Family, Friends, and Faith

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV)

⁹ Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

    Autumn is sweeping in like a chilly breeze, kissing the leaves into blushing beauty. The crisp air makes me feel like snuggling under a warm blanket, cozying up with my family. I have been thinking for a couple weeks off and on about this next post and have finally found some time this evening to sit down and attempt to put my thoughts into words on the screen.
     About two weeks ago, I was driving to work one morning and saw a sight that caught my attention and snapped me out of my mental to do list long enough to consider its simple, yet miraculous mystery and how it applies to my own life. Two Canada geese flew overhead, very close above my truck. Now, I've seen plenty of these geese and always get a thrill to witness them pass and hear their honking communication. This time, however, I was struck by the complete and amazing synchronicity of this pair. Their wings beat as one, they turned and wheeled over my vehicle as one. Never have I noted such perfect timing in the movement of two creatures up so close.

     As I thought about it, the verses above drifted into my mind and brought up thoughts of how much I appreciate my friends, family, and faith. Life is a tenuous thing; none of us know how much time we have to spend among those we love and change is always on the horizon. I would certainly be a lonely wretch without the support of those around me who care for me and my well-being. Interactions among family and friends may not always flow as seamlessly and harmoniously as those two geese I observed, but when things go wrong, we draw together and see each other through, with prayer and caring words or actions. This is a beautiful and miraculous thing, something everyone needs but not everyone has. I am grateful for the relationships I have with God, my family, and friends and want to be mindful of those around me who may need my support and words or acts of kindness to pick them up when they have fallen. 

Pondering in Goldengrove

to a young child

Margaret, are you grieving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leaves, like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! as the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By & by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you will weep & know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sorrow's springs are the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
It is the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.

--Gerard Manley Hopkins

     I was reminded of this poem when my daughter recently teared up while we were driving to her school one morning. We were discussing the fact that autumn is coming on soon . When I asked her what was the matter, at first she said she didn't know but then admitted that although she likes fall, it always makes her feel a little sad, "like things are coming to an end." I have always loved fall with its myriad colors and the satisfying crunch of dry leaves underfoot, the scent of woodsmoke in the air, the energizing nip in the temperature, but I can certainly relate to that melancholic feeling she expressed. Winter is not my favorite season, though moving to the warmer climate of North Carolina has alleviated my winter blues to quite an extent. My many winters spent in New York State brought me to a point where I felt a heavy dread begin to grow inside when the first snowflakes flew in autumn. How delightful it was to discover daffodils beginning to sprout in January and bloom in February the first spring I lived down south. Even after sixteen springs here, I am still amazed to see those green shoots poking out of the ground so early in the year.
     Part of the reason I began this blog was the feeling Hopkins expressed so eloquently above: the sense of time's passage, of mortality, of the realization that life is fleeting. The somewhat overused expression "carpe diem" comes to mind. I look at the picture below of my children from two autumns ago and already they have grown so much, changed so much. My mind is set on making a conscious effort to make the most of each day, to create memories with my family,  and cease the mindless hurtle through the days, the months, the years. As the air begins to chill and the autumn colors begin their subtle, yet eye-catching creep across the green of youthful leaves, I choose to live in the now, enjoying each moment I am given on this beautiful earth with my beautiful family and friends. Here's to a spectacular autumn!

Wrestling With Weeds

Matthew 13:22-23

²² "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. ²³ But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

     My garden is slowly drowning in weeds. The flowers peek forlornly from beneath the boisterous batches of unknown and unwanted plants that have sprung up around them. They began with small shoots and lack of attention on my part allowed them to creep insidiously upward and outward until they became a big problem.
    Last weekend, I decided the time had come to start wrestling the weeds into submission. I pulled and plucked for hours, my daughter sometimes helping me, and still the job was incomplete. I now stand and shake my head, irritated with myself for letting the weeds get so out of control. A combination of other obligations and the extremely hot temperatures this summer made it all too easy for me to avoid this necessary task.
    As I was weeding, I remembered the verses from the Bible I've listed above. As I have said before, I would rather be out in nature than anywhere else, and often feel closest to God there. In the stillness of wild and natural places, I hear God's voice most clearly. I have been trying in my own life lately to determine what is most important and worthy of my time and attention. Too often, I have allowed the cares and difficulties of life to choke out these things just as the weeds have choked the flowers in my garden. I must not allow the stress and seeming tail-chasing of everyday life create such frenzy and busyness that I neglect to look around for someone in need that I can help, someone I can cheer with a kind word, someone in whose life I can make a positive difference. My prayer today is that the "weeds" in my life will not get in the way of showing God's love to my family, my friends and acquaintances, and to people I have not even met yet.

The Call of the Sea

"I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying."
-John Masefield
     We spent some time visiting Wrightsville Beach this past weekend and I was struck by the common expressions I noticed on the faces of people young and old and in between all around me and my family. It was a blustery, overcast day, not what you would think of as perfect beach weather, yet everyone I saw was smiling and enjoying the moment. I guess it goes to show, as a friend of mine said, "There is NEVER a bad day at the beach." There is just something about being by the ocean that brings peace. I can still remember seeing the "real" ocean for the first time when I was an undergrad. I had to stop and just stare in awe for a few moments at the vastness of it all. The breeze in your hair, the hint of salt on your lips, and the sounds and sights of the waves and the cries of the gulls eases and soothes. As I begin a new school year with all the stress and excitement that brings, the memory of this walk on the beach will suffice when I need a happy place to occupy my mind.

