In moments like these

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

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In moments like these

Brothers and sisters, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Charlie and Tina Ice, who way back in 2021 brought us a fine meal when Margaret came home from the hospital, brought another feast for us yesterday. It’s me come home from the hospital this time, and the food was wonderful and the fellowship amazing. We spent 2 ½ hours together, sharing stories and thoughts and … of course, eating!

We know each other two years better than we did in 2021. The Ices host a Game Night once a month. We’ve been playing along but missed last week, so the “Game Gang” signed a get well card for us, which they brought along.

Tina taught kindergarten in a Montessori school for 13 years. We talked about our favorite kids’ books, which include Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. I showed her one of my favorite books by Ms. Brown, Doctor Squash. Margaret pulled out our omnibus volume 1 of Robert Munsch stories.

And finally, topping the pile of books in front of Tina, I placed my copy of A Child’s Book of Prayer in Art by Sister Wendy Beckett, with Ghirlandaio’s painting from 1490 of “an old man and his grandson” on the cover.

Tina began to read. We talked about everything under the sun. I read my September 10 devotion about poop in the parlor. Marti Gay brought us a pudding made from a local persimmon tree. We considered various ways to live our lives.

See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to the tradition of men, according to the elemental powers of the world and not according to Christ.

“I think we had Sr. Wendy’s book in my kindergarten classroom,” Tina said thoughtfully.

In the book, the author-nun-art critic talks and prays with a child about respect, love, family, understanding, learning, forgiveness, choosing heaven, true happiness, thinking, determination, selflessness and listening, as they look together at one painting after another.

Here is what Sr. Wendy had to say/pray about “love” for the kids reading her book, while they all looked together at this painting of an old man and his grandson:

The old man in this painting looks strange. His nose is covered in warts and blisters. Yet a young boy looks straight up at him with a look of trust and love. It would hurt the man if the boy was afraid of him or laughed at him or was in any way unkind.  There is a lovely view through the window of a tall feathery tree and a road winding up a mountain into the distance. There is a silvery lake and a pale blue sky. But the little boy is not fretting to get outside. He knows that the old man needs him.

The boy and the man are not talking. They are just looking at each other with love. The boy puts his hand on the man’s chest and the man probably has his arms around the boy. This is how we should treat other people: gently and kindly. This is how God meets us. God knows us no matter what we are like. We might think we look all right on the outside, but God can see through to our inner selves, too. Sometimes these are not very nice. But even if we have nasty things inside us,  God takes us as we are and goes on holding us tight.

Sister Wendy offers words for the children to pray: “Teach me to accept other people with love as you do. Help me to take other people as they are and never be cruel or unkind, whatever they look like.”

For years Charlie and Tina laid hands on folks in church who asked for prayer at the end of services. Margaret and I did the same thing. As we made our goodbyes, we did not pray in that way for each other last night. But our entire evening together felt like a sweet time honoring relationship with God our Father, and our Son, and our Holy Spirit.

Healing blossoms in moments like these, whether or not we use words. We love you, Lord. Thank you.

Everyone in the crowd sought to touch Jesus, because power came forth from him and healed them all.

(Colossians 2, Psalm 145, John 15, Luke 6)

(posted at www.davesandel.net)

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