We went to First UMC of Royal Oak this morn where I so appreciated the message. It resonated with me for many reasons but especially when the pastor said that the LGBTQIA letters can sometimes be confusing to her simply because she doesn’t always understand each letter fully. She went on to say “that’s okay” because what she DOES understand is that for every letter added SOMEONE was BRAVE enough to stand up and claim WHO they are.

She then said that before she came to that church, she had not known a transgender person but one of her dearest friends now was Lacey (a woman close to my age who was sitting in the front pew).  She shared how when she told Lacey she had never known a transgender before meeting her, Lacey responded, “neither had I”.

Imagine how BRAVE it was for someone from my generation to CLAIM WHO she IS?!?

These hymn lyrics immediately came to mind:

“Do not be afraid I am with you.
  I have called you each by name.
  Come and follow me.
  I will take you home.
  I LOVE YOU AND YOU ARE MINE.”

Every ounce of my being believes God CLAIMS you and me and Lacey and all his children, whatever our ‘letter’.

So, I decided this month of Pride to share that with you.

 Been awhile since I meandered here but just back from a trip to New York City with our grandson, Nik. We take each of them when they hit their teens. I LOVE the city so it’s great fun to see the kids respond in their own way to it all!
There were, as always, memorable moments but what has stuck with me are 3 signs that we saw that we ALL were struck by.

One was a very unhappy man with a sign saying “F—- Trump” and the other was a very happy man with a sign saying, “JESUS”!
We chuckled, Nik wished he had a pic and we discussed it BUT it has stayed with me.
I think it’s because it seems somehow symbolic of our culture right now...such extremes that walk right past each other.
I might not hang my hat on Trump but I do not appreciate a sign that shows such disrespect to him.
I might hang my hat on Jesus but I’m pretty sure we’re meant to do more than carry his name on a sign and grin real big.
In other words, neither sign DOES anything, especially since the Trump guy looked anything but approachable and the Jesus guy was walking so fast you couldn’t approach him.

BUT THEN, while on the Staten Island Ferry, in walked these folk with food for whoever wanted any as well as a can for donations. THAT sign (that they WORE) hit the mark for me, a reminder that I can BE a sign...one that isn’t F’ING anyone and is DOING Jesus.

In my last post about “precious life”, I mentioned the day we spent at the dump in Dominican Republic.  I thought I would follow-up with the 2 minute video below as well as a titch more info.

These folk are mostly Haitians who have nowhere else to go so have moved into the dump. Although some still live there, most have moved out because the government does not want them at the dump. They walk an hour to get there to receive soup, water (if they have a container) and peanut butter between 2 slices of white bread.  Twice a week.

It had been raining ALOT the day we went so the dump was muddy (we wore plastic bags over our shoes to walk) but, when we got there, it was not raining so the flies were in full display. You could see them.  You could HEAR them.

I hate flies.

I hate them in my house. I hate them at the cottage.

I REALLY hated them at the dump.

I wanted them to just GO AWAY.  I wanted to not have to swat them away. I wanted the people who were there getting their food to not have to EAT with them EVERY DAY!

But they do...and I do not know what to do with that...so I am telling you.

I will NEVER forget that mud or that dump...or those damn flies...or those “PRECIOUS LIVES”!

https://youtu.be/ZN0FzVvko0A?fbclid=IwAR3BSEAZwzUmcPu55isZgBvVAqrqPf10ytXH-qljX5T9Wq_WGYuYIAogGHAhttps://youtu.be/ZN0FzVvko0A

I just saw the Alabama Governor say, “All life is precious.”  I have no doubt that she believes that.

Where I stumble (which comes from my ‘life’ experiences both personally and professionally) is in the knowing that there is LOTS of LIFE already out of the womb that does not SEEM to be dealt with as if it were “precious”.

It is why I think those writing and pushing these legislations would be more aptly named ‘right to birth’ rather than ‘right to life’.  Simply put, no matter when one thinks LIFE begins INSIDE of the womb most of LIFE is lived OUTSIDE of the womb.

It follows then that if all life is precious, we will do all we can as citizens to see that children will have food and shelter and education and health care and love as soon as they leave the womb.  If all life is precious we will have plentiful resources available for those new mothers whose babies MUST be born. If all life is precious then there will be waiting lists for the children without homes. If all life is precious then we will work together as a culture to focus on keeping migrant children WITH their parents helping them to find a safe place to live. If all life is precious we will consider putting away our guns simply because of the very possibility that a life might be taken when using a deadly weapon. If all life is precious then those who don’t look or act or worship or love exactly like me shall still be welcome into my church and my home and my heart.  If all life is precious than the video I posted of the day we spent feeding people who LIVE IN A DUMP would break every heart.

In other words, if we’re going to fight for birth then how can we NOT fight for the PRECIOUS LIVES already here?

Joe shared the history of Mother’s Day in his sermon yesterday and I was inspired enough to want to share it with you (you can Google it yourself to find much more as I share only a glimpse back at what touched me).

In 1868, Anne Reeves Jarvis organized an American ‘Mother’s Friendship Day’ to have mothers gather after the Civil War to promote RECONCILIATION between Union and Confederate.

In 1872, JulIa Ward Howe encouraged a World ‘Mother’s Peace Day’ in response to war with these words to women in her ‘Mother’s Day Proclamation’:  “Let them solemnly take council with each other as to the means by which the great human family can live in PEACE.”

It is Anna Reeves Jarvis’s daughter, Anna, who then lobbied for a day to honor ‘mothering’ which became official in 1914; as the holiday transformed into something much more commercial, she was completely disillusioned with how it moved away from its roots.

No matter how one feels about Mother’s Day in our current culture, I find great inspiration in those women and the seeds they planted.

I love broadening and deepening from ‘mother’ to ‘mothering’...the nurturing of reconciliation and peace not just within MY family but within OUR HUMAN family.

In that I find profound purpose.

For me, ‘reconciliation, peace and purpose’ beat ‘roses, cards and candy’ any day!

Happy Mothering!

meanderings: Last night, I saw the Rabbi from the synagogue in ...

meanderings: Last night, I saw the Rabbi from the synagogue in ...: Last night, I saw the Rabbi from the synagogue in California that had yet another deadly shooting. He asked that we all do one act of kindne...

Last night, I saw the Rabbi from the synagogue in California that had yet another deadly shooting. He asked that we all do one act of kindness.

This morning I saw Dr. Ruth who at 90 has just done a documentary on her life as a survivor of the Holocaust.

Yesterday, I was at the church Joe is serving for a few months and one of the members told me that she had been to a church where the pastor asked all the congregation to go out and do something kind for 3 people being certain that one of those persons was not a Christian.

She said she did not know anyone who was not Christian.

This woman has to be in her 80’s and she said she knows NO ONE of a different faith than hers.

Some people might say that is grand;  she is surrounded by Christians.

For me, well, I shall use my word here; I am flermookled.

To think that it is even possible to make such an assertion in 2019 living in a country of 300 million within a world of 7 billion?

Is this growing world shrinking us?

Made Dr. Ruth’s answer to how she felt about these shootings really resonate with me. She said it is why she must, even at 90, keep ‘talking’;  people need to hear different ‘accents’.

Today, I hope to meet someone who SOUNDS different than me knowing THAT person will hear something different from them.

Whatever they hear, may it be kind.