NUDGINGS: a journey into the unknown

The season of Advent starts this coming Sunday, the beginning of the church year. I have decided to do something a little different and so for the next 4 weeks, I will be reflecting about a different verse in a well-known Advent hymn.  Each Sunday in Advent, a candle in the advent wreath is lit in our homes and during our worship services. The lighting of the candle is usually accompanied by readings and/or singing. Here is the first verse of  " A Candle is Burning ", with words by Sandra Dean and sung to the familiar tune of "Away in a Manger" .  " A candle is burning, a flame warm and bright, A candle of HOPE in November's dark night While angels sing blessings from heaven's starry sky, Our hearts we prepare now for Jesus is nigh " Or as Desmond Tutu said, "Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness." As the days in the northern hemisphere grow darker with the shortest day of the year o...

I have commented to friends in the past, that when I put my hearing aids in each morning, the world comes alive! But on this particular morning, it didn't. Yes, the birds were chirping, the washing machine was running, all those noises I associate with morning were happening BUT they were dead with no depth and no resonance. I have worn hearing aids for more the 4 years now. Not long ago one of them stopped working and a new battery didn't help. Now before I go any further, I need to say that I operate perfectly well without either hearing aid, and would do even better if people didn't insist on mumbling! However, the extra dimension they add to the sounds in my world is well worth any inconvenience caused by wearing them.  This experience, of course, started me thinking .... thinking particularly about all the verses in the Bible that relate to hearing, such as: " They have ears, but do not hear; ”   (NRSV Psalm 155: 6[a]) "... As he said this, ...

We met for lunch, a group of ladies who hadn't seen each other for over 5 years. The noise of conversation filled the room. Had it really been that long? An onlooker would never know! We had been a close-knit community years ago and that feeling of community was still there. I meet a friend for coffee in the neighbourhood coffee shop and over that coffee we share our stories and what I experience is community.  A small group gets together weekly for learning and discussion or to play mah-jong, and bonds of community are created.  A sports team comes together from diverse places drawn by an individual love of the game and become a group that acts as one. These, and many more, are all communities that you and I have been part of, often at the same time, where we have both shared ourselves and received from others.  Our first and most basic experience of community is our families. It is a community we are born or adopted into, not one that we choose but our exper...

  " Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month," in accordance with the Armistice, signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning. ("At the 11th hour" refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 am.) World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919.The day was specifically dedicated by King George V on 7 November 1919 as a day of remembrance for members of the armed forces who were killed during World War I. . . The first official Armistice Day was subsequently held on the grounds of Buckingham Palace on the morning of 11 November 1919. This would set the trend for a day of Remembrance for decades to come. "(Wikipedia) And so at the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month, for the 95th time, in 2014, people will...

"It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much." ~ Yogi Berra Life is made up of conversations ... even for those among us who are introverts, unless you are a hermit or someone living under a monastic vow of silence. Have you even stopped to consider just how many different types of non-conversations you are part of over a week? There is the person who is either talking about the last place they traveled to or has moved on to talking about the next destination on their calendar.  We all know someone who you quickly learned NEVER to ask how they are feeling, unless you have the time and patience to listen for the next half hour or so.  Hours can be wasted gossiping about what so-and-so is doing ... or not doing, without there having to be a shred of truth in any of it. Then there the soap opera devotees who replay the same scenario over and over and over again, milking every bit of pathos out of it that they can....

My husband recently had cataract surgery and he is now delighting in what he calls his 'new' eye. The world has definitely become a better place for him, brighter and clearer. It has expanded his activities too, allowing him to once more drive after dark or in the twilight times. I took this photo just a few days ago in my neighbourhood. I have been watching this tree for a few weeks now as it has done something very strange, with the colour was appearing at the ends of the branches and in splotches  throughout the tree. Surely this must have had something to do with the extreme winter weather we had experienced last winter! Or if not that, then this must be the way the trees normally look at the beginning of the fall season as they begin to turn.  But as the days and weeks passed and the tree didn't change appreciatively,  I waited in vain to hear any broadcaster or weather person talk about this phenomenon that I had noticed, I began to wonder w...

" One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. " - Andre Gide Do you ever feel 'adrift'? I know I do. And when I'm feeling adrift,  I also feel lost, alone, and longing for the security of things known. This quote by Gide helped me to realize that what I am feeling at those times is not something peculiar to me, but rather is also experienced by others.  I asked a few people I trusted if they also felt this way sometimes. And of course they answered in the affirmative! And so I started thinking about my life, and specifically about those times when I have felt 'adrift'. One time that comes readily to my memory, is bringing home our firstborn. I am an only child and so had never had any experience with caring for an infant. I certainly felt lost and alone especially when my husband (who was equally inexperienced!) was away at work. By reaching out to friends, family, and of cours...