“I am an empty nester, married to my life partner for 42 years this summer. I am, occasionally, temporarily, a “FEMA widow.” My husband is currently in Brownsville, TX to help with the flood of undocumented, unaccompanied minors crossing the Rio Grande to enter the United States. He’s been deployed 10 out of 11 weeks and works 12-hour days with one day off every two to three weeks. I think his work is heroic.
Time and again, when I fall down on keeping my baptismal promises, he has helped me get up and continue following The Way. The challenge for me is that I must not allow him to be the “end user” of my promises. His baptismal covenant expands our relationship to include those he serves. I believe Christ calls me to provide support for the people he serves. Requests for prayers and for aid from other believers were the beginning. Next came phone calls and advocacy with church institutions. That led to revising our budget to purchase crayons and coloring books and movies for children I’ll never meet – nor even see. That’s led to increasing my own political activism to effect change in unjust systems and short-sighted, self-serving policies. As my friend the Rev. Mary Earle says with a knowing chuckle, ‘The Holy Spirit is a crass opportunist.’ Thanks be to God!”
– Demi Prentiss
