To have an albatross tied around your neck means walking through life with a heavy burden impeding your movement and very freedom. It’s an expression that comes from sailors who witnessed the albatrosses when at sea and saw their very large size and remarkable ten-to-twelve foot wingspan. They noticed, too, that the birds fly for great lengths of time without landing, and sometimes weeks or even months in the sky with only brief rests on the surface of the waters. Albatrosses hover over the oceans’ surface and fly great distances with ease. It is thought that, like the frigate bird, they are able to sleep in flight using only half of their brain and putting to sleep the other half. They sometimes alight on ships, and they nest on rocky cliffs near the sea.

In 1798 Samuel Coleridge published his famous poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner, about a sailor who killed an albatross and suffered the fate of carrying it for the rest of his life.

Albatrosses have appeared in literature in many settings. In C.S. Lewis’ book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader , and albatross appears to Lucy bringing a message from Aslan, the Christ figure of Narnia. Lucy was on board a ship: Lucy looked along the beam of light and saw something in it. At first it looked like a cross, then. . . an airplane. . . and at last with a whirring of wings it was overhead and was an albatross. . . It called in a strong sweet voice what seemed to be words, though no one understood them. . . No one but Lucy knew that as it circled the mast it had whispered, to her, “courage, dear heart,” and the voice, she felt sure, was Aslan.

The albatross was indeed a disguise for Aslan, and led the ship away from a “death island” into a light and fruitful place.

When I learned about the albatross I couldn’t help thinking of the second verse of the book of Genesis: Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1:2) It seemed to me that the albatross, far from being the ominous object of superstition, is a living embodiment of the Spirit that originally hovered where the bird now hovers. To see an albatross is to be reminded of God’s presence from creation itself. It’s to understand a relationship that He has supplied with visible evidence of His life and His creation. It can be seen in countless places on earth, and in the albatross it is startling to witness: For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. . . (Romans 1:20)

Love in Him,

Prue

Holly is the name of my younger, though not youngest sister. We are quite close in age, and in growing up she has been an inspiration in many ways.

When Holly was a young mother of three toddlers, and living in New Jersey, her husband Tom took a good job in Illinois and they arranged for the family to move there. Tom found a house and Holly agreed that it would be a good move for them, but she would be leaving every one and every thing familiar to her: family and neighbors, friends and church.
Good as the move would be, it was a wrenching thought for her and a step into the utter unknown.

The day of move-in arrived and Holly stepped into the living room of her new home. Across from her was the fireplace, and on the mantle rested a potted holly bush. She stared and stared, and a load left her mind and heart, as she could see that she was “home.” Tom had remembered and provided the one welcome that would mean the most. There was still a lot of adjusting to be done for Holly, Tom, and the children, but for Holly, it was done with a lighter heart that held more room for joy.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)Muchlater St. Peter wrote to the early church, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. I Peter 2:9)

Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection has echoed through the millennia with the message of Jeremiah: “Hope and a future”. Jesus’ ministry inspired St. Paul to write about a love that is everlasting and cannot be quenched: Love Never Fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8)

The renewal that Holly experienced in that one little shrub was sent especially to her and for her. It was a loving message of recognition of Holly and where she belonged.

The scriptures are full of reassurances of God’s enduring love for His people. From the Creation to the Revelation, God’s love is expressed in the lives of courageous leaders, tender mothers, young men and women, children and the aged. Jesus himself said, “I love you just as the Father loves me; remain in my love. (John 16:9)

Love in Him,

Prue

I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. ( Psalm 121 : 1&2)

I once thought that this psalm meant that God lived in the mountains somehow, and that being near those, a person would be nearer to God. But experiencing the very real need for the assurance of God in my life led me to wonder at this psalm. One day as I looked from the deck of the house at Possum Kingdom lake I thought that I knew what the psalmist meant, for in looking up, you see above the hills, the sky, and you cannot help remembering our creator God and His infinite love. The psalmist continues: He will not let your foot slip—He who watches over you will not slumber. . . The Lord will keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life; The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forever more. (Psalm 121:3&7-8)

The mountains, a part of His creation, are simply meant t draw our attention upward to our Maker. Ruth Bell Graham, the Presbyterian wife of Billy Graham, wrote about this:

I will lift up mine eyes

to the hills;

and when I fly

I will lift my eyes

instead to the sky;

it is the same,

sure,

certain thing–

the quiet lifting up,

remembering.. .

