Anyway

 

“for the measure you give will be the measure you get back”

 

Monday was MLK, Jr. Day.

 

Because I teach about him each year,

I know a lot about Martin Luther King, Jr.

And while I know that he was not a perfect man,

I consider King to be a modern-day prophet.

And like many prophets of old,

King suffered.

He endured multiple death threats,

Jail time, and

Beatings,

For his work that centered on Jesus’s belief that

There is neither Jew nor Gentile,

neither slave nor free,

nor is there male and female,

for we are all one in Him.

 

As best as he could,

MLK did not judge.

He did not condemn.

He forgave.

And he gave.

Yet he was judged.

He was condemned.

Some people could not forgive him for his message of equality.

Some people did not care how much he gave.

And in the end,

His life was taken much too young.

 

The measure he gave was not the measure he got back…

So why bother?

 

Why bother to do good?

Why bother not to judge?

Why bother not to be selfish?

Why bother not to say horrendous things about our enemies?

Why bother to give to the poor and needy?

Why bother forgive?

Why not hold grudges and get even?

Why not amass wealth for ourselves?

Why not slander our neighbor?

Why not mock those who differ from us?

Why not be manipulative and wicked?

Clearly, those things get you far in this world.

 

Why take the hard road when there is a much easier path to follow?

 

Why?

 

Because it’s the right thing to do.

 

The Love of God

Is a redeeming love that is open to all

through the cross and resurrection of

Jesus Christ.

 

THAT is why MLK, Jr. did the work he did.

 

And THAT is why

Those of us who follow in the way of Love

Do the work we do as well.

 

But it is so very, very hard sometimes.

 

Especially when the measure we give

Is not the measure we get back.

 

…

 

Yet we do it anyway.

 

We do it

because we must.

Bee Sting

Bee stings hurt!

I learned that fact yesterday

After one of my sister’s pet-honeybees stung me.

 

I was standing in the yard,

Thinking about bees,

Watching them fly,

Listening to them buzz,

Pondering their lives together in the hive,

When one of them flew a little too close to me and

Got stuck in my hair.

 

I didn’t freak out.

I simply said,

“I think I have a bee in my hair.”

My sister tried to get her out,

But in her frustration at being trapped,

The bee deployed her one defense mechanism:

Her stinger.

 

It hurt!

 

And then I heard,

“Yeh…she’s going to die now.

She won’t sting you again.”

And I couldn’t be mad.

Instead I was sad.

 

Poor bee.

Poor Dee.

 

When the bee stung me,

It was her last resort.

She was scared.

She was mad.

She was desperate.

So she did the only thing she instinctively knew to do:

She stung me,

Which ultimately led to her demise.

 

I think sometimes we do this, too.

When we get stuck,

When we feel frantic,

When we are scared or mad or desperate,

We do the only thing we instinctively know to do--

Whatever that is in the moment--

And it’s sometimes not the best choice for the long run.

 

Oh God: When we get stuck. When we are in a bind. When we are frustrated and don’t know what to do. Help us to use our abilities to breathe and to think and to make decisions that do not lead to our demise. And God? Thank you for people like my sister who have a heart for the bees. Help us, as a human race, to stop destroying the peaceful pollinators and to provide an environment where they can thrive and do the work that You created for them to do. Amen.

Crisis Averted!

 Last Monday, on a much-needed workday,

Shauna the Art Teacher was working on spooky decorations for this year’s Fall Festival.

As I was leaving to get lunch,

I popped my head into the art room to see how things were going.

Bent over working, Shauna said, “Come and see.”

Expecting to see a dark monstrosity,

I rounded the corner and saw nothing of the sort!

Instead, I saw a huge puddle of thick, orange paint on the floor, and

Shauna feverishly trying to get it up before it dried.

“Oh no!” I said.

“Yeh. I was looking for black paint and accidentally knocked over the orange.

It’s a small disaster.”

Without thinking twice,

I picked up some paper towels and began to help.

Thankful for a plethora of paper towels and mindful of our age as our knees hurt,

Shauna and I worked together to get up as much paint as we could.

