On our continuing search for historical points of interest in DC, we made our way to the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House.  We parked the car just a few doors away and got out in front of a large brick church.  Loving houses of worship as I do, I couldn’t help but stop to admire the architecture and windows.  I moved to take out my camera when a voice cheerily said “Hello!  How are y’all today?”  The voice came from a lovely young woman who was exiting the church grounds.  She introduced herself, we exchanged pleasantries, and then she wanted to know if we would like to go inside the church.  “Of course!” I answered, never wanting to miss an opportunity to go inside an historic church.

She led us inside, chatting merrily all the while.  We admired the sanctuary, commented on the lovely stained glass and then my husband asked her, “What is your role here?”

She laughed gaily, “Oh, why, I’m a life-time member!  I’ve lived here all my life; been a member here all my life.”  There was some more laughter and with a broad smile and flashing eyes she added, “But recently my role has changed.  I’m now the pastor’s wife.”

We congratulated her and we chatted some more.  She was interested in where we were from and what brought us to DC.  We told her we were following the winds of the Holy Spirit and were on a great adventure to find grace wherever we were.  Today we were on our way to Mary McLeod Bethune’s home. The conversation became more spirited and the laughter infectious.  Her final remark continues to ring in my ears along with her musical laughter, “You know, us children of God, we’re so hardheaded but Jesus will take us and just lead us where he wants us to be.”

We went on to the Mary McLeod Bethume Home and learned about an amazing woman who was a great leader and an inspiration to generations of African-American women — to all women!  After hearing her story and the influence she had, I could not help but think that she must have had a personality like the young pastor’s wife who invited us into her church and into her life for a few moments of conversation and laughter.

Both woman offered me the grace of inspiration yesterday.  Who inspires you?

Several small occurrences and conversations I experienced this past week have caused me to reflect on a lovely quote of Mother Teresa:

“The whole work is only a drop in the ocean.  But if we don’t put the drop in, the ocean would be one drop less.”

There was the drop of an email from a friend with a link to check out; a call from another reminding me of the joy of our friendship; an old fashioned letter in the post from a cousin who I had not heard from in months; a question from a co-worker of my husband who wanted to know if he had displayed any new pictures of his wife’s in his office that he could come by and see;  and a phone conversation with a former parishioner that caused me to remember some of the best advice I was ever given.

The work of our days may seem like it produces little . . . but, we cannot be the judge of that.  Others may be receiving valuable drops of grace that fell from our interactions.  And, without those drops, the ocean would be one drop less.

What are the drops that we are leaving for others to water and nourish their lives?  What are the drops we are receiving for our own nourishment?  What have we seen or heard; touched or felt; tasted or experienced that has allowed us to see the grace of this present moment? They are certainly countless . . . but first we have to notice them.

From Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hill, we drove on down US 12 to see more of the Outer Banks.  What a beautiful part of the world!  Our destination was Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.  Along the way we stopped at Ft. Raleigh, where English settlers in 1585 were left behind on Roanoke Island – never to be seen again by returning Englishmen.  This spot is known as the Lost Colony.

Bodi Lighthouse was another stop, but since it was being refurbished and was surrounded by scaffolding, there was no opportunity for me to challenge myself to a climb.

Finally, in the beauty of the late afternoon sun, we reached Cape Hatteras Light.  I went to the museum, walked the grounds, passed the ticket booth three or four times . . . and finally went right up to the entrance to the light.  I chatted with the ranger for several minutes trying to determine if this lighthouse might be a more agreeable climb for me than the last one I attempted.  The ranger, perhaps sensing my fear, invited me to go in and take a look at the stairs.  “They are study and cast iron,” she said, “nothing to worry about.”  OK.  But there was still something to worry about – cast iron stairs didn’t take care of my fear of heights.

I stood debating with myself, wondering if I could do this.  But one factor weighed in . . . and was beginning to sway my decision.  From the base of the lighthouse there is no view of the beach or water.  The lighthouse light is visible for 20 miles out into the ocean, but to see the ocean at all, I was going to have to climb to some height.

I finally decided that if I was going to appreciate the grace of this moment, I was going to have to make an effort so that God could reveal it to me.

I went back and bought a ticket.  I climbed slowly, ever so slowly, but I made it to the top.  I was the person you may have seen with my backside plastered up against the wall of the lighthouse . . . fearing to step toward the railing’s edge.  BUT – I did see the view.  I did find the grace.  I did appreciate the beauty.

God will not do everything, and rarely is the climb easy, but there is grace in every step.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote something like:  You can travel the world over in search of beauty, but unless you carry it with you, you will not find it.  As we settled into Nags Head and walked the beach in the evening light, I couldn’t help but remember the thoughts of Emerson.  This place, this time, this moment was truly beautiful in every way.

The following morning, in an uncharacteristic move, I awoke a little before 5:59 and was blessed to see the sunrise over the same beach.  There are not words to describe the beauty of the experience.  As the sun climbed higher with each minute, and changed in color from deep blood red to orange to gold and then to yellow, flocks of pelicans darted past and began to skim the surface of the water for their breakfast.  What a gorgeous sight.

