Remembering

It may be quiet around here for the next few days. I'm not sure yet.

The next three days all mark significant "anniversaries" for me. Things that happened, things that are deep and full, but are also marked with deep pain and high cost.

I'm not sure where my heart will be at as I face these days.

I'm not sure if there will be words, or only silence.

But I need to walk these days out.

I need to take the time to remember.

I'm thinking again about the verse in Psalm 27 that says something to the effect of "my heart has heard you say, 'come and talk to me.' and my heart has responded, 'Lord, I am coming.' "

I'm going to give my heart the space and permission to write or to be silent, to remember, to pray and wait, to feel the presence of Jesus deeply, and grieve the wounds that still remain.

In the News...

There are various stories catching my attention today:

Fires are still catching my attention.

One dead, two missing in Winnipeg House Fire

Military news...

Body of Soldier Returns Home

This next story frustrates me. I am avidly opposed to abortion, however, I think a little bit of sensitivity in how that opposition is expressed could be in order. For example, a student group displaying horrifically violent and gruesome images, comparing abortion to the genocide in Rwanda, and the Holocaust, is probably not the most sensitive method of expressing opposition. Displaying those same photos in an area of the university campus frequented by small children is also probably not particularly sensitive. Insisting that the photos face outwards, instead of compromising with the university and letting them face inwards, so that people have a choice about whether or not to view them is problably not the most sensitive either.

And for the record, I'm not all that impressed with the university in the midst of this controversy either. (And I speak as an alumni of the school.) I do think the university should honor free speech, and I'm pleased that they offered to compromise with the students. However, engaging in a court debate over trespassing as free speech, and spending money that is primarily collected from students and alumni is perhaps not the best use of campus money. Especially by a university that has consistently raised tuition the maximum amount allowed under provincial regulations for the last several years.

U of C Charges Campus Anti-Abortion Group for Trespassing
U of C Administration Joins Campus Pro-Life on the Low Road

And finally, in news on depression/mental health, this headline caught my attention:
Antidepressants Lower Suicide Risk for Adults, Raise it for Adolescents

Reality

I'm still working my way through Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life" and enjoying it. I tend to read Anne Lamott when I need to reconnect with some sort of more earthy reality. When life has become too intangible, and I need to ground myself a little.

And yet, I fell in love with this line from Bird by Bird tonight:

"Reality is unforgivingly complex." (pg. 104)

How very true. A truth that I'm feeling deeply these days.

Joy Hidden in Compassion

More from Henri Nouwen.

Solidarity in Weakness

Joy is hidden in compassion. The word compassion literally means "to suffer with." It seems quite unlikely that suffering with another person would bring joy. Yet being with a person in pain, offering simple presence to someone in despair, sharing with a friend times of confusion and uncertainty ... such experiences can bring us deep joy. Not happiness, not excitement, not great satisfaction, but the quiet joy of being there for someone else and living in deep solidarity with our brothers and sisters in this human family. Often this is a solidarity in weakness, in brokenness, in woundedness, but it leads us to the center of joy, which is sharing our humanity with others.

More on the Fire

I've been closely following a story on a basement fire that happened in Calgary a week ago. This is the latest headline.

Delay of Care a Factor in Calgary Fire Death