Throw Me a Lifeline

This post is a formal and heartfelt apology to every mother and child I ever judged before I became a mom.  I would like to say, with greatest sincerity "I am sorry, so very sorry. And moreover, I. Was. Wrong.  To every mother whom I judged as being inadequate for not disciplining (and by disciplining I mean "tanning the hide" of) her tired, tearful and yes, even, raging toddler. For every inner scoff at the oft given reason/apology for behavior I found unacceptable "He's tired.  She missed her nap.  He's probably just hungry."  For every irritated face scrunch to exaggerate my displeasure over the noisy tot at the next table over in the restaurant.  For every policing stare given to mothers whose children were not properly strapped into the seat of the shopping cart, but riding shotgun in the place that the GROCERIES are supposed to go.  For everytime I thought that every baby was supposed to like every adult and tolerate being handled whether they liked it or not.  Because they were babies, dang it.  For every parent whom I thought, in my abject ignorance, had failed to show their kids just WHO was BOSS, thereby making my very important life more pleasant...again I say I am sorry and I was WRONG.  I was wrong to think that my experience at the grocery store or the restaurant was any more important than yours.  If I had taken the time to notice, I would have seen that my displeasure (misplaced and obtrusive) probably made a difficult situation more difficult and made you focus on how you APPEARED and what total strangers were thinking of you and your child, instead of the need of the moment...your child's distress and the best way to handle it.  It never occured to me as I sat in the restaurant that as a single woman, I could go out to eat anytime I pleased, but that for you and your family, eating out was an orchestrated event. Just making it to the table was a feat of coordination, pacification, timing, patience and planning.  It never occurred to me that maybe my condescending attitude was ruining YOUR dining experience. To all the moms who let their kids ride shotgun in the grocery cart...YOU WERE DOING THE RIGHT THING.  If that is the only place your child would sit, without crying, or pulling everything off the shelves, if that is what it took to gain 10 peaceful minutes in which to get your groceries or just 10 minutes of down time while you walked the aisles with no fire to put out, then yeah, you did the right thing.  And I salute you for doing it despite my condemning glare.  Instructions on that stupid seat flap thingy (which never stays down anyway) be hanged.

Now that I am a mom, I know much better.  My tot is rude.  He doesn't smile at everyone and loudly protests being held  when he doesn't wish it.  He spares no one's feelings.  Imagine that.  That said, he is a very sweet child, UNLESS, he is tired or he has missed his nap or he is hungry.  And I find myself saying this a lot...I know, I know .  I have no time to try and show him just who is boss.  I am too busy being the boss, which means being patient when I'm out of patience, taking care of his needs when I have needs of my own and looking for peaceable solutions that keep us both sane.  Nope, no time for power games.  When my face is hot from embarrassment because Cub is tuning up for a big cry and yanking up my shirt IN THE CHECK-OUT LINE, because he is tired and hungry and wants to nurse RIGHT NOW, and I can't decide if I should pay with cash or fumble around for the debit card and end up pulling out the credit card because "OH MY GOSH, WHERE IS MY DEBIT CARD?!!"  And the teen-aged cashier and the lady behind me in heels and a savvy pant suit just.can't. relate...I remember being like them. I remember only having to be concerned with myself.  Now I am not judging them, nor would I want to trade places with them.  But it does remind me...to stay humble.  Some days I am just hanging on for dear life.  And I know other moms are too.  I still try to make eye contact with mamas with, shall we say, difficult, children.  But it's not so that I can ice them with my stare and make them conform.  It's so I can throw them a life-line...tell them how beautiful their little one is and what a wonderful job they are doing.  I don't expect that the world will stop for me and Cub, shift to accommodate our needs.  But, the world shouldn't expect moms, dads, kids to accommodate it though.  I realize that now.  And, I dare say, I am a better person for it.  Certainly a better mom.

Perfect

Drifted through the afternoon with Cub sleeping in the crook of my arm.  "A Day Without Rain" echoed through the rooms of our home whilst the winter sunset streamed the colors of rosewater, golden pearl and periwinkle, finally fading to indigo.  It is so warm here, like spring, windy and rainy.  I was so worried about how brutal the winter might be.  Worrying is so useless I am beginning to see.  Hope your week was beautiful.  Hope your weekend is bright.

v'Dodi Li

Scrabbling for you

In the dust

The dirt under my nails

The scrape of shifting pebbles

Solid

Falling away as quickly as I perceive them

Looking for the Light

Yet here I am

In the coolness

The darkness

Of the earth

I have to laugh

How have you intoxicated me so?

