03.28.2007 A Life of Graatitude

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=220 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="13eb8750.jpg" border=0 width="184" height="117" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>"We, who have received the love of Christ through the Spirit must not contain it..."</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMMUSA)"><U>Home Page</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tuesdays Reflection"><U>Tuesdays Reflection</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mission Statement"><U>Mission Statement</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id215.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vision Statement"><U>Vision Statement</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ways You Can Help Us"><U>Ways You Can Help Us</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="All About VMM"><U>All About VMM</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Application Qualifications"><U>Application Qualifications</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Discernment Process"><U>Discernment Process</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="application.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Application Form"><U>Application Form</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Related Links"><U>Related Links</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bridges Newsletter"><U>Bridges Newsletter</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Letters from the Missions"><U>Letters from the Missions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Adobe Printing Instructions"><U>Adobe Printing Instructions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.guidestar.org/partners/networkforgood/donate.jsp?ein=36-3153581" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.guidestar.org/partners/networ"><U><IMG SRC="1887e300.gif" border=0 width="126" height="48" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <div>  <form method="get" action="http://search.atomz.com/search/"> <input size=15 name="sp-q"><br> <input type=submit value="Search"> <input type=hidden name="sp-a" value="sp10020180"> <input type=hidden name="sp-f" value="iso-8859-1"> </form></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMM-USA)</B></I></FONT>    |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMMUSA)"><U>home</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>03.28.2007  Filled With Gratitude                 </B><A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tuesdays Reflection"><U><B>Tuesdays Reflection</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, </div> <div> you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with </div> <div> gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.</div> <div> - Rabbi Harold Kushner</div> <bR> <div> This weekend I went to a documentary film called House Calls. A </div> <div> Canadian doctor, who began visiting some of his less mobile elderly </div> <div> patients at home, discovered that many were very isolated and alone </div> <div> and that their stories needed telling. He combined his interest in </div> <div> photography with his concerns for the well-being of his patients to </div> <div> document their histories.</div> <bR> <div> For one of his patients who could no longer live on her own but was </div> <div> hard to place because she had a cat, Oscar, her only treasure, he </div> <div> found a home that accepted cats. A bonus, was a piano, which she </div> <div> played marvelously until she had a stroke at 94. In the film we see </div> <div> her a few months before her death, energy waning, sitting in a chair, </div> <div> Oscar lying like a king on the centre of the bed. "I am good at </div> <div> resting," she tells the doctor. Most of us find it hard to say "I am </div> <div> good at ..."</div> <bR> <div> Still almost 3000 Edmontonians, decided they were good enough artists </div> <div> to participate in the Art Gallery of Alberta's Free For All. A month </div> <div> ago, after the gallery had moved its works of art to temporary </div> <div> quarters in preparation for an 18-month complete reconstruction, the </div> <div> public was invited to submit their own artistic creations. Wall to </div> <div> wall, floor to ceiling, a dizzying show by local artists - </div> <div> professionals, students, hobbyists, beginners. Perhaps, Lucia at age </div> <div> 4 was the youngest artist. After the film, I found her upstairs with </div> <div> as many people as the art gallery could possibly hold. On the last </div> <div> day of the show, she had come with her mom and dad to get her photo </div> <div> taken with her painting. Outside, Edmonton experiencing its first </div> <div> spring Saturday, had drawn the hot dog sellers. "We should do this </div> <div> again," was the comment I kept hearing as the crowds mingled.</div> <bR> <div> ... and suddenly, I felt filled with gratitude...</div> <bR> <div> Let us keep each other in our prayers. This week I heard from Gabe </div> <div> Hurrish in China, Kristina Anderson in Columbia, Susan Schmaltz with </div> <div> an urgent action condemning murders of women in Guatemala (email me </div> <div> for info) and Edwina, who like Jon Sobrino, is barred from speaking </div> <div> in Phoenix, Arizona.</div> <bR> <div> Cecily</div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>