Rhythms of Nature

I know, I know, it's been a while since I've blogged. I wish I didn't sing the same song again and again, but I have indeed been very busy. Last week I spent a few days at Olmsted Manor with a group of other U. M. clergy who are part of a 3-year Pastor's Stewardship Academy. We're in the beginning of our third and final year. By the way, if you're not aware of this gem we have here in Western PA, part of our Western PA Conference in The United Methodist Church - here's a link: Welcome to Olmsted Manor .

I carpooled with a colleague and friend of mine. As we set out on our 2 hour journey to Olmsted Manor, his father was with us - he was dropping his father off, back to his home. As we drove the country roads to this man's home, he talked a lot about what was going on around us, most of it doing with the rhythms of nature. Since he's been a farmer all of his life, he knew these rhythms well.

He talked about seeing a male turkey strutting in a field with a flock of female turkeys and said, "That's unusual to see a turkey strutting with the hens this time of year." Or as he talked about hunting, he spoke of knowing when to find certain kinds of animals, where they hid, how they could be spotted and flushing them out into the open. He spoke of seeing the same turkey in the same spot over the course of several seasons - no one could get him, seems as though he had figured out what were real hens and what were hunters' calls. He also spoke about the fields of various crops, how he was in the process of clearing the last plants, finding a few butternut squashes he had missed in the last crop of the field. He spoke of the different kinds of wheat and beans, how the weather this year had been good or bad for those crops.

As he continued speaking, I watched out the windows at the empty fields, the beautiful flashes of brilliant fall leaves on the trees, and flocks of turkeys and even seagulls in the fields, my heart began yearning for the ability to know the rhythms of nature as he does.

For the most part, my days are not often predictable. There are those certain things I can depend on - the meetings on Monday's, staff meetings on Wednesday's, Bible study and hospital visits on Thursday, etc. Despite this, I find it difficult to maintain a rhythm to my life. I'm not talking about the usual unexpected interruptions that come with pastoral ministry - the crisis in a person's life, a death, a drop-by visit with the words, "Can I talk with you pastor?" I'm talking about a certain rhythm and balance to my days and life.

I struggle to find time each day for work, rest and play. Well, that's not exactly right - I find PLENTY of time every day that I devote to work. And while I love my work in ministry, I also love spending time with my family, I love pursuing my hobbies, and I love enjoying time with my friends. Why is it I can't find the balance of prayer, meditation, sabbath rest, work, fun, family and friends. Why is it so difficult to do what I know I need?

When I get out of balance - mostly because my schedule is too full of work and too little sabbath - I know it. When I get out of balance I begin to resent the time I spend with work, I begin to resent the Church, I sometimes even begin to resent God's call in my life. None of this is healthy. I know it, God knows it, and yet from time to time I find myself caught in an unending treadmill of work.

I imagine it's not much different for you if you work in industry, education, health care, or any other field. We often think that the things that tempt us are awful things and we'll recognize them coming a mile away. Remember - the object that tempted the first humans was a juicy, delicious piece of fruit. The things that often tempt us are appealing - who would say that tending to the spiritual needs of people or being a strong leader for the church is a bad thing? Some might even say that sacrificing your own needs is a noble thing.

Except.....God said, "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy." (Exodus 20.8). The problem is that we forget the Sabbath day and then we profane this day that God has set aside for our benefit and to God's glory. Marva Dawn in her book Keeping the Sabbath Holy, writes of how the Sabbath day is there for us to 'cease and desist' not just from our work but also from all those things in our life that we pursue out of a need to be productive and in control of our lives. She writes, that in remembering the Sabbath and keeping it holy, "we will recognize the great healing that can take place in our lives when we get into the rhythm of setting aside every seventh day all of our efforts to provide for ourselves and make our way in the world. A great benefit of Sabbath keeping is that we learn to let God take care of us -- not by becoming passive and lazy, but in the freedom of giving up our feeble attempts to be God in our own lives."


