Susie's Surprise

This is a classic in our house…the stories…not the recipes.  lol.  I can hardly say “Susie’s surprise” without laughing. And if you have my brother, sister, and or dad and I together, we can generally all start to giggle, at least a little, at the memories.  

Let me start by saying my mom was a good cook. She cooked a lot of meals for all of us for a lot of years.  Most of those very good meals left no imprint on my brain.  I’m sorry mom.  

The meals that will live forever (in infamy) are those called “Susie’s Surprise”.  These were generally meals that came together as my mom tried to use up leftovers and clean out the fridge.  Maybe mom’s downfall was that she could find a use for just about anything…including a montage of food.  

I was particularly mindful of Susie’s Surprise yesterday as I excitedly planned meals to use our ham leftovers from Easter. I could make fried rice, mac-n-cheese and ham, split pea soup, quiche and navy bean soup.  I look forward to each of those meals and consider each of them fairly normal in the food categories.  I’m certain my mom made similar meals with left overs.  Sadly, I don’t remember those.  

I can’t even tell you all the weird Susie’s surprise concoctions she made. Just that they were weird.  Really weird.  Not like pot pie, or fried rice, or turkey soup….weird…like some odd combination of already combined foods (like casseroles) re-combined to be a “Surprise!”  I do remember a salad with all kinds of things including tuna, olives, and kidney beans.  I’m not even sure what else.  None of us were thrilled to eat it and we definitely thought it was too weird to be shared with the neighbor.  Sorry Ada.  

Cleaning Out Old Skeletons

Somehow the least appealing boxes to unpack are ones that have a random assortment of paperwork.  With every move there are boxes that have a hodgepodge of items and I’ll regularly open the box, look in, see the smattering of items and close it right back up with no desire to sort through all that randomness.  Well, the purging bug bit last week and I spent a good bit of time sorting through those boxes.  I got through at least 11 and have 5 of them refilled with items for a yard sale. Not bad for a day’s work.  

As I sorted I found lots of old files…sermons, seminary papers, tax documents, cards, letters and more.  One of the things I found was a 5 page document outlining the list of egregious (in my opinion) actions of a former boss.  I had written the list at the end of my employment there and shared it with our supervisor so that if something happened in the future, our supervisor would know it wasn’t an isolated incident.  This particular person had a habit of being hurtful, mean spirited, and spiteful.  I turned in one copy and saved one for myself.  And as I sifted through paperwork I found those pages all over again.  A skeleton of sorts that hangs in out in the closet.  

Over the years, I recovered it a handful of times.  I read through the report and am often surprised at just how bad it was.  My memory has had a way of softening the harshness of those months under his awful leadership.  But when I re-read my notes and am reminded of the pain I endured.  Each time I’ve been reluctant to throw it out.  It’s seemed necessary to hold onto it. 

But this time was different. This time it seems I need to be done reliving those wounds.  At this point I know it was hard to work with him and that he was awful to me.  And that’s enough. I don’t need to keep revisiting the details. 

So I bid farewell to that ugly old skeleton.  

Spirit of Helping

My mom was a helper. She enjoyed filling a need and could step in to most any task at any point and help it be successful.  Do you need a cook? She could do that. Do you need a florist? She could do that! Do you need a childcare provider? She could do that. Do you need a prayer person? She could do that.  Do you need a scripture reader? She could do that. Do you need your pants hemmed? She could do that.  She could do most anything and she would to help most anybody.

My list of the ways she helped me over the years could go on and on (and probably should).  But in this Holy Week, I am thinking of her help in leading worship.  My first appointment was to Hemet UMC. In my first year, I was assigned to leading Palm/Passion Sunday.  Liturgically, the Sunday before Easter can go either way...focused on Palm Sunday or focused on the Passion.  I hated to choose.  I didn't want to skip Palm Sunday and I hated that people wouldn't come to Maundy Thursday or Good Friday and wanted them to have to sit with the sorrow of the Passion.  So, I did "Palm to Passion Sunday" and used the liturgy to explore the various events of that week.  The final element was to turn off the lights and hammer nails into a cross and let the sound echo in the sanctuary.  Then it was silent.

My mom was there for that service and was more than happy to help. So she hammered the nails.  The liturgy had been powerful and then the darkness, the silence, the hammering, and more silence, it really spoke to people.  And I remember how it spoke to her and how even in the busyness of orchestrating the liturgy, she was touched.  I am grateful she was always supportive of my ministry and willing to lend a hand in so many ways.

For the saints

On October 6th of 2016, we held a gathering of saints (yes, the living ones) to say goodbye to my mom. It was held at my home church, Bishop First UMC.  And, truth be told, it was an amazing reunion of beautiful people from my mom's life. There was family from all over the country and there were friends dating back to her childhood. Over the years, her friends, of course, became our friends and extended family.  There were people from every stage of my life.  People we had traveled with, camped with, done 4th of July with, worshipped with, done mission work with, done ministry with, prayed with, and shared many many meals with.  They were the people who helped form and shape me--pastor, Sunday School teacher, my mom's prayer partners, aunts, uncles, teachers, and more.  They comprise the tapestry of my childhood (and beyond).  


I'm not sure I can properly convey how precious it was to hug them and tell them hi.  And I so wished my mom could have been there to enjoy it. She would have adored having time with each of them. She easily could have talked until midnight as she caught up with each and every one. 

I am so very thankful for each of these people and the love they have shared with my family over the years.  And I am thankful for my mom who loved them and nurtured relationships that span a lifetime.