Just near enough to drive me mad

With greater longing

I would not

Cannot give you up

I tremble

I whine

I groan

in desperation

And then a spark, a flash,

You shine there, just there in my periphery,

So close that

I shake my fist in confidence

And dance in exaltation

I trace your footprint on the path

And then fall back bewildered and lonely

Straining to find the direction of Your Voice

But echoes bounce and it is hard to tell

I move forward inexorably though

This heavy search, the longing is enough sometimes

Because it reminds me

How could I desire you this much

If you were never there?

My tears fall like sparkling diamonds

Will they  make a worthy diadem?

My Heart is Dancing

Fall and winter have always been my favorite times of year.  I am made for cooler weather.  I love the deep and quietly fading beauty of autumn and the austerity and stillness of winter.  It makes me feel more alive and this year is no different.  Each day I spend so much time drinking in the view, watching the panoramic spectacle of the leaves changing colors outside my window.  The sun is coming down, to the ground, in wiggling droplets, through the woods behind my house, no longer buoyed up by the thick, green leaves of summer.  My garden bed is spent.  Only the leafless stalks remain in the cool, wet dirt.

I go out everyday with Cub, trying not to waste these last days that are warm enough for playing in the park or strolling down sidewalks window shopping or weekend hayrides.  As night comes quicker and cooler...we are making our peace and saying goodbye to our sweet summer together.  Goodbye to the heat and sweat and buzzing bees and wasps and hot kiss of sun on face and arms and the nape of the neck.  Goodbye long days and waiting for tomatoes and watering the flowers.  Goodbye to sunny weekend trips and time spent at the lake and summer weddings and parties.

This time last year, I held Cub in my arms, nearly all the time.  Now he wriggles down and walks proudly and boldly wherever he wants to go.  I have to laugh!  It seems that time moves forward slowly, but the backward glance is the blink of an eye.  In the blink of an eye the still time of the year has come again.  I am eagerly anticipating the gifts that await; mornings spent with my family sipping hot chocolate, maybe a snow or two for sledding down our hill, the oven hot and steady, baking love in the shape of cookies while care simmers on the stovetop in my beef stew.  Drawing close under blankets as we read stories together under the inky black of winter night, all a-shimmering with icy stars.  Joy, joy everywhere.  I pray we are all less sick this winter.  I give thanks for the family and friends that give my life purpose.  My heart is dancing, what about yours?

Glory

I had a revelation the other day!  Let me tell you...

So, my husband has been working out over the past year and a few months ago, he went through his closet and pulled out all the clothes that no longer fit properly.  We bagged them up and drove out to a local charitable organization but they were closed.  So, not wanting to keep the clothes sitting around the house any longer, I decided to take them to the homeless shelter.  On the way there, I passed a building whose sign out front read "God's Glorious Church".  It was closed, no one was there.  I drove on and even closer to the men's shelter, there was another church, "Our Lady of the Assumption".  No one was there either.  I made it to the shelter...didn't even make it in the door before a man came up to me.  "You got clothes?  Can you just give them to me?  I am sure they will fit.  If you take them in there, I won't get them.  They won't give them to me."  I protested a bit.  I could not tell if the guy was running game on me or not.  But I quickly decided I didn't care.  Here was a man with no home.  He wanted clothes.  I had them to give and so I did.  There on the sidewalk.  His name was Ellis.

Earlier in thesame day, I was aware that in the Messianic community, it was a feast day, Yom Teruah, a day of shouting and praise and blasting of trumpets followed by a day of fasting and prayer.  The weeks prior to these feast days are called the days of Teshuva or repentance; a time to examine our hearts, to make ammends for any wrongs we have done and to restore broken relationships.  I always struggle with the meaning of keeping Torah, law and grace, YHVH's will for my life.  I, wasn't going to congregation to shout with the blowing of the shofar, wasn't fasting the following day.  Sometimes, my liberty frightens me.  And as I always do when I feel unclear, I turned to my Abba, seeking His will for my life in His Word.  "What do you want me to do??!"  I cried out.  I opened my bible.  Joel chapter 1.  The heading of the section my eyes fell on: A call to repentance.  "Ok, Abba.  I am listening.  What are you saying to me?"  And then His voice, clear as a bell, "Amos."  I flip to the book, right to chapter 5, my eyes widening as the words of YHVH leap from the tissue thin page; "I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies."  verse 21.  The King says away with the songs and music, but to "let justice roll on like a river" and "righteousness like a never ending stream!"  In Isaiah, The King says that the fast that pleases Him, the fast that He has chosen is "to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?  Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-when you see the naked, to clothe him and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"

