Holiness in our Midst

Holiness in our Midst: Session 129

SESSION CXXIX: ON ‘DREAMS FULFILLED’

Story Circle Prompt: Share a story about a dream fulfilled.

Because I have a fondness for live musical theater, a reverence for Africa and a penchant for wild creativity, seeing a production of The Lion King with Broadway actors has long been at the top of my “Bucket List,” aka as my “Things to Do Before I Die” list. On April 16, 2023, with help from friends new and old, I checked off this wish. 

As I relive my dream come true, I realize the magic was not just in the show at the Civic Center in Des Moines, though there was plenty with “elephants” suddenly emerging from aisles and actors swinging from rafters—all moving to the constant beat of African drums. A good share of the lasting beauty was that I was accompanied on my journey. Because I am a bona fide fraidy cat driving interstates by myself in rain and snow, and especially navigating downtown Des Moines at night, friends gladly stepped in to provide meals (Italian pasta) and snacks (homemade chocolate chip cookies), transportation (curbside service), and lodging (a cozy bed) for this adventure of a lifetime. There was even a Lion King poster, deluxe booklet, and backpack waiting for me in my seat at the theater! In asking for some assistance, I received abundantly. A simple wish, stated out loud, became a spiritual experience. (I am, of course, available to make my friends’ dreams come to fruition.) I am still humming the theme song, “Circle of Life,” as I dream new dreams. Do you have a story of a dream fulfilled?

FOR PERSONAL/JOURNAL REFLECTION:

1. Read the above reflection. In your journal, answer the following: What is one thing you would like to do, see, or experience in your lifetime? What is the first step you can take to make this dream come true?

FOR GROUP STUDY: 

1.  Read aloud Session CXXIX.
2.  Ask each person to answer the Story Circle Prompt.

Holiness in Our Midst: Sharing Our Stories to Encourage and Heal is a monthly on-line feature created by Janis Pyle to facilitate sharing of our personal experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and spiritual practices with one another, especially through stories. Barriers are broken down when we begin to see all persons, even those with whom we disagree ideologically, as sacred and constantly attended to by a loving Creator. Each column is accompanied by a “story circle” prompt and study guides for personal and group reflection. To share your stories, contact Hannah Button-Harrison at communications@nplains.org. Janis Pyle can be reached at janispyle@yahoo.com

Holiness in our Midst: Session 128

SESSION CXXVIII: ON ‘A GIFT TO MOTHER NATURE’

Story Circle Prompt: What gift would you give Mother Nature for Mother’s Day?

Viewers were asked to respond to this evocative question on a Weather Channel program on the Monday after Mother’s Day, 2022. My answer has an immediate quality, given that today (April 27, 2023) the Mississippi River is overflowing its banks in several picturesque Iowa cities, including Burlington, where I spent two transformational high school years. Mother Nature seems in peril! If I had a magic wand to grant her three wishes, I would immediately declare every day to be Earth Day. Secondly, I would invite every country to take climate change seriously and, thirdly, I would empower individuals to be good stewards in their daily lives. My personal gift to Mother Nature this year is to be more conscious of the waste I generate, especially the number of plastic grocery bags and amount of packaging materials. What would you like to give back to Mother Nature?

FOR PERSONAL/JOURNAL REFLECTION:

1. Read the above reflection. In your journal, answer the following: What do you believe to be Earth’s most pressing issue today? How can you address it?

FOR GROUP STUDY: 

1.  Read aloud Session CXXVIII.
2.  Ask each person to answer the Story Circle Prompt.

Holiness in Our Midst: Sharing Our Stories to Encourage and Heal is a monthly on-line feature created by Janis Pyle to facilitate sharing of our personal experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and spiritual practices with one another, especially through stories. Barriers are broken down when we begin to see all persons, even those with whom we disagree ideologically, as sacred and constantly attended to by a loving Creator. Each column is accompanied by a “story circle” prompt and study guides for personal and group reflection. To share your stories, contact Hannah Button-Harrison at communications@nplains.org. Janis Pyle can be reached at janispyle@yahoo.com

Holiness in our Midst: Session 127

SESSION CXXVII: ON ‘A HAPPY HEART’

Story Circle Prompt: What makes your heart happy?

