Wash It Away

A sudden rain came down a few days ago, that for all its brevity could be called a gully washer.  I was inside, and though I paused to admire the actual sheeting of rain that blocked my view to see across the street, I did not really think much about the outside effects.  Later that day, I walked to my car to head home.  The rain had stopped and it was nicely cool and fresh outside.  I noticed that there were brown lines around cars, where the rain had washed cars and removed the layers of dirt.  Outlines now existed around cars, and in parking spots where cars were once parked.  My car shined quite nicely in the sun, looking clean and sparkly.  The remnants the rain left were not on my car, but in a car sized dirt outline

As I got in the car, and headed home, it struck me that the car could not wash itself.  There had to be an outside source to remove the dirt.  In much the same way, the sins that accumulate on, around, and in me are also something I cannot remove.  Jesus, in much the same way, performed an act that worked like that gully washer.  He shed his blood and died for my sins, in essence removing them by the sacrifice of love.  What left was a bright and shiny forgiveness of my sins and your sins in the person of me and other followers of Christ, and that human size dirt outline you see there on the ground, that is the sin that is no longer mine to pick-up. 

Why? That is one of my favorite questions.  I think it is important to understand why things happen or don’t happen certain ways.  Why would a perfect God do something to even bother with the messiness of people?  Love.  God loves us so much that He gave us his one and only Son.  We in turn, if we believe in him, we are given eternal life.  Because, the Son (Jesus) did not come to condemn the messy structure we call humanity, but to save us instead.  I accepted that Love.  I hope you do too.  

Neighbors in Perspective

I have wonderful neighbors.  I’m not just saying that, I have the best neighbors.  They are kind, caring, and help to look out for each other, and us.  And, we in return get to help and look out for them.  I hopped on facebook this morning, just part of my normal morning routine, to check in on some virtual neighbors.  Two happily celebrated anniversaries, one birthday, and a heartfelt prayer request later, I want to celebrate the happy news of those who have shared their pictures and joys and pray for peace and comfort for those grieving. 

Neighbors are so much more than the people living in the house to the either side of us, or an electronic “friends” list.  They are people who when we reach out and get to know a bit, become a neighborhood.   A neighborhood that works to remain solidly in support of each other becomes a community.  Cities made of communities are going to function better.  They are more peaceful, cohesive, and are able to do more for each other and neighboring communities.

How do we get there?  We start taking care to keep our neighbors in our perspective.  It doesn’t have to be anything terribly complex.  Simply keep it in mind enough to think through possible needs.  If there is a heavy snow, catch them with a happy surprise by snow blowing the driveway just because.  If there is an illness, grab a meal and drop it off.  Extra produce from the garden that cannot be eaten, drop off a bag of the fresh goodies just because.  Meet at the fence, laugh and talk over those daily neighborhood things – the children jumping on the trampoline, the dog in the yard, the gardens, and the weather. 

Nothing too difficult.  Nothing that requires a committee or a huge plan.  Just keep the perspective wide enough to include the neighbors.  It can make your perspective grow tremendously.  

By Many Titles

They may be called mom, momma, grandma, mee-maw, granny, gran, gram, auntie or various other names that can mean mentor, teacher, protector, guider, and matriarch.  Known by many titles, women can form solid bedrock of strength in our life through their efforts and energies.  Though it is not a guarantee that all women will nurture those around them, there are many that expend their energies to do so. 

Today is the recognized Mother’s Day holiday and I enjoyed recognizing my own mom and her role in my life today.  She is such a tremendous example of love and wisdom.  We have shared tears through laughter and over difficulties.  We have challenged each other to learn different skills and shared many adventures.  Girls trips, prayer times, history discussions, faith building, baking bread, singing songs, book reading, and confidence building are just a few of the things she has brought into my life.  I thank her for being a mother who has parented passionately and intentionally, wanting to be the best mother possible.