A Gardener's Patience

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

     Gardening is something I truly enjoy. Time spent digging in the dirt, pondering the possibilities, analyzing (and sometimes eating) the results, battling weeds, and dreaming of the next season, is never wasted. It is also a time when I might engage in some personal interior pruning, harvesting, and re-positioning, time for my mind to wander deep into thought about various topics.
     In my mind, I have been debating with myself about what to write about in this next entry and looking for inspiration for several weeks, feeling inexplicably guilty for not producing anything. On summer break, you would think it would be easy for me to find time to sit down and crank out something! Watching the growth of my tomatoes this summer has made me think about my own progress as a writer and a thinker. It takes time and care for those delicate yellow flowers to morph into gorgeous red globes. To a casual observer, it might seem that little is happening during the actual day-to-day process but to one invested in that process, the end result is deeply appreciated. For me, writing at this stage of my life seems to follow a similar pattern. The thoughts churn around in the back of my mind, often pushed aside by other necessary obligations. Eventually, they coalesce into something of substance that pushes back and demands to be expressed, not unlike a seedling bursting up out of the soil. I am learning to show myself the same patience and care that I show the vegetables and flowers in my garden. With so many demands on my time, and a new school year beginning soon, I am granting myself permission (without guilt) to take the time to continue to nuture my own soul and creativity.
    

It's The Little Things

"A man's interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town."
-Henry David Thoreau

     My family and I have been doing a lot of camping and just hanging around outside lately. Again and again, the beauty of the little details around us that not everyone notices has caught my attention. Too often, I think people, myself included, get so busy and entangled in the regular and at times monotonous events in the web of life that we forget to look around at the little miracles that surround us.
     Many times, all I have to do is pay attention to what my kids are paying attention to in order to get a nudge toward what is too important to miss. There is infinite wonder in an anthill, a garden full of sipping bees and butterflies, a wriggling millipede, the shed skin of a cicada still clinging to a tree, or flowers nodding in a breeze on a drowsy summer afternoon. If we take the time to pause and enjoy these moments with our senses fully engaged, we find refreshment and inspiration. My own little sage, pictured above, made me smile just the other day as we were walking, when he stopped in the middle of his stride, turned to the side, and picked a dandelion puff. With great delight, he blew and set the seeds dancing on their way in the sunlight. That is someone with his priorities straight, as far as I am concerned.

Toads Make Me Happy

     For as long as I can remember, I have loved toads. Not what most people would consider a beautiful creature but to me quite enchanting. I wish I had a copy of an early photo of me to post here as a very fitting illustration of this lifelong affection. In the photo, I am about three or four years old, standing in a little wading pool and wearing a light blue bathing suit and a big grin. In both hands I am clutching a huge toad so that it is facing me with its long legs dangling down. One of my cherished memories of childhood is the many times I collected toads and deposited them gently in my doll's baby carriage and gave them a stroll around our yard. Now, only one toad would not do; I was not satisfied until I had located three of them. At that point, I would call them "The Kingston Trio" and spend quality time with them before giving them a kiss good-bye and releasing them back into the wild around our house. None of them ever turned into a handsome prince, by the way. Word of my obsession spread around the family and I can remember receiving little toad and frog related gifts during that time. I still have a few of those items even now.

     I have been thinking about toads quite frequently lately as we seem to have a healthy population in our yard this summer. For the past two years, I have been encouraging the growth of a flower garden at the front of my house. It is coming along well and attracting many bees, butterflies, and, yes, toads. My daughter and my son are learning the fine art of holding toads carefully but firmly enough to prevent their immediate escape. Of course, there is the occasional peeing incident but they've learned to roll with it and wash their hands afterward. It has given me a lot of happiness to see their enjoyment of toads and excitement about getting to observe them up close. Hopefully, it will be something they will pass on to their own children someday.

     So, that is the story of my lifelong love affair with toads. I think an appropriate quote to honor that affection is one by John Constable. "I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may- light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful." From my perspective, these creatures are one of the most beautiful on earth and I am so glad they are here to share it with us.

Beginnings...

     I've decided to begin this blog with two quotes from Henry David Thoreau, one of the inspirations for my proposed ponderings here.

"To be admitted to Nature's hearth costs nothing. None is excluded, but excludes himself. You have only to push aside the curtain."

"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment."

These two quotes hit me hard today as I was thinking about the past few years. I have always loved being out in nature, indeed, I would rather be there than anywhere else I can imagine. I have always loved writing and was a pretty prolific writer in my earlier life but the obligations of college, working, and family have kept me from it for many years now. Recently, several friends have started blogs and inspired me to try it as well. In the least, it may provide me with a much needed creative outlet in brief bursts of blogging.

     So now, I launch myself on this present wave and push aside the curtain to seek Nature's hearth and find solace and peace there in God's creation. Stay tuned for my next post in which I plan to tell a tale of the beauty of toads and their influence in my life.