Saver or Thrower Away

 

There are two types of people in this world:

People who easily throw things away and

People who don’t.

I’m the latter,

But I’m thankful for friends who are the first.

 

On Tuesday afternoon,

My Friend Jes stopped by the house and coached me in cleaning my living quarters.

To be exact, she just started organizing and throwing things away

Until I was clearly unhappy.

Then she stepped back and simply supported me as I did the same things,

Just at a much slower and more deliberate pace.

Many hours later,

My living space was the cleanest it’s been in a long time—

And a tin moratorium had been declared.

(Unless it’s a unique, special tin! 😊)

 

On Wednesday morning,

Front Office Cris came out to my storage area at work.

I share the area with the guidance counselor, the custodial staff, and ghosts of years past.

Cris had arranged for the shred truck to come and shred over 30 boxes of papers.

After those were cleaned out,

We, with the help of Joe the Custodian and Front Office Ellen,

Cleaned out a whole bunch of other stuff—

Old electronics—

Junk—

Things that had been there for years—

Cords tangled with spiders and spider webs—

And it made all of us happy—

Except maybe the spiders.

 

Now.

Would I have thrown away—

Or in the case of my house, put in the box to give away—

So much stuff had it not been for Jes and Cris?

No! Absolutely not.

I would have looked at each individual item and tried to figure out a way to use it or repurpose it or save it in case it might be used in the future.

But because I had help,

I was able to let go of a lot of clutter.

And it actually feels good—

Though part of me feels guilty for making so much trash

And not being a good steward—

Which is ridiculous,

Because the stuff in the storage closet at school wasn’t mine to begin with!

 

What about you?

Are you a saver/repurposer or

Are you a thrower-awayer?

Has it always been this way for you?

Or have you changed over time?

 

I’ve always been a saver,

But I’m getting better at throwing/giving things away—

Or at least being more intentional in my purchases.

 

I really just want to be a good steward.

It all comes down to that.

 

What about you?

 

And…go!

 

Impale

 

Heidi the Librarian and Constance Heidi’s Daughter came to the house on Saturday evening. 

 

They wanted to make some tin art and play Word On The Street. 

 

We currently have an abundance of tins. 

 

Even so, finding the right tin can be a challenge—especially when looking for a specific color.

 

It just so happened that both Heidi and Constance were looking for blues, purples, and teals, the latter of which is hot commodity. 

 

They found some tins they thought they might use, so I deconstructed them and prepared them for use. 

 

The tins were large, hefty tins that were hard to lay to the side. 

 

I cut one into smaller pieces because the characters were all from Nemo, but

I left the other as one large sheet of metal because small divisions were less easily made. 

 

While Heidi and Constance worked, I cleaned the studio a bit and pondered what I would make.

 

I finally decided that I would use the Nemo characters to make some simple collages, 

one  of which needed the background from the tin that I had left as a large sheet of metal. 

 

So I trimmed the large sheet, kept what I needed, and then lay the rest—still larger than regular sized tin—on the floor. 

 

A few minutes later, I stood up to get something. 

 

When I did, I felt a prick on my foot. This happens a lot because of the nature of our work, but this was prick was different. 

 

Instead of being on the bottom of my foot, it was on the top. Instead of just pinching a little bit, it felt like it was getting deeper. 

 

Because it was! 

 

The corner of the aforementioned large, hefty metal sheet was digging into my foot. And it hurt! 

 

But luckily it didn’t do too much damage. 

 

Nothing that a good cleaning and bandaid couldn’t fix. 

 

If I’d have been wearing safety shoes. 

If I’d have been paying attention. 

If I’d have not put tin on the floor. 

Then I wouldn’t have gotten injured. 

 

We tend to go through life wondering what would have happened if…

 

May we be a more consciousness people forthright,

Doing what we know we should do,

Instead of suffering the consequences and then…

 

Amen. 

Vicissitudes

 

Joe the Counselor did what Joe the Counselor was supposed to do on Monday night:

He listened to my rambling and then reflected back to me what I said,

Only he added some words of wisdom.

 

He commented,

“I want to read back to you two things that you said.

1.      I don’t want to be so negative and annoyed.

2.      I’m gonna read you the text so that I can be annoyed all over again.”

 

Then we laughed at the absurdity of my contradicting statements

And he went on to say:

“You are beautifully navigating the vicissitudes that we talked about awhile back:

Pleasure and pain (or positivity and annoyance).

Gain and loss.

Fame and disrepute.

Praise and blame/criticism.

And if you can do that—

If you can move back and forth between the ups and downs,

The highs and lows,

The positives and negatives—

And do it with a sense of levity that keeps you from becoming too serious,

Then you are truly living your life.

 

All of us,

If we are open,

Will feel each of those dichotomies at some point.

It’s normal.

It’s expected.

It’s good.

Because if can’t feel them—

If we get stuck in one part or the other—

Then our experience in life will be kind of flat

And we won’t really embrace all that this world has to offer.

 

But you are embracing it.

You are riding those waves and

You are doing it well.

Sure, you may be riding a huge wave of annoyance right now,

But you are also finding joy.

And that’s all any of us can really hope for in life.”

 

I like that Joe.

 

It’s not an either/or with him.

It’s a both/and.

It’s not the final destination.

It’s the journey.

 

And we’re all on this journey together.