Afterward, Shauna prepared the mop water and hoped it would finish the job.

It did.

The custodial team’s kind wrath was avoided!

A crisis was averted!

And Shauna went about her day making spooky decorations.

 

I had outlined my day in my head.

I had prepared myself for things to do and places to go.

I hadn’t allotted any time to help avert crises,

But as soon as I knew that a friend needed help,

I dropped everything and went to work.

 

Sometimes something more important than the original plan pops up.

Sometimes we must drop everything to help those in need.

Sometimes giving our time and energy to others is the most important thing we can do.

And sometimes the work will be messy.

But let’s do the work.

The messy work.

Of helping others amid disaster.

Both great and small.

Amen.

Calendars for the Kids

We have a tradition. On the day after Christmas, we go to the bookstore to buy calendars at 50% off. I buy calendars for friends and family members, and I buy calendars for my classroom.

This year, I bought five calendars for my classroom: Mister Rogers, Peanuts, Unlikely Friends, Harry Potter, and Muscle Cars. Because I was given three personalized calendars and sent one from the zoo, I now have eight calendars in my classroom and one in the hallway outside my door :-o!

My students keep asking why I have so many calendars. I say, “Because you like them.” And they do.

In the past, I have tried to fill my room with inspirational calendars. Last year, amongst others, I had “The Road Less Traveled” and “Famous Women in Science” as my room’s decorations. No one ever commented on those calendars. I don’t think the adults noticed, and I think there were too many words for the kids—and kids don’t always care so much about words.

They loved my Unlikely Friends calendar, though. I received lots of comments on the animals and how cute they were. And they liked the Dr. Seuss calendar. The fun illustrations caught their eyes.

So I took a different approach this year. I decided that if I couldn’t inspire them, then I would make them smile 😊.

I couldn’t find a Dr. Seuss calendar that day, so I substituted Mr. Rogers. I’ve had the Peanuts calendar for years. I like it calendar because it has a cute picture with the phrase “Happiness is…” and then something different in the blank each month. I figure the repetition is helpful for emerging readers. The Unlikely Friends calendar is always a hit. And…well…I figured that the kids would like Harry Potter and Muscle Cars.

And I was correct. I have literally had cheers for each of the calendars.

Sometimes, friends, we do things that we wouldn’t ordinarily do simply because we know that those we love will benefit from our stepping out of comfort. May we be a people willing to try new things for the sake of good, and may we embrace the notion that if we can’t inspire them, then at least we can make them smile (through good, clean, fun).

When is the last time you did something out of the ordinary for those you love? Please share. I’d love to hear.

Sacrifice

After singing a song this morning, a second-grade student raised his hand and asked, “What is sacrifice?”

Not expecting the question, I quickly thought of an answer that didn’t include the word itself. (You’d be surprised at how difficult it is to define a word without using the word or a derivative of the word in its own definition.)

I said, “A sacrifice is something that’s difficult to do. It’s something that you might not want to do but that you know is for the best, so you do it anyway. For instance, a military person might have to go far away from his family for a year. He probably doesn’t want to go far away from his family for a year, but he knows it is his job, so he does it anyway. He makes a sacrifice. Or. Maybe you don’t want to do your homework when you get home but you know you need to do it. In that case, you sacrifice your time to do your homework—something you don’t want to do—because you know it’s the right thing to do. Does that make sense?”

“Yes. It’s like when a military person knows that he might get shot but does his job anyway?”

“Yes…Yes…That is sacrifice.”

And, oh, sweet boy, there are so many sacrifices that people make each day:

A teacher who spends her paycheck on supplies and materials for her students because they otherwise wouldn’t have them;

A mom who skips supper because there isn’t enough food to feed everyone in the house;

A family who chooses not to eat out for the month because they hear of an orphanage that is in dire need of funding;

A couple who tithes every month even though they are barely making ends meet;

A big brother who goes without underwear so that his little brother can wear their one pair;

A doctor who leaves a six-figure job in the city to move to a small town that needs good medical care;

A friend who forfeits concert tickets so that she can visit a friend she knows is hurting;

A parent who buys all of his clothes at the thrift store and packs his lunch every day to save money to send his children to college;

A mom who leaves her family behind to come to the United States to make enough money to provide food, clothing, and shelter in a third world country;

A perfect man who gave his life to pay the price for others’ shortcomings…

So many people make sacrifices each day. But how often do we stop and say thanks?