Yearning for rhythm and balance - I truly believe my yearning for rhythm and balance is God's prevenient grace at work in my heart, calling me to remember Sabbath and keep it holy. God's prevenient grace reminding me that I need Sabbath and God's Spirit stirs mine to yearning. Here's a poem I found on line, written by John David Walt. Read it and consider what it means in your life:

Rest in Rest

Holy Leisure

Airtight Time

Sabbath

Creation slowing

Eyes open

Ears hearing

Sabbath

Sacred rhythms

guiltless feasting

Heaven hugging

Sabbath

Nothing doing

Nowhere going

Work unknowing

Sabbath

By God's Grace,

Michelle

Liberating Grace

Our Bishop, Tom Bickerton, is spending time on each of the districts in our Annual Conference. He was with us on the Erie-Meadville District this past Thursday. In general, he spoke about doing those things as a church that will choose life rather than death. One of the things he said pierced my heart. It pierced my heart, because it was a reminder that I needed.

As our Bishop spoke of the church, he said something to this effect: It's not about you. Clergy come and clergy go. Laity come and laity go. The church lives on. The church has been here for thousands of years and will be here long after we come and go.

Those words moved me to tears, because they were very liberating words. For any of us who are conscientious about ministry - for any of us who care about the ministries we are engaged in - for any of us who are concerned about the health of the church --- the truth is that we work very hard so that things go well in the church. Because we care so much and work so hard, we can get to a point where we think it's all up to us; then we work harder and harder thinking that if we make one little mistake, the whole thing comes down like a house of cards -- or -- we think that if we don't do it, it won't get done or done well.

The truth is that we ought to do our best and work hard at what we do - but it's not about us. We serve and are members of our churches, but they are NOT our churches. They are God's churches, and since God is always in control, we can relax a little from our labors from time to time. Since God is always in control, that means that we can freely take time to rest, time to play, time to sleep, time to enjoy the fullness of this life that God has graced us with.

With that in mind, I spent a lot more time with my family this weekend and doing some things that simply needed done in our home. Today, for instance, I spent some time weeding out the garden area in the backyard of the parsonage today. Since we moved here in July, a little late for planting season, we've not done much with the area. We haven't done much -- but that hasn't stopped things from happening -- weeds! Lots of them and in 3 months, they've gotten pretty big.

Well, today I plunged in -- in an hour or so I cleared out about 3/4 of the weeds. It's very therapeutic to r-i-p weeds out by the roots (especially if you're frustrated!). At the end of my efforts, something was accomplished. It reminded me of why I need to keep my hobbies of sewing, quilting and needlework going - my efforts achieve measurable results in a fairly reasonable time period.

I know I'm not receiving enough Sabbath rest when I lay my head on the pillow at night with the work of the church on my mind and when I wake up the next morning, my first thought are all the things I need to do that day --- that's been happening a lot lately.

This weekend I made a deliberate effort to turn it all off and not think about all the things of the church. It's very liberating to know it's not all about me -- it's about God. God's grace at work in a "garden" full of weeds - a place where I was able to vent my frustrations, accomplish a much needed task and shut off my brain from thinking about all the "to-do" lists. So tonight I'll lay my head on the pillow, ready for rest and know that God is taking care of the church.

By God's Grace,
Michelle

Humble Pie

We preachers need to listen more to our own words. I've always preached the importance of self care. If we who care for the needs of others, do not care for our own needs, we will not be able to care well for anyone. I've always tried to teach others the importance of self care - that it's not selfish to put time for ourselves on our "to do" list.

This past week was "one of those weeks." Some of the week was made of those out of the ordinary things - that happens sometimes in ministry. But for the most part, the things scheduled into my week were of my own doing. Good things - connectional, relational things - things that were part of my effort to build relationship with the people of Christ Church and the community -- in addition to the usual things I do every week in ministry - sermon prep, Bible study, visitation, counseling, staff meetings, etc.

I guess it started 2 weeks ago, when I had my first wedding in Christ Church. What that means is that between September 16 and September 29, I did not have a day off. Fourteen days with no real "down time." I had a little last Sunday when my husband Steve insisted that we go to Chautauqua Institution for the quilt show and he whisked me away after church. But let's face it - Sunday for preachers is NOT a day off, nor our sabbath rest time.

