Nicole’s e-Pistle “Muriel & Nell”

May 20, 2026

Greetings, Friends!

On Friday, I rode with Steve Farrow to Chattanooga to attend Muriel Phillips’ memorial service. As most of you already know, Muriel was a former Music Director of this congregation. I never had an opportunity to speak with her, but she and her husband Scott Saylor visited several times since I have been here as your pastor. One Sunday, they sat directly behind my husband and children, and my family happened to be visiting from Florida. After the service, my mother commented that the woman who sat behind her had the most exquisite voice! Those of you who knew Muriel well know that my family were in for a treat that Sunday!

On the way to the memorial service, Steve regaled me with stories about Muriel and how he first came to meet her. I will not speak for Steve here, but I will share that he met Muriel in Chattanooga at an adult group that met at a Methodist Church. The leader of that group was Nell Mohney, and many of her former group members were in attendance at the memorial service. As I understand it, Nell, like Muriel, had one of those personalities that drew people to her. As the afternoon came to a close, Steve loaned me a copy of one of Nell’s books, entitled You Can Soar Like an Eagle. After reading just a few pages, I was thrilled to find it can still be purchased on Amazon! (By tomorrow, I will have my own copy in hand!)

With Muriel’s love of music and the theme of Nell’s book freshly on my mind, I find it to be one of God’s little surprises (in other words, not a coincidence) that the anthem at my wedding was “On Eagle’s Wings.” The analogy of Nell’s book and the lyrics to the hymn come from Isaiah 40:31…

³¹ but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

If you have ever seen an eagle take flight, it is a magnificent sight. Their wing spans can stretch to over seven feet in length, and each wing is covered in twelve hundred feathers! As they unfurl them, just a few strokes propels them into the air straight up like a helicopter. Eagles have the unique ability among birds not to hide or cower when storms hit. Rather, they use their massive wings to “mount up” and soar above the storm clouds, keeping their eyes fixed on the light above.

All of us have endured times of suffering and pain in our lives. Nell and Muriel were no strangers to loss, yet both of them were what Nell called “eagle people.” Many people get pulled down by life’s storms. They must take shelter and hide while the darkness overtakes them. Eagle people mount up, fix their eyes on the light of God, and soar above the storm clouds where the air is peaceful and serene. As the hymn says,

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord,

who abide in his shadow for life,

say to the Lord, “My refuge,

my rock in whom I trust!”

And he will raise you up on eagle’s wings,

bear you on the breath of dawn,

make you to shine like the sun,

and hold you in the palm of his hand.

 

Nell also shared the following story in Chapter 1 of her book…

“Once I heard the story of a Native American, Tal, who was visiting his friend Tim in New York City. As they walked down Fifth Avenue, Talk suddenly stopped and turned to his friend, saying, ‘I hear a cricket.’ Tim laughed uproariously. ‘You can’t possibly hear a cricket in all this traffic, and certainly not on Fifth Avenue.’

After looking up and down the street, Tal spotted a fruit vendor; and there on his cart was a cricket. Tim was stunned. ‘How did you hear that?’ he asked his guest. Without answering, Tal took a silver dollar from his pocket and dropped it. Immediately at least a dozen persons stopped to listen. ‘You see,’ replied Tal, ‘we hear what we listen for.’”

Friends, I pray that your day today is filled with joy, but if you are facing difficult times, may you have ears to hear God speaking to you today; may you have eyes to see God’s light through the storm; and may you have wings of faith to lift you up on the breath of dawn. Know that you are fully known and fully loved!

Blessings and Peace,