by Maurine Pyle (WCTS, May, 2004)
For several years I rented a bedroom in my condominium to a boarder. Todd wasn’t just any old boarder. I had met him at our Quaker meeting one Sunday morning where he had gone seeking solace for his troubles. Somehow his life got tangled up with mine. That is how God does it. A simple hello eventually leads to someone living in your back bedroom. What brought Todd eventually to my door was a deep desire for spiritual direction, something he had longed for all of his life. I became his guide and mentor for three years while he struggled.
One night at the dinner table as we were enjoying his good home cooking, I noticed that he was very sad, more sad than usual. When I inquired, he told me his friend Betty, an Internet buddy from Colorado, was quite ill with breast cancer. I suggested that we sit and pray for Betty after dinner.
As we entered into silence I immediately and clearly heard a word—fragrance. I held onto this word until our meditation had ended. I knew exactly where to go next – Song of Songs, Chapter 1. Although I rarely touch this book of the Bible, I quickly found the verse I was looking for: “When your name is spoken aloud, it is like a spreading perfume. I told Todd that this was a message for Betty. He was used to my odd intuitive ways so he immediately went to send her an email message. Her reply came in an instant: “Bless Maurine. That quotation was cross-stitched by a friend of mine and sits framed on my mantle next to my children’s pictures.”
How did I know? I did not know. I am willing to bear a message and this one was stunningly specific. What did it mean? To me it meant God was sending a direct blessing to Betty to comfort her. I was simply the messenger.
In the Book of John 21: 18 Jesus says to Peter, “I tell you solemnly as a young man, you fastened your best and went about as you pleased. But when you are older you will stretch out your hands and another will tie you fast and carry you off against your will.” Afterwards, Jesus said, “Follow me.”
I first stretch out my hands and then I follow where I am led. That is how some miracles are worked.
Maurine Pyle, Lake Forest Friends Meeting, Illinois, is a servant leader, otherwise known as clerk, of Illinois Yearly Meeting.
Tribute to Maurine Pyle
As a tribute to Maurine Pyle, since June 27th What Canst Thou Say? has been posting contributions that Maurine made to our Quaker mystical journal. Below is the announcement of her passing on May 21st, 2022. A Memorial Service will be held September 24th at 11 Central in SIUC Center, Carbondale IL. It will also be on Facebook, but a link cannot be in a post. The link was sent to our WCTS Google Group. Email judylumb@yahoo.com for more information.
Please join us in holding our beloved member, Maurine Pyle, in the light. Maurine passed away on May 21, 2022, at her assisted living facility in Terre Haute, Indiana. Sage Moffett, together with their spouse, Logan Elisha Plummer, have been the local friend and loving caregiver to Maurine since Maurine moved to Terre Haute. Sage held her hand and spoke words of comfort to Maurine as she passed. Friends Dawn Crimson and Tom Hensold had visited Maurine recently, as had her sons, Nick Pyle and Ned Pyle and a number of friends from Carbondale, Illinois, where Maurine lived until her move to Terre Haute.
Maurine was a member and recorded minister of Southern Illinois Quaker Meeting. Before transferring her membership to Southern Illinois Quaker Meeting, she was a member of Lake Forest Meeting. She served in many roles in the broader Quaker community, including as Clerk and then Field Secretary of ILYM. She had also delivered the Plummer Lecture at ILYM Annual Sessions in 1998.
She had, many years ago, executed a “Five Wishes” document in which she stated, among other things, that, “I wish for my family and friends to know that I do not fear death itself. I think it is not the end, but a new beginning for me…I wish for my family and friends to look at my dying as a time of personal growth for everyone, including me.” She asked to be remembered “as a peacemaker, a follower of Jesus and [as] a loving family member and friend.”
Jill Adam
Clerk, Southern Illinois Quaker Meeting
What Canst Thou Say? 