Yesterday was my first real day off in 2 full weeks. Yesterday, I arranged to meet our daughter during her lunch break from work so that we could have lunch together - just the two of us. As I was driving there, I passed Niagara Village Senior Community Center on Zuck Road and it hit me. I had forgotten to go there Thursday at 4 p.m. to lead the worship service that I had agreed to lead. My heart dropped - I felt terrible. How could I have forgotten? It was on my calendar - I was simply on overload and when I came home from hospital visits it never entered my mind to go there. I'll need to call and apologize, and I'm sure they'll understand, but I HATE to miss something - it feels like failure. And, I'll have to eat a little humble pie, because I've been teasing a staff member about missing a meeting earlier this month, even though it was in their planner.

Now, I know the truth - I'm only human and it was one of those things. I know God forgives me and the staff at Niagara Village will most likely forgive me, too. But the question now remains - will I be able to forgive myself?

As followers of Christ, we know our sins are forgiven and most of us try to obey what Jesus taught - to forgive others as we have been forgiven. Why is it we find that we have the hardest time forgiving ourselves? Why is it that we fail to realize that God wants us to forgive ourselves as God has forgiven us - completely and freely. Why do we find it so hard to include ourselves in that list of those whom we need to forgive?

This little incident reminds me that I ought to "practice what I preach." So today I enjoyed a lot more free time. There were things I "should" have been doing - work for the church that I know needs done and that I don't want to get too far behind on. But instead, today I spent some time unpacking some more boxes and settling into our new home - things I'd been putting off because I have been "too busy" for that - and a little resentful that the time's not been there. I took a deep breath and relaxed a bit today. And I took a look at my calendar - a long, hard look and scheduled spaces where there's some "me" time -- some time when I set aside all the things I have "to do" and find spaces where I can just be, in order to refresh my mind, body and spirit.

So, if you know someone who's not taking care of themselves - don't be afraid to "butt in" and remind them that God wants them to care for themselves as well as they care for others. Don't think you'll be butting into their business if you remind them to take some time for themselves -- those of us who need it, will welcome the reminder.

By God's Grace,
Michelle

The Least, The Last, The Lost

What a busy week this has been! (haven't I sung that tune before on this blog?) It was busy with some "extra" things. One of the extra things was a tour of the Erie United Methodist Alliance for new pastor's in the Erie-Meadville District.

I've heard of the "Erie Alliance" for at least a dozen years. If you had asked me what they did before Tuesday of this past week, I would've said, "They help the poor." And the truth is that they do help the poor, but that's too broad a statement for the ministries in which our Erie U.M. Alliance is engaged.

They help a variety of categories of people who happen to be poor and in a variety of ways. They help homeless veterans at Liberty House. We met and toured Liberty House with Devin, the supervisor of the house. In the paraphrased words of Devin, "These men need help with clothes, food, housing and jobs, but more than anything they need to be made whole from the inside out. That's God's work and we're here to help that happen. God is in this thing."

Another category of people are the underemployed, or the working poor. Those who have a job or jobs, but work at such a low rate of pay, they can't provide like they need or want to for their families. They provide temporary housing and emergency shelter for families. In fact, The Refuge is the only emergency shelter in Erie County who will allow single fathers with children to remain together - other shelters make the fathers separate from their children, even if the father is the only parent to care for them.

There is work with those who are homeless and living on the streets. The stories of God's grace at work through the labors of the Erie U.M. Alliance to help bring wholeness into the lives of the homeless and the poor brought me to tears. The point is - by God's grace and the willingness of people to engage with those whom the world would throw away means that lives are being changed.

I'm always fascinated that when things keep coming at me in various ways. My visit to the ministries of the Erie U.M. Alliance coincides with a website our pastoral assistant Roger pointed out to me. A website by a local business owner here in Erie. One of his blog entries is his concern with those who loiter around their building "up to no good, urinating on our building and in Griswold Park, attempting to rummage through the cars in our parking lots, etc." The picture he shows may be homeless men or perhaps just those who are unemployed. The blog asks for help for this problem.

