Communion day and Lilacs

I thought I was going to be so much better about posting, but here it is, a month after my first post, and I'm finally back. Today is Private Communions day again. I really don't like that title. There's nothing truly private about communion, not even if it's just two people in the room. One of the awesome, inspiring aspects of Communion is that when you receive it, you are connected with all Christians both living and dead. You are connected to the whole body of Christ, the whole community. So even if you are home-bound or in the nursing home, you are still connected to the community. So what is a better title for the day when I visit 2 nursing homes, 1 assited living center, and 5 private homes to share Holy Communion? I'm going to have to think about it. Home Communions? Hmmmm. Not sure, I'll have to try it on for size for a while.

The lilacs are blooming like crazy this year. They are so full and vibrant compared to other years. One of the ladies in my congregation said that it was because they had been nipped by frost last year. Adversity made the plants work that much harder, so they are extra beautiful and fragrent now. I'm sure there is a great sermon illustration in that, and there's several scriptures lessons that immediately come to mind to pair with it, but I refuse to go there right now. Let lilacs be lilacs. Let them be appreciated for what they are, the pleasure they bring, and the Godly love that placed them here.

Speaking of lilacs reminds me of something that happened this week. My father-in-law and a good friend of ours has been with us for a week, helping shingle (that experience needs its own blog! Arrgh!) My husband and our friend Kurt were sitting side by side on the roof working away, but they had very different levels of pleasure at the moment I came out to talk to them one afternoon. My husband was sitting closest to the "stink hole," the pipe that channels fumes from the plumbing. Nasty smell! Kurt was sitting closer to the front end of the house, and could smell the lilacs from across the street since the wind was blowing just right. Amazing what difference a few feet can make, and what it did for attitudes! No huge moral to this story, it just really struck me at the time. It also opened up some great jokes and teasing for my husband.