Missing the lupines made me think of missed opportunities. Sunday, at church, an Episcopal priest spoke. If you were not raised in the church of Christ, you do not realize how extraordinary that is. He moved my heart. He spoke about his book, Jesus, My Father, the CIA and Me. It was a great book. In many ways, it is a book about missed opportunities. I sat in the building, among so many that I love, and I grieved the absence of others that I love so deeply. Ian Cron explained that on farms in the winter in Vermont, where he has a home, people are literally tethered to the house when they walk to the barn to feed the animals. The tether prevents them from getting lost in the snow as they struggle to make it back home. It is the metaphor he used to describe how God, for Ian through the eucharist, constantly tugged on his rope to bring him back Home. I pray, daily, that those I love, who seem to have lost their way, feel the tug, and follow it home.
I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that He gave life to someone who enjoys the gift." - Shauna Neiquist
A friend posted this quote on facebook this morning. I know people for myriad reasons who let days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, and months turn into years often failing to enjoy the gift. They get bogged down in past failures, present pressures, and fear of the future. My mother taught me that every day has its opportunities for enjoyment. Yes, some days are so extraordinarily difficult. I find that I sometimes let the difficulties of yesterday ruin my today. What an extravagant waste of what I have been given. I grieve for myself and for those I love when the opportunities of this day are wasted because of yesterday's regrets and tomorrow's maybes.
My precious niece, Channie, loves to get the family together. She called my mom and asked if she and her family could come over for dinner on Sunday. She asked if Aunt Mellie (that's me) could come too. Because I would not disappoint Channie, I missed the opportunity of hearing Ian Cron speak again, but I embraced the time with my family. Sometimes I hear people say things like, "I don't spend a lot of time with my (kids, wife, husband, family, friends, etc...), but the time we spend is quality time." I say, balderdash!!! It takes quantity to get quality. How do you really know someone with whom you don't spend time? You cannot. So, for those family members who were invited Sunday night, and who either could not or would not come, we missed you. You are important to us. We want to spend time with you. No one can take your place. It was a delightful evening. We pooled our resources, dinner was delicious, and the company stellar. It was a serendipitous time; unexpected and lovely. Thank you, Channie for the opportunity.
Yesterday, as I waited forever at a red light by Sweet Ce Ce's I watched a mom with her two little boys. The mom was beautiful. The boys were absolutely adorable. They all had blonde hair; the boys' curly. They played around, trying to talk to their mom, but she was on her cell phone, and it was as if they did not exist. That brought back a memory that I will never forget. My friend, Martha, and I were having lunch at a fairly nice restaurant. A dad and his four or so year old child were seated close to us. It seemed that it might have been a special occasion, having lunch with Dad. The child sat there, little legs swinging back and forth, eagerly anticipating the time that her dad would shut his cell phone and notice that she was there. The father never did. That precious little child sat there and ate her lunch in silence while her father completely ignored her. What an extraordinary waste of an opportunity to make that sweet child feel special and important. It must be an incredible blow to have your own parent find the phone, the TV, the computer, that book, work, golf, whatever, more important than you. I have certainly been guilty of it. Perhaps, everyone has. When will we learn to turn the TV off, ignore the phone, go away from the computer, close the book, and look the people we love in the eye and hear what they have to say? When will we grasp the opportunity to speak a word of kindness into the lives of those with whom we live? When will we embrace the opportunity to make what matters to those we love matter to us? When we let those opportunites go by unrealized, they do not return. That is cause for deep grieving.
Last night, Simeon was at our house. He got a bit fussy, which is really quite unusual for him, but I'm the grandmother, so what do I know? Mr. Lincoln asked MP if she minded if he tried to settle Simeon down. She was grateful to let him try. It took a while. But, Mr. Lincoln never gave up. He spoke in Simeon's ear, he patted him on the back, he rocked him back and forth. He was totally focused on that baby. Eventually, his efforts were rewarded. Had he given up on the opportunity, he would have missed a sweet, sweet moment.
So, for today, I wish you the power to back away from the distractions of life and truly be present in the lives of the people you love, I wish you an awareness of God's pull in your life, I wish that you make God belly laugh, and I wish you
blessings
I love reading your blogs!!! Reading this reassured the decision we made to move here!! I pray one day to have you here and to be in your presence once again.
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