My Bible in a Year Journey with Father Mike
I am happily buzzing through the Bible in a Year with Father Mike Schmitz. This is my 4th attempt to get through the bible with this podcast. The first time I was doing it with my husband. We would do it at night after he came home from work, ate and had a time to relax. Sometimes we wouldn’t get to reading the bible until 9:00 at night. I admit that parts of the bible at that time of night was just a blur. Leviticus and Numbers were particularly difficult to get through while I was fighting sleep.
We also fell behind a few times. Once we were on vacation in May and we were spending an hour a day trying to catch up after falling quite behind. That made it feel more like a chore too. I did finish that year, but it felt like a blur getting to the finish line.
The next year, I was more determined to get through it by myself and really take it in, make notes and try to comprehend more of the key points in the scriptures. I think I made it through March that year. I was teaching two classes at my co-op that year and between re-learning American History and preparing an elementary literature class on the Little House Books, something had to give way, and that was The Bible in a Year.
Last year, I thought I would try it again, but I would do it in my own time, on my own terms and try to do a deeper dive on the parts of scripture that really stood out to me. I made it through the beginning of summer. Then I had to focus my attention on helping my college daughter with all her research papers and research.
But this year, I don’t have any of those types of distractions or responsibilities. So January 1, I sat down with a notebook to start going through the Bible in a Year Podcast again. Maybe because I have more free time, I found that I was going through two or three episodes in a day. I am happy to report that as of January 16, I have just finished episode 22.
The reality is this is my fourth time through Genesis, Job and parts of Proverbs. Those feel like old friends now. I have made notes, underlined and written favorite verses in my notebook. It occurred to me that I might actually be able to get through the podcast faster! So I’m setting a goal of at least being halfway through before my big family vacation this spring. We’ll see if I can make it.
Nicholas LabyrinthX via FLickr licensed cc
Grief in the book of Job
This week the theme of grief really struck me. In the book of Job, the protagonist has lost everything: His health, his family, and his wealth. The better part of the next few chapters is about Job’s friends giving him absolutely no comfort or solace, while trying to understand what caused Job’s turn in fortunes.
Isn’t that we always do when a friend is going through a hard time? Last summer, one of Gabe’s very best friends was killed in a horrific car accident. It wasn’t a sudden death either. He lingered for a few weeks and went through multiple mutilating surgeries in an attempt to save his life. The mind searches for answers. Was alcohol involved? Was the car defective? Was the roadway just unsafe? And then the deeper questions of why this young man? Why now? A few months later another friend of ours and of my vintage died suddenly of a heart attack. This was a man who had lost significant weight and was riding his bike on a beautiful fall day. The big question arises of why?
I think it’s a normal and natural reaction to something like this. But I also think it is best to keep those thoughts to ourself, at least when it’s so close to the catastrophe – and maybe even for years to come.
In the book of Job, his friends sound rather self-righteous as they probe Job on what he could have done to provoke the wrath of God. Honestly, who needs friends like that? Father Mike points out at the end of one of his podcasts that the best thing his friends could have done is what they did in the immediate aftermath of Job’s misfortune. They surrounded him and simply stayed with him IN SILENCE!
My experiences with grief
I have been in the grief receiving line quite a few times now. When facing heartbreak, the best things that were said to me were simply, “I’m so sorry.” But for the deaths of older relatives it also helped to hear the stories other people had about my loved one. Maybe it was a funny story, or maybe it was a story about some kindness they did or something helpful they said. For my mother, a teacher, it was helpful to hear from former students all of the wonderful ways she changed their lives.
My Mother’s funeral in 2009.
A few yeas ago, a young child in our homeschool group passed and I was in line at the calling hours. The community had come through in full force with gifts of money, food and practical things. When I finally stood before the teenage brother and sister of this little boy, all I could think to say. I said a quick quiet prayer for inspiration and this came out. “You guys are going to be set for toilet paper for the next year. I hope you have a place to put it!”
They cracked up. They could laugh at the TP scenario, even in the depth of their deep grief. It wasn’t elegant, but it was perfect.
Other things help when I was grieving. I valued cards as well as flowers. Religious items, rosaries and statues were also appreciated. Maybe what we have to remember when helping a friend or loved one who is facing grief is that just positive support is all that is really needed. And sometimes that is just a silent presence.
That was my bible lesson this week.