Saturday, April 30, 2011

What I Get to Do

I was loading stuff into my car today to take to an Art Expo tomorrow.  I posted what I was doing on Twitter.  I added that I was happy, because I didn't want anyone to think that I was complaining about loading the car.  I wasn't thinking of it as work, but felt happy that I could paint and was going to be part of an art exhibit.  It was something I "got" to do!
I've been trying lately to think of work and chores as something I "get" to do.

Who wouldn't... finding themselves holding a hungry child next to them to keep warm on a cold night with no shelter or food... want to be in a hot kitchen doing dishes?  That would be a sign that you had shelter, warmth and food for you and your child.

No I don't remember to think of everything I do as something I get to do all the time, and I'm pretty sure I'll forget several more times even today.  So, if you see me sometime and hear me say, "I'm so tired, it's been a rough day," feel free to ask me what it was I got to do.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

What?? On Easter Sunday?!!!

"He probably chooses this life!"
"Sometimes you just can’t help people!"
"Why does he have to lay on the church wall... and on Easter Sunday!  Jeeesh!"

My husband, Ric, posted this photo and those comments on Facebook.  Now I would never post something like that... not because I’m too good of a person to post it, but because I wouldn’t have the COURAGE to risk being misunderstood to make a point!  My husband does.

Ric got slammed by a few people on Facebook.  But not be people who know him... they got his point.

We actually did see this man lying on the wall in the Sacred Heart garden on Easter Sunday.  We were awestruck!  So many levels of enlightenment can be found in this scene.

I like what Jim Lange said:  “The Universe loves irony.”

Ric eventually posted a comment on his photo:  “My intention is just to inspire us to think, think, think.  This is going on every day.  One of the ways we have (in Charleston, WV) as taxpayers, dealt with the situation in recent years, is to have spikes added to the tops of walls so that vagrant loiterers are discouraged from tainting the ambiance of downtown...”

Most of us have uttered the words in the caption of this photo, in one situation or another.  Many of us have seen the dirty, smelly, disheveled person walk through our church doors... delighted he or she wanted to be there, yet secretly hoping they wouldn’t take a seat next to us.  Those are thoughts we wish we were above thinking... but we thought them anyway.

We are meant to love, without understanding why and without judgment... AND we are not meant to have such pristine lives that we can easily and quickly look down on others. 

Ric and I walked through the garden enjoying its beauty and then returned back to our home.  This homeLESS man found a safe refuge and a place to lay his head for a while.  At a place designed to bring comfort, peace and serenity... for everyone needing a little rest.