ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
November 6, 2026
Guest Writer: Sandra Clifford, Church Board Member
Have you ever wanted the world to just stop, even just for a moment. Maybe we could call it a pause.
Recently I had to have a biopsy. Luckily the results came back negative for cancer but the thought of cancer scared me and the waiting was challenging. Let me rephrase that. The thought of cancer terrified me and the wait was excruciating. I watched my mother fight cancer for 13 years and then I held her hand as she died. Years later I would see my best friend suffer through exhausting chemotherapy and radiation.
The morning of my biopsy I was explaining to a colleague that I would not be at work. She did not know the reason I would be out and she started explaining all the complications that would happen by me not being there. I ended up yelling at her, “I am going to be on the table getting a biopsy. I am not gonna be available and phone is gonna be off. I need you to just handle this!“. Not my proudest moment. It was a moment of being human. It was a moment of needing everything to stop so that I could focus on that one thing that was concerning me the most. Sometimes we need to pause everything else and focus on the top priority. Sometimes we need people to stop and listen. Stopping and listening has power. Stopping and thinking has power.
In my work with special education, our behavior programs have a sign that they use with their students. It is a sticker or a poster of a stop sign that says “stop and think”. What an important life lesson. I often wonder why this is not directly taught to every student. How powerful would it be if we had a community where everyone chose to stop and think? Imagine the problems we could solve. Could it be that stopping and thinking is what we were actually designed to do?
In my Sunday school class recently we talked about stepping away from things temporarily as a practice of centering. We talked about how often, when we do that, we tend to get an epiphany. Have you ever experienced that? Have you ever woken up one morning with a great idea or been in the shower and wished you had a piece of paper to write something down on? I am not a theologian, but maybe when we stop and put everything aside it gives room for God to come in and guide us. I have noticed in my life that this practice also allows me to step away from challenges and take a moment to appreciate the good things in life.
When I think of appreciating the good things in life, I think of the wonderful gifts such as the people in my life and the amazing miracles I see around me. I am not a seasoned traveler but I have been fortunate enough to visit a few amazing places. The Smoky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, the glaciers in Alaska have all put me in a state of awe.
At those times I have felt a strong connection with God. Sitting there seeing these amazing creations I could not help but to be thankful for the opportunity to see it and be in wonder to the One who created it. I hope everyone has an opportunity for an experience like that.
My hope and prayer is that everyone has an opportunity to stop and pause. May you have a chance to process events, think things through, and appreciate the wonders of this world. May that help bring peace and humanity.
