Stain Glass Lens of the 21st Century

Tag: pandemic living

  • Tread Lightly

    Tread Lightly

    My hairdresser has quit!  I assumed the many weeks of being closed was the cause of a career change but was surprised when she shared that she simply could no longer take the abuse of customers.  She said it had become a daily occurrence to have folks arrive to the salon refusing to wear a mask, refusing to book appointments or refusing to follow the COVID-19 protocols of the salon.  And some of those who were able to follow these simple instructions would sit in her salon chair complaining nonstop about everything.

      “Each morning I dreaded coming in and by my lunch break I felt like a weight was on my shoulders.”  So, she took a full time job in a completely different field and no longer deals with the public. 

    She is not alone.  It would seem many are fed up with rude and toxic interactions.  I noticed last week a new sign was taped up at the McDonald’s drive thru.  It reads, “We believe in fostering gracious behavior in our restaurants and creating a pleasant environment for both our guests and staff. Please treat our staff with respect and dignity.  McDonald’s reserves the right not to serve abusive customers”

    A similar sign went up at a couple of grocery stores in town and the Dollar Stores.

    Let’s tread lightly. It has been a long pandemic for everyone. Yelling at the drive thru waitress or the grocery store clerk is not going to solve any of your problems.  I guarantee you will actually feel worse and most definitely so will everyone who heard you.  So, stop it. 

     Do yourself a favor and everyone around you, be kind if for no other reason than the kindness will come back to you! How you treat others is how life will treat you.  As Mother Teresa said, “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”

    Choose kindness,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    Minister at Kemble-Sarawak, Zion-Keppel Pastoral Charge

    Photo by Matt Collamer,used with permission/ Unsplash

  • Sanctuary

    Sanctuary

    Recently, I had the privilege of visiting a lovely church.  Its sanctuary is full of stain glass windows and this ministry has a rich history of being a beacon of God’s love for over 140 years.  As I stood, masked, at one side of the sanctuary, a church member stood at the other side sharing beautiful stories of this beloved faith community.  When it came time to leave, he looked longingly around and honestly admitted “It has been too long since I have been here. I don’t want to leave.”

    I deeply understood his sentiment.  Each Sunday, like so many others, I join worship virtually via the live stream from my church.  Thankfully we can “chrome cast” the service to our TV screen, and together my husband and I join with others to sing, pray, and reflect.   There are some advantages to gathering for virtual worship. For example, at my church the chat bar is open allowing those who join worship to share a “hello” and a bit of fellowship prior to and following each service. We can also freshen up our coffee during the service without anyone knowing!  But it isn’t the same as being in the church’s sanctuary.

    This pandemic living has me wondering where sanctuary can be found when one cannot go into the church building.  The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines sanctuary as “a place of refuge and protection.”  Some have told me their place of sanctuary is a special spot in nature- either the sandy shores of Lake Huron or Georgian Bay, while others enjoy the forest canopy and accompanying birdsong. There are a few I know who find sanctuary in their gardens, watching the antics of the chipmunks while tending to God’s beauty.

    Michael A Singer, author of The Untethered Soul and The Surrender Experiment, teaches that there are actually two worlds: one that goes on all around us, and one that goes on within us. He teaches that there is a power within us that pulls us upward. If we focus our inner self towards God, others, and eternity, we can create a refuge; we begin to create our own inner sanctuary.

    Where do you find your sanctuary?  Where is your refuge?  If you haven’t developed one, maybe this pandemic is the perfect opportunity to do so!  

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    Photo by Lua Valentia used with permission/Unsplash

  • To Touch The Wisdom of the Universe

    To Touch The Wisdom of the Universe

    Whenever life becomes overwhelming, I go outside and stand under my maple tree and lookup.  Whether it is day or night, sunshine or rain, I always gain courage by standing under my maple.

    I look past the tall trunk and through the upward reaching limbs and gaze at the timeless sky. Knowing that under this sky the human story has unfolded for generations, it has been the canopy of our existence as a species.