This is my strength. (from “I will lift up mine eyes”

by Ruth Bell Graham)

That there could be such peace in a world that rages across the globe, a peace that is expressed in a psalm thousands of years old, a peace that carries assurance and calm that transcends time and place, is proof enough of the presence of God; but in the scriptures we find even more in the person and spirit of Christ:May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you. (2 Thessalonians 2:16). When Billy Graham was asked for his spiritual inspiration, he answered, “My spiritual inspiration is in my wife Ruth.”

Love in Him,

Prue

One Love

Once I picked up a child and took him to our children’s home, gave him a bath, clean clothes, and everything, but after a day the child ran away. He was found again by some body, but again he ran away. Then I said to the sisters, “Please follow that child. One of you stay with him and see where he goes when he runs away.” And the child ran away a third time. There under a tree was his mother. She had put two stones under a small earthenware vessel and was cooking something she had picked up in the dustbins. The sister asked the child, “Why did you run away from home?” He answered, “But this is my home because this is where my mother is.” (Life In The Spirit, by Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast, and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. (Isaiah 49:15-16) When God desired to reveal the depths of His love for Israel before He sent His son, He chose the comparison of a mother’s attachment for her children. Mother Teresa of Calcutta witnessed the bond, and was surely able to perceive God’s meaning in His word.

In spite of all that the world had hurled at Israel, it was God’s love for the nation that brought them hope and perseverance to survive banishment and exile from their land. To be told that you are engraved of the palm of God’s hands is to know that your relationship is both very close, and lasting forever.

Every generation esteems different human qualities. The pioneers valued the “work ethic”, as did others. Other “ethics” have have been embraced, and have had some merits and helped shape national identities. Freedom, equality, education , are each considered the path to the best possible life, but St. Paul, having considered and even lived some of them, believed that there is only one thing that makes a lifelong difference. Freedom without love is a sham, and even faith can be nothing but a clanging cymbal. Martyrdom is empty and knowledge is vapid without without love. (1Corinthians 13:1-3)

God sees only our love. God will not ask how many books we have read, how many miracles we have worked, but whether we have done our best for the love of Him. (Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. ( Jesus of Nazareth, John 14:21)

Love in Him,

Prue

Denny was a boy my age who lived down the street from us and who came to play on our swings and our sandbox. I looked forward to his visits until they became less and less frequent, and I saw him in my brother’s room talking about his comics. A long time later I asked my mother why Denny never came over to play any more. Her answer was, “He discovered your brother.”

My brother Burr was four years older than I , and my mother’s answer made perfect sense. I would rather have played with Burr than with just about anyone else; but he, the big brother to four sisters, was a being almost unapproachable to a younger sister.

Burr had one weakness that gained us access to his world. He loved to have his back scratched, and would actually pay his sisters, either with some of his allowance, or with a look at one of his comic books, to scratch his back. We got bored at this, but there were three of us at first, before our youngest was born: a good supply.

When Burr went away to college he began to use his real name, Richard Burdett, and called himself Dick. It took us girls a while to get used to it, but eventually some of us called him “Burr”, and some, “Dick”. Dick was always kind to us. Only once, when he was 8 or 9, he waved an angle worm at me and said, “here!” When he grew up, he was a faithful church goer, and a faithful brother who always showed up when one of us needed him. He helped me move to my own first apartment, and begged me to choose one on the ground floor “next time.”

His faith went underground for several years, but he never tired of talking about what was real to him. Most of all, Dick and his wife Nancy opened their home to friends and acquaintances of all stripes. They became the center of a fluid group who loved to convene at their home. I was one of those who loved to visit them.

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace in various forms. (1 Peter4:9-10) Dick and Nancy lived this principal every day. He went home to the Lord on Thanksgiving Day in 2019, and those who loved him know that it couldn’t have been more appropriate, for we were all grateful to have had him in our lives.

Love in Him,

Prue

The pumpkins testify that the season of celebration is near. Autumn is the waiting room for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Advent, Hanukkah, and Christmas. It’s the stirring to prepare, to contact relatives, to make plans, and to stockpile supplies for gatherings. It’s the gatherings that really matter, for it’s in gatherings that we come face to face with Christ in others. The love of a brother, the truth in a sister, the warmth in parents and grandparents, even the greeting of a friendly neighbor are all welcome signals of the kingdom of our Father God.