I understand his dilemma, I really do. I do not think anyone should be allowed to break the law by being "up to no good," urinating in public, or rummaging in cars not their own." I understand that the view is probably not good for business. I guess my concern is not his cry for help, rather the comments of response to his blog. The responses include sarcasm, blame of the persons and the government for "allowing people not to work and get free benefits," and suggestions like "move out the free meals for parasites and problems like this will leave with them." One entry gives a few suggestions and the results, one of which is "you would not have to look at these people during your day."

Not having to "look at these people" would certainly make our lives easier. I don't offer any easy solution - because there are none. And the feeding programs in the city and providing temporary housing does not solve all real problems in people's lives. And the truth is that there are a portion of people who are homeless who do not want help -- or those who are underemployed are in family cycle of dependence on agency help.

I guess what troubles me most about the negative posts that I read was the quick tendency to not see these people as children of God. The blame and judgmental tone of some of the posts was troubling because there was no ability or willingness to see Jesus in these people.

I remember a story our son Craig told us about a man who lives in Oakland - Craig met him while in college a few years ago. I've forgotten his name, but he can always be seen on the streets of Oakland in front of the stores with a cup held out for donations. He's not homeless - he lives in an apartment, which I'm sure is substandard housing. He has no job, although it appears he can work. For whatever reason(s) this man has learned to make his living on the hand-outs of others.

Craig told us that every time he passed him, he would offer to take him for a meal, and talked with him a while. When Craig told us this, my motherly response was, "You do what? Is that safe?" I admit, not a very Christ-like response, but in all honesty, a concerned mother's response. Craig said to me, "Mom, he's not dangerous. And I wouldn't give him money because I'm pretty sure he'd get drunk on it. So I give him a meal - that way I know he gets to eat."

It's not easy to look upon those who are unclean, unkempt and maybe some who are a little unsavory. And there's some truth that there are those who don't want help or have become co-dependent on social agencies or the church. But we'll never have the opportunity to be a part of God's transformational power if we ignore them or push them out of the area so we don't have to look at them.

In our annual conference, we are struggling to deal with poverty. The Poverty Strategy Team, formed as part of our Believe Again! Plan for Ministry, has scheduled 3 Poverty Simulations in Western PA. The first will be Nov. 4 from 3-6 p.m. at South Avenue UMC in Wilkinsburg. The simulations are 2 hours long, followed by a talk-back session, a light meal and a brief worship. There are 2 other simulations planned - March 1, 2008 in Meadville and April 13, 2008 in Indiana. You can read more about the project here: http://www.wpaumc-files.org/Interlink%20Archives/2007-09-28interlink.pdf

Oh, and by the way - God's grace is longing to change those whose hearts are hardened and those who sound judgmental and harsh - let's not write them off, either!

By God's Grace,
Michelle

Even Though...

Well, it has been far too long since I have "blogged." It has been a whirlwind of activity in the Wobrak Family. For the past few weeks we've been immersed in wedding plans. We have a new family member whom we love dearly - our daughter-in-law Meghan. She and our son Craig married on September 1, 2007. What a beautiful day, filled with joy and music and good food and blessings all around. However - I must share that the joy of that day was preceded by a deep sorrow with the death of Meghan's father 4 days before the wedding. His service of death and resurrection was held Friday morning...18 hours before their wedding.

Michael has been ill for 22 years, having been diagnosed with an inoperable malignant brain tumor when Meghan was 3 weeks old. His health has progressively declined over the past 22 years. Michael was a tremendously gifted poet, author, director of plays, English teacher (beloved by all of his students)and greatly loved by his family. In our son's words, "Michael was a good man." As his pastor said at his funeral, "How incredibly frustrating it must have been for Michael to have such a torrent of creativity and ability funneled into a smaller and smaller opening."

As we stayed in touch with Craig in the 2 weeks before Michael's death, mostly via text messages on our cell phones and some phone calls, my heart was aching for this young man who will in part always be "my baby boy." Each brief text message keeping us apprised of Michael's ever-loosening grip on life made me want to run to Greensburg and gather up Craig in my arms and comfort him. As I watched him at the funeral, sitting where he belonged, next to his wife-to-be in the front row, my heart was breaking.

