Claimed, gathered and sent

Now it's really started. The last day of internship is Sunday, June 26. The lasts have begun. I've already experienced my last Ministerial Association meeting and last pericope group in this conference. This week was my last Grace Lutheran Church Council meeting. And yesterday was the last internship cluster meeting, which was really good. Actually all the cluster meetings have been very good. But this last cluster meeting hit me harder than the other lasts. It was emotional, for one thing. On the way home, Pr. Larry and I stopped at Castiglia's in Keyser, WV, like we do every month after cluster to pick up something delicious to take home to our spouses for dinner. As we drove home, it struck me that this was the last time we'd be doing this. There is still much to be done before my time of internship is completed. There will be more lasts or endings. But then there are beginnings on the horizon as well. I was reminded of this last week at the WV/W MD Synod Assem...

We may have our plans and schedules, but then there are God's. Internship continues to be simultaneously a delight and challenge. My supervisor has been called upon by the bishop to be involved on a part time basis helping out a nearby church. This increases my preaching responsibilities. I imagine there will be other additional duties as well. This is exciting and at the same time makes me cry out to God for wisdom and ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. My husband, Ray, and I are football fans. The analogy that immediately came to mind was that of  a backup quarterback in football. My supervisor would be the starting quarterback. Only he needs to spend some time leading a different team. I am being called upon to step up and lead the Grace Lutheran team in a greater measure. Of course, this is what daily ministry consists of. We have one idea of how the line up will look, but God has another. God's will and plans for Grace and this other church are good....

Abby, Ray's retired Seeing Eye Dog, has been ageing rapidly the past few months. Several times her back end has given out on her. She is very Stoic and doesn't let on how much pain she is in. We took her to the vet today and as she was being examined, her pain level was obvious, even though she did not bark or yelp. She is spending the day at the vet for x-rays. We wonder if she will be able to make it till internship in August. We are conflicted. We don't want her to be in pain and we don't want to have her put down simply because it would be convenient. She is 13 1/2 years old. Some days she doesn't even wag her tail--which is something that was in perpetual motion. Please pray for us that we will do the right thing for her when the time comes. In the meantime, the issue is to get/keep her comfortable.