It felt good to be with other people in worship at the Good Friday service at noon.  The events remembered this week are at the core of what my ministry was about those forty years.  The events remembered this week are what provide access to a relationship that shapes my world day by day.  The events remembered this week heal my sometimes wounded spirit, wounded more by my own thoughts and actions than those of anyone else.

I was bummed yesterday afternoon when dressed and ready to attend the Maundy Thursday service Mary Ann’s circumstances did not cooperate.  That worship service has always been one of the most powerful in the year.  The words and, more importantly, the actions of that liturgy reveal the healing of wounds and the consequences of that healing.  The traditional liturgy as I have done in my years in the ministry includes an action that provides a painful look into the mirror, followed by words that create the freedom to begin again and write a new story for our lives.  There is a time in the service when one action, the foot washing, demonstrates that new story as one of service to others.  There is a meal called Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper.  There the joy of community with one another and our God is celebrated.  We become family in the best sense of that word.

It was hard not to be there and draw on the words and music and actions that speak so powerfully to my spirit.  I was grateful that circumstances here at the house allowed the possibility of a corporate worship experience today.  While we have been able to get out of the house for one thing or another, most of the time it has been in accord with Mary Ann’s readiness.  Other than her Tuesday morning group and most of the doctor appointments, we have not often been able to get to something with a specific scheduled time.  Admittedly, that has been one of the challenges for me, since I have tended to be a planner.  I no longer have a shred of control over what we do and when.  The Parkinson’s and Parkinson’s Disease Dementia are currently running Mary Ann’s and my schedule.

I was too tired to stay up and write a post for the blog last night.  The night before had been one of those nights filled with needs, up many times, and then up very early in the morning.  Mary Ann had a couple of long naps during the day.  There were some hallucinations/delusions beginning a bit.  After she had been in bed for a while last night, she asked if the Thursday people had gone yet.

Today was another fairly busy day.  The electricians came and put up the ceiling fan and outside light.  They did so during a pretty noisy thunderstorm.  Then Hospice Aide Sonya came to give Mary Ann her shower etc.  We managed a quick lunch for Mary Ann before the noon service.

Then in the mid-afternoon, Mary and Arlene came over to check out the project and visit for a while.  They were followed by Hospice Chaplain Ed.  Admittedly, Chaplain Ed does more to provide me with conversation, than to do any sort of pastoral counseling for Mary Ann or for me.  I enjoy the visits.  In that way, I guess the conversation is therapeutic.

Now that the ceiling fan is in and the waterfall is fully lighted, I am getting even more pleasure from it.  It is hard to describe how calming and refreshing the setting is becoming.  More samples arrived today, so Mary Ann is having more input into the color scheme.  She seems to be enjoying the project more and more now that it is almost fully complete.

Our Daughter, Lisa, and her family from Louisville, Kentucky, have arrived at our Son, Micah, and his family’s home in the Kansas City area.  They will come here tomorrow afternoon to stay for five or six days.  We will have a lively place for a while!

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