Snow falling on cedars

On top of the 4 inches of snow that we woke up to on Saturday morning, came more snow Sunday afternoon. Large clumps of snow began drifting down onto the cedars and pines that surround our house, and because there has been no wind to blow it off, even this morning the snow is still clinging to the branches. It is a lovely sight. Even lovelier is the bright red cardinal against the backdrop of the pure white snow. There's not quite this much snow today -- thank goodness -- if any more falls I will have to shovel the stuff at my job on Tuesday. This picture is from several winters ago. Yesterday before the new snow started to fall, I trudged down the driveway and up to the mailbox on the access road to check for Saturday’s mail and to dump some chicken bones for the vermin to help themselves too (no point in throwing something away that could be recycled). What an interesting story is told in the pristine snow. Here was a rabbit meandering along, and a cat (but not our kitty – she was right behind me, walking in the tire tracks we made on Saturday when we went to town), and a bird, with its tail leaving sweep marks in the snow.

Taking some medicine...

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine; but a broken spirit drieth the bones” (Prov 17:22). One of the things I appreciate the most about me and my husband together is our capacity to enjoy a good laugh. Neither of us are goofy, silly people, but we do find things strangely amusing sometimes. The other morning, he asked me “Do you wanna mango by yourself.” I parsed and immediately understood this straightforward question (translation: Do you want to eat an entire mango yourself or should we split one), but something about it struck my funny bone – I guess because mango sounds like tango. My mind immediately leapt to the possibilities of what might be meant by mango by myself. Sure, I’d love to mango by myself. "Would you like to go mangoing today?” Anyway, we got the giggles and then as more possibilities of what mango might mean presented themselves, we laughed even harder. Was it REALLY that funny? Probably not, but thanks to the laughter, both of us were felt buoyant for most of the day and even better, we managed not to talk about our son for almost 3 hours. What a milestone that was!

Slightly off

A few days ago, I took one of those meaningless, silly e-mail tests that make the circuit. This one involved mentally adding pairs of numbers and then answering a totally unrelated question involving a color and a household tool. According to the e-mail, 98% of those who take the test give the same answer. But not me. I got part of the answer “right” but not the other. So I guess that means I’m just slightly out of step with everybody else. Tell me something I didn’t already know...

Happy birthday..

Our son was born on Feb 12, which is still Abraham Lincoln’s birthday (my OB suggested we name him Abe) although it is no longer celebrated as a separate holiday. When we brought him home from the hospital a few days later, it was 80 degrees. Here, of course, we consider ourselves fortunate if we can venture out on Feb 12 without being bundled from head to toe. The first few years after we moved here, we posed with the cake outdoors – I guess we didn’t have a flash attachment for the camera. The picture on the left was taken in 1983, 2 years after we moved here, when he was 6 years old. And yes, the duck had every intention of flying up and helping herself to birthday cake. They were used to getting scraps from the table and for all she knew, here were some more. A year later, there we were again, with the cake. It is important for me to go back and look at these pictures that were taken during a much happier time in our lives. The good memories of being his mother, and what a sweet, lovely child he was – he was truly adorable -- are very important now. It was very easy to love him them, before things slowly began to go wrong. Oh, sure, we still love him. A kernel of that sweet, lovely little boy still lurks in there somewhere, but parenting him now that he is an adult of 29 is mostly an exercise in exasperation, depression, and frustration. If I didn’t have those good memories, then it truly would be awful

Giving thanks...

Somewhere in my scattered collection of books is a thin paperback, “Prison to Praise,” which chronicles one man’s journey in faith; specifically, the power that offering praise to God in the midst of all circumstances (ALL circumstances) has to effect a change in those circumstances. I’m going to have to dig it out. Our son is in a headlong rush toward the edge of the cliff, and there isn’t a thing we can do about it. Nothing. Our hands are tied, and all we can do is watch with a helpless, angry feeling as he shows every indication that he is going to make what seems to us to be the second worst mistake of his life (the first worst mistake is his apparent decision to turn is back on God and go his own way). I heard this song by the Newsboys the other morning as I drove to work, and it lifted my spirits. I guess I need to get my mind off the circumstances and focused on God where it belongs.

It's the song of the redeemed
Rising from the African plain
It's the song of the forgiven
Drowning out the Amazon rain
The song of Asian believers
Filled with God's holy fire
It's every tribe, every tongue, every nation
A love song born of a grateful choir

It's all God's children singin'
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns

Let it rise above the fore-winds
Caught up in the heavenly sound
Let praises echo from the towers of cathedrals
To the faithful gathered underground
Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creation
Some were meant to persist
Of all the bells rung from a thousand steeples
None rings truer than this

It's all God's children singin'
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns

And all the powers of darkness
Tremble at what they've just heard
Cause all the powers of darkness
Can't drown out a single word
When all God's children sing out
Glory, Glory Hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
All God's children sing out
Glory, Glory Hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
All God's people sing out
Glory, Glory Hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
****
Guess I need to start singing... he just walked in the door...