aftermath

So I was driving the long drive to the church last week and got hung up on traffic on the highway. They're doing some construction and it was the middle of the day- not unusual to have a slow-down. But the van that kept passing me was unusual. Aftermath was their name; the description said something like 'specialists in crim and tragedy cleanup.' Interesting! Never seen anything like it before- the guys in the van seemed happy enough, probably singing along to the radio. How do you get involved in that business? Must be like a funeral home director- you're born into it or you feel like you have a real calling to help people in that specific way. Makes me think about how uncomfortable we are with messy things (I once fainted when I accidentally cut myself). Must take a person with a strong stomach and committement to do that clean up work. And I'd venture, not unlike a pastor who goes from funeral to baptism in one weekend.

throwing bricks

Okay, so this is pretty random but I just couldn't pass it up. I was on my way to the grocery store the other day for the makings of tandoori chicken when I saw men throwing bricks. when I first saw it, I hit the brakes. And then I saw it happen again. A man was on scaffolding and his co-worker was throwing up bricks to him. Seems he'd run out and needed a few more. This was a practiced occurrence because each of the five times I watched it happen it went off without a hitch. One easy movement from the thrower to the throwee. and the throwee reached out into midair to catch a brick as if he did it everyday. And maybe he does. Just goes to show you (or me) that wonderful, amazing things happen everyday, even when you're on your way to the grocery store!

holiday letter

Okay, in our family we call it the "crap, we better get out Xmas cards, maybe we should tell people somethings" letter. We just received our first yesterday from dear friends out West. Lots of action pictures and action verbs. My first thought was, when do you all sleep? Eat? Pay bills? So much has happened this year it was hard to cram in to a page, front and back. Here's what I wonder: no one includes the messy, crappy things that happened. Or all the times they woke up at night wondering what was coming next. Or all the times they came home from work saying "my boss is a jerk" or "traffic was better today than usual." We include the extraordinary things but leave out the mundane. But the mundane is what makes it happen and that's often when relationships are built- schleeping groceries, a quick meal together, shoveling snow. Someone said once "how we live our days is how we live our lives. " It's true, it's true! So we'll be sure to include the mundane this year.

that's not my Jesus

Last night our evening service spent some time looking at images/ pictures of Jesus. All over the board- from Jesus with a gun to Jesus with children to Jesus the homeless guy. I asked folks to write their comments about the images. The most frequent comment: not my Jesus! That was of course by the Jesus holding the gun. But others too. A woman earlier in the day brought in a crucifix with a Snape/ Darthvader looking Jesus on it- not my Jesus she said. So why are we so clear about who Jesus isn't? and not always so clear about who Jesus is?

first things first

So I've accidentally erased this thing twice. So again- first things first. Duh. Like, "It was in the last place I looked for it." Of course it was, why would you keep looking if you found it?
Like this, I've been looking for something else but decided I'd already found it, here. I write to be read so please read and comment to your heart's delight. I'm excited that so many people are writing. WRITING! Keep it going, keep it going.