Strings and Freedom

The result of just one day - a meeting finally set that freed me to dream, and a final day at the library has given me all the apron string to tie as I desire.

String and freedom, Space and connection - it's the mix of the two that seems to be the perfect recipe. Even a recipe of this type works for family. Freedom, without strings? Sometimes we wish the strings were shorter, pulling and tugging back to the table (a table waiting for laughter and honesty and shared life and celebration). Yet there are a few time we wish the string longer, for times of flight for each, inching toward the future with enough freedom to explore, discover, and enjoy the new without the tug turning us toward the old life.

Strings and freedom - Old tugs and new terrain.

Biblical limping

Emerging from the congregation yesterday, the Bible limped to the atar. The woman carrying it as part of the procession had a limp. Not a generative one, but rather the result of a pulled muscle or a strained back. She limped up the three steps and reached with both arms as far as she could to tenuously place the word of God on the corner of the altar.

As I approached the intention to preach the word of God, I could not help but understand fully that all of us limp as we deliver the Bible. We emerge from our lives, from our tensions, from our pain and happiness with words for our spirit. The scriptures are best understood through a limp, humble and honest, worn and pulled.

It is what it is

May God give us the courage to face life as it is and grace to embrace it. Courage to face, grace to embrace. Through courage and grace we come to know God, one nearer nearer than our next breath. Amen.

Praying our Goodbyes by Joyce Rupp

Pilgrim God, there is an exodus going on in our lives - desert stretches, a vast land of questions. Inside our hearts your promises tumble and turn. No pillar of cloud by day or fire by night can we see. Our hearts hurt at leaving loved ones and so much of the security we have known. We try to give in to the stretching and the pain. It is hard, God, and we want to be settled, secure, safe, and sure. And here we are feeling so full of the pilgrim's fear and anxiety.

O God of the journey, life us up, press us against your cheek. Let your great love hold us and create a deep trust in us. Then set us down, God of the journey; take our hands in yours, and guide us ever so gently across the new territoy of our lives.

Lights in the sky

We ran into friends downtown while looking for a bite to eat. On the evening of July 4th, open restaurants are hard to find. I suppose running into friends with such few choices isn't too odd. Yet, I find the longer I live in NJ, the smaller my world gets. We enjoyed middle eastern food and then ice cream for dessert. The sky was beautifully blue, almost colonial blue - appropriate for the day.

At home, I enjoyed a moment of silence before retiring. Yet the silence was surrounded by the sounds of three different fireworks celebrations. Booms and pops from the northeast, the southeast and due west came rumbling to my solace with the occasional exclamatory "zzzz." The lights that accompanied the fireworks were provided by the fireflies, dancing with one another before my eyes. I had a perfect, front row seat for the daily display of God's homemade fireworks. The only applause they know comes from those of us who stop long enough to notice their dancing.