RevGals Friday Five "Love is in the Air" Edition

Over at RevGals, Singing Owl is celebrating 40 years of love with her husband.  She asks us to reflect on five people we will always love.  (I would have cut and pasted this, but I am working on my Beloved's Mac, and I don't know how to do this --yet---anyway, and I am too lazy to figure it out.)

So...the loves of my life.....

1. My Beloved spouse.  What more can I say?  We share laughter, respect,  love and care of our furry family, more love and and joy everyday than I thought possible.  When we disagree or misunderstand or argue, neither of us can let the sun go down on it.  We are very different people, and yet we complement.
Yin and yang, yet our partnership is real.  I am so grateful.   I never believed I would find "my person"...and yet...by the sheer grace of God.

2.  The furry friends, alive and over the rainbow bridge.   They make my heart expand, daily.

2.5  My family. Of course. With four sisters, a sister in law, two sets of parents.....I love adulthood, and being able to love them where they are and for who they are....I really get how important family is.   No matter how far apart we are.

3. Mrs. Platts.   My fifth grade teacher.  She is no longer of this world, but she had so much love in her heart for her students...and she saw each student individually.   She loved a very shy, unremarkable 10 year old into believing she had a little bit of worth to someone.  Although I don't think she was particularly religious, she was the first real and deep Christ to me.   Her presence and being was transforming for me.

4.  All of my sister friends--and I am blessed to have many--from high school, college, seminary, teaching, time in NC and New England....in RevGals...my pottery Friday friends....dang.  So. Blessed.

4.5 a special shout out to my sister friend, Yeong Mee-ssi  (ssi is sister in Korean).  She was my Hebrew tutor in seminary, and from that we formed a life long friendship.  She fell in love with my puppy Daisy, and got her a sister named Tikvah.   Yeong Mee and I would walk Daisy and Tikky in Riverside Park in NYC every morning, and then pick up a bagel and two coffees at the sidewalk vendor and have breakfast together.  I have edited her papers, she got me through my thesis and all those damn references...in spite of very different backgrounds, cultures, life paths, she is my forever sister.   I am so glad that she has a sabbatical this summer from her professorship in Korea so that she will come and stay a month in Boston!!!

5.   Dr. Janet Walton at Union in NYC.  She taught me about possibility in worship, about improvisation in ministry, how to cling dearly to art and beauty and fear in ministry,  encouraged me to slip in one subversive feminist progressive piece in worship, to challenge all the senses....She has no idea how her teaching influenced me.   She taught me about questions.   Thank you, Janet!

5.5  My mentors and counselors my first years of youth ministry and teaching in Florida when I was in my early twenties--Danna, Les, Marilyn, Barbara.  You all helped me individuate, to grow up, to deal with my dragons and demons, and showed me how to choose Life.   Sigh.

What blessings of love my life has been showered upon.
Thank you, Holy One.
Amen.