when we were moving my Sweetie asked me what I would do for friends. He is astute that one, and after thirty-one plus years of married life, he knows me well. I need people, quilters, people. Our two moves happened when the world shut down, my heart yearning and needing friendship had to wait, and it was hard. In an effort to both enjoy the beauty of my new home and drink deeply at the well of Faith I started reading Faith related books and spending time outside. In person friendships have developed here, mostly outside the quilting world where I assured my Sweetie would be here waiting for me to join them with open arms. In so many ways this is good for this kind of friendship I’ve entered into is one both longed for and is now fulfilled in ways that I could not imagine.
The quilting friendships are a little slower to happen here. Part of this is on me as I’m not keen on heading into Austin. Yes, yes I lived in the greater New York City area for nearly thirty years. I can and will drive in that mess however if I can avoid it, I will. Also, I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, I have a strong aversion to tolls. Insert laughing emoji here. So of course after Mass last night I experienced the need for speed so I took the toll road where the speed limit is 80.
There is a sign I have a photo of somewhere that says, “Life is Short Eat Dessert First” and so, with a new to me group of quilterly, faithful friends I had dessert first. There were a couple of other quilters who almost joined me. One of the quilters is in my formation group for Spiritual Directors, so we share in two passions. At our last weekend formation session we were instructed to begin Spiritual Direction with two or three directees. This threw most of us for a little bit of a loop, and into action all in the same moment. The Pastor of my Parish is also a Spiritual Director and has set up a space for us – myself and one other woman in my class – as well as a couple of others in the parish – to meet with directees. Can I just say I’m incredibly grateful. The room is beautiful.
Elizabeth Scalia who is currently an editor with Our Sunday Visitor wrote this piece, reflecting on the final episode of Ted Lasso. I have long loved Elizabeth’s writing, it’s witty, clever, and pointing towards the God of Love. Over the last several month I’ve had a yearning to write about Babylon 5. Long a fan of sci-fi this show has once again captured my attention in part for the story telling and in part because of the transformation of the main characters in some ways that is surprising. Whether I picked up on this in the first watch matters little. I will admit the shift in leadership of Babylon 5 is a bit jarring between seasons 1 and 2, though as the story is told and develops we learn the why and how necessary this becomes for both Sinclair (1) and Sheridan (2). Delenn comes with an air of mystery and wisdom that even at the end of the series is still intact and deeper. G’Kar has an anger, perhaps deep wounds from which he acts and speaks and over time both transform him and blow my mind. The depth of his wisdom later in the series is sublime. I often wonder what causes him to kill Londo some twenty years into the future. I mean I get it, and yet something else happens. Londo. Oh good grief how utterly self-centered and arrogant. Yet even he makes sacrifices for others that are rather surprising, revealing that there is depth to this man that, while we understand why G’Kar ends his life later, we come to see that he is far more self-sacrificial and far lonelier than one would ever imagine.
One of my favorite reflective moments is when G’Kar speaks of the warrior/priest, how at one part of life his is too much warrior, and now he is too much priest and desires greatly to come closer to the balance between the two. This transformation of G’Kar has me right in the coeur of my being as he permits brutal, painful experience, that has the potential to drive deeper towards anger and revenge, to become compassionate and life giving to himself and those around him, including Londo. Which is why I express befuddlement at the why G’Kar, well, I’ll leave that here. I may eventually write more here of the ways I see Faith interwoven in the story of Babylon 5.
In the meantime I will leave you with this I’m currently reading books on Catherine of Siena for the Institute of Spiritual Direction. I’m pages in on three different books and am enjoying the depth of St Catherine and I’ll share more once I’ve fully read, and written so sometime mid-January or a bit later. One of the things I enjoy about the Saints is that they are human and have flaws too and their desire is to love the Lord with all of their being.
This leads me to enjoying dessert first, sometimes we need to practice self-denial. I say this without doubt, these moments of self-denial are in part about knowing who we are in relation to Whose we are. And sometimes we need to celebrate like David danced before the Lord! With my friends the other day I got to dance. In a little while I’m going to share some joy with a few friends in celebration of the Creator coming to live with us as a great Act of Love and Desire for us.
Merry Christmas!
Teri
A Quilter's Heart 