LWQ Fall 2016
Lutheran Woman’s Quarterly
Fall 2016 "Count It All Joy"
Editor's Note
I sat alone and still in my car on the tree-lined street where my late parents had lived for 50 years. The commuter railroad at the end of the block whizzed by, its vibrations rattling my tight chest. It was all I could do to keep myself from crying.
Steeling myself for the next step — cleaning out the apartment’s contents and confronting a flood of emotions — I prayed to the Lord to grant me a calm spirit and a heart filled with gratitude for how He blessed me when I lived here with my parents.
The work began.
“Ah, there you are,” I said with knowing smile. The immense glass tumbler I remember cupping in my toddler hands each morning, to eat the soft-boiled egg my mother placed within, was … not so large after all.
Soon after, my eyes grew wide at the discovery of a charming letter my daughter, Elizabeth, had written, unbeknownst to me, to my parents when she was 9 years old.
Later, a felt-so-good belly laugh caught me off guard when I read a clipping of a comedy routine my mother kept in her desk drawer.
As the apartment began to empty out, I found consolation as I thought … prayed … about the next family that would make memories here at #F-32, with its inspiring, sunset views of the Empire State Building, 59th Street Bridge, and the uptown NYC skyline — all just a few miles away, across the East River.
A few tears notwithstanding, the task I had put off for so long became less daunting through the lens of the hunt for blessings.
My heart was overwhelmed by the grace and mercy God showed to me, as I found joy upon joy on a day I was expecting none.
Nancy Graf Peters, Editor-in-Chief
Features
4 Anita Dennis
8 Joy Comes in the Morning
10 Peace, Joy, and Jury Duty
11 Joy Despite All Circumstances
13 SPECIAL! Joy Coloring Page
28 LWML National Committees
In Every Issue
1 btw … Joy Is Like the Rain
2 Praying the Psalms
3 Then & Now Mission Grants
12 Young Women's Page
14 Grants at Work — Women of the Pearl: How God Works
24 Shop LWML
25 Lutheran Women in Action
29 The President's Page
Bible Studies
16 Joy in All Circumstances
18 Living Joy
18 Living Joy — Leader Guide
20 Celebrate God's Love
Celebrate God's Love — Leader Guide
22 Hay que Celebrar el Amor de Dios