My heart was breaking for Meghan's mother, a woman who has for all but the first 4 years of their marriage, watched the steady decline of her husband, caring for him with unbelievable patience and strength. My heart was breaking for Meghan, a lovely young woman who had only known her father when he was ill. Now, for one of the most important and life-changing days of her life, he would not be with her in the traditional way to walk his little girl down the aisle. And my heart was breaking for my son, grown to be a man, sitting in the front row of a funeral for his future-father-in-law on the day before his wedding. It took every bit of my strength to not run up front and take his hand, hold it like I used to do to make sure he would safely cross the street. But I couldn't...I couldn't protect him from this. He had to walk through this shadowed valley without "his mommy" holding his hand.

One of my colleagues officiated at the funeral. John was my District Superintendent in my first full-time appointment out of seminary. John always spoke words of wisdom to me and helped me grow in tremendous ways under his leadership. I was comforted knowing that he not only knew the O'Halloran family but also our family. As he spoke beautiful words of God's grace, the peace in my heart grew. But the most evident moment of God's grace was when John spoke these words. "Let's not forget there's a wedding tomorrow. Whenever I visited Michael's room, your (Craig's & Meghan's) pictures were in his room. He glowed when he spoke about you. Meghan, he always mourned the fact that he could not be the father to you he wanted to be and that he felt you deserved. I used to say that people would hang on to make it through an event like tomorrow. I need to revise that. I believe Michael let go, handing you off to Craig, knowing you were in good hands. His gift to you all is that he is released from his suffering. You are doing the right thing going through with this wedding. He would be the last person to hold you back one more time. You're doing the right thing." He then looked at Craig and said, "So, Craig, the pressure's on, buddy." Everyone laughed and Craig answered, "I know it is!" And my broken heart began to mend.

We left that worship service (yes, we worshiped God in that service), celebrating the life of Michael O'Halloran, and by God's grace were filled with peace, released from our sorrow to enter into the next day with rejoicing. Remember what the psalmist prays - "Yea, even 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." (Psalm 23:4, KJV) Even though...words of grace...words of faith...even though.

That's what faith in God means -- even though. Even though...You are with me. Even though...You give me comfort. Even though...You remove the fear. Even though...You guide me through the darkness to the light of your eternal grace. Even though.

A member of Christ Church loaned me a book today, knowing I am teaching a class on the Psalms. The book is "Psalms/Now" by Leslie F. Brandt. Listen to how the author paraphrases Psalm 23:
The Lord is my constant companion. There is no need that he cannot fulfill.
Whether his course for me points to the mountaintops of glorious ecstasy or to the valleys of human suffering,he is by my side, he is ever present with me. He is close beside me when I tread the dark streets of danger, and even when I flirt with death itself, he will not leave me. When the pain is severe, he is near to comfort.
When the burden is heavy, he is there to lean upon. When depression darkens my soul, he touches me with eternal joy. When I feel empty and alone, he fills the aching vacuum with his power. My security is God's promise to be near me always,
and in the knowledge that God will never let me go.

Amen and Amen!

By God's Grace,
Michelle

Time Keeps On Slippin'...

Well! It has been 2 weeks since I've last posted. Why? Well ya shoulda seen last week! Just a whole lot happened that made for - shall we say - a very "interesting" week. Some of it the usual ups and downs of life - both personally and in church life. Some of it highly unusual - those "middle-of-the-night phone calls" kind of events. You know the ones I'm talking about - the phone calls that change life in a heartbeat.

Part of what happened to me last week is that I came to a realization that yes, it really is only 3 weeks until our son Craig's wedding (2 weeks as I write this). WHAT?!?!?!?! How did that happen? Okay, okay, what with moving to a new home, officiating at an out-of-town wedding, spending a week teaching at Jumonville Retreat Center, acclimating to a new home, new church and new community - maybe, just maybe I've been a little preoccupied with other things.

