to Atlanta and Columbia. This morning we are packing again – this time for a couple of days in Birmingham, where we will be giving two presentations on Congregational Preparedness.

I have lost track of the number of miles we have traveled, but I do know that so far, we have taught, studied, preached, led worship, or given LDR presentations in six states: Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. We have also traveled through parts of Florida, Louisiana, and Tennessee.

The upside to this is that I have returned to hobby which I had mostly neglected for the past ten years or more: knitting. First I pulled out a couple of long unfinished projects and finished them. After finishing those, I gave myself permission to purchase some new yarn for a couple of projects. I even bought more yarn and made a few Christmas presents! I have now finished a child’s sweater, a shawl, a vest, several scarves, and three ponchos.

Most recently, I pulled out of the closet a container full of yarn that I had purchased several years ago for an afghan, found a different pattern, and am knitting myself a sweater. I’m only brave enough to tell this on myself now because the sweater is nearly finished! I’ve already finished the back and both sleeves. I’ll be working on the front as we travel the next few days.

The good news about this is that it means I’ve been able to accomplish something useful in the long hours spent riding along the highway while someone else (usually Ray) is driving. I’ve also put my knitting bag beside my favorite chair in the living room, so I can knit when I occasionally sit down to watch TV. Knitting has always been a calming activity for me, so I’m glad to be able to have time to enjoy it again!

I’m even planning the next project already! You see, I have a skein of lovely, soft lavender yarn that was given to me, but I can’t quite decide how to use it. I’ve been looking at it for several months now, trying to decide what to make. I’ll let you know what it turns into…

Easter Blessings

It has been a very busy Lenten season for us. Holy Week especially was filled with a variety of worship opportunities which we helped lead: a healing service on Monday, Stations of the Cross on Tuesday, vespers on Wednesday, a communion service on Maundy Thursday, and a Tenebrae service on Good Friday. Several members of our internship congregation thanked us for our part in the different worship services, telling us how much they were moved by the services during Holy Week.

Finally, Easter Sunday arrived, complete with white paraments, lilies, and Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.” While I hesitate to claim that you can’t truly appreciate sunshine without knowing what storm clouds are, it does seem to be true that the joy of Easter – the triumphant glory of the Resurrection - is best experienced if one has spent some time contemplating the pain and passion of the crucifixion.

Perhaps the biggest challenge in celebrating Easter is realizing that it’s not just one blow-out day filled with flowers, colored eggs, and candy. Instead it is an entire season. The church traditionally allots several weeks for this, even though most of us usually return to our normal lives after just a day or two.

I want to pass along to you something from today’s edition of an email devotional that I receive regularly. It begins with the story of Jesus on the road to Emmaus from Luke 24:13-36, then concludes: “Here’s wishing a blessed…eye-opening, faith-confirming, community-gathering, Eucharist-receiving, story-telling … Easter season to each and every one of you!”

(If you would like more information about these daily devotions, go to:
http://www.covenantlutheran.org/devotions.html)