Mystical Murmurs: My Interfaith Life

She's called an "orb-weaver," and I respect her skill at making webs, but we have a sort of chilly relationship. She's made herself a nice web at the end of my porch, between the porch ceiling and the woodpile. Fortunately, that's the opposite end of the porch from where I sit, and she doesn't interfere with our coming and going through the door. I sit there, usually at night, with one of my dogs, and I keep a close and fearful eye on her. Now and then she catches a tasty bug -- I can't fault her for that -- and moves slowly to devour it. Then she takes her place again at the center of the web, swinging ever so lightly in the breeze, waiting for her next victim. I have been afraid of spiders since before I can remember. As a child, I woke my parents many times to kill one that had strayed into my room. As an adult, I try not to kill anything outside the house -- but I am still terrified and repulsed! This doesn't hold true for non-arachnids: I love r...

My little moonflower plants, which used to look like this, grew like mad all summer, twining around and around my center porch post. June turned into July, July into August, and Labor Day arrived -- but no flowers. I had begun to think the light was wrong; I had overwatered them; I had not fertilized them enough. Then, on my way out to choir practice tonight, I noticed little bulgy white buds! This is what they looked like at 6:30 PM. When I got home from choir, it was fully dark, about 9:15 . And since moonflowers bloom only at night, this is what greeted me on my porch. Woo hoo ! Only one flower has opened, but it's one more than I had yesterday. Back when my moonflowers were only seedlings, I recall feeling they might be a metaphor for my spiritual growth. I don't think I have flowers yet, but I possibly have leaves. Small leaves! But it's a start. Thanks be to God!

Great minds think alike ( LOL ). Either that, or the Holy Spirit is behind this newest endeavor! Some of us who are members of Prayer Fellowship at the Church on the Pike subscribe to Pray! Magazine , a publication chock-full of useful information for intercessors (check it out here ). This month's issue was no exception. One article I really liked dealt with prayer stations, a way of bringing prayer to people on the street. Prayer teams station themselves at public events and offer prayer for anyone who requests it, or offer to place names on a list for intercessory prayer later. I was intrigued by this idea, even though I have never been especially good at spontaneous prayer. Now, as it happens, our town festival takes place early in October, and the Church on the Pike sets up a booth and mans it with volunteers who sell homemade goodies, answer any questions about our church, and pass out brochures with information about our service times, ministries, etc. So I thought: why no...

Our local paper had an article yesterday about a woman who volunteers as an " Abider " at the nursing home where her husband is a resident. I had never heard the term before, but several area organizations are apparently starting up volunteer Abider programs. Abiders are volunteers who sit with patients in the process of dying, to address any spiritual or physical needs they might have, and to assure them they are not alone. What a wonderful idea! The woman featured in the article often reads to patients from the Psalms or the New Testament, sings hymns, talks to them, and holds their hands. So no one has to die alone. This really strikes a chord with me. I did not do such a good job of abiding when my parents were at the end of their lives: my Mom died while I was heading home to collect my kids from the various neighbors who were looking after them, and my Dad died while I was waiting at the door of his hospital room for the surgical resident whom I'd paged (natural...