As I was heading back home after giving the clothes away, driving back past the empty churches, the verses above came to my mind again and I was suddenly so ashamed!  Hot tears began rolling down my cheeks.  How dare we assume that God's Glorious church has anything to do with a brick building or stained glass saints or bellowing ram's horns???  There is no church other than those who are walking with YHVH loving Him and loving other people.  Knowing Him and making Him known by the love we show.  Cleansing and seasoning salt.  Warm and unwavering light.  If we love Him, if we share food with hungry people, stand up for the oppressed, clothe those with nothing to wear, protect those who have no defense, this, this is glory!  "Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you and the glory of YHVH will be your rear guard...If you do away with the pointing finger and malicious talk and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noon day."  Isaiah 58:8-10

"Thank you Abba." I breathed, feeling His clear love erasing my shame.  And there, in my van, with Cub happy in the backseat, I did celebrate Yom Teruah, shouting and singing the name of my Father whose glory  I truly long to live for.

Rescue

Some days, it is just enough to make it from sun up to sun down. Some days are long and stretch you thin. And then some days are just so full of joy and light that you feel as though you may burst. Both kinds of days are blessings and I am so glad to be learning that...

I had two packages to get into the mail. One has been ready to go for about a week, but I could never quite get it together enough to make it to the post office. Today, I wrangle Cub into some clothes (he is protesting clothing these days), make myself presentable and get all the way to the post office before I realize that I left the packages at home. I sigh and shake my head at the predicament...the waste of gas, and time, and I still have to get these things mailed...

I head back to the van. Strap Cub back into the carseat. It is hot. Across the parking lot, I see a figure coming in my direction, "Hey sister-". Sure he is trying to sell me some bootleg DVD's or body oils or demo's of his latest rap album, I ignore him. It's just too hot. In the driver's seat, I look up just as he gets to my vehicle. He holds up a flyer. I smile politely as I wave and shake my head "No, thank you." (Refusal can be polite. Southern home trainin'). I pull off. But, there was a Cross on that flyer. The struggle lasts about 3 seconds and I turn the van around, pull up beside him and roll my window down. "I saw the cross on the flyer..." I say. He gives me a big smile and tells me why he is standing in this parking lot in 90 degree weather. His life had been going nowhere. He used to be a drug dealer. When he'd gotten out of jail, he'd had no place to go. Somebody saw him on the street one day. A pastor. "I was driving through this neighborhood and saw you standing there. You got any place to go?" the pastor asked. "No." was the reply. "I have a place for you, if you want. Here's my number. You can call me." As night was coming on, the young man tells me, he made the call. And the pastor came immediately. "It is amazing what just a shower, some clean clothes and a shave will do for someone.", the young man tells me. He talks about the ministry, but even more than what he is saying I see an honest and clear person before me...I can see what love does to people. I put money in his plastic bucket. He gives me a flyer. And then I notice a woman asking for this ministry too. She is sweating. I drive back and purchase some bottles of water. "Stay hydrated." I tell them and they were grateful for the water. Cub and I go home.

Last week, a scripture came to mind and impacted me in a really new way. "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10. Yeshua said that he came to seek and save the lost (The same words are in Matthew 18:11). I have always focused on the "save" part, but never the "seek" part. The pastor who rescued the young man I met was out seeking the lost. The rescued ones were in turn out seeking those who were ready to come in from the cold and those who want to help. And as I looked over the flyer, Luke 19:10 was printed at the bottom. I could have cried.

Love is active. It has no time for judgement or lectures. It is busy going about rescuing and sending people on the way of peace. This makes me so happy. Sometimes, love is what stretches you thin, but oh if it doesn't fill you with the greatest joy too!!! Photo above taken by Mary Chind

When the Gang's All Here

I love it when my family comes to visit. We all live in different cities...from New York, NY all the way down to Savannah, GA. There is so much magic, so much beauty when you are spending time around the people who have loved you and known you all your life. Even through hard times the thread of love between us is a life line...we get together, we cook, we argue, we laugh, we make each other mad, we forgive each other, we serve each other, we get to know each other, counsel each other, encourage each other, make allowances for each other...and we understand each other; even when we run out of words. My family has taught me this...love is life, service is joy, and honesty is a gift. Simple and amazing and wonderful and I don't take the moments we have together for granted. I am so grateful...