I happened to find this question, appropriately enough, on a white board in the waiting room of a Des Moines counseling center. The answers that clients wrote were mostly names of pets and close relatives. One person simply wrote “smiles.” 

My current answer would be a newfound source of heart-happiness, that is, choir music! Recently, an event buoyed my spirits for an afternoon and well beyond. I attended the 2023 Spring Choral Concert, a fundraiser for Good Neighbor Emergency Assistance, as a community board member. Our organization offers emergency rent, utility, gas, and food assistance in Story County.

Titled “You Do Not Walk Alone,” the program showcased seven professional community choirs, a combined choir, and one especially assembled (along with an orchestra) to perform the choral masterwork, Requiem, Op. 48, by French composer Gabriel Fauré. On a snowy Sunday afternoon in March, I was not alone in being transported and transformed by heavenly sounds, sweet notes of children and somber tones of the Requiem soloists, that found permanent places in our hearts. What makes your heart happy?

FOR PERSONAL/JOURNAL REFLECTION:

1. Read the above reflection. In your journal, answer the following: What is the happiest thing that happened to you today? In the past week? In the past month? In the past year? Ever?

FOR GROUP STUDY: 

1.   Read aloud Session CXXVII.
2.   Ask each person to answer the Story Circle Prompt.

Holiness in Our Midst: Sharing Our Stories to Encourage and Heal is a monthly on-line feature created by Janis Pyle to facilitate sharing of our personal experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and spiritual practices with one another, especially through stories. Barriers are broken down when we begin to see all persons, even those with whom we disagree ideologically, as sacred and constantly attended to by a loving Creator. Each column is accompanied by a “story circle” prompt and study guides for personal and group reflection. To share your stories, contact Hannah Button-Harrison at communications@nplains.org. Janis Pyle can be reached at janispyle@yahoo.com

Holiness in our Midst: Session 126

SESSION CXXVI: ON ‘ASSIGNMENTS FROM GOD’

Story Circle Prompt: Do you ever feel you are “on assignment from God?” Can you define the entrustment? Or, when have you felt you were meant to be in a certain place or role?

These questions arise from the story of Tyre Nichols, the African American man who was beaten by Memphis police after a traffic stop on Jan. 7, 2023 and died in the hospital three days later. His mother said that the only way that she was able to carry on with her life was to believe that her son was “on assignment from God” in the tragic event. She hoped that “greater good” would come from communities coming together to work for peace in the aftermath of such violence. This mother’s assertion prompts a question worth pondering: Are each of us here “on assignment” from a Higher Power?

To answer for myself, I felt “on assignment” when I moved to the family farm to care for my grandmother during her last days.

I felt “on assignment” when I cared for persons with profound disabilities for many years in residential care settings.

I feel “on assignment” whenever I serve cups of cold water (and hot coffee) to residents at the assisted living center where I work today. 

And I feel “on assignment” whenever I write about seeing “God moments” in everyday life.

I can never know for sure if I have ever been “on Divine task,” but confirmation comes in small sweet ways. The subject was birthdays the other day when I was chatting with a convenience store clerk. We had been co-workers for 10 years in a group home setting. In an offhand way, she said, “You realize you were born to care for persons with disabilities and to write, don’t you?”

“Maybe so,” I said.

FOR PERSONAL/JOURNAL REFLECTION:

1. Read the above reflection. In your journal, answer the following: Do you feel you are “on assignment” from God? What are you doing when you are most in sync with the Universe?

