Mom is Just a Nickname

Make me strong in spirit, able to weather the challenges of life without breaking in the storm.  Make me able to bend with the winds and the rain, while knowing that I will once more stand straight when the storm passes.

Being strong in spirit does not only mean weathering storms, though.  Sometimes it means knowing when to ask for help, it means knowing when I can bend no further without someone to lean on.  Anyone who knows me may know how hard I find it to ask for help, unless I trust you very well.  Asking for help is not my strong suit.  So in asking to make me strong in spirit, I also ask for help in knowing when I need to ask for help.

Being strong in spirit means being strong enough to know when I can and should offer my help to my loved ones, to my friends.  I feel a fierce urge to protect those I care most about, but I must recognize that they too have their own storms to weather and I must wait for them to ask for help.   I have a hard time with this, since I know how long I will wait , how far I will let myself bend towards breaking, before I will grudgingly reach out for help.

Make me strong in spirit that I might weather the storms of life with grace;

Make me strong in spirit that I might reach out to others with dignity and gratefulness;

Make me strong in spirit that I might help others with respect and awareness of their needs;

Make me strong in spirit that I might live life with joy.

We always think, “That can’t happen to us,” but one day, it -whatever ‘it’ is- does. On Sunday, it happened in a church in the heart of our country.

I feel sadness for the people that have died, for those that were injured, and for the families and friends of this congregation who must make sense of what has happened. It’s horrifying that this man walked into a house of worship, filled with families enjoying a children’s production, and opened fire. The children who saw it happen, from their viewpoints in the front of the room…the families who teach their children about loving everyone, about helping others, about respecting differences…now have to figure out how to forgive a man who aimed such hate into their world, and tarnished the bright shine of their children’s innocence.

My heart goes out to these families, these children, this congregation. The situation strikes home especially since I’ve so fallen in love with a UU church family here in my town. The thought lingers in the back of my mind, “That could have been OUR church.” And I tremble.

I cannot stand at their sides, hold their hands, or catch their tears. I am too far away. Still, I stand with these folks in Tennessee, as they do their best to heal, to understand, and to mourn. They do not stand alone…there are many of us standing with them.

Every once in awhile, the Universe seems to reach out and smack me with a concept. I figure I’m really supposed to learn this point because it will show up every where for awhile. This week it has been the concept of “One River, Many Wells” which is also the name of a book by Matthew Fox, as you can see if you follow the link. I’ve only scratched the surface of this book, but I’ve been intrigued since I read the title. The concept is that there is one shared Truth, but many different ways to arrive at that Truth. (The book describes “Truth” as “Divine” instead. I have altered it for my purposes here.)

The idea so completely encompasses my understanding of the religious world that it struck me. Ever since I began learning about ancient cultures and their creation myths, ever since I began to learn more about the many active religions in the world, the idea that any one system had the ONE and ONLY path to Truth seemed impossible to me. There were similarities to be found in all of the ones I’ve read, and the differences were matters of cultural diversity.

So, it was not a new idea to me, Matthew Fox simply stated it far more clearly than I’d ever heard or tried to express. To think of a single flowing Truth or Divinity that we all tap into in our own unique ways…that’s powerful to me.

Then, I was reading a different book: “How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead: Your Words in Print and Your Name in Lights” by Ariel Gore. In a section called “Embrace Your Genius”, she writes,

You have a unique and delicious genius to share. You see this vibrant and vulnerable planet in your own strange way. You draw connections that make you wonder if you’ve lost your mind. Your fears are specific, and alien to me. We’re human kin, you and me and Murakami –when we dig deep enough into our own individual wells, we reach the same universal stream– but the places we’re digging from, they’re different.

It’s not enough to me that we draw from this deep and shared river of Truth, Creativity or Divinity, though. I believe that we not only receive from it, but we, each of us, feed it. Just as many tiny streams feed into the large and sprawling river, so we too have our own unique things to give to the greater Truth. It is not enough to see that there are many paths, we have to acknowledge that each individual path helps make the common Spirit stronger. The sharing of each Personal Truth only makes the Greater Wisdom all the more potent.

This is the story of a woman and her Bunko-playing circle of close friends. Together, they face challenges like debillitating illness, divorce, infertility, and a husband being sent to Iraq with the National Guard. There are heart to heart discussions, shopping, and arguments. On the surface, it seems like it’d be a great Chick Lit book: fun to read, but easy to put down. There were a few things that made it a book that was hard for me to digest, though.

First of all, I think I must live in a different social hemisphere than the characters in this book do. I could not relate to designer shoes, buying Starbucks all the time, outdoing each other for themed decorations for their Bunko Nights, or the many luxuries they all seemed to have. The situations they face are real enough, but their reactions to those situations don’t seem mature or realistic. The friend I related to the most was Autumn, the easy-going mother of eight children. She seemed the one nod to those of us in the real world who scrimp and save, who don’t have the cash to decorate lavishly for a gathering of close friends, who wear what we have even if it’s not right in style that season and who have accepted that kids and nice furniture don’t get along. Honestly, if a friend of mine had walked into my house and had been as picky as the fastidious Madison was about sitting on Autumn’s furniture, I would have doubted the bonds of our friendship. Love me, love my mess!
Another thing which put me off was that I found the religious references in the book were done with a heavy hand. I see how the many Bible citations and discussions of faith fit into the story, but I sometimes felt more like the author was using the book to proselytize than to tell a story.

I might recommend this book to my Christian friends, particularly those who have wrestled with the question of their faith. I did find some inciteful insightful passages about the nature of belief and faith as I was reading – I have already shared one with a friend, actually! But unless you are looking for Christian lit, I wouldn’t pick this up. The meat of the story is faith-based, not Bunko based, or even character based….in my opinion.

This Book Review has been brought to you by Blog Stop Book Tours. Click on the link to find more information about the book, the author and other bloggers who have reviewed this book!

I’m excited this morning by how my plants are thriving. I’ve got “flats” of seedlings that are getting taller by the day! I’ve got a mint cutting that had looked dead but is now putting off new leaves! My rosemary cutting is still green and bright and seems to be doing well. I just got a new cutting of a plant called ‘wandering Jew’ and I got it potted last night. Even the one potted herb I have, feverfew, is doing well!

It’s such a small thing to be happy about, but it’s thrilling to see my plants doing well.

.^.*ScAtTeR*.^.

Re-reading my last posts about “what do you believe?” keeps making my brain go on to the next question, “Why do you believe what you believe?” I already explained some of my reasons for why, but I think it’s an important question for anyone to consider, even if you don’t share the reasons with anyone. I’m more frustrated by people who don’t ever ask that question of themselves than I am by just about anything else. I think not asking “WHY?” can lead too easily to a ‘herd mentality’ (where everyone goes with the flow and stays safe in the herd).

.^.*sCaTtEr*.^.

We’re setting up a fish tank. So far we just have water in with the filters running, but I still enjoy looking and listening to it. My kids and cats are entranced by it too. It’ll be fun to watch everyone enjoying it even more once we get plants and fish into it.

.^.*ScAtTeR*.^.

I couldn’t concentrate on one topic for this post. My brain is hopping from one idea to another today, so you got a scatterbrained post! Enjoy!