Welcome to "I have not seen the righteous forsaken." I am not currently planning to make a point of advertising this blog. I much prefer the approach of scattering the seed and letting it fall where it may. So if you have managed to find this blog, the Holy Spirit may have had something to do with you getting here. May His purposes for having you read this be fulfilled.
As I begin, I thought it would be good to answer a few questions that would certainly be on my mind and may also be on yours:
Who are you anyway?
I am...
- A beloved daughter of God the Father
- A sister and bride-to-be of God the Son, my Savior and Lord Jesus Christ
- A friend of the Friend of the Bridegroom, God the Holy Spirit
- A daughter of the Church and of St. Teresa of Jesus
- A daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, spiritual mother (I've been told), and friend to many
- The business manager for my parish, president for my Secular Discalced Carmelite community, a volunteer for our local Catholic radio station, and serving God in various and sundry other ways.
For many years from college up to my early 40s, I did quite a bit of volunteer work with the elderly. It wasn't anything I was looking for, especially at first. God just kept bringing these elderly ladies into my life. I would be with each one anywhere from a year and a half to seven years. Then she would die, except for the first one (I'm sure she died eventually, but our relationship ended when I graduated from college and moved out of the state); I would get about a year off, and then the next elderly lady would show up. I came to think of this as the "tugboat ministry." God seemed to bring me alongside these ladies, like a tugboat, to help steady them and guide them into their final port.
After the third elderly lady showed up, I started wondering if maybe God wanted me to pursue something professionally in the field of caring for the elderly, so I obtained a certificate in gerontology at a local university. It was very good, helpful information, but I've never ended up working professionally in the field. That's ok. When it became clear that I wasn't going to change careers, I just said to the Lord, "Any time You want to tell me why I got that degree, just let me know." :-)
What I was doing professionally at the time, and did for 15 years, was working as a technical writer and editor. As a communications major and a writer, it was natural for me to start jotting down some of my thoughts and reflections as I served these ladies. I used to think that I might want to write a book some day, possibly a book of reflections on Scripture as they related to the topic of aging. I wasn't sure why anyone would want to pay money to read what I had to say, but that was a detail to be worked out later.
Both time and technology marched on. After my fourth elderly lady died, no one new showed up. Instead, a new career came along, working as business manager for my parish, a career that has soaked up all my spare time, and then some, for over ten years.
Meanwhile, the Internet explosion spawned a new form of communication: the "Web log" or "blog" for short. It struck me that a blog might someday be a good vehicle for the kind of reflections I was thinking about writing--and I wouldn't have to feel guilty about people spending money to read what I have to say! :-)
That idea simmered on the back burner for several years until just a day or two ago when I stumbled upon my notebook of reflections, which I had misplaced. Today as I was praying after Mass in our parish's Adoration Chapel, the thought came to me that now may be the time to start the blog. When I got home, I found in the mail a friend's Christmas newsletter, with a note to me that I felt confirmed that now was the time to "go public."
So will your blog be about aging?
I'll certainly be offering some reflections on aging, but I doubt if I'll stick to just that topic. We'll see as it goes along.
How did you come up with the title?
The Scripture passage at the top of the page was the favorite quote of one of my elderly ladies. (I think it's fair to say that I myself am not old. Rather I would say that I'm smack in the middle of middle age. :-) ) From back in the days when I was thinking of writing a book, it struck me as a great title for a series of meditations on aging.
As I was considering this afternoon starting this blog, though, another reason came for using this title right now. This is a time of a great deal of uncertainty, especially in Michigan where I live, as the economy continues to spiral downward. It's at times like these that we need to encourage each other to look at life through the eyes of God, especially as He has revealed the truth about Himself and life in Scripture. In the words of St. Paul, "...we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us." (Romans 5:3-5)
Anything else we should know?
I don't anticipate updating this blog more often than once a week. This is for me a very busy season in the midst of a normally busy life, so I want to keep things balanced, and not have this blog become an obsession. Plus I feel like the Lord has made it clear that He has placed a high priority on what will be for me a major project, namely, cleaning out the clutter from my life! I'll tell you about that in my next post. (Something to look forward to. :-) ) Since cleaning is something that I try not to do on Sundays and Holy Days, though, I will probably limit my blogging to those days.
So, just to manage your expectations, don't expect to see frequent updates, and especially don't expect to see prompt responses to any comments. I'll do my best to reply when I can as seems appropriate.
Thanks for reading and for your interest in this blog. May our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, on whose feast this blog is being launched, support you with her prayers, and may our gracious Lord fill you with His peace throughout this Advent/Christmas season and the coming year. God bless you!
Theresa
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