A moment like this and the beauty of this scene is what I want to carry with me wherever I go.  I want to remember this moment of grace and peace.  Nature and quiet; awe and perfect beauty.  It was a moment of grace at the dawning of a new day that I shared with God.  Witnessing this dawning, and watching the unfolding of a new day made me feel very close to its Creator.

What beauty do you carry with you?

Sunday’s celebration in Virginia Beach was a true moment of grace!  A former student of mine, and her husband, were having their son baptized.  As with so many Navy families, they are far from home and welcome the presence of familiar faces when they celebrate family milestones.  And, so, with great joy, we made the trip to help support them during this first sacrament for their son.

What made the ceremony so unique was that it took place aboard the father’s naval ship.  While it was far from a cathedral with beautiful stained glass windows or fine wood furnishings, the amazing thing is . . . the Holy Spirit was there in spite of all of it!  We celebrated the Eucharist together, signed the child, blessed the water, joined in the prayers, lit the candle, and anointed the child for a life-long journey with Christ.

It made me realize in a very real way that location and place really has nothing to do with baptism.  The only place that is important is our own hearts – where we welcome the life of Christ and grow to be members of a community of belief and action.

Baptism opens our hearts to the reality of Christ living in our day and time, within the people we encounter and the experiences we have.  It prepares and strengthens us for a life of discipleship and commitment so that Christ can continue to be seen in our day and our time through the work that we do.

What a grace it is that baptisms are still taking place – no matter the place.

On Saturday we stopped amid the light rain and gentle mist, like a veil of grace over the Maryland countryside, to visit the historic site of Thomas Stone’s plantation.  Stone is a lesser known signer of the Declaration of Independence.  He isn’t well known because, I learned while there, he was a more silent member of the founding fathers.  History reports that he didn’t talk much or join in many of the debates, but that he had great influence with the quiet strength of his pen.

I immediately liked the man.  How often I have wondered if someone would survive history if they were a quite thinker and not a boisterous orator or quick to act.  Thomas Stone was a quiet thinker and his story as a Maryland statesman has survived the centuries.  His homestead remains and the house has been reconstructed to its original footprint.  And, within the modest home, which housed two families, is his original writing desk, where he spent many hours.

There have been so many times in different situations when I have silently thought something, kept quiet, and then went home to write my thoughts in a journal or a letter . . . or, more recently, a blog.  And, I always felt I lacked some strength of character for hesitating to speak out.

But, now I know that history has honored the thoughtful, quiet strength of Thomas Stone’s pen.  There is great strength of character and graced influence in the ability to communicate clearly through the written word!

Are you comfortable speaking out when thoughts arise?  Or, do you ponder and reflect and sometimes only write your thoughts in notebooks that no one will ever see?  Each quality is a grace . . . each one gifted by God and uniquely intended for each individual.  One is no better than the other.  This life isn’t a competition.  Our world needs both kinds of thinkers, those who speak out and those who silently reflect and write.  Honor the grace that is yours!

Who doesn’t love a break and a change of scenery?  I certainly do.  So it was with great enjoyment that we packed the car to head out of town for an extended weekend.  We were bound for Kitty Hawk and the Outer Banks of North Carolina, but along the way we planned many stops.

Amid clouded skies and a mild rain we made our way into southern Maryland to visit the homestead and plantation site of Thomas Stone, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.  Then we went on into the Northern Neck of Virginia to visit the birthplace of George Washington.  Both were beautiful sites filled with history and an amazing feeling of being connected to the past.

We stayed overnight in Virginia Beach and spent Sunday with friends who invited us to their child’s baptism.  It was a unique experience as the baptism took place aboard the father’s Naval ship.  We felt very privileged to be a part of the celebration.

Traveling on, we made our way to Nag’s Head where we would stay two nights while exploring the beauty, diversity and history of the Outer Banks.

What a grace it was just to have this change of scenery.  As I unpack these experiences and reflect on the four days, I’ll be sharing more of our adventures.

Where have you seen grace today?

On this date in 1969, humanity put the first man on the moon.  That was 43 years ago!  I remember getting my three-month-old little brother out of his crib to sit with him in front of the television so that he could say he watched the first man walk on the moon.  It was an historic occasion.  A moment in time.  And, think of the progress we have made since then.  In that time, there has been an amazing amount of new technology from personal computers to cell phones; digital imaging to the internet.  The list is almost endless.  Our lives have changed because of the progress we have made since that point in time when the first man walked on the moon.

But the question needs to be asked:  How much progress have we made in our spiritual lives in that time?  The answer to that becomes more difficult, because we tend to spend so much less time perfecting our spiritual lives.

This all comes to me because I am reading a spiritual classic from 1944 by Caryll Houselander entitled The Reed of God.  While there are numerous insightful thoughts and comments to ponder throughout the book, after my experience yesterday, the one I read this morning goes to the top of the list.

In the book, she relates the story of an old man who was loved by many people.  He had revealed that the secret of his good nature and companion-ability was a simple spiritual practice.  Whenever he met someone, he would greet the Christ within them in secret, before greeting the person out loud.

What a simple spiritual practice!  And what amazing wisdom for our day – wisdom that somehow has been overshadowed through the years by the progress of our technological world.  Can we take the challenge and rely on the spiritual wisdom of over 60 years ago to give us a renewed progress in our spiritual lives today?

It would be a grace to try.