passing peace

"Peace be with you." I love saying those words. Yesterday I had a craving to hear those words as folk, who walk the church, came by offering their hands and peace. I am still during this time of worship. I shake hands with those close by, then stand and wait for those who move about the sanctuary. I had risen Sunday morning to thoughts of what happened on Thursday, had an intense time with the spiritual exercises, and an honest conversation with M.

So there I was in church with folk saying, "Peace be with you." How glad I am that I was in the present moment and realizing what a great gift I was receiving. I love these words, but repetition week after week has made it into more of a Hello, than a deep desire for the other to experience the peace of the Lord. I came home typed up some thoughts about the issue at work, shared them with Margaret, and felt that peace. Things need to be done at work, but I felt confident that I would act. I did little ruminating for the rest of the day.

So may not only peace be with you, but also joy, hope, and love.

I wrote these words Monday morning, what I did not mention is that Friday afternoon I saw another student in emotional crisis. As I walked up the hill from the parking lot this morning I heard trouble had come in threes. Our afternoon staff meeting's agenda was scrapped and we talked about what went wrong over the last several days. Truth be told I love my students and have lots of fun with them. Today we ripped out annuals, hung rosemary, sage and parsley to dry, took stem cuttings of thyme, potted up some rosemary which had spent the summer outside.... and in the morning my anatomy class pondered what life would be if we had a skeleton made out of putty or steel. All this was done with laughter and joy, and nearly without incident. There is peace in this troubled world.