Sleeping with Bread: Monday, August 17th

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Monday, August 17th

Well. Here I am--back after a couple of week absence.

I want to thank Lamont for filling in for me. She did a wonderful job and with very little notice. I was already late for the host post when I got word that my mother died. I sent an email to Lamont and added her to the list of blog authors and was on my way. She was so gracious to do the posts and, as I already mentioned, she did a wonderful job.

I also want to thank everyone for their kind words and prayers. I believe in the power of prayer and I believe that I was better able to make it through the trip because of those prayers.

There is so much grief in this situation. Not only did my mother die but she did not have a will or life insurance. It complicates the grieving because of so many details that need to be dealt with in a timely fashion. But, even with the desolation of grieving, the Lord brings consolations. The prayers and kind words of so many people... the food prepared for us and the supplies sent to us... the time the kids got to enjoy back in Oklahoma fishing, four wheeling, and playing with cousins... the time I got to connect more deeply with a cousin I used to be very close with as a child...

The Lord provides what we need... not always what we want. This idea was pointed out in a book I am reading, The Lord is My Shepherd by Harold Kushner. He discusses how much the 23rd Psalm is able to show us that we are not promised a life without pain. He does promise a life in which we will not be alone. He is with us... always.

I know we each come here with our own perspectives and faith so I want to thank you as I share this song and Psalm 23 with you.

¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

²He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

³He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

⁴Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

⁵Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. (Psalm 23, King James Version)

Although the examen is a Christian practice, I would hope that anyone who has something to share would feel welcome here. Also, if you don't have your own blog and would like to participate, share your bread in the comments. To holding on to what gives life,

Mary-LUE

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: Mary-Lue: I am sorry to hear about your mother and all the resulting complications. However, I am glad to hear of the attitude you are taking with it and I will continue to keep you in prayer.

In addition to my "normal" Sleeping with Bread post, I have two follow-up posts to that one since:

The day I became a Benedictine oblate

and

The weekend I became a Benedictine oblate with photos from the weekend.; August 17, 2009 10:48 AM
Mel said...: ((((((((((( MaryLUE )))))))))))

You and yours continue to be in my prayers.

And my thanks to Lamont for keeping us up and running..she's a sweetheart!; August 17, 2009 6:10 PM
Tara Lamont said...: Mary,
Thank you for your heartfelt post and words of encouragement. Your vision for Sleeping With Bread has proven to be a place of connection for so many. You are making a difference in my life!
Tara Lamont; August 17, 2009 6:45 PM

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What is Sleeping with Bread?

During the bombing raids of WWII, thousands of children were orphaned and left to starve. The fortunate ones were rescued and placed in refugee camps where they received food and good care. But many of these children who had lost so much could not sleep at night. They feared waking up to find themselves once again homeless and without food. Nothing seemed to reassure them. Finally, someone hit upon the idea of giving each child a piece of bread to hold at bedtime. Holding their bread, these children could finally sleep in peace. All through the night the bread reminded them, "Today I ate and I will eat again tomorrow." (Linn, Dennis et al, Sleeping With Bread, p.l)

These are the beginning words of a book that introduced me to a practice called the examen. The orphans held on to what nourished them and were thus able to sleep peacefully at night. The examen, based on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius, helps a person hold onto what spiritually nourishes him by looking at what is giving him consolation in his life or causing him desolation. It allows someone to express his gratitude to God for the good stuff and turn to him for solace for the bad stuff. It is quite simple. You simply ask yourself, in the last day/week/month what gave me consolation and what caused me desolation.

How do you do it?

Sleeping with Bread is a Monday meme. You can participate in one of two ways: 1) Pick one of the above examen question sets and answer it in the comments section of my SWB post; or, 2) Create your own Sleeping with Bread post. You are welcome to right click on the Sleeping with Bread button and save it to your own computer before uploading into your post. Then, make sure you come back and put the link to your post in the automated Mr. Linky form at the end of the current SWB post. I hope you will join me and my fellow bakers as we Sleep with Bread on Mondays!