    That moon I see is the same moon that led the Israelites in their 40-year journey to the promised land.  The same sun that shone down on Jesus as he traveled from town to town, shines on us today.

    It isn’t enough to just stand under the maple, to gain the full extent of its grounding power one must lean on its trunk or run their hands along one of its limbs.  I know it must sound silly, but by holding onto a limb, even for a moment, is like holding the hand of an old, wise and calming presence in the universe.

    If you have never stood under an old stately tree and leaned into its soothing presence, then I highly recommend you do so, right now, no matter the time of day or the weather, just go and touch a bit of the grounding wisdom of the universe.

    Photo by Kevin Young/Unsplash

  • Backyard Concert

    Backyard Concert

    These “Stay at Home” days can be pretty quiet and even a bit boring at times, that is until we open ourselves to new experiences.  An unexpected “new” experience occurred just the other morning. I was waiting, ever so impatiently, for my morning coffee when I went to the back door to let the dog out and was awed by what I found.

    The morning sun was just starting to lighten the sky behind the tall bare trees. I stood in my slippered feet with the coffee percolating behind me as the wide-open door beckoned me to the fresh dawn.   As I stepped outside, I closed my eyes trying to count all the different songs echoing from the heights: one, was a robin the forbearer of warmer days. Two, was a chickadee who had visited all winter. Three, was the unmistakable low hum of the mourning dove. Four, was a cardinal, the same one who made a mess of the bird feeders this past winter. There was five and six both of which I did not know and seven, sounded somewhat like a cardinal but I wasn’t sure.

    Making the commitment to learn each of their songs I opened my eyes just as the rays of dawn were returning the colours to the earth and the melodies of my winged neighbors treated us all to an early morning concert.

    As I closed the door it occurred to me how very full my bare trees actually were on that cool and damp April morning.

    May you also be blessed by new experiences right in your own backyard!

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    The photo with this Blog was taken by Gilberto Dimpio used with permission/unsplash

  • Unexpected Delight

    Unexpected Delight

    There are moments in life when the unexpected happens and we are taken by surprise.  Such moments as a fender bender, spilled coffee, or when the bottom gives way on our grocery bag half way to the car! These moments cause us dismay, aggravation and stress.

    Thankfully, these are not the only kind of unexpected moments.  All around us is the presence of a Great Creator who delights in surprising us with beauty and awe.

    Such was the case early one morning last week when an unusual light caught my eye. It was the light of a full moon shining through a row of icicles hanging across our upstairs window.  Have you even seen moonlight through icicles?  It is a sight to be held; their gilded edges glimmering with an otherworldly glow. I stepped closer trying to capture this magical light in my palm, full of gratitude that I came along when I did. This was a gift given to awaken a part of my soul that was slowly closing off due to days of boredom as I obediently stayed “safe at home.”

    Later that same day I again was captured by God’s unexpected beauty.  This time it was along the shores of Georgian Bay as I stood captivated by a strange music of ice, waves and rocks.  We stood along the water’s edge, each trying to find the words to describe the mesmerizing sound of small ice pieces riding the cold waves back and forth from the jagged water’s edge.  A stranger, drawn in by the melody, joined us and she too cocked her head to listen and before walking on quietly said, “It sounds like a thousand pieces of broken glass. “ 

    It reminded me of a wind chime that hung in my bedroom window as a child; clear plastic rectangles that held pressed dried flowers and filled my room with a cascade of melody with each breathe of the wind.  I haven’t thought of that wind chime in years; funny how a sound or a scent can carry us back to places long forgotten.

    These unexpected moments of God’s beauty fill us with all we need to carry on during these pandemic days; reminders that we are not alone and there is much more to our living then just the daily routine.

    Rev. J.R. Miller wrote, “We are meant as Christians to live amid all circumstances in quiet calmness and unbroken peace, in sweet restfulness of soul, wholly independent of the strife’s and storms about us…” and we do this by keeping our hearts open to receive God’s unexpected gifts and to delight in God’s abiding presence.

    May you be surprised by beauty today,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    The Photo with today’s Blog was taken by Oleg Gaspodarec used with permission/Unsplash