Hi Y'all! Happy spring! When I first typed the word 'spring' I accidentally typed 'sprint' and I had to laugh to myself. Sprint indeed. I'm in my LAST course of my Masters degree program. Can you say ALLELUIA?! Four long (year round, no stopping), ironically very fasst years. I have two more weeks of school left (the teaching kind), and then I'm off. Literally.
My high school girlfriend and I are going on a pilgrimage that we promised ourselves for our thirtieth birthdays. That was twenty years ago (but whose counting). So, after my last day at work, I'm hopping in the car, popping The Interior Castle audio book in the CD player and driving to my girlfriend's house seven hours away.
Then we're boarding a plane to Portugal for an eleven day ROCK STAR woman's Saint tour. We're going to Fatima (Our Lady), Avila (St. Teresa), Loyola (how did he get in there?), Lourdes (Our Lady again), Nevers (St. Bernadette), Paris (St. Catherine Labouret) and Lisieux (St. Terese the Little Flower). Wow. Doesn't feel real yet. So excited to share with you our experiences. Please keep us in your prayers.
In the MEANtime, here's a re-post. It's strawberry season and my prayer for you is that you too experience God's abundant love as you bite into those scrumptious strawberries. Know: YOU. ARE. LOVED.
The craziest thing happened the other day...
On Tuesdays parents provide snacks in the teachers lounge. I can't tell you what a blessing it is. I have lunch duty on Tuesdays so I can't go home to eat. Most days my husband is waiting for me there, where he works from home-- 2.5 minutes from school. The deal is that I save him from the solitude of working alone and in return he rescues me from the madness of too many teens. But on Tuesdays we push through the day on our own.
Usually I forget to pack a lunch that day. So when I walk in the lounge and see the spread of food every Tuesday I'm overwhelmed with gratitude. My daily bread. Again!
Sometimes I'm struck by the boldness of the Lord's prayer, "give us this day our daily bread." I wouldn't talk to a waitress that way, not to mention the Creator of the Universe! But I've come to understand it as a humble request. Please God, help me to live simply. No storing up, no relying on my own ability. Help me to recognize that every good thing comes from You. Help me to trust that You will provide anything and everything I need...
So the other day there was a tray of strawberries in the teachers lounge. I grabbed a few and popped one in my mouth as I walked down the hallway. Come to think of it I was approaching the chapel when I did this. The strawberry burst in my mouth and there really aren't words to describe the sensation. It's strawberry season in the south and they're so incredibly sweet, fragrant and juicy right now -- so fresh! It was the perfect strawberry, and in an instant--quicker than it takes for a thought to occur--I knew--as in beyond a shadow of a doubt, in the core of my being--that God loves me.
How 'bout them berries?
Now I don't know if it will catch on like "Jesus Love Me" but try this one on for size: "Father loves me this I know, for a berry told me so..."
"God also said: 'See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth'" Gen 1:29
Mrs. Welch
Loving Summer Already
Homework:
- Ask God to remind you how much He loves you. Let me know what He says.
