Monday, December 17, 2012

Start with one true sentence

This may be  just more random stuff. I'm still struggling to find words and time to express in writing.

Here's the deal: My mind keeps telling me that if I'm going to post something to a blog, it needs to be provocative or witty or compelling in some way. And many times I don't think I have that in me.

But I have to remember that for me, for now, the first role of the blog is the description from which the term comes: a web blog or online journal. It's a place where I write about things that were meaningful to me. It's for my record as much as anything.

Inspiration from Facebook Monday came morning, via The Writers Circle, quoting James A. Michener: “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” (He didn't say every sentence had to have a verb.)

-- Preparing for Mom's visit. The miracle of the sleepable bed. As late as 5 p.m. Friday, and maybe 6, I was wondering whether Mom would have to sleep on the sofa sleeper in the living room instead of the bed in the front room. But I said a prayer and kept working at the front room. And somehow, before I needed to head to the train station at 8:30, I had the bed cleaned off and made, with enough space for her to walk on a vacuumed carpet! And I had time to clean the bathroom she would be sharing with the cat and also do some other things. I would have never thought all that possible at 5 p.m.

-- The carolers in the rain at the train station.

-- Mom willing to go to choir rehearsal, Gene's banquet and then to hear the cantata.

-- Dropping my phone and breaking the front glass. I don't have time to get it taken care of. Fortunately, it still works right now. But I'm aware of risks that I am taking that could leave me without my phone and mobile connection to so many things I've come to rely on.

-- Thinking I lost my credit card for the second time since September, in conjunction with buying gas. How relieved I felt to find it in that pocket. Yes, I prayed. Yes, I rejoiced when I found it!

-- Where to even begin this week. Remember the miracle of the sleepable bed.

-- Am I gaining weight? What am I going to do about it? Being aware is an important first step. Even a little extra weight brings along too many other problems that I just don't want to deal with. So -- why doesn't thinking of that keep me from grabbing one more bite? Even at Christmas, I don't want the problems that overeating bring. I pray for help and see that God can help me and is, through prayer and understanding people.

-- Reaction to Connecticut school tragedy. There really are no words. First-graders and their teachers? My first reaction: What is wrong with this world? I actually posted it, adding that it was a rhetorical question that I didn't really want people to comment on. For some reason, when I hit post, it did not show up. That's probably just as well. Even in the face of such a tragedy, God is God, and God is good, and He works through His people. I pray for all involved, which in one way or another is everyone in our society.

-- Response to my picture in the paper. I continue to be pleasantly surprised when people congratulate me after seeing a picture taken more than 10 years ago and that continues to show up in the paper in connection with a copy editing award I won earlier this year. One of the thoughts it brings: Yay, they still see the newspaper! Many of my friends no longer do.

-- The interconnectedness of things.

-- The scatteredness of things. I wrote that because I'm including a response I wrote but didn't post  to a Facebook comment about the choir's "lovely performance": I do hope and pray it was more than a performance. If it's not about the message, we are wasting our talent and breath. But I'm probably just drawing on memories of some past cantatas I've been involved with where part of the listeners' role was to extend grace to a struggling choir and pray for God's glory to rise above the noise (or lack thereof, sometimes!)!!!

Facebook summation of weekend: What a grand weekend for me! I love it when my Mom visits, and since she spent much of her time sharing along with me the fellowship and music of some of my favorite folks -- the Goodrich church choir -- well, that made it even grander. And we got to hear Gene give a talk, which we both found interesting. My only regrets: I didn't get a picture taken with Mom at our beautifully decorated church, and Gene woke up sick Sunday and was not able to attend church to hear the cantata.

Hope springs eternal, and I need that hope as I enter another week with more to do that I know how to get done. I will remember not only the miracle of the sleepable bed, but also the miracle of Christ's birth in a manger and God's great gifts of love. Joy to the world! The Lord is with us!

1 comment:

  1. Facebook link: Some true sentences reflecting on the past weekend. I actually posted it by my deadline on Monday but decided not to link it until I had time to go back and edit! Rereading it provides hope I need as I continue to have more I want or need to do than I will ever get done before Christmas gatherings. I continue to pray and trust God to help me get done what's important. (And so, even though I don't understand how editing and linking this blog is important, maybe it is. I sure didn't have time for it!)

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