But on a deeper level - how did it happen? How did my "baby boy" become a man so quickly? How did my first-born grow up so fast? It seems as though just last week that I had to make my way through his Lego building maze in the living room where he built castle after castle for his "He-Man" characters that he played with hour on end. Wasn't it just yesterday that he was exploring his toes for the first time? I remember the day I carried him home from the hospital - all 8 pounds 10 ounces of him, scared to death that I wouldn't know how to care for this precious life God had entrusted to my care. Would I know what he wanted when he cried? What if he got sick? Would I be able to show him how much I loved him - would he ever realize how much I loved him?

It hit me last week as I finally found my "mother-of-the-groom" dress that this was really happening. He would really stand with Meghan, holding hands and promising each other their loyalty and love for a lifetime. To paraphrase the song "Sunrise, Sunset," - 'Where is my little boy at play? I don't remember growing older, when did he?'

Steve Miller is a songwriter & singer from the 1960's & 1970's -- "my music," which is now on Oldies radio channels I might add! (Another 'how did that happen' moment, too!) Steve Miller sang a song, the refrain of which is "Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin', into the future." That's about how I feel right now - time keeps on slippin' away into the future while I keep saying, "Some day I'd like to...travel more...devote more time to some of my hobbies like quilting and needlework...learn how to weave on a loom and tat...read more...etc., etc., etc." If not now, then when? It's kind of like the old adage - you never see "I wish I spent more time at work" on some one's tombstone.

The preacher writes in Ecclesiastes, "To every thing there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace." (Ecclesiastes 3:1-7)

In the 1960's a band called The Byrds sang a song based on this passage of Scripture and added, "I hope it's not too late." I really must be feeling nostalgic with all these 1960's song references, but I guess it's part of where I'm at with all the transitions going on in our lives this year - living the farthest away from our hometowns since our marriage over 27 years ago, adjusting to all the new things in our lives, and the marriage of our son with the addition of a new family member, Meghan our soon to be daughter-in-law. I hope it's not too late to live life to its fullest.

Maybe it's all about balance -- knowing what season of life we're in, realizing what it's time for. In two weeks it will be a time to weep and a time to dance. Come September 1 (Craig's & Meghan's wedding date) I'll be doing a bit of both - dancing for joy at their happiness and the wonderful young man Craig has grown to be - but also some weeping - both tears of joy and tears of pain. Joy for the beginning of Craig's and Meghan's lives together and a little twinge at my heart strings for "my little boy grown to be a man."

The one thing I know for certain is the fact that God is the author and owner of all time. The preacher in Ecclesiastes says it this way: "I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already is; and God seeks out what has gone by." (Ecclesiastes 3:14-15).

So on September 1, 2007, I'll be sitting in the front row on the groom's side with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes, savoring the convergence of past memories, the present moment and future hope for our lives together, knowing that our past, present and future are all a part of the eternity of God. And I'll stand in awe before God.

By God's Grace,
Michelle

Visitors

We had some visitors at Christ Church this past Sunday. The Focus Quartet, a local Christian singing group, was here for our combined worship service - but they're not the visitors to which I'm referring. There were those who came to listen to the Focus Quartet who do not usually attend Christ Church - but they're not the visitors to which I'm referring, either.

We had visitors of another sort - the four-legged, furry, odiferous sort of visitors. When I arrived to the church on Sunday morning, our janitor Adam said, "We have bees." I wasn't surprised because we're having the flat roofs of the education, youth and office wings of the church replaced with peaked roofs and knew that the roofers had discovered some bees or wasps in the eaves. They'd been flushed down into the building. "And" Adam said, "we have skunks." Now, I'd seen a skunk in the back yard of the parsonage a few times at night, so again, I wasn't surprised and I told Adam this. Adam responded, "No, I mean we have skunks right now - in the window well.

So, we walked down the hallway and out the door that faces the parsonage, peeked around the back of the church building and there they were. Two, maybe three, black and white furry, musky-smelling skunks huddled in a sleeping pile in the corner of the window well. They didn't seem disturbed by us and we certainly were NOT going to disturb them. So, we came in and we talked a bit about whether they'd be able to get out or not but we weren't going to fuss with it right then.

