Through—moving or expressing movement in one side and out the other, continuing toward completion or a final destination, running the whole length of a building—depending on whether through is a preposition, adverb, or adjective. For me in faith, it’s about the entry point, the one side through to the mystery on the other.

Through His Creation

Here at Vanaprastha, Keith and I wake every morning to a new day, new vegetation, new critters. It is through continued gratitude that we are able to experience even a tiny bit of God’s magnificent creation. Look closely at this oakleaf hydrangea flower cluster now in bloom.

How does this intricacy happen?

Through dangers, toils, and snares

This past weekend, Keith and I set up a booth at our local Farmers Market. Sales are nice but relationships are pure gold. Many who stop by have stories to share. Here’s an example.

An elderly woman asked Keith about his book The Starflower, which takes place 1000 years in the not-very-happy future for humans. “Sounds like today,” the woman said, frowning. “Nobody is kind anymore, nobody cares about anyone.”

I leaned over the table and said, “Life is about relationship, and I’m so glad you stopped by.”

Her face lit up. “I’m going to buy vegetables and come right back.”

Several minutes later, she returned and asked where I was from, so I asked her the same question. “New York,” she said. “My father had a successful business in lower Manhattan, but I was born in Luxemburg.” She was four and a half when her family got kicked out at the beginning of WWII. Her family was Jewish. “My mother, siblings, and I got out first, and my dad was going to follow but waited too long. The Germans were everywhere.” 

He had to hire a guide to help him escape over the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain. “With guides, you had a one third change of getting out alive,” she said. She counted on three fingers. “They either took your money and killed you, guided you over the mountains and left you in the middle of nowhere, or took you to the coast to safety. My father got left in the middle of nowhere.” He knocked on the door of the first house he came to in this remote little village, was taken in and hidden, then guided to safety. “Later he found out that there were Gestapo in every other house in the village and along the coast.” She paused. “He was still angry with the guide who deserted him when he told me this story 50 years later. But I said to him, “Dad, can’t you see how God was watching out for you?”

I was reminded of this passage in Isaiah: I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:2 NIV and of John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” and some of my own seasons of trials.

Through His Son

I’ve been praying for the elderly woman and others we met who seemed in need of prayer. Although I address my prayers to the Father, I always end in the name of the Son. For as Jesus said to His apostles, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 NIV

And, as I heard while attending Mass during my three decades teaching in independent Catholic girls’ schools, ““Through Him, with Him and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever.” The concluding doxology.

Linkup with Five Minute Friday: https://fiveminutefriday.com/2024/05/30/fmf-writing-prompt-link-up-through/