spirituality

An Aborted Night in Franklin

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First of all, my tour of duty as dog-sitter has ended. At least part one has. Part two is next week.

It was a lot of fun and I met some interesting neighbors and their even more interesting pets, including one Golden Retriever who likes to carry her favorite tennis ball in her mouth when she goes on a walk and two very tiny Yorkies. And the people were nice, too. Everybody seemed to love Millie, the dog I was taking care of and they all wanted to pet her and talk to her.

My cat Lucy was so overjoyed to see me that she climbed in my lap and fell asleep. Apparently, that’s how she does excitement. But at least she purrs whenever she sees me. Unless her food and/or water bowls are empty. Then not so much.

Of course, to celebrate another week survived I went to Franklin. Unfortunately, the weather got a bit snippy so I didn’t stay as long as normal. There were the torrential rains and the thunder that sounded like cannons. There was me in my increasingly wet sandals. That was not a good combination.

The good news is that I did not melt and I did eventually dry off. I got my McCreary’s fix and even got to visit my favorite  church building. There was even a lull in the rain, so I was able to walk around a bit.

The older I get, the more I think that the riches that really count are the experiences you get from living, from going out and trying new things and taking risks and sometimes from simple things like walking in the rain. Those are what you look back on with fondness more than any degrees or business accomplishments.

There. That’s my big moral of the day. Nothing too philosophical or theological. Just some stuff I’ve been learning lately.

 

 

 

 

Just Keep Pinning, Just Keep Pinning

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I love the moment in one of the Harry Potter movies when Ronald Weasley observes someone doing something really stupid and says, “How thick can you get?”

I’ve felt that way about myself sometimes after repeatedly missing the obvious that was literally staring me in the face. Like when I was looking for my phone and it was lying underneath something else right in front of me. Or like I mentioned earlier when Millie’s water bowl was empty and I failed to notice.

I know I’m not the only one. Every one has those Captain Obvious moments that leave you scratching your head wondering how you could have missed the aforementioned obvious. Or not seen what you were looking for when it might as well have had flashing neon lights around it.

Sometimes, you need to just step back and do something frivolous. For me, that means going to Pinterest and pinning lots of random and useless things. Mostly what I pin turns out to be stuff that is funny and/or weird. But you do what relaxes you and calms you down.

When I step away and go do something else, sometimes I come back and I can see what I couldn’t before. Sometimes when I start looking for something else that’s missing is when I find the first thing I was looking for. I do lose my things quite often.

So what’s the point? It’s okay to not be 100% on all the time. It’s okay not to be perfect every minute of every day. Absolute perfection is an unattainable expectation anyway. You can only do your best. Just like you can only really give 100%, not 110% or 150%. But that is another topic for another day.

On a side note, I’m hoping that the “Keep Calm and . . .” fad has run its course. It’s starting to get old. Just sayin’.

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A Good Moment

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As I write this, I can hear Millie snoring. She’s a very sweet 12-year old dog that I’m dog-sitting for this week.

I finally figured out tonight what she’s been trying to tell me when she would come up to me and bark. She just wanted me to get down on her level and rub her little doggie belly.

Sometimes, my needs are that simple. Maybe not a belly rub, but maybe just someone who can pat me on the shoulder and remind me that everything will be alright.

Plus, tomorrow’s Friday. That’s always a good thing.

PS She was letting me know her water bowl was empty but it took me way longer than it should have to pick up on that. Now her water bowl is back to full and life is all good again.

My Favorite Ending (Other Than in Revelation, Of Course)

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Aslan-PC

Here’s my favorite ending of any book I’ve ever read (not including the Bible, of course):

“Then Aslan turned to them and said: “You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be.”

Lucy said, “We’re so afraid of being sent away, Aslan. And you have sent us back into our own world so often.”

“No fear of that,” said Aslan. “Have you not guessed?” Their hearts leaped and a wild hope rose within them. “There was a real railway accident,” said Aslan softly. “Your father and mother and all of you are—as you used to call it in the Shadowlands—dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.”

And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

This is from the last book of The Chronicles of Narnia, appropriately called The Last Battle. I heartily recommend that you read all seven of the books in the series and I rarely ever recommend anything heartily. Except Campbell’s Soup maybe.

 

Just Keep Calm

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It’s funny how when you have a really great conversation or an amazing gathering of friends or a beautiful moment, you want to go back to that same place and re-create it. Well, at least I do. In my mind, I think if I get back to that place with those same people, maybe that same magic will be there and we can recreate another moment just like the one I remember so well.

But I’m learning you can’t. Real pleasure is only fully realized when a moment becomes a memory. Or so says one Mr. C. S. Lewis who I’ve heard was somewhat wise on these matters.

Besides, you can’t go back. Only forward. Otherwise we might stay stuck repeating one moment over and over. We’d never move into the future for always wanting to go back into the past and recreate it.

This is your best moment because this is where God has you now and this is where you will find Him. Be all in the moment right now.

I’m tired but thankful. I know I’ll sleep well and hopefully have more moments worth remembering tomorrow. I hope you will, too.

Keep Calm and Keep Believing

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We’ve all royally messed up when it comes to relationships. Maybe you’ve lost only a few friends along the way or maybe you feel like you’ve run everyone away. Either way it never gets easier when someone finally gives up on you.

