Love ya Mom!

 No these are not the words from my kids to me, they are from me to you: Moms out there who are doing it.

Love you Moms, who show up

Love you Moms, who do the toughest work behind the scenes.

Love you Moms, who put a smile on when all you want to do is cry, or at least nap.

Love you Moms, who offer a welcome to the newcomer, and a banana to the kids.

Love you Moms, who show vulnerability and bravery.

Love you Moms, who cut through the small talk and get to the good stuff.

Love you Moms, who share the hard parts.

Love you Moms, who share the recipes and the gardening tips.

Love you Moms, who listen too.

Love you Moms, who know what it is to pray, all day and all night some times. 

Love you Moms, who are carrying the loaded bags of goodies for our boys, my boy too.

Love you Moms, who are carrying heavy burdens.

Love you Moms, who lightening each other's loads.

You are amazing. You are beautiful. You are powerful. You are holding it all together and yet starting to breathe. You aren't holding so tightly anymore. You are still learning how much you have to give and you are saving some of it for yourself. You are reading the books and articles and listening to the podcasts and making your own content too. Just as we cheered for our kids today, I cheer you on as well. Love ya, Moms!

I was going to save this for Mother's Day, but we know everyday is mother's day. We know how much it takes to get this job done, and sometimes we get it wrong, but look, we are doing it. This weekend I got to know a wonderful bunch of women from my son's Lehigh crew team. It was delightful! We were the last tent taken down and the last moms standing on the banks of the river. There's something to be said for that - for hanging in and hanging out, joining the fun and relishing the moment. We only get these moments a few times in life. After COVID I appreciate them so much more. But today it wasn't the moment, it was the women. Who's your Love Ya Moms? Let her know how much you love her!

In Brokenness

I missed writing yesterday, Good Friday. I was preoccupied with getting my house cleaned, a Good Friday tradition in my home growing up. My mother called it a "Big Sweep" and the idea was that you had to clean everything, even under your bed. I don't recall that there was much of anything under my bed, but I guess we had to vacuum there too. 

Anyway, as I was cleaning I thoughtfully looked at the Blessed Mother statue on my dresser. I have had it since my grandmother gave it to me either for my first communion or confirmation, I'm not sure which. Either way, it was about 45 years ago! She is a staple there and some days go by when I don't pay much attention to her. She has traveled with me through life and has also collected the wear and tear of accumulated dust, stains, and brokenness.              

Because I wasn't always so careful, her halo is broken. Not just once, but three times. She has markings of coffee spilled on her and stains from dust and who knows what. But in every house, everywhere I've been, she has stood faithfully on my dresser. I like to think she blesses my jewelry! Haha - but maybe when I put my necklaces on, they have a special grace in them from the Blessed Mother. I should really take her somewhere to be cleaned - or at least try it myself. I wish I still had the pieces that broke off as she was knocked over by this or that. But in her brokenness, we see that we are imperfect. My halo is certainly cracked multiple times. I am covered with dust and coffee stains in my heart. And yet she still stands. How did she stand by the cross on that first Good Friday? I cannot begin to imagine the brokenness... But that is a mother's love. A love beyond all meaning... 

This day I wish you love in your brokenness. Love that fills you and makes you whole again. Love that Christ poured out for us on Good Friday that we could know how much we are loved. And with the grace of God, that you may continue to pour out your love for others. 

May you have a very blessed and holy Easter. May the grace of the Blessed Mother fill you in whatever brokenness you face.

Servants

 No, I do not have servants. I still clean my own house and my husband still does our lawn. We did have a company come to remove a tree, but we don't have servants. The idea of servants is a humbling one to me. I cannot imagine asking someone to do things for me that I could capably do myself. But there is the reverse concept too - Can I imagine myself serving others in a servant position? I don't know. There is something uncomfortable about it. 

In the social culture today there is a concept of the Servant Leader. It can be dated back to ancient times, but the basic principle is that a person serves the organization and its people and that the organization serves the person as well. Robert Greenleaf wrote a book on it in the 70s. One question for a servant leader to ask is, "Do we, and those we serve, grow as people?" I have worked for two women in my life who embody this principle. They are such magnanimous leaders that in their presence, you feel lifted. They were educated, thoughtful listeners, who led amazing organizations that were designed to serve. Each time we were to begin a project they would consistently offer support. "If you need anything, call me," is what they say. I aspire to be a servant-leader like that. The humility with which they bear their position inspires others to do more and to be more. 

