Fall Festival

   Today, a yearly Fall Festival occurs at our church. It’s not really all that fancy, but it’s a fun day of music, friendship, food, and activities. I’ve helped at all of these festivals that I’ve been around for, and each one has had its own personality. One of the first memories I have is the weather being so hot that I ended the day standing in a pile of ice. Then, there was the festival that I really couldn’t walk because I had a bum leg. I remember the donuts being a big hit, they were freshly made and so yummy! A fire truck comes, which is a favorite with the kids big and small. A scarecrow contest has been held a few times, which showcased some amazing creativity!

   It’s not about anything fancy, anything terribly elegant. It’s about time together to have fun. It’s a lot of work, but with many helpers the load becomes much easier to bear. I’m looking forward to today, even though by the end of the day my feet will be blistered and I will be so ready to see my bed. If you are around, come on out! And bring a can for the food pantry, you can help serve someone in need, because hunger is a terrible thing.

Planks & Splinters

I’m accompanied on the couch by a body pillow, a regular pillow, and two of those fiber fill small squishy pillows. Somehow, those have all been formed together to hold my ankle and leg in a semi-comfortable positions. Otherwise, it feels like someone is taking a migraine headache, stuck it into my leg and stretched it out over my toes. Then, they wrapped yarns of pain around my ankle and leg all the way up to my knee. So, the pillow conglomeration confederation is in place and offering a little bit of relief and aid.

Yesterday was the Fall Festival of 2009 at my church, a day of music, games, crafts, bonfires, s’mores, fun and sore feet. Oh, and of course – home made doughnuts which were incredible and the fire department came to showcase one of the trucks.

Being rather immobile part of the time has forced me to slow down a bit, not by choice you understand. However, slowing down isn’t such a bad thing at times, though I do recommend a different method of momentum breaking. Sitting yesterday at the Fall Festival, I was watching many different members of the church body and the community come together for fellowship time. People pulled their different skills, talents, opinions, ideas, and worked together for a common purpose of serving the community. When you have so many people working together, even with the best of intentions, conflict can occur – after all people are messy. Sitting there, one leg propping up the other on a folding chair, I thought about planks and sawdust.

It is so easy to slip into a mindset of negative thought and words, tearing each other down. But, if I take the words in Matthew 7 seriously, I need to consider what plank is in my eye. Now, I wear contacts and know how uncomfortable sticking things in your eye can be – but a plank! That makes me think of a beam of wood, a grained conjunction of particles containing my own issues, my own sins. Before I open my mouth to complain about your sawdust, am I seeing beyond my own plank? Let’s strive to be a coherent body, a healthy collection of parts making a whole. I will work on disciplining my mind and words to address my plank. Will you?