[Magdalen] Crucible

[Judy Fleener]

Praying for you, Esther.  ANDR ejoicing in the bond I have with all of you
here.
Judy

On Tue, Dec 9, 2014 at 6:56 AM, Ginga Wilder <gingawilder at gmail.com> wrote:

> I am a relative newby to the list, although I was on St. Sam's before the
> break up.  Capers Limehouse told me about St. Sam's and I wanted to join.
> So, I got a computer for my 50th birthday and an email account...joined on
> June 3, 1997.  At that time my diocese was in the earliest days of breaking
> away from TEC.  This list allowed me to dump my angst and anger about the
> schism and, in truth, saved my spiritual health.  I've made good
> friendships, met some of us in 'meat life' as Carol Marsh would say,
> learned a lot and been blessed by the international nature of the Pub.
> Thanks be to God!
>
> Ginga
>
> On Tue, Dec 9, 2014 at 6:47 AM, Ginga Wilder <gingawilder at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > ((((((Esther))))  Thank you for updating us on your health.  You are in
> my
> > prayers and now I know better how to pray.  Sending love from South
> > Carolina.
> >
> > Ginga
> >
> > On Mon, Dec 8, 2014 at 5:18 PM, Esther Williamson <momohl1 at cox.net>
> wrote:
> >
> >> Thank you for this, Jim. I have been so appreciative of your openness
> >> about Marcy's illness and your care for her.
> >> Now Jon has let us in on his decision to go on Hospice. Of course you
> are
> >> all in my prayers and I have often told you so.
> >> However, your Epiphany, Jim, made me take a hard look at myself. I have
> >> always been a very private person and even when I had my heart attack
> and
> >> the mastectomy I asked not to be on the church prayer list. With 5
> >> children, a sister, assorted spouses and the next generation I have
> quite a
> >> support group which I felt was enough.
> >>
> >> I love this list and have met many of you in person. I feel I have not
> >> been fair to the group in not explaining why I have been quite quiet of
> >> late. Just before Thanksgiving I had a bone marrow biopsy because my red
> >> blood cells and platelets had been steadily decreasing for the last
> year.
> >> Of course Leukemia comes to mind right off the bat but my doctor has a
> >> whole list of possibilities. I can make no real plans or decisions
> until I
> >> get the results next week but I know that I will not do extreme
> measures.
> >> If it comes to that I am quite comfortable going on Hospice. My
> children,
> >> sister, and Priest are aware of my feelings and will support me. I ask
> to
> >> be added to your prayers and I promise to keep you updated as I have
> news.
> >>
> >> Esther
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On 12/7/2014 3:09 PM, James Handsfield 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
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> ---
> >> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
> >> http://www.avast.com
> >>
> >
> >
>



-- 
Judy Fleener, ObJN
Western Michigan