FOR GROUP STUDY: 

1.   Read aloud Session CXXVI.

2.   Ask each person to answer the Story Circle Prompt.

Holiness in Our Midst: Sharing Our Stories to Encourage and Heal is a monthly on-line feature created by Janis Pyle to facilitate sharing of our personal experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and spiritual practices with one another, especially through stories. Barriers are broken down when we begin to see all persons, even those with whom we disagree ideologically, as sacred and constantly attended to by a loving Creator. Each column is accompanied by a “story circle” prompt and study guides for personal and group reflection. To share your stories, contact Hannah Button-Harrison at communications@nplains.org. Janis Pyle can be reached at janispyle@yahoo.com

Holiness in our Midst: Session 125

SESSION CXXV: ON ‘NEAR DEATH’ EXPERIENCES

Story Circle Prompt: If you knew you might only have a short time to live, what would you do differently now?

First, another question: Where were you on Jan. 2, 2023, when America stopped and dropped to its knees on behalf of a single unresponsive NFL player? I was wandering around my living room, having taken in the Rose Parade earlier (on Monday because they don’t hold it on Sunday), and wondering what football games were on. I turned on Monday Night Football and stumbled on the riveting scene unfolding in a game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Bengals. Damron Hamlin, wide receiver for Buffalo, was fighting for his life right in front of our eyes. The next evening Hamlin’s fate was still unknown when CNN anchor Anderson Cooper was interviewing Super Bowl-winning tight end Benjamin Watson on the tenuousness of life. Cooper paused and tossed out the rhetorical question, as an aside to their conversation on the importance of faith: If you knew you might only have a short time to live, what would you do differently now?

The essence of the question is spiritual in nature: Has a “near death” experience changed the course of your life? 

The first thing that Hamlin did, upon awakening, was begin collecting money for the nurses and first responders who saved his life.

For me, recovery from cancer resulted in a renewed vow to live each day more fully, faithfully, and honestly.

How have you responded to a “near death” encounter, real or vicarious?

FOR PERSONAL/JOURNAL REFLECTION:

1. Read the above reflection. In your journal, answer the following: Have you had a life-altering experience that caused you to make changes? What was the event? What were the changes? 

FOR GROUP STUDY: 

 1.   Read aloud Session CXXV.

  2.   Ask each person to answer the Story Circle Prompt.

Holiness in Our Midst: Sharing Our Stories to Encourage and Heal is a monthly on-line feature created by Janis Pyle to facilitate sharing of our personal experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and spiritual practices with one another, especially through stories. Barriers are broken down when we begin to see all persons, even those with whom we disagree ideologically, as sacred and constantly attended to by a loving Creator. Each column is accompanied by a “story circle” prompt and study guides for personal and group reflection. To share your stories, contact Hannah Button-Harrison at communications@nplains.org. Janis Pyle can be reached at janispyle@yahoo.com

Holiness in our Midst: Session 124

SESSION CXXIV: ON ‘ONE SURE THING’

Story Circle Prompt: As the New Year begins, what is “one sure thing” in your life that you can build on?

This question challenges us to look beyond the uncertainty that clouds the horizon as we enter 2023. What is foundational enough to counter fears such as climate change and political unrest?

One sure thing for me is my support force, my local safety net: the medical team that helped me survive through and thrive after cancer; my church family at First Christian Church in Ames; my Prairiefire spiritual formation class and spiritual director; my quirky work community, and my long-standing friendships. 

Taken together, my circle of support enables me to try new things, take personal risks, and dare to dream, even though I am entering my final years.

What is “one sure thing” for you?

FOR PERSONAL/JOURNAL REFLECTION:

1. Read the above reflection. In your journal, answer the following: What is “one sure thing” I can count on? What relationships can I depend on?