I was surprised when I read in John 10:22, that Jesus had come to Jerusalem to celebrate Hanukkah, a celebration that Christians seldom observe: Then came the Festival of Dedication (Hanukkah) at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.

When the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt , He instituted three gatherings that were to be everlasting holidays for His people: Sukkot, the festival of tabernacles in the fall, which reminds His people of their lives in temporary shelters for forty years; the Shavout, the harvest festival; and Passover, the commemoration of God’s rescue of His people from the plagues of Egypt, held in the spring of the year. All of these festivals are gatherings of family and friends to remember and acknowledge the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and His mighty power in saving His chosen people. Hanukkah is not mentioned in the Torah, as the event it celebrates had not yet occurred. It comes in winter, and often at least partly coincides with Christmas.

Autumn brings nostalgia and remembering. In setting up holidays, on Jesus celebrating those holidays, we see God’s intention that we remember not just events, but that we remember Him, and call to mind His presence in our lives, His word in scripture, and His help in times past. As the Psalmist says, All you descendants of Jacob, Honor Him! Revere Him, all you descendants of Israel! For He has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; He has not hidden His face from him, but has listened to his cry for help. From you (O God) comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows. (Psalm 22:23)

The autumn can bring anticipation of pleasure and connection. The holidays are intended to be signposts in our spiritual journeys, every year helping us grow higher and deeper with our Creator, and they are seasons of renewal.

Love in Him,

Prue

The very first foster child who came to live with us was a five year old girl who had come from a shelter after being taken from her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. Victoria and I walked upstairs to her room and she turned to me and said, “Is this where the good people live?”

I answered, “Yes. How did you know?” “Because there aren’t any bars on the windows”, she said.

That was my first glimpse of the world from which she had come. I didn’t know what to do with the glimpse, but I was sure that Victoria was perceptive and probably damaged in ways I couldn’t imagine.

When God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt, he was working with a people who had been enslaved for the larger part of four hundred years. They were a damaged people, and a perceptive people who remembered the God of their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac , and Jacob. The Exodus was an enormous struggle, but with God’s orchestration through Moses, the goal of finding a peaceful home was accomplished in forty years. It lasted for a whole generation, and off and on after that.

When Victoria came to our home I knew that I had no skills whatever for dealing with this little girl’s history. Like Moses, (Exodus 3:11, 4:10-11) I “told” the Lord that I had no skills, no understanding or techniques,. Nevertheless, I didn’t return her to Children’s Protective Services.

The Lord said, I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey. ( Exodus 3:7-8)

God’s words are full of promise and anticipation. To Moses God revealed his deepest self and intention in regard to a people who hadn’t heard from Him in several generations. His intent was to make a place and take them there where they would become “the good people” to whom would be born God’s own son.

Victoria knew that there are “good people” somewhere who lived in peace enough not to have bars on their windows. She didn’t know that her biological father would arrive to accept custody and take her home to his new family. I recently learned that Victoria is now a mother herself, and is living where “the good people” live.

Love in Him,

Prue

Joan of Arc was only about 12 years old, a big help to her mother in their home in Domremy, France, and a help to her father watching their sheep. At that young age Joan began to hear voices talking to her about God and how to please Him. Between twelve and seventeen Joan experienced hearing the voices and sometimes seeing St. Michael, the archangel, St. Catherine of Alexandria , and St. Margaret of Antioch. Eventually these saints convinced Joan that she must help Charles, the Dauphin, heir to the throne of France, to recover his throne which had been usurped by the British and their French allies. The two nations, France and Britain, were deep into the Hundred Years’ War and England’s King HenryV had laid claim to the French crown. Domremy was one of the the few villages that remained loyal to Charles.

Juxtaposing the political landscape with the interior landscape of a peasant girl visionary isn’t easy, but the two came together in Joan’s recognition of the need to free the city of Orleans of the British, and her unique capacity to predict such things as the location of a sword hidden in a church, the cause of Charles’ reluctance to move forward, and the necessary timing of the assault on Orleans. Joan, who could not read or write, had the understanding of a general as she led Charles’ army to victory at Orleans.

After that there were other battles. Joan accompanied Charles to Reims Cathedral for his coronation in front of a jubilant crowd.

Joan was eventually captured by the Burgundians, allies of the British, and turned over to the British by the churchmen who interrogated her. She was burned at the stake in Rouen in 1431.

