Light

Heceta Head Lighthouse, Oregon Coast - photo from the Internet

There are lots of people who bring light into my life.  I am blessed to have a loving family, great friends and I get to work with college students who are a neverending source of hope and grace.  One of the groups of people for whom I am most grateful right now is the board of directors for the campus ministry where I serve. I often hear of really disfunctional boards, people who at worst seem to derive pleasure from the personal tormenting of my colleagues and at best are well meaning but incompetent.  I had the great blessing of inheriting a highly functional, compassionate board who not only care deeply about both God & college students but, amazingly enough, also about the campus minister.  They are always willing to pitch in whether it is a fundraiser or mowing the lawn  - dealing with the forever on the fritz boiler or campaigning for support from the larger church.  AND on top of all that, they do so with laughter, love, joy and enthusiasm - even when they have lots of other things on their plates.  THEN on top of all that, they reach out to support me - just when I feel discouraged or tired, I'll get a kind message,  phone call, dinner invitation, etc.  from one of them.  They are always there with a kind word on top of all their personal time and service.

This weekend I had the opportunity to unwind at the Oregon coast.  One of my board members and her family own a cottage there - and they invited me to use it.  This isn't the first time they have shared this wonderful little spot. I've taken students here for retreats, it has been offered for use when friends and I were looking for an affordable get-away - and then they periodically just say, "hey, you wanna go to the coast?" Who would say no?! 

To top it off, the weekend was lovely - there was even gorgeous sunshine and blue skies. It was the kind of weather that inspires walks along the pounding waves into town, where you can wander through fun shops, stop for fish tacos (made by the same family business that owns the ship that went out to catch the fish that morning), and check out the amazing colors of all the creatures in the tidepools - seriously, starfish come in some pretty wacky shades.  I could listen to and watch those waves forever - with each "whoosh" you can feel the stress of life washing away bit by bit. . . you breathe a little deeper . . .all the little things that are driving you nuts get brought down to size, and you realize they really are just little things.   What a gift.

 I am truly grateful for each one of these people, and grateful for the time to stop and remember the things that matter in life - which of course aren't things at all.  Jesus said we are called to be the light of the world, I'm glad my board members aren't afraid to shine!