Loving God, for the sacrifice of your Son, we give you thanks. And for the sacrifices that are made each day to make this world a better place, we offer this prayer of praise. Give us eyes to see the sacrifice around us and give us the bold wisdom to encourage those who need it most. Amen.

-----

What is a story of sacrifice that moves or inspires you? I would love to hear.

The Things We Do For Love

Until Saturday night, I’d only seen Forest Gump one time. Now I’ve seen it one and a half times. It’s really a very good movie, and I can’t help but smile when I think of Forest’s unwavering, selfless, and steady love for the people in his life. One of my favorite parts of the story is when Captain Dan, having disappeared from Forest’s life for a couple of years, appears at the end of Forest’s boat dock. Forest is so excited to see Captain Dan that he immediately jumps off of his shrimp boat and starts swimming to the dock. Meanwhile, Forest’s boat is left unattended and eventually crashes. It’s very funny. But it’s also very moving just how genuinely excited Forest is to see his friend.

Love causes us to do weird things sometimes—things that we might not do if we stopped to think about them for a moment—but things so very wonderful because they come from a place deep inside us that we cannot control.

Yesterday, while the kids were playing foosball, Jack sustained a small injury. As the bruise on his hip started to move outward from foosball pole’s point of impact, I said, “I’ll go get you some ice.” Amelia immediately chimed in, “I’ll go with you.” Amelia held the bag for me as I filled it with ice and declared that everything would be just fine. Then, on her way out of the kitchen, with no previous thought or plan, she said, “Oh. I’ll grab him a York Peppermint Patty. That’ll make him all better.” And it did. Because Jack’s bruise never really moved beyond that dot.

Later in the afternoon, after Jack’s York Peppermint Patty had healed him, he volunteered to pull Amelia, Griffin, and Charlie on the paddle board as he kayaked. His dad, my brother, chaperoned on another kayak and his mom paddled along on another paddle board. I’m not exactly sure what happened as my brother tried to get out of his kayak but something went wrong and the next thing I knew his kayak was taking in water and Jack had jumped in to help get his dad out. The thing was…my brother had on his life jacket and wasn’t going to sink. But Jack, with no conscious thought or plan, jumped in to rescue his dad with nothing but himself. No noodle. No life jacket. Just love.

Forest and Jack jumped in the water. Come to think of it, Peter did, too, when he saw Jesus long, long ago. Amelia healed with a York Peppermint Patty. Jesus healed with his life.

Love causes us to do weird things sometimes—things that we might not do if we stopped to think about them for a moment—but things so very wonderful because they come from a place
deep inside us that we cannot control.

When is the last time you did something weird for love? What’s more: when is the last time someone did something weird for you?

Dirty Feet, Applesauce, and Plastic Lids

My feet are filthy. Bullet took me on an unplanned walk around the neighborhood, during which I was barefooted and dodging both rocks and dog poop. Bullet is an old-man dog who has become best friends with a younger woman dog, Millie, who is twice his size. Don’t worry. They won’t be making little Bullet-Millie puppies. They are just buddies who pal around the neighborhood—which is fine—except that Millie doesn’t have very good road sense and has been hit by cars twice and is therefore a bad example for Bullet who would not survive if hit by a car. And so I worry about their friendship walks while people are returning from work and I therefore go with them…never ceasing to be amazed at the fact that no matter how tired Bullet is, he always “bullets” home as fast as he can so that he can see my dad.

More than anything in this world, Bullet wants to spend time with my dad…even if it’s just to give him a quick love lick on his hand.

…

Yesterday, my sister-in-law, a first grade teacher, posted the following story:

A couple of months back many of you helped out a family I know. Today was the youngest one's birthday. He wanted everyone [in the class] to get a treat of apple sauce, and he brought in all that he had. I peeked in his cubby and saw three little cups of applesauce. Made me cry. I ran out during my lunch break to get some more. His little joyful spirit has truly touched my soul this year.