FOR GROUP STUDY: 

 1.   Read aloud Session CXXIV.

  2.   Ask each person to answer the Story Circle Prompt.

Holiness in Our Midst: Sharing Our Stories to Encourage and Heal is a monthly on-line feature created by Janis Pyle to facilitate sharing of our personal experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and spiritual practices with one another, especially through stories. Barriers are broken down when we begin to see all persons, even those with whom we disagree ideologically, as sacred and constantly attended to by a loving Creator. Each column is accompanied by a “story circle” prompt and study guides for personal and group reflection. To share your stories, contact Hannah Button-Harrison at communications@nplains.org. Janis Pyle can be reached at janispyle@yahoo.com

Holiness in our Midst: Session 123

SESSION CXXIII: ON CHRISTMAS MOVIES

Story Circle Prompt: What is your favorite Christmas movie? Why?

My favorite Christmas movie is “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The plot line is timeless. In the small town of Bedford Falls, George Bailey owns a savings and loan company that benefits the community. His nemesis, Henry Potter, is always looking for opportunities to take over George’s business and the town. When it appears to George that all is lost (including his livelihood and family), because of Mr. Potter, an angel named Clarence is sent from Heaven to show him what life in his town would have been like if he had never been born.

The spiritual question that the movie asks is a profound one: What would the world (or my family or communities) look like if I had never been born? Perhaps, I will make it my New Year’s Resolution for the coming year to answer it. 

FOR PERSONAL/JOURNAL REFLECTION:

1. Read the above reflection. In your journal, contemplate the spiritual question: What value have I added through the years to my little corner of the world?

FOR GROUP STUDY: 

1. Read aloud Session CXXXII.
2. Ask each person to answer the Story Circle Prompt.

Holiness in Our Midst: Sharing Our Stories to Encourage and Heal is a monthly on-line feature created by Janis Pyle to facilitate sharing of our personal experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and spiritual practices with one another, especially through stories. Barriers are broken down when we begin to see all persons, even those with whom we disagree ideologically, as sacred and constantly attended to by a loving Creator. Each column is accompanied by a “story circle” prompt and study guides for personal and group reflection. To share your stories, contact Hannah Button-Harrison at communications@nplains.org. Janis Pyle can be reached at janispyle@yahoo.com

Holiness in our Midst: Session 122

SESSION CXXII: ON SILENCE

Story Circle Prompt: What have you discovered about the value of silence from intentional disconnection from digital devices or during a retreat?

Here are some of my learnings from a three-day silent retreat at the Creighton University Retreat Center in Griswold, IA in late July 2022:

1. Silence and time away from my routine clarified which commitments are healthy. Life went on (How could it???) when I detached and disconnected. The persons and groups who actually depend on and benefit from my “touch” became apparent. 

2. Silence exposed my hidden addictions. My first day, I missed cable news and political commentary terribly. Withdrawal was harder than I had imagined. Also, the retreat center served healthier foods than the fast food I so easily access on my busy schedule. I became aware of the need to make healthier food choices.

3. Silence brought me closer to my true self and to the Living Christ. I now “schedule” time to deepen my relationship with the Divine.

Such simple learnings, but what major changes they are prompting!

What have you learned from being away in silence? 

FOR PERSONAL/JOURNAL REFLECTION:

1. Read the above reflection. In your journal, respond to the following reflection: I have discovered that silence is not soundless. Is that true for you, too?                                     If so, what are some of the sounds that accompany your being alone with God? Sounds of nature? Sound of God’s voice?

FOR GROUP STUDY: 

        1.   Read aloud Session CXXXII.

        2.   Ask each person to answer the Story Circle Prompt.

Holiness in Our Midst: Sharing Our Stories to Encourage and Heal is a monthly on-line feature created by Janis Pyle to facilitate sharing of our personal experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and spiritual practices with one another, especially through stories. Barriers are broken down when we begin to see all persons, even those with whom we disagree ideologically, as sacred and constantly attended to by a loving Creator. Each column is accompanied by a “story circle” prompt and study guides for personal and group reflection. To share your stories, contact Hannah Button-Harrison at communications@nplains.org. Janis Pyle can be reached at janispyle@yahoo.com

Holiness in our Midst: Session 121

SESSION CXXI: ON ‘GLAD SERVICE’

Story Circle Prompt: Where do you find examples of “glad service?”

