Last night Ethan came up to the chair where I was reading, his arms laden with books, and said, "I need some Mama time." Of course I obliged. Who could resist?
In the same vein, last weekend Michael's mom invited Caroline to come up to Birmingham and stay with her for the weekend. I loaded her up early Friday afternoon and we made the 3 hour trek. All the way Caroline talked about Nana. Nana this, Nana that. Nana knows how to french braid...I hope we can make a chocolate pie...I love Nana's house, it's so pretty...Maybe we can watch a movie. You get the picture. caroline loooves here Nana!
Nana has 14 grandchildren, so time alone with her is at a premium. It made Caroline feel so special to be invited by her, to be singled out and wanted like that. Just the same way Ethan made me feel when he sought out my company.
Easter weekend here was a disaster. We had a stomach virus that stomped through our house, torturing everyone but Michael. I had to cancel with our Easter lunch guests, dying eggs was an after thought, and Molly and I even missed church altogether. It almost seemed like my heart might miss the significance of Easter entirely, but thankfully the Lord gave me a reminder: He reminded me that I am pursued, loved and desired. Not to sound trite or platitudinous, but the agony that Jesus endured on the cross really was for me. And because he loves me he comes after me, to be with me, to work on me even in all my messiness - he considers me worth it.
My "Armenian" friends may not agree, but I love the chorus of this hymn:
O Lord I did not choose You,
For that could never be,
My heart would still refuse you,
Had you not chosen me.
This Easter I was reminded that it is a thrill to be sought by the lover of my soul!
Bless ya!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Facebook Props
Facebook is wonderful. Where else would I be able to learn which Winnie the Pooh character I am, or which breakfast cereal I am most like? How did I go 40 years without knowing these things?
Bless ya!
(and thanks, Chris!)
Bless ya!
(and thanks, Chris!)
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Krispy Kreme Theology
This past Monday I headed to Mobile with Alex and Crissy for a girl's day out. We had an agenda, pretty much: Fresh Market, Target, Ann Taylor Loft, China Rose, and the Dentist's office. I really didn't care where we went...I just wanted to get out of town and hang out with my friends.
We had to split up for awhile, and we never really hit all the targets we were aiming for, but that didn't matter because a welcomed detour came upon us: A Krispy Kreme shop.
We were in line waiting to make our selections when I observed something. In line ahead of us were 3 women and 2 children. I'm assuming one of the women was the mom of the kids, one was the grandmother, and then the third adult I wasn't sure about.
One child was an infant and the other child, a little girl, was 2; maybe 3.
The little girl, you could tell, was just tickled to death to be getting a doughnut. So much so that when the doughnuts were on the tray, along with some drinks, the sweet little thing tried to help by lifting the tray up off the counter, I can only guess, to carry it. It didn't take long for the inevitable to happen. Doughnuts and cokes spilled everywhere, littering the floor with sprinkles and sticky stuff. It didn't take more than a second for the little girl to realize what she had done and what it could possibly mean for her. Her wails were full of sorrow..."My doughnut!" she cried (and cried and cried).
Crissy quickly grabbed napkins and we tried to soothe the little girl as best we could. Of course, her mother must have thought we were idiots...then again, she probably just concluded that we were mothers.
Within minutes, the Krispy Kreme staff had launched into "customer mode" and the little girl had a fresh set of doughnuts and drinks. As we were leaving I looked at her, sitting happily at her table, legs swinging beneath her, nibbling on her doughnut and not trace of the sorrow and tears of minutes before.
It got me thinking...
I am like that little girl. Sometimes I see the situation I'm in and I fret. Sometimes I am the one responsible for the situation, sometimes not, but too often I look around me, see the circumstances and think only of the possible negative implications. If that little girl could only have known that even though her doughnut fell, even though her coke splayed itself all over the front of the counter, there was no way on earth her mother was going to say to her, "Well, too bad! You spilled the tray, so no doughnut for you!" No, her mother was compassionate, understanding, and patient with her mess, not chiding her, but calming her with her love and nearness.
God is like that mother. Sometimes my doughnut hits the ground rolling. Sometimes I make the biggest messes with my bad decisions, my somewhat less-than-patient responses. But like that little girl, I am learning. I'll bet the next time she goes into Krispy Kreme, she will think twice about trying to heave that tray to the table. God is sweet to let me experience my depravity...to see how much I am saved from...to see how much I am loved and cherished. I'm not saying that God will replace my doughnuts when I drop them (because let's face it...sometimes the illustrations just plain breakdown, don't they?), but that when I do drop them, He still loves me, He's still my Daddy, and He's committed to loving me as His daughter and teaching me more about holiness along the way. Then maybe the next time an opportunity to make a mess arises, I could possibly choose differently. Only by His grace...only by the power of the Spirit.
Bless ya!
We had to split up for awhile, and we never really hit all the targets we were aiming for, but that didn't matter because a welcomed detour came upon us: A Krispy Kreme shop.
We were in line waiting to make our selections when I observed something. In line ahead of us were 3 women and 2 children. I'm assuming one of the women was the mom of the kids, one was the grandmother, and then the third adult I wasn't sure about.
One child was an infant and the other child, a little girl, was 2; maybe 3.
The little girl, you could tell, was just tickled to death to be getting a doughnut. So much so that when the doughnuts were on the tray, along with some drinks, the sweet little thing tried to help by lifting the tray up off the counter, I can only guess, to carry it. It didn't take long for the inevitable to happen. Doughnuts and cokes spilled everywhere, littering the floor with sprinkles and sticky stuff. It didn't take more than a second for the little girl to realize what she had done and what it could possibly mean for her. Her wails were full of sorrow..."My doughnut!" she cried (and cried and cried).
Crissy quickly grabbed napkins and we tried to soothe the little girl as best we could. Of course, her mother must have thought we were idiots...then again, she probably just concluded that we were mothers.
Within minutes, the Krispy Kreme staff had launched into "customer mode" and the little girl had a fresh set of doughnuts and drinks. As we were leaving I looked at her, sitting happily at her table, legs swinging beneath her, nibbling on her doughnut and not trace of the sorrow and tears of minutes before.
It got me thinking...
I am like that little girl. Sometimes I see the situation I'm in and I fret. Sometimes I am the one responsible for the situation, sometimes not, but too often I look around me, see the circumstances and think only of the possible negative implications. If that little girl could only have known that even though her doughnut fell, even though her coke splayed itself all over the front of the counter, there was no way on earth her mother was going to say to her, "Well, too bad! You spilled the tray, so no doughnut for you!" No, her mother was compassionate, understanding, and patient with her mess, not chiding her, but calming her with her love and nearness.
God is like that mother. Sometimes my doughnut hits the ground rolling. Sometimes I make the biggest messes with my bad decisions, my somewhat less-than-patient responses. But like that little girl, I am learning. I'll bet the next time she goes into Krispy Kreme, she will think twice about trying to heave that tray to the table. God is sweet to let me experience my depravity...to see how much I am saved from...to see how much I am loved and cherished. I'm not saying that God will replace my doughnuts when I drop them (because let's face it...sometimes the illustrations just plain breakdown, don't they?), but that when I do drop them, He still loves me, He's still my Daddy, and He's committed to loving me as His daughter and teaching me more about holiness along the way. Then maybe the next time an opportunity to make a mess arises, I could possibly choose differently. Only by His grace...only by the power of the Spirit.
Bless ya!
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