I shared this event with my choir last night and I cried. I shared this event with some of my coworkers today and I cried.

I am reminded of the Bible story of the boy who gave his loaves and fishes to feed the five thousand. I am reminded of the widow who gave all that she had at the temple. I am reminded of those in the early church who gave all they had to their growing community of faith. I am reminded that one person’s humble sacrifice can multiply, inspire, and bless more people than they ever thought possible.

…

One of my choir members collects plastic lids to raise money for children with cancer. I don’t know where she takes the lids or how exactly it works, but I know she takes all kinds of plastic lids that otherwise would end up filling a landfill and helps turn them into something positive. She said, “There’s not a lot that I can do to help people. But I can do this.”

…

Devotion to those you adore.
Sacrifice for those for whom you are grateful.
Service for the people and organizations for whom you care.
Love. Genuine love.
It’s everywhere,
Surrounding us,
Inspiring us,
Encouraging us,
Making us whole.
Thanks be to God.
Who is love.
Amen.

Dear Grocery Store, I Miss You Already...

Week One Fast: Television and Social Media. Success. Sort of. I did well with Social Media but watched at least one TV show per night to keep me company and comfort Bullet in my dad’s absence.

Week Two Fast: Hurriedness. Success. Totally. I felt the slow-down in body and spirit.

Week Three Fast: Isolation. Success. Sort of. I tried really hard to make new connections with those around me but didn’t successfully spend time with anyone outside of my normal people—school people at school, family, Flora, and Barb. I’m going to continue working on this one while seeking to be mindful of personal boundaries.

Week Four Fast: Food. Food. Sigh.

My guess is that most of my fellow church-goers are fasting food (and drinks) such as chocolate, ice cream, candy, desserts, red meat, coffee, soft drinks, and fast food. Upon thinking about each of these things and considering the cost of fasting from them, I realized that I could somewhat easily do each of them—except for coffee—and that’s only because I didn’t want to have a caffeine headache on top of the headache that I’d likely grow while leading my students in instrument playing each day this week . I did, however, decide that I would fast from going out for coffee…unless given the opportunity to work on week three’s isolation fast by hanging out with a friend.

“So what should I fast?” I pondered. And then it hit me: the grocery store.

Food Lion. IGA. CVS (that I sometimes treat as a grocery store).

Not going to the grocery store is going to be a bigger challenge and sacrifice for me than not eating or drinking any particular food or drink.

I love going to the grocery store.

I love shopping for deals. I love buying things for school. I love buying things for other people. All at the grocery store. In fact, I went to the grocery store over 20 times in September and bought everything from crayons to citronella candles to coffee—lots and lots of coffee for the coffee club at school.

I’ve found that IGA has a discount dairy counter that’s regularly updated with items that need to be sold quickly. I like to stop by and see what’s there.

I’ve found that Food Lion has a discount corner that’s stocked with very random things. I like to stop by and see what’s there, too.

Plus I just like to walk up and down the aisles and look at things. If I find a super good deal, then I purchase it. Sometimes I go into the grocery store just to kill time and end up leaving with an armful of stuff. Last week, while waiting for my Chinese food to cook, I called Barb and said, “Hey B. This is Deanna the Food Lion shopper…” and then proceeded to as her advice about purchasing some supplies for her classroom.

I really like the grocery store.

And it’s not lost on me that going to the grocery store is a luxury.

And so…this week I fast the grocery store. And it’s already been a challenge.

Tonight, when I went to get supper for my mom and myself, I ended up right beside Food Lion (see picture that I took from my car window). As stupid as this sounds, it physically hurt to know that I couldn’t go in. The same thing happened as I drove by the reduced price dairy counter at the IGA. You see. Tomorrow is Terrific Treat Tuesday at school and I really wanted to check on the Starbucks Iced Coffee and cookie dough. But alas…I made myself keep driving. And I prayed.

I’ll be praying a lot this week…which, after all, is the point—to structure my days around prayer and to pray this day for daily bread.