There are also other women who have instilled good things into me.  So many strong and vibrant women flash through my mind, who “mothered” me even though not my birth mother.  Beyond women in my family who have also been an example, I wanted to mention a few others.  My dear sisters who mother their own children and are a source of joy to watch, especially as I get to be an aunt!  My Ohio mom who has been a voice of comfort in times when the world was falling down, and also lets me be silly and relax in my skin.  A Kentucky Sunday School teacher provided me with a place to feel accepted when I felt so very out of my comfort zone.  My dear Ena who passed away not terribly long ago, she was my baby sitter when I was a baby and a little girl.  She kept me busy, loved, prayed over, and gave southern sweet tea as a treat.  My eighth grade science teacher helped me bridge the move to Florida while being someone who could talk about NASA and explain math.  We shared a common love of space and she is still so dear to me.  Student teaching with two lovely ladies taught me about loving students and also maintaining energetic professionalism in a classroom.  Challenged to think, laugh, explore, love, and grow – these women and so many more have been enormous influences in my life.  I thank them and wish them Happy Mother’s Day! 

You may or may not have children.  You may have experienced the loss of a mom or a child.  So many women suffer through this day instead of celebrating it, and to them I say let’s celebrate your influence in “momming” others around you!

Aunt Ruby’s Lasagna

On one of our girls road trips, my mom and I had the chance to visit my great aunt and uncle.  My Great Aunt Ruby served the most wonderful lasagna when we had the chance to visit her several years ago.  Placing the lasagna on the table, she put together an entirely lovely dinner with ease and grace.  “Aunt Ruby, can I have your lasagna recipe?  This is so good!”  She chuckled and told us of course.  Dinner passed and we were led into the kitchen.  I’m going to get the recipe – awesome!  Served with great love, I thought for certain that there would be some recipe card, stained with flour and tomato sauce, tucked in a recipe box on a shelf.  Instead, we were led to the trash bin and with great flair, Aunt Ruby pulled out the Stouffer’s lasagna box.  

Aunt Ruby taught me about some easy ways to serve a great meal and also be able to relax and enjoy the visit.    

Being Still When the Lights Go Out

It was a dark and stormy night when the lightning flashed, the thunder clapped, and the lights flickered twice before fading into a vacuum of darkness…

Okay, that didn’t actually happen.  It is cloudy, and the evening is late and becoming dim.  But the night has not really settled in yet, and there were no dramatic moments – the lights went out in the blink of an eye.  The why and how long of the power outage is still to be determined; in the meanwhile sitting in a quiet and darkening house surrounded by wonderful smelling candles and sleeping dogs is not a terrible interruption to the constantly connected electrical world we live in.  This gives me a chance to put pen to paper, sit in the glow of a pine candle (my favorite scent), and write on what paper I could find using my phone as a flash light.  The paper could be gray or maybe lavender, it’s hard to tell with the low light fading the colors out.  But, in the midst of this outage, I think it would be an ideal time to be still. 

When I have an opportunity to be still, I realize afresh how I crave this more than my routine indicates.  After coming back from a time that involved stillness, I find myself wanting this more frequently.  In the presence of everyday life, my sense of mental equilibrium can apparently settle into something not entirely good because stillness tends to leave me falling into an exhausted sleep.  When I do get a period of quiet, enforced by a power outage though it may be, it can draw attention to the need to be still and regain balance.

“Be still and know that I am God” you say.  Be still.  Still. Still.  Still moving.  Still squirming.  Still yacking about irrelevant things.  Still having conversations in my head.  Still not focused.  Still not listening.  Still not having a mental slow down.  Still trying.  Still straining to listen.  Still settling.  Still need to add that last item to my list.  Still, be still. That is generally when the phone rings, the e-mail arrives, the dog barks, the calendared event starts, or I just fall asleep.  Be still I say to myself!  You are supposed to be still and know.  Can’t I know that God is God while moving about?  This still thing is awfully difficult.  I tend toward curiosity and I wonder why be still?  Why not be quiet and know or be noisy and know – I could probably accomplish that a lot better than being still. 

The lights just came back on.  My thanks to the power crew that is working tonight.  I do like our electrical conveniences.  In the growing darkness though, I did have a moment when stillness started.  After one of the moments the dogs of insisted we go out, I tried to be still.  When I’m still, I don’t hear myself moving about.  I hear the patter of a gentle rain starting to fall.  I hear night sounds as frogs and crickets perform virtuoso lullabies.  I smell the awakening smell of spring warmed earth, new leaves, and the beginnings of spring blooms.  Be still and know. 

Be still is not the easiest thing for me, but I can understand why I need to be still.  I need to hear God and readjust my direction to move forward.  My direction right now is to be still a little more often – it’s like a vacation for the soul.