It’s easy to become resentful and bitter, but in the long run forgiveness feels better than being weighed down by all that anger. So choose to forgive, not because the other person deserves it but because you need it.

Only forgiven people can forgive and only those whom God has forgiven can really and truly forgive those who have hurt them.

Of course forgiveness doesn’t mean automatic restoration of trust. That has to be earned. Some relationships will never be like they were before. But still forgiveness is always right and always good and always worth it.

I recommend eating something chocolatey after forgiving someone. It helps. Sorta like eating chocolate after fighting off a dementor. Yes, I just went Harry Potter on you.

You forgive because you know you fail. You know you will inevitably need forgiveness yourself from just about everyone you know. It happens. Treat others like you would like to be treated when you deserve rejection but find mercy instead.

Don’t forget the chocolate.

Keep Calm and Choose Joy

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“When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight” (Khalil Gibran).

“…the secret to joy is to keep seeking God where we doubt He is” (Ann Voskamp).

The difference between happiness and joy is this: happiness requires the right circumstances while joy can be found anywhere at any time.

The Apostle Paul could indeed count it all joy even when he was imprisoned or beaten or shipwrecked. He could sing hymns of joy when locked in a dungeon with little hope of his circumstances improving any time soon.

You can’t depend on happiness because you never know from one moment to the next what will happen. You can’t say for sure that everything will turn out the way you want to produce the happiness you desire.

But joy is knowing that the future belongs to Jesus. For Jesus, the future is now. For you, that means that you can count on that future coming to pass as surely as you can count on Jesus.

But joy is still a choice you and I must make every single day. Sometimes, you won’t feel like choosing joy because it seems unnatural in the face of what you’re going through. I know many times I’d rather choose anything but joy because feeling sorry for myself makes me feel good. For a little while.

So when people disappoint you– and they will– choose joy.

When you lose your job, choose joy.

When the rain clouds cover the sky and you can’t find the sun, choose joy.

Trust me. It’s always worth it.

 

 

Keep Calm and Don’t Forget to Breathe

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All of us have those moments of panic. Or maybe it’s just me. Like yesterday when I couldn’t find my keys. It was like they went to that special hidden worm hole where all those socks go.

I was sure I had set them down, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember when. In times like these, I remind myself to breathe. Take a deep breath and exhale it slowly.

I found my keys hidden under my wallet.

Sometimes, you get to anxious over what you’re missing and can look right at it without seeing it because you’re too distracted by trying to find it. Raise your hand if that made sense.

I have to remind myself that God is present even when my senses tell me He’s absent. Too often, I miss Him when I look for Him in times of stress and anxiety. Too many times I might be looking right at Him and not see Him because I’m too worried about finding Him.

He’s not lost. He never was. It’s me who gets lost. Breathing deeply helps me remember that. It helps to remind me that if I only stand still, God will come to where I am and find me.

Keep Calm and Drink Coffee

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Well, it’s Friday. I’m currently house- and dog-sitting for a very well-behaved and gentle dog named Millie.

I’m also reading a very interesting book written by a lady with autism. It’s fascinating to see her thought processes and hear how she sees the world differently than I. It’s also amazing to see how she has basically taught herself how to overcome most of her autistic tendencies.

I still think that ALL of us at some level are fundamentally broken. We all have some kind of phobias or issues that keep us from always acting normal. Some are better at hiding it than others, but it doesn’t change the fact that they are just as broken as the rest of us.

I’m so very glad Jesus didn’t come for the healthy. He came for the sick. The destitute. The abused. The abuser. The lonely. The broken. Us.

In those moments when you feel like you will never be normal and accepted, remember that Jesus doesn’t think you’re normal. He thinks you’re extraordinary.

Maya Angelou, Twin Peaks, and Other Thursday Offerings

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Best-Life-Quotes-Maya-Angelou

I found out with the rest of the world when Maya Angelou died yesterday. I was saddened. More than than, I regretted not taking the time to know more about her. I had read one of her autobiographies a few months ago, but I honestly couldn’t say that I still remember much from that.

Her last tweet was “Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God.”

I like that. I don’t think that I listen to myself because I myself am divine, but more like I listen to myself because God dwells in me as much as He dwells out there. I’m reminded of something Ralph Waldo Emerson said: ” ‘What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

You can’t find quietude and stillness unless you take the time to interrupt your busyness and make space for quiet. You have to turn off the TV, turn off the radio/streaming/music device, and put down your phone. You have to be still and tune out all the distractions that the media is throwing at you from every angle. Then maybe you can hear God.

I can tell you more about Twin Peaks, an early 90’s short-lived TV series that I’ve been watching lately. It is odd and compelling. It’s got David Duchovny in drag. I think that says it all. You probably need serious drugs to understand what all goes on during each episode. At least I think so.

There were only 29 episodes in the series and I have seen 23. I think there was a sort of prequel movie that followed. Only in Hollywood would that last sentence make sense.

But yes, it is Thursday, which makes tomorrow Friday. There will never ever be a time when that is not a good thing. I always love Fridays even when I’m not working. Because Friday always leads to sleeping in on Saturday and church on Sunday. Both of those are favorites of mine.

So, RIP Maya Angelou. And Happy Friday to all of you.

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