When I walked home from church, I peeked around the corner and they were still there. One of the skunks looked up at me and seemed a bit curious, but since I was more aware of the consequences of getting too close to a skunk than I was curious, I ducked back around the building and walked home.

But I've got to admit I was curious. Could they get out? I can't say I like skunks, but I don't like to think that any living creature would die because they couldn't get out of a window well. And we had just heard someone from the Game Commission at their booth at Discover Presque Isle Days talking about how misunderstood the skunk is. They're curious and quite helpful since they eat grubs and insect larvae. And he had a stuffed and mounted skunk -- it was kind of cute.

So, I got on the Internet and did a Google search with these words: "skunk window wells." Guess what - seems like this thing happens quite frequently. The websites I found said skunks fall in window wells all the time because they're near-sighted. Since they're not good climbers, they're trapped until someone helps them out.

Okay, I'm game how do you help them out? Three ways: 1. If the window well is 2-feet deep or less, place a flat, wide board at a 45 degree angle and they'll climb out by night-fall, 2. If the window well is more than 2-feet deep, put a piece of stinky cheese in a pet carrier, carefully lower it into the window well, when the skunk is busy gnawing on the stinky cheese, carefully raise the carrier like an elevator, being careful the skunk can't reach through and bite you, place it on the ground and when the skunk is done with the cheese, she'll leave, AND 3. If you know what you're doing, put on heavy, thick gloves, grab the skunk around the middle firmly, and lift it out of the window well.

Since I do NOT know what I'm doing (and even if I did) the third option was out. I was not about to measure the window well, plus I just saw the 2nd method ending badly for me. So, let's try the first option. I'm the type that if I can make do with something that's close enough, I'll usually try that first. We didn't have any flat planks, but we have a wood pile for the fireplace (which by the way, I've since found out probably attracts the skunks for a hiding place during the day!). I find the longest, widest branch I can find and proceed to the window well.

I get down low, place the branch very quietly in the window well. When the skunks back up and raise their tails I'm gone! It took 4 or 5 tries, but I got the branch down in the window well at an angle. My family and I went to Presque Isle for the evening to watch the sunset on the beach. We stop for ice cream on our way back. By the time we get home, it's dark.

I gingerly proceed to the window well, hoping to find the skunks gone. I look into the window well and there they are - 3 skunks, a mom and her 2 babies, perfectly lined up in a row - staring at the branch. Like a skunk has never seen a branch before - don't these things live in the wild? I wonder if the branch isn't wide enough, so back the wood pile for another branch. I dig through the pile until I find another branch, which I lay alongside the other branch even MORE carefully than before because now the skunks are awake and none too happy about finding themselves still trapped in the window well and now I'm poking a big stick at them. I checked on them a few more times that night and found them anxiously wandering around in circles, probably pondering their situation. I finally found them huddled back in the corner. Now I'm concerned, because I don't want to see them die and if I call animal control, I'm not sure they're allowed to release them again or if they have to euthanize them. I go to bed that night and hope for the best. And when I got up in the morning, the window well was empty with no signs of foul play by the neighborhood cat.

It's made me think about our own journeys. How many times are we ambling along happy as can be and because we're "near-sighted" about things, we find ourselves trapped in a hole we can't get out on our own. Others may come along and try to help us out, but it seems as though they're just poking big sticks at us, and out of fear and lack of awareness of their intent, we posture ourselves ready to defend ourselves by spraying others so that they stay away. Finally we realize there may be a way out, but it seems scary - way too narrow, bumpy, and uncertain. Do we stay in the hole we've found ourselves in and face a certain demise or do we take the risky step of venturing on a path that seems unsteady, with no certainty of where it leads, but just might get us out of our predicament? How often does God's grace make itself known and we reject it out of fear of knowing what lays at the end of the path provided?

I'm glad the skunks are gone and I'd like to think safely on their way. I'd like to think that God's grace saw them safely home. And the next time I'm feel trapped, I hope I remember the skunks and how I made every effort to help them and wished I could make them understand I meant only to help them -- and recall to mind Jesus' words from the gospels, "If you then who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7.11)

By God's Grace,
Michelle