[Magdalen] Crucible

[Marion Thompson]

Amen to Ginga's words of thanks,  Jim.

Courage!
Marion, a pilgrim
On 12/7/2014 7:31 PM, Ginga Wilder wrote:
> Jim,
> Your loving care of Marcy has changed your life; your sharing your and
> Marcy's life journeys with us changes our lives.  Thank you.  Thank God.
>
> Ginga
>
> On Sun, Dec 7, 2014 at 6:59 PM, Judy Fleener <fleenerj at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Jim, I am so grateful for your sharing.  It helps me prepare for what is
>> ahead of us.  There will be a time when Bill and I will be looking at
>> illness and separation.  It may not be as immediate and fully in our faces
>> as you are experiencing, but the specter is there.  At 83 and 77 we are
>> especially aware of what a blessing we have.  You and Marcie are in our
>> prayers each day.
>> Judy
>>
>> On Sun, Dec 7, 2014 at 6:05 PM, Capers Limehouse <
>> capers.limehouse at comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Lovely. Holding you in light. Capers
>>> On Dec 7, 2014, at 3:09 PM, James Handsfield <jhandsfield at icloud.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I had a bit of an epiphany today at church.  I’ve been seeing Lindsay
>>> Buehler for spiritual direction - actually both Marcy and I have been
>>> seeing her, sometimes together.  During this time with Marcy’s illness,
>>> I’ve felt sometimes abandoned, sometimes reassured, but most of the time
>>> abandoned.  According to Lindsay, it’s not desolation, which I was afraid
>>> it was, but it’s finding I’m in a different room of God’s house, and I
>> need
>>> to find God there, not where I used to find God.
>>>> My epiphany this morning is that this room is a crucible, and I’m being
>>> refined.  Out of necessity caring for Marcy, I’m gradually being rid of a
>>> great deal of selfishness, and at the same time finding myself more and
>>> more open to the love of those around me, including at St. Bede’s, in my
>>> neighborhood, here in the pub, and many other places.  It’s not an easy
>>> process, and it often hurts - a lot - both in the pain of change, and
>>> perhaps even more seeing what I’d been holding on to and how it made me
>>> sometimes distant from those I love.
>>>> I’m grateful that this is a safe place to share such things.
>>>>
>>>> -----------------
>>>> Thinking one can behave their way into heaven is an insult to the very
>>> foundation of salvation.
>>>> Jim Handsfield
>>>> jhandsfield at att.net
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>> --
>> Judy Fleener, ObJN
>> Western Michigan
>>