Living in Harmony…

I’m rambling today, lots of thoughts, not too cohesive yet. We spent a lovely day on our beautiful Ohio River Saturday. My friend RoseMarie was home from Switzerland to celebrate her Dad’s 93rd birthday. She and her husband David took about 40 of us on a luncheon cruise aboard the Majestic River Boat of the Gateway Clipper Fleet. The food was great, and the company greater. There as dancing and Bingo!, sun and lots of family chat. The leaves were perfect and the sun shone, making a day that sparkled with a perfect blue sky.  Rose just had two surgeries after experiencing a horrible fall on her way from work abroad. She worried she wouldn’t be able to travel after the trauma abroad, but they patched her up and put her back together to be able to honor her Dad. It was wonderful for me to be with her and to be outside for awhile since it’s been few and far times outdoors for me lately. We sat or limped about together like the “OLD ladies ” this condition we find ourselves in has made us to temporarily feel. I thnk we actually got to a place where we were done catching up(or needed a BIG breath), just as the end of the cruise came and we hugged like the last time. We’re never sure when she’ll be home again and travelling is dicey for me right now. By four in the afternoon we were both exhausted and needed a nap.

Ninety three year old Joe says a prayer for me every morning, and he’s a very special person to my heart. Rosie and I have been friends since French I in tenth grade. We both took 3 years of French and 4 years of Latin, she in band, me in the choir, and we LOVED the musicals our junior and senior years. Can you believe we both ended up in countries that spoke German? Ah well, at least we were given the ear for language by our wonderful(no, I mean it!) highschool teachers.  Our walks were separated by time and life for about twenty years, but Dad knew when it was time for us to find each other. The internet opened the doors for us at a time  when parents were slipping out of our grasp. And we kept each other standing, by God’s grace. Though so many things might divide us, we have found a way to allow those silly things to go away, our faith and love taking us down the same paths. So, here we are, a Catholic Croat and a Scots-Irish, English, Dutch woman who was lifted out of the established church, walking the Path together in faith, to the end of this road, into somewhere better…..

This place we walk can go up and down so fast, huh? This week my dear friend came home from the hospital, patched up from a bicycle accident and broken bones, My son in law was rear ended in traffic(thank God for Buick Rendevous), and our dear friend was tragically hurt in a motorcycle accident.  My health slides back and forth, if you saw me before 5 in the evening you’d never expect that by 7 I’d be in bed! I’m still health challenged, but there is so much more to think on, to pray over, I hardly see myself in all this hubbub.

Father entrusts us with things outside of ourselves, this life whirling around us. I think it’s supposed to take our eyes off our selves and our burdens, and into HIS Upper Rooms to plead the cases of those around us. Good or bad I see outside more than me, it’s hard to describe my dilemma when asked, as I really don’t add up my the problems. Each hurdle is a separate thing dealt with and on, as the someone else is calling and I need to talk to Dad about it. I so like this new approach, knowing He’s always loved me, accepted me as I am and is so glad to listen…and act. It’s a sure thing, that We walk and talk, no special rooms or altars or rugs; just HE and I.

Do you know Father loves you? He has always loved you. There are no choices to be made, hoops to jump through. This GOD, this architect of mankind saved us all a long time ago, thru His Son’s decision to mortally die, to feel our sorrow at being cut off from THE Father to decide we would NEVER have to do that, be cut off …ever. Be at home. You are loved. This Supreme artist who drew the lovely, strife strewn,blue/greenball called Earth loves YOU. And so does the one whose wriiting. Let me know if you’ve read this. I’m a good friend, Father gives me the time to be here, it’s a gift…

Silly Rabbit, Tri(cks) are for….

Whoops, I meant to say silly humans, but the start was really a good one! We are silly! We glibly run on down the road, Dad sits down on the log made for sittin’ just around the bend and waits. He KNOWS we’ll be back for Him in just a moment’s time, so He lets us run off….again. This Eternal Father knows us so well. Our way just ahead is a bit bumpy and we’ll fall, we’ll bump our “wittle nee” and cry, FINALLY stopping our wayward march to look for Him. I can just see Him. I’ve done it chasing my wee ones, too. Hands slap thighs as we stand, take that deep breath and hustle off, running now to reach the heart of our heart in pain from this most recent headstrong misadventure.

This Father, THE God tends us as walk our walk on Earth. Two Thousand years ago, the most tender part of Himself was sent to save us from the inevitable fall. It’s incredible to think about the fact that, our God, The Creator chases us around. But He does. His Son came and checked us out, He saw we were worth saving and He did that for us. All the squabbles between factions(and there are some real doozies around here), don’t really mean a thing when it came to the decision. God loves us and actually likes us! He felt, He KNEW, He did a good thing on this big blue ball and decided to keep us for Himself. Think on that… God remembered that an age ago this people screwed up, He washed the place clean and hung an arc for us to remember the promise of no more floods to fix us up. A rift of sorts occurred between us kids as the sons of Abraham. Ya know, our DNA is the same, this world over, it proves we were sired from the same seed. BUT wayward as we are, we’d rather point out why we’re different than why we are the same. On and on, we run down this bumpy road, God, our Father letting us run just enough ahead to think we’re on our own.

Lord, Don’t let me fall, but if I fall, thankyou for always pickin’ me up. Father, teach me baby steps, and the faith to reach out and catch my brother’s hand as I run…