Читать книгу Safety Harbor - Chuck Cooper - Страница 3

One of the most memorable events in my ministry took place in its earliest days.

“Mother wants to see you,” said one of my parishioners, in a small parish I was serving in the Midwest. “Can you come over right away?”

Her mother was on her deathbed.

When I arrived at the house and entered the bedroom where she lay, I asked, “What can I do for you, Mother?”

“I want to know,” she said, “that when I cross the Jordan River, Jesus will be waiting for me, on the other side.”

I recall no quotes from any theologian or scholar that have been seared into my memory as has that dear woman’s words. That plea from the depths of her spirit, in her last days, has stayed with me through all of my years.

The real depth of the spiritual life is not contained within the high echelons of religious institutions or in the public proclamations of the prominent, but in the common life of ordinary people. Here it is, that we live out our lives, with our anxieties, fears, regrets, hopes, and dreams. Here, we wrestle with the great questions of life. If we are open, it is in this living, that the Mysterium Tremendum comes to us in many ways and in different forms, and miracles happen.

The story told within these pages is of just such a community of people, who struggle with ambiguous relationships, who wrestle with their demons, who experience loneliness and self-doubt, who are flawed, who live with regret, unbelief, and sorrow. Yet, in spite of life’s challenges, they experience joy, healing, and grace, and are capable of noble and heroic deeds.

Welcome to Safety Harbor. I think you’ll like it here!