Endeavor to Persevere

By Rev. Dr. Karen L. Holgersen

Living a life of connection motivates us to live our lives with a compassionate heart, not only for others, but also for ourselves. Living a life of connection is not an additional spiritual burden but a lightening of our awareness in how we walk on our planet. In Endeavor to Persevere, author Rev. Dr. Karen L. Holgersen offers a collection of short narratives to inspire, to comfort, and to bring healing and hope.

Many of the selections were written and given as Sunday homilies to church congregations, and others were written to expound on Holgersen’s life observations. She addresses a host of topics providing insight and guidance on living life to its best.

The messages communicated in Endeavor to Persevere uplift the spirit and bring peace to the heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Oct 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781982274573

Rev. Dr. Karen L. Holgersen

Karen grew up in northern California and walked through a redwood forest from school every day to her grandmother’s house. (True!) Her grandmother would greet her and her siblings with a snack and listen to the school events of the day. There was much to listen to as she attended a progressive learning lab school from third to eighth grades called College Elementary School. Designed after the ideals of John Dewey, the educational curriculum was project-based and authentic. Thus, she developed a love of nature and learning from childhood. She went on to get her A.A. in Sociology, her B.S. in Biology, her M.A. in School Leadership, and her earned doctorate in 2017 in Educational Leadership, Management, and Policy. Although trained to be a school system superintendent, she stayed in the elementary classroom and taught upper elementary students for thirty years. She was known for her respect and love for her students and for her creative teaching style and projects.

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Blueberries

February 3, 2019

By your own efforts waken yourself,

watch yourself, and live joyfully.

—Buddha

Good morning.

I love berries. Especially raspberries, blackberries, huckleberries, and blueberries. When I enjoy food, it is a bonus if berries are somehow involved. I wait all year for their arrival. It is, for me, one of the joys of summer.

This past summer, I enjoyed the taste of blueberries, as they were readily available in western New York. Their pungent, juicy flavor graced my cereals and fruit salads in July. What a wonderful month of feasting!

Then came August. I went to buy more blueberries, and the seller said, The season is over. The taste and texture of the blueberries had changed, and they could no longer be sold. I was so sad to hear those words. The season is over.

As I walked away with my hands empty, I realized that this was a great metaphor for life. Like the blueberries, we enter the world small, after a period of dormancy, and then we put on leaves, or years, and we grow. Initially, we sleep in our mother’s womb as the blueberry plant sleeps during the winter. Only their roots are alive; however, they can’t be seen. We are inside the womb, and other than during an occasional ultrasound sonogram, we cannot be seen. Then we enter the world small and vulnerable.

Our parents protect us as we grow, just as the leaves protect the future fruit of the plants. After our growth season, we blossom like the berry plants with a hope for a fruitful future.

We humans are educated, mature, and maybe even bear good fruit in society. The berry plant’s blossoms eventually turn to berries and are green and sour, then ripen and are full of the sugar from the plant. We go off to our first jobs, careers, or lifestyles very green, and then we eventually ripen and use the good things of our lives—our families, our skills, and our abilities and talents—to ripen as human beings.

The berries are eaten by birds and other animals. Some of the berries will drop and become seeds of a future life. We humans give to our communities as well, and we hope that some of our words and actions will take eventual root. Finally, we, like the berries, are fully ripe in our lives, and then our season is over.

Some older people may lose their taste and texture as they review an embittered life. Others will rejoice that their lives have contributed to others’ growth—like the berries helped the animals. The berry plants, now without berries, will eventually lose their leaves and become like sticks. No life can be seen. Likewise, however we view our lives, we will eventually leave our families and friends and move into spirit. Our season on this planet, for now, is over. No life can be seen.

As Spiritualists, however, we know that our souls go on. We change form. Like the berries, we transform. The berry branches lose their leaves for the winter months. We lose our physical bodies. There is still life in the berry roots, although it cannot be seen. Although we cannot be seen by our loved ones, we still have life and can have contact with them. For those of us still on this side, we still have contact with our loved ones through mediumship.

Life goes on in nature. There is a strong urge to live again. The berry branches will turn green with leaves in the spring; flowers will bloom and berries will form once again for another year. The circle of life has been activated. Our lives go on as well. Our circle of life is activated on the other side. We will bloom again and be fruitful.

My challenge to you this morning, my friends, is to fully ripen as human beings before your season is over. Use your time well. Use your energy well. Use this energy of life to fulfill your hearts’ desires. Most of us want to grow in wisdom as we ripen. That usually means not tuning in to our egos and greed. It means loving ourselves enough to be able to love others. It means giving back, like the berries, and providing sustenance to others. It means walking gently on our planet so we will leave it in a healthy condition for the next generations, or berries, to come. It means being the absolute best versions of ourselves that we can possibly be. The berry plant gets only one year to make its berries. We get many more. Make them count.

Here are some ideas to help you ripen:

• Grow

• Evolve

• Forgive

• Be kind

• Be generous

• Have courage

• Walk in your truth

In conclusion, in the words of Edgar Cayce, I would encourage you to bloom where you are planted. Until your season is over, blossom like the berry plant and live a fruitful future.

Thank you.

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Choices

2020

Bury the past but keep the lessons.

—Buddha

Make good choices, you might hear from your parents if you are a teenager. Like most children, though, teenagers usually want to make fun choices. What parents are really saying is please make choices that will not put you in harm’s way. They are beseeching the teenager to stay safe and to stay healthy.

During the recent COVID crisis, many adults were saying the same thing to each other: Stay safe. Stay healthy. This was the new way of saying, I care about you and your loved ones. Implied in the words was the plea to please make choices that would not put you in harm’s way.

As we mature in life, we are required to make more and more choices. Besides the milestone decisions such as where to go to college, what job to apply for, whom to marry, and whether to have children, we also make everyday choices. These everyday choices may be what to eat, how fast to drive, what to wear, and what to do with one’s day. If one is an employee, then one does one’s job. If one is unemployed, then one might be looking for work. If one is retired, then one seeks to do something meaningful.

Every day of our lives, we make many, many choices—some better than others. The main revelation,