Home from Spokane

We arrived home safe and sound from our trip to Spokane. It was wonderful spending time with the Weitz, Dahl, and Ochoa families; the weather was hot (a treat after all the rain we'd had); we got to see a bit of Spokane; Ryan got to go on a bike ride with Heather and Linda; Tessa got to play with the kitten Matt aka Oliver; and we got to see Caley graduate.

We listened to the Little House on the Prairie CD in the car - what fun! The whole family loved it. The book is actually 6 CDs, and we still have one left (sometimes we listened to music or talked). Listening to the simplicity of their lives, and their joy in small things, and their work ethic - as well as their time at play - reminded me of how much I have to learn. I've learned a lot, but I have a lot more to learn.

Bonding with Caley was an incredible part of the trip. She and I are destined to be very close friends, I believe. As she gets older, our ages become closer together, and I am appreciative of the friendship that we share, and have yet to share.

Caley's reading brought tears to my eyes. Her graduation was lovely. I am so, so proud of who she is: not only is she accomplished and successful, she is kindhearted, genuine.... she's fantastic.

Laundry is running, grocery lists are being made, and there is work to be done...but it's bedtime. More on all of this to follow in another post, complete with pictures.

And now, to close, a poem that was read at Caley's graduation. I liked it so much that I wrote down the name and author on the back of an envelope so that I wouldn't forget it, and then I looked it up tonight. I bolded the verse that spoke to me the most. Here it is:

Prophets of a Future Not Our Own
by Bishop Ken Untener
(often attributed to Oscar Romero)

It helps now and then to step back and take a long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of
saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession
brings perfection, no pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives include everything.

This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one
day will grow. We water the seeds already planted
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects
far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of
liberation in realizing this.This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,
a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's
grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the
difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not
messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.