Last weekend we hiked several trails up on the north shore while camping at Judge Magney State Park. I love this time of year with the smells of pine and cedar, the crunching of leaves underfoot and the softness of the light. The rain and fog muted the colors some, but it was still so beautiful walking in the woods. Fall is definitely a time of change as you see the leaves letting go.
The leaves aren’t the only things that let go this time of year. As a pastor I usually had more funerals in the Fall than in any other season. Indeed the Celts believed that there was a thinness to this time of year, and that it was easier for spirits to pass from this world into the next. Halloween (Hallow’s Eve) was actually a time of remembering those who had died.
I find myself remembering many people this time of year. People like Amy, whose funeral I led five years ago this month. Amy grew up in the Philippines and moved to Manilla as a young adult to pursue a career in singing. She sang at night clubs and it was there that she met her military husband who brought her to Duluth. The marriage didn’t last but she stayed to raise her two children, working hard in housekeeping at the Holiday Inn downtown for over 25 years. She worked until she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Her family and friends then took good care of her at home.
Amy’s children shared stories at her memorial service. I will always remember how Joseph shared his mom’s ritual of walking him to Nettleton Elementary School each day. The family actually lived just across the street and up half a block. Joseph said you could see the front door of the school from their porch, and yet she walked him to school every day. He begged her to stop at 4th grade and just watch from the porch. She agreed but as they left the porch for school she would always say to him, “Remember it’s crazy out there and I love you.“
It is crazy out there and yet we love. I think that is why the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy in Ephesus, “The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.” Yes, prayer does take so many forms. I love Annie Lamott’s three prayers -1. Help, Help, Help 2. Thank you Thank you Thank you and finally 3. Wow! I often use her simple forms of prayer.
There are so many words you can use in prayers, but sometimes I just breathe. Prayer can be just breathing deep knowing that breath and spirit are the same word in both Hebrew and Greek. I may add the words, “Peace Be Still” to the breathing. These were the words that Jesus said to the disciples who were terrified as a storm rocked their boat and their lives. “Peace, Be Still ” a reminder that God is with us even in the rough and rocky times. For as theologian Soren Kierkegaard wrote, ”Prayer does not change God, but it changes the one who prays.”
Remember it’s crazy out there, but you are loved.
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