PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

October 16, 2024

Go On

At the Ancilla college recognition dinner on October 6, 2011 Marie Albertson gave a delightful presentation of snippets of her some 78 years.  Marie is a 1983 graduate of Ancilla.  She has two sons and two daughters.  Her husband, Bob, died in 1997.

Following her graduation from Ancilla, Marie went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Indiana University-South Bend.  This was followed by a master’s in library science when she was 60 and an associates in counseling when she was 70.

When most persons are thinking about retiring at the age of 65, Marie took up kayaking.  At the age of 75, Albertson jumped out of a plane.  Marie was voted “Cowgirl of the Week” on a “Mustang” trip in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Eastern California.

At the age of 47 Marie only wanted to take a writing class at Ancilla.  Her teacher, Sister Mary Dolores, encouraged her to go on.  This simple bit of advice became her mantra for the next thirty-one years of her life.

I have discovered that when working on a major project there comes a point the initial enthusiasm has faded and the tedium of the details have taken over, I am tempted to just pack it in.  At such times Sister Mary Dolores’ advice of “Go On” needs to be taken.  In most cases I was just a few days from everything finally falling into place, resulting in another successfully completed project.

In more than forty years of ministry I have been with many people during times of tragedy.  Sometimes it involved the sudden death of a loved one.  At other times the tragedy took the form of loss of job or property.  At some point those who were able to successfully cope with their tragedy would say, “I just need to go on.”

The Book of Ecclesiastes recommends that we should approach each day that God gives us as a gift to be enjoyed and appreciated.  Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount says, “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries of its own.  Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Mat. 6:34).

The essence of these Biblical quotations would seem to be that we should deal with life in manageable chunks that will not overwhelm us.  There are times in our lives when we are quite capable of dealing with large chunks and at other times we can barely cope with a very small chunk.

When tragedy first strikes one, “going on” may mean just making it through the next few hours.  With the passing of time as one begins to adjust to the changed circumstances, “going on” may take the form of moving on to the next stage in one’s life.

At the outset of a project “going on” takes the form of being prepared to go the long haul.  When the work becomes a real burden that is weighing one down, “going on” may take the form of just completing the next small task.  With the completion of the project, “going on” implies the beginning of a new project.

Sister Mary Dolores’ advice to Marie Albertson to “go on” launched her into wonderful adventures that literally took her to the ends of the earth.  Sister’s advice are words that all of us need to hear at times in our life to propel us to the next stage of our journey.

(This article was originally published October 16, 2011.  Comments may be sent to davidh15503@embarqmail.com.)