Christ was like that. Today is Holy Thursday, the day on which we recall Jesus' washing of the feet. He served those he led and humbly cared for them. In ancient times, walking on dirt roads was, well, dirty. But how their feet must have ached! They walked most everywhere. In sandals. I know how my feet feel and I've got pretty supportive shoes. The symbolic washing of feet today is supposed to teach us how to serve and how to lead. He inspires us to kneel before others and say, What do you need? How can I care for you? Let me give you comfort. I know a mom who washes her kids' feet every night before bed. It is so soothing and refreshing. 

These are hard shoes to fill, pardon the pun. How do we begin to care for others? To be for them and with them? I guess it begins by walking with them. And then by washing their feet. The Servant Song describes it well, I will weep when you are weeping, when you laugh, I'll laugh with you.  Beautiful words for what it means to be with others. 

Who are you with? I hope today you can be with others who make you feel lifted and I hope you can lift others too. 

I think about racism in our society and I wonder how I can lift those around me. How can I be a servant leader to the most marginalized in our communities? 

Open House

 We are planning a party later this spring that is going to be an open house. We will invite everyone on our list and hope that they can all attend. We will welcome those we haven't seen in a while and those who we see every week. We will welcome those who get on our nerves and those we are close to. We will welcome everyone. The littles, and the bigs, and the old and the young. The neighbors, the family, the old friends, and the new. I started to get the yard ready this morning because we are supposed to have great weather for a few days. 

In our search for our mission, our vocation to help others, can we be as welcoming? I never felt so welcomed as when I visited my grandmother when she was still with us. She would stop whatever she was doing and just get a big smile on her face, clasp her hands together, and just bestow so much love on me. From the time I was little I cannot remember a single time she was upset or disappointed in me. If I told her something unpleasant, she would click her tongue at the story, but never at me. I have since learned that that is a very Irish thing to do, clicking her tongue. Anyway, I wish I could be that way for people who know me. 

One time I walked into church and my niece Mabel, who was about 3 at the time, turned and saw me. She almost shouted, "YOU'RE HERE!" as she ran down the aisle to be scooped up by me. I couldn't help but smile and laugh and let the joy fill my heart. How can we be that way for others this week and always? How can we have not just an Open House, but an Open Heart to others? How can we say to them, "You're here!" How can we find ways to let others know that everything is okay, that they are loved, that we feel joy when we see them? Perhaps in there is our vocation, our calling to do more for and with others. 

The other day we were talking to Annie on the phone and we asked about Easter plans. Her response without blinking an eye, was, "Oh, yeah, Mom, we are all going to come down!" This meant Annie and her 5 roommates. I was very surprised but delighted that she would want to do this. After we talked logistics, though, it didn't work out. I was so sad. Between her classes and teaching, she wouldn't be able to get down. But I'm still so glad that she thought she could. She knew we would welcome them. Last night, Charlie did the same thing. He told us he "offered the other bed in my room" to a friend on the crew team. We are looking forward to welcoming him on Saturday. 

With my own children and their friends, this is easy. It's not so easy with people who are outside the inner circle of people I love, people on the margins. Who are the people we welcome? Who are the people we find it difficult to welcome? I think by acknowledging how we find difficulty, we can then make amends. 

As you prepare your home for spring, or for an Easter gathering, I hope you can feel your heart expanding as well to welcome those who may be a little more difficult. Have a good holy Tuesday. 

Others

 Dear Friends,

We have made it through Lent, whatever your lenten sacrifices were, planned and unplanned, expected and unexpected. This is Holy Week. We are preparing ever more urgently for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. In the Catholic church, we have Holy Thursday - a beautiful evening of prayer around Jesus' last meal - a Seder meal that we share with our Jewish cousins. It is a time to reflect on Christ's last days and conversations he had with friends, always acting to fulfill his purpose here on earth.

We have a purpose too. This week I invite you to turn your focus outward. We have thought and rethought about who we are, what we need, what we want, and now we turn to others. What gifts do we have that we can share with others? Our world is so hungry, so in need of our love, compassion, understanding, forgiveness, and our mission. How can we feed them? 

St. Ignatius called us to be people 'for and with others'. What does that mean to you? Who are you for? Who are you with? I think about mothers first and foremost. Mothers in Nashville come to mind first. I am very much for them, but how can I be with them? I plan to read more about how to contribute to let them know they aren't alone. Mothers in Camden are also on my mind. How can I be with them? I can give to them, I can pray, but is that enough? 

When I was in college we had a program called Reading to Kids, where we went into shelters and read to the kids in the evenings. I know it was appreciated. The moms got a break and could trust that their kids were cared for, just for an hour or so. It has been on my mind lately. Maybe I'm being called to do something like that again. 

What is calling you this week? Who can you focus on? Maybe it's someone close to you, or maybe it's someone outside your circle. We receive God's love and we share it, showering it on others.