There had been a prophesy in France that a woman would destroy the nation, and that a young virgin would restore it. There was no doubt that the destroying woman was Charles’ own mother, who spread the rumor that Charles was illegitimate, leaving him paralyzed with uncertainty. Joan acknowledged Charles first as Dauphin and then as King Charles VII. After Orleans and other victories, there was not a thought of his legitimacy. It took twenty more years for France to rid itself entirely of the British, but most historians say that it would never have happened at all without Joan.

Joan brought no material advantage to her task. She was an inspiration injecting hope where there was only despair, courage where there was nothing but fear, trust where there had been only doubt. She paid with her life to bring about these changes, which have endured for all these centuries. Do not be afraid or terrified . . . for the Lord our God goes with you; He will never leave you or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Joan died with Jesus’ name on her lips.

Love in Him,

Prue

Walking one day on the street of Virginia City, Nevada, young Samuel Clemens (known as Mark Twain) noticed a sheet of paper blowing in the breeze ahead of him. When he reached it he stopped to pick it up and found that it was a page from an account of the life of Joan of Arc, of whom Clemens had never heard. The single page inspired Clemens to research the life of Joan for may years. Eventually he moved his family to France where he did original research, employing a translator, into the times and events involving Joan. The fruit of all that labor was the book, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, which was published in 1896. It is still in print.

Using a fictionalized character, Clemens retold the story he had gleaned from his years of research. In all the main particulars his account is very accurate. Samuel Clemens believed it was his best work.

In reality, it may have been his best for his own spirit, for Joan is the only religious figure that Samuel ever believed in or admired. He famously rejected religion and couldn’t abide Christian clergy; though his wife and daughters were Presbyterians, Samuel remained outside the fold.

About Joan, Mark Twain wrote, When we reflect that her century was the brutalest, the wickedest, the rottenest in history since the darkest ages, we are lost in wonder at the miracle of such a product from such a soil. . .

Jesus makes it clear that such a phenomenon is entirely possible, indeed commanded:

You are the Light of the world. . . Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)

The “light” that Joan brought to France and ultimately to the world, arguably accounts for the very existence of the French nation today and for the many who, like Samuel Clemens, have marveled at the amazing achievement of driving the British out and establishing the independance of France, which Joan herself ascribed to the work of Christ in herself and in others around her.

For Samuel Clemens to speak sincerely of “wonder” and “miracle” without sarcasm is a wonder in itself. That the faith of one person could so move another after nearly five hundred years, is a resounding affirmation of Mathew’s message to us. Joan’s light still shines. She did what no one thought could be done, and today she is the patron saint of France.

Love in Him,

Prue

Unlike much of the rest of humanity, Jesus is never coy or evasive about his identity to his followers.; so, when I read about his walk to the town of Emmaus, disguised as an unrecognizable stranger to two of his own disciples, I wondered why this was so. (Luke 24:13-25) It is a unique story of an event that occurred the very first day of the discovery of Jesus’ resurrection . The text asserts that They were kept from recognizing him during the whole length of the walk, possibly as much as two to three hours of close contact and conversation. And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. (Luke 24: 12)

Earlier, at the Passover meal, Jesus had spoken to the twelve about a new “Advocate” who would come to them after his resurrection. Jesus said that he would ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to each of them.: The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:16&17)

I believe that Jesus was not in disguise on a whim, but for a very important purpose. In walking with the disciples, in opening the scriptures to them, in reminding them of himself , Jesus was doing what he had promised that the Holy Spirit would do for them in their lives. Jesus , on the walk to Emmaus was actually modeling the Holy Spirit himself. Though these two disciples may not have been present at the Last Supper, the things he told to the twelve were recorded for the whole world and for us.

Before the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples, Jesus was modeling the Spirit’s life and activity for them. Jesus needed them to understand that though they would not always recognize him in the world, yet he would be there in person. They needed to know and believe that he, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit of God are the same person with the Father. Perhaps for the first time, ordinary people were invited into the life of the the triune God, to be able to know Christ’s presence even if they couldn’t recognize him. The disciples, Cleopas and an unknown one, exclaimed after Jesus broke bread with them and disappeared, Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us? (Luke 24: 32)

They had experienced the companionship of God’s son in the form of a stranger. From then on they could know that Jesus would be able to meet them for real in their world, even as he meets us in our would, whether we recognize him or not.

Love in Him,

Prue