Monday, August 17, 2009

Back to School

Well, as I am watching the sun go down, literally, I see the book closing on the last chapter labeled, Summer.
Eden and I spent a lot of time at the pool this year. Some memories are sweet, like watching her learn how to dive, or watching her order her own food and some for others believing it was "free."
Some are not so sweet, like the time I put down toilet paper on the toilet seat forgetting I was soaking wet. It took about five big guffaws for me to recognize what had happened and about five hours to finally get all of that toilet paper off the back of my wet legs. Good news, I don't easily embarrass, so I was over it by dinner.
But now, those long days have passed and it is the classic back to school time. I know, I am currently sharping over 50 pencils with a small sharpener, ironing a uniform and wandering how the alarm clock works, it has been so long.
So, goodbye summer....hello fresh new year with a second grader!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Cancer Fighters

Is making it to your 60th Birthday enough life?
Is making it to your 50th Birthday enough life?
For these two men in my life....I would yell, NO!
My step dad and my cousin are both such a joy to be around that it is almost unbelievable to think they would be fighting for their lives and more time with their families.
For those of you who have been through a loved one battling cancer...you know the fight is as real as going to war. It is a family fight. A fight for sanity, a fight for joy, and ultimately a fight to live.
For those of you that have already lost a loved one and are fighting a new fight with more loved ones...you know the armor gets heavy.
Hang in there. We never give up. No matter how low the white count, the red count, the multiple tests...we believe...we hold out hope for a miracle. Until the fat lady has sung, we believe they will make it. They need to see that in our faces, in our speech, in our willingness to go to bat for them...we believe and carry the torch of hope.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Everything Breaks

It doesn't matter how new... everything breaks.
This morning I pushed my glass in the water dispenser of my refrigerator, obviously expecting water to go in my glass. It didn't. It went all over the side and down the door. Bummer.
It's less than two years old. But it proves a point..."expect broken."
There is no getting out of it. Unless you live for only a few seconds, you will experience broken.
A storm can take down a house in a matter of minutes. A diagnosis can break your heart in just a few words. Houses need repair. Cars lose value and break. People, as much as it hurts us, have bodies that break down.
We live in a broken world that offers absolutely nothing material that can withstand fire.
We live among a broken people that cannot offer hope through their own mortality.
We watch, curiously expecting perfection, but always suffer disappointment.
With a broken heart, a broken refrigerator, a broken pair of heels that I used to love so much, a broken schedule, a broken toy in the toy box....I give you...no hope of permanent repair.
But thankfully, Jesus can give you hope. Not the cheesy, Bible character that is made up with blush on His cheeks, but the warrior. Who breaks for the greater good. Who breaks us and our toys to give us permanent. He is from a dominion that our futile minds cannot comprehend, a dominion of perfection.
100 years from now I will not be concerned with a broken water dispenser. 100 years from now, my heart with be mended, my faith restored to visible truth, complete...simply not broken. And it will never break again.