Friday, August 16, 2019

Forever!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for God is good;
God's steadfast love endures forever."
Psalm 136

This is such a wonderful Psalm as our lives may be transitioning from summer to school. Whatever newness and uncertainty awaits us as the new school year begins (or any new phase of our lives, actually) we know that God's steadfast love will see us through. We can handle anything! God only wants good for us and God, ultimately, is the only One who knows what's good for us. Yesterday, the employees of Boise Public Schools met at CenturyLink arena to kick off the new school year. I remembered last year, how new and uncomfortable I felt, not knowing a soul amid the thousands. Yesterday was a whole different story! I feel so gifted to be working at Hawthorne and trusted with such an important task of helping these kids on their life journey. God is indeed soooo good! Today, as we go about our (possibly transitional) Friday, let's join the Psalmist and give thanks to the Lord; for God's steadfast love endures forever! Love, heidi

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Know that you don't know...

"'Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?' (Jesus) called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said to them, 'Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.'"
Matthew 18:1-5

Pray-As-You-Go asked the question, "What does it mean to be humble like a child?" Good one, right? I've been reflecting on how I felt I knew less and less the further along I worked in my blind rehab career. One would think the opposite would be true, really. As you work and do the job, wouldn't you feel more confident? I actually felt less confident and less sure of myself (which is one reason I chose to retire a bit early). I felt my skills were antiquated, thus, lacking, and others were able to pick up the new stuff (like the technology) and do it so much better. I knew what I didn't know. And it was humbling, to say the least. I think humility is realizing that you really don't know...you come to know that you don't know, if that makes sense. God helps us realize that and guides us, not toward knowing exactly, but being OK with not knowing. Thanks be to God, I can be OK not knowing stuff...lots of stuff. Recognizing I don't know opens me up to new learning, which I have been called to do a lot since moving to Boise and settling into a bunch of newness. Not knowing is totally OK--it keeps us humble. So today, as we go about our mid-August Tuesday, let's release some of the pressure we may feel to know it all. We can't, and it is a gift from God to enter into things with the openness and humility of a child. Love, heidi

Monday, August 12, 2019

Treasures in travels...

"For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be."
Luke 12:34

Well, I've spent the last nearly two weeks traveling. I went hither and yon (where is that, exactly?) celebrating the treasures of my heart--friends and family within driving or flying distance. And, now that it's all over, I can honestly say--people are my treasure.  Wait! ALL people? It seems like I got impatient with the people in line in front of me at airport security...so maybe not those people...but other people! The people I traveled to see. And, maybe not the people in front of me in line at Subway who ordered each little vegetable separately on one or another specific side of their sandwich while I was in a hurry to hit the highway! Maybe not those people either. But, shouldn't ALL people be a treasure to me? Each person, no matter how irritating or frustrating, is a child of God, just as my "destination" people are! There was a homeless woman on the streets of Boulder, pushing a cart and ranting and raving at anyone who looked at her. Yes, she is a daughter of God. And she is a treasure. It's easier for me to picture daughter Jeni Rose as my main treasure in Boulder, though. But the homeless woman is God's treasure to God, just as JRose is a treasure to me. It will take me a long time to process all the gifts of my travels, but I intend to do so--to unpack all the travel souvenirs I picked up along the way and see God's gift in each one.  For they are the treasures of my heart. Love, heidi