Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Fall 2012 Issue | Page 35

The Readers’ Page is a new feature in the magazine where Virginia Episcopalians can share their voices. For this issue, we asked our contributors to respond to one question: readers’ page Where do you feel closest to God? Patsy Anne Bickerstaff, St. Martin’s, Richmond Kay McCall, St. Andrew’s, Richmond I volunteer as a tutor at the READ Center here in Richmond, an organization that helps adult low-level readers. Of all my years working in libraries and adult education in general, my time with READ Center students sparkles the most with God-filled moments. Reading Class Head bent low over notebook paper, she scribbles symbols on a word with her pencil. She sits back, grimaces, erases, and tries again. The student, a mother of teenagers, uses rules we have taught her to divide a word into syllables and mark the vowels – short and long. I teach her phonics and vocabulary. She teaches me dignity and grace in hard circumstances. Our focus on the page quiets the hum of voices around us. We laugh a great deal. We know only fragments of each other’s lives. I glimpse the Kingdom in this time. The students’ trust opens us to our best selves even as it illuminates our inexperience as reading tutors. At closing, the men walk us to our cars to make sure we are safe at night in a rough neighborhood. New students look bewildered by all the laughter. New tutors keep elbows locked to their sides. Those who know lean in to one another; hands touch over words, stories, and dictionary definitions – an intimacy that drives out stale prejudice and old anger. My student sits back and smiles, satisfied. “En-cour-age,” she says, nodding at each syllable. “Encourage.” Karin Merrill, St. Thomas’, Orange My husband and I are farmers. I always feel closest to God seeing nature’s miracles. After yet another nerve wracking storm with high winds, thunder and lightning at the end of the day, the storm cleared and as the sun was setting the most amazing rainbow appeared behind my house as seen in the picture. As the colors in the rainbow became richer, a second rainbow appeared beside the first! Lay Reader This day, I give my God my voice. I am prophet in the desert, Joseph, son of Jacob, John the Baptist, Woman at the Well; bring story, tragedy, miracle, thanksgiving echoing through generations, undefeated by centurions, unfaded by centuries, unwearied by retelling. This day, I give voice to these words, instill God’s spirit, nourish children, wondering at their newness or hungry and lost behind old eyes, finding themselves still warm, still held safe in God’s word. Answering, “Amen. Alleluia.” This day, I give thanks for the voice I share, privilege of reading, reaching from history to eternity, heaven’s exquisite promise to these exquisite faces with this treasure of love. Wendy Steeves, Buck Mountain, Earlysville As I reflected on the question of “Where do you feel closest to God?” my immediate thought was, “Being present in the beauty of nature.” It led me to review some of my journals from time spent in prayer on my front porch, excerpted here: Do you long to know that God is working in your life? That you ARE on the right path? How do you know? How does God make Himself known to you and assure you that He IS working in your life? These are not always easy questions to answer. This morning, I chose to stop ruminating on my life’s challenges and get out of bed, make some coffee and sit out on my front porch. Everything is always better out on the porch where the breeze is blowing and the Corinthian bell wind chimes are making lovely tones. A butterfly is on a flowering bush and I enjoy watching the beauty of its wings and movement; amazed that it can withstand the wind. A sparrow joins the scene and is preening on a dead tree branch nearby. I lose myself in this beautiful scene of nature, and then become aware of emotion welling up deep from within me…it is one of gratitude and of innerknowing: THIS is how God is with me during these trying times. Betsy Heilman, St. Thomas’, McLean I feel closest to God in that thin time of dawn, just before the sun rises. This picture was taken at Lake Anne in Reston, at that very moment.