Riding waves.

Laughing.

Crashing.

Crying.

Getting back up and trying again.

 

No. I’m not a surfer.

Shocking news, I know :-p.

But I can imagine the scene.

And I can see the waves.

And I bet you can, too.

 

Amen.

 

Repacking Bags

 

If you shop at Lidl,

You have three options:

1.      Load all your groceries back into the cart unbagged,

2.      Buy a reusable plastic or paper bag at the store,

3.      Or bring your own bags or coolers.

 

I opt for option three,

Unless I forget my own bags,

And then I go for option one or two.

 

While shopping, I like to carefully place items in my bags or cooler.

When self-checkout was an option,

It was easy to pick up the items,

Scan them,

And then place them back in their spot in the bag.

 

Self-checkout isn’t an option on Sunday mornings anymore,

So I now must go through the line with a cashier.

Oftentimes, the cashier haphazardly takes everything out of the bag and places it on the conveyer belt as quickly as possible,

Leaving me to repack what I had already packed—

But with the added pressure of someone being in line behind me.

 

Yesterday, as I was beginning to just unpack the bags,

Figuring that’s what would happen anyway,

The cashier said, “Oh. You don’t have to do that.

I’ll lift the items up and scan them and put them right back into the bag.”

Yay!

I was so grateful.

I wasn’t rushed or stressed and

We even had a nice talk about step ladders while she worked.

 

Sometimes, it’s the simplest things that

Make the biggest difference in someone’s day.

 

May we be a people of simple things,

Small things,

Gracious things,

That make life just a bit better for those around us.

Amen.

 

BINGO

 

This year’s fifth graders were COVID Kindergarteners. 

In March of what could arguably be called their most formative year of schooling, 

They went home on a Friday and then didn’t return to school until the next year.

When they did return in 1st grade,

They had their temperature taken each day,

They were required to wear masks,

They alternated between in person and virtual learning, 

And they stayed in their classrooms the entire year for all Encore classes.

I remember visiting their first grade classrooms and teaching them on the wide variety of screens 

And in a wide variety of classroom set ups. 

 

For years, this year‘s fifth graders struggled with behavior and social skills because of their bumpy start.

Truth be told, they will probably always be affected by those Covid years.

Yet I’m happy to report that something has happened this year

And they, for the most part, have become enjoyable to teach!

 

And so, to celebrate our six years of ups and downs together, 

I am asking my fifth grade classes to remember anything they’ve ever done in music class.

If possible, I am then letting them do that song or activity.

 

It’s kind of surreal,

Watching and hearing these kids who are as tall as me

Sing songs from that stunted kindergarten year with such happiness and enthusiasm that it genuinely makes me smile.

I was quite amused on Monday

When my class requested BINGO and then all but yelled the song because they were so happy to be singing it.

 

I often wonder what I’m doing teaching music.

I often wonder if what I am doing is making a lasting difference.

Hearing those fifth graders recall songs and activities that they did during two of the most wonky years of our collective existence

Made me realize something:

I am helping lay the foundation to the soundtrack of my students lives.

The music I choose imbeds itself in their little brains and becomes a strange part of the nostalgia of their childhood.

I am helping kids be kids in a society that wants to grow kids up too quickly.

And for that,

For BINGO and the Freeze Dance and the Bear Hunt, 

I am grateful.

 

Love

 

On Saturday night, 

A friend sent me this quote:

 

Even if a unity of faith is not possible, a unity of love is. —Hans Urs von Balthasar

 

On Sunday morning, 

My dad read 1 Corinthians 13. 

 

As Christ followers,

We are called to live in unity with one another.

And yet we disagree on 

Church polity,

Doctrine,

Theology,

Morals and values, 

Scripture interpretation,

And more. 

 

But Jesus is clear in the gospels and

Paul is clear in his letter to the Corinthians

That love is the greatest thing that we can hold.

And Paul takes it a step further and 

Gives us a clear definition of love 

That doesn’t take much interpretation. 

 

I think that sometimes we become so familiar with scripture 

That we don’t really hear it. 

I heard it yesterday. 

And it was a powerful reminder of 

Who I am tasked to be, 

Especially during these last few weeks of school. 

 

May you hear it, too, 

Even if you’ve read it 100 times, 

And may you remember:

 

“Even if a unity of faith is not possible, a unity of love is.”

 

Amen. 

 

——

 

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, 

But do not have love, 

I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 

 

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, 

And if I have a faith that can move mountains, 

But do not have love, 

I am nothing. 

 

If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, 

But do not have love, 

I gain nothing.

 

Love is patient, 

Love is kind. 

It does not envy, 

It does not boast, 

It is not proud.

It does not dishonor others, 

It is not self-seeking, 

It is not easily angered, 

It keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 

It always protects, 

Always trusts, 

Always hopes, 

Always perseveres.

 

Love never fails. 

But where there are prophecies, they will cease; 

Where there are tongues, they will be stilled; Where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 

But when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 

 

When I was a child, 

I talked like a child, 

I thought like a child, 

I reasoned like a child. 

When I grew up,

I put the ways of childhood behind me. 

 

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; 

Then we shall see face to face. 

Now I know in part; 

Then I shall know fully, 

Even as I am fully known.

 

And now these three remain: 

faith, hope and love. 

But the greatest of these is love.

 

Amen.