Our friend Pauline Gunderson, is, as you
will observe below, someone who pays attention to detail. If life is
sacramental, as it surely is, then Pauline receives the grace of God in the
great and the small of life’s experiences.
SAVORING MOMENTS
Reflections by Pauline Gunderson
Before
going for an early morning walk at 6:40am, I hung the heart-shaped prism on the
sliding-glass door. The sun hadn’t
peeked behind the clouds as yet. When I got back at 7:00am the sun was shining
brightly, the heart-shaped prism
refracting the spectrum of light with small rainbow-colored ovals on the sea-foam
green living-room wall. First I counted
three. As I moved to a different
position I noticed five, when I moved again I saw six and finally at my last
move - seven with one on the floor.
Taking a broader view, these colorful ovals were making an open circle.
At 7:15am there were only three ovals and the
circle was shrinking. The sun was
rising, being blocked by the partially opened vertical blinds. One more
appeared as I fully opened the blinds. I
experimented with moving the prism to other places on the glass doors to
capture the direct sun. Finally I
achieved seven ovals splashed on two walls and the floor. It seemed like a metaphor for me but what was
the metaphor?
Yesterday,
as I was driving to my last day of school before beginning my retirement, I
thought about the assignment that our Principal Carol Moore had given to the
faculty. Last fall, at a staff meeting, we were each given a small cream-colored
collapsible gift box about 4” X 4.” She asked us to make a design on the
outside or put something on the inside that would reflect our year. I hadn’t given much thought to the
assignment. Now these gift boxes were
due. Different ideas had come to mind in
the last few days.
I
had a lot to do that day with my replacement, coming from New York.
I wanted to make good use of her time so she would have a smooth
transition in the fall. In addition
there were a myriad of details that I needed to take care of before I left
school.
Then
I thought about Panera. For over seven
years since moving to Virginia,
my early morning routine is to enjoy a bagel with hazelnut cream cheese and
hazelnut coffee with a splash of half and half or 2% milk. My bagel favorites have changed little over
the years. They no longer make Apple Raisin
or Carrot Raisin (not sure of name). Now
I enjoy Whole Grain.
I
realized that I savored the
time between 6:30 and 7:00am while enjoying my food and listening to classical
music in the background. In the last year they’ve changed the type of music
which is disappointing. I like this
definition of savor: “to enjoy something
in unhurried appreciation.” This half
hour is a delight to me before engaging in very busy days! In recent years I sometimes shared that time
with fellow-teacher Debby. Tom was also
a regular. He connected his lap top at a
corner table; sometimes showing me things on the computer. Ah-h-h! In the gift box would go a bagel and a
cup. Since I’m an early childhood
education teacher, we had a plastic cup and bagel in the dramatic play
center.
So
what does the bagel and coffee have to do with the assignment? I knew last fall that I would be retiring at
the end of the year. At the time I
wasn’t consciously aware that I had a different perspective about this
year. Looking back, I savored more those
moments with students individually and with my colleagues. I took more time to just watch the students
teach the preschoolers and observe the children at play and “work.”
Throughout
many days I had unexpected challenges.
Just as I took notice of the heart- shaped prism refracting the sunlight
on the wall in a rainbow of colors from different perspectives, I took time to
listen more to the hurts and concerns of my students. It shifted my perspective and I could see the
facets of their lives more clearly. I
wanted to comfort and help them. In
those intimate moments I wanted them to know God was pouring out love to them,
wanting them to lean on Him.
God also has many
facets; one of those facets is the God of Comfort. Jesus said:
“Come
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)
I have experienced that rest in Jesus countless times. When I was
going through a very difficult time (losing my job as the main bread winner, my
marriage falling apart, losing the equity in our home, moving to Virginia
alone, starting a brand-new career, being dependent on others and living alone
for the first time in my life) I felt
wrapped in His arms as I sometimes wept and drifted off to sleep at night. I didn’t know until today that there is a
hymn called, “Safe in the Arms of Jesus.”
I went on the internet and read and copied the lyrics and story behind
the hymn.
“Blessed be God, even
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all
comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to
comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves
are comforted of God.” (2 Corinthians
1:3-4)
I relate to the following as expressed by Corrie Ten Boom: “We [Corrie
and her sister] started comforting those around us [in the concentration camp]. We could comfort others because the Lord had
comforted us. He spoke through us to the
people. We were channels of living
water, as the Lord had promised.”
Corrie Ten
Boom (1892-1983), a Christian and native of Holland, was imprisoned in a concentration
camp along with her father and sister who both died in the camp. They had sheltered Jews from the Holocaust.
She has inspired millions through her writings about that experience.
Jesus said to His disciples, “Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father
which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
I discovered the metaphor of the prism: Although
an average vessel on the outside, if I focus on Christ in my life His glory
will shine through in my actions as the sun shining through the heart-shaped
prism.
“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and
establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands
establish thou it.” (Psalm 90:17)