More than a week later, I am still wearing black in honor of the way Queen Elizabeth II lived her life. In one news clip, she used the phrase “in glad service” for the way she sought to conduct herself as she executed her duties. In my eyes, she embodied Psalm 100:2: “Serve the Lord with gladness.” Her unwavering sense of being true to her calling, while also enjoying the tasks, touched me deeply. I, too, wish to serve “gladly,” all my days. 

I am always heartened when I see persons along my path serving without complaint or an ever-present behind-the-scenes snarkiness. I see many more examples of self-righteous, reluctant or disdainful service than “glad” service. I’m thinking now of my co-worker “Sandy,” who serves in the same assisted living center where I work. She works kindly and consistently, even when called in to work unexpectedly. She was a mail carrier most of her career, braving the elements without being grumpy about it. When her grandchildren needed a helping hand, she welcomed them into her home. “Sandy” lives with an enviable spirit of “gladness” that I can only hope to attain in the next life. But I am motivated by her to try and follow suit, here and now.

Who do you see, royalty or not, living life “gladly?”

FOR PERSONAL/JOURNAL REFLECTION:

1. Read the above reflection. In your journal, answer the following: Do I serve “gladly” in my place and time?
   
   FOR GROUP STUDY: 

       1.   Read aloud Session CXXX.

       2.   Ask each person to answer the Story Circle Prompt.

Holiness in Our Midst: Sharing Our Stories to Encourage and Heal is a monthly on-line feature created by Janis Pyle to facilitate sharing of our personal experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and spiritual practices with one another, especially through stories. Barriers are broken down when we begin to see all persons, even those with whom we disagree ideologically, as sacred and constantly attended to by a loving Creator. Each column is accompanied by a “story circle” prompt and study guides for personal and group reflection. To share your stories, contact Hannah Button-Harrison at communications@nplains.org. Janis Pyle can be reached at janispyle@yahoo.com

Holiness in our Midst: Session 120

SESSION CXX: ON PEACE IN OUR TIME

Story Circle Prompt: Where are your finding hope for peace in our divided world?

Just for a moment last month, I caught a vision for world peace. I was attending the morning worship service at First Christian Church in Ames (IA) on Aug. 14, 2022. Eric Brown, an elder, was offering the prayer before we partook of communion. I was struck by his words, “Let every meal, every shared time, be communion.”  Though he had written the prayer hastily on the back of a bulletin, it seemed to me that it carried eternal weight. He gave me permission to share it here for you:

Dear God,

We gather here in your presence. In our time in your amazing world, let us know the way to live here in your spirit. As we join in this meal together, let us re-imagine, let us re-see how our actions, words, and thoughts can be guided by Jesus’ teaching, not just in this time and place, but in all our time in your world. Let every meal, every shared time, be communion. Let us learn your ways from each other, let us share your ways with all we meet. Come now, all of us, to this time of sharing your spirit together. Let us partake. 

In His Name, Amen.

Where do you find hope, inspiration, or vision to heal our divided world?

FOR PERSONAL/JOURNAL REFLECTION:

1. Read the above reflection. In your journal, answer the following: In what ways do you see God working in our time and place? 

2. FOR GROUP STUDY: 

       1.   Read aloud Session CXIX.

       2.   Ask each person to answer the Story Circle Prompt

Holiness in Our Midst: Sharing Our Stories to Encourage and Heal is a monthly on-line feature created by Janis Pyle to facilitate sharing of our personal experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and spiritual practices with one another, especially through stories. Barriers are broken down when we begin to see all persons, even those with whom we disagree ideologically, as sacred and constantly attended to by a loving Creator. Each column is accompanied by a “story circle” prompt and study guides for personal and group reflection. To share your stories, contact Hannah Button-Harrison at communications@nplains.org. Janis Pyle can be reached at janispyle@yahoo.com