Friday, March 14, 2014

Moment


My sister up and left me.
She went to Asia to teach conversational English for three months.
I told her if she had gone to France or Ireland, I would have figured out a way to visit her.
But I must admit,
the pictures she's been emailing have been beautiful.
Strange, some of them, to Western eyes,
but the tiled roofs, blooming flowers, green swards of park grass,
and sweet faces of her new friends,
are captivating.
It's another world
within our world.

The picture that really stood out was one she snapped inside a store.
It showed a bright yellow knit ensemble,
emblazoned with bold English words:   
Moment
Cherish This
Not Not
Trend
Original
Change
After recovering from our fits of giggles,
my daughter and I resolved to never wear unknown words on our persons.          



For some reason, in my labyrinth of memory,
(maybe it was the word "moment"),
the sequence of words brought a song to mind.
"Day by day, and with each passing moment,
strength I find to meet my trials here.
Trusting in the Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
gives unto each day what He deems best,
lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,
mingling toil with peace and rest."

(It's a Swedish hymn by a woman named Lina. What's not to love?) 

Now, of course there are days
when we cherish not not the moment.

Days when the trend is painfully original,
and we balk at change. 



Many years ago, I went on a field trip to Underwater World at the Mall of America.
Our school of four-year-olds and adults was herded into a back room
and taught all kinds of things that the general pubic doesn't get to hear.

We learned about starfish. 
A Spanish scientist, testing the regenerating capacity of the creatures,
took a starfish and blended it in a blender.
(Try not to shudder, they don't have brains. Still, kinda icky).   

He took the 300 tiny pieces of starfish out of the blender,
placed them in separate petri dishes,
and waited.

300 new starfish grew.
Perfect little starfish.

Imagine that.
Wonder at the power of life,
of regeneration,
of the truth that the broken bits inside of us  
(sometimes the tiniest shards) 
can grow into something whole and beautiful.

"Therefore we do not lose heart.
Though outwardly we are wasting away,
yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary troubles
are achieving for us an eternal glory
that far outweighs them all." 
(II Cor. 4:16,17)      

 

9 comments:

  1. That song! That was my "theme" song for almost a whole year, the one I clung to during my husband's very first deployment. Isn't it gracious of God to allow us to find comfort and encouragement in mere words?!?

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    1. Yes it is so gracious of Him! You probably know all the verses and the back story. I love the tune as well. It's been running through my mind all week.

      xo
      L.

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  2. Yes, I love Lina's song--
    it's really so beautiful!

    WHAT and adventure your
    sister is having and how
    brave of her to step out of
    her world and into theirs!

    xo Suzanne

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    Replies
    1. Yes Suzanne, and all the way from China she proofread this for me! I needed to delete a comma and take out an apostrophe.
      You should have heard her description of the duck soup....it could have been called "Decapitated Duck's Head Soup."

      xoxo
      L.

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  3. Oh man. TREND ORIGINAL CHANGE. That is so awesome and hysterical. NOT NOT. Yes.

    And the starfish story is nuts. Wow. What a beautiful picture - alongside such beautiful pictures of your home.

    Thank you, friend. A refreshing start to my day. xxoo

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    Replies
    1. You know I love you but it makes me nervous that you read my blog.

      I'm so glad you have a great sense of humor.

      me

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  4. Oddly, this song has been running through my mind a lot lately. especially these lines:
    "...its part of pain and pleasure,
    mingling toil with peace and rest."

    I need to focus on what precedes them and take them in context:
    "He whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
    gives unto each day what He deems best,
    lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,
    mingling toil with peace and rest."

    Yes...
    "He whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
    gives unto each day what He deems best,
    lovingly..."

    When things are not going so well, that's the part I tend to forget.

    "The Lord is good to all,
    and his mercy is over all that he has made."
    Psalm 145:9

    When I feel as though I'm being divinely smacked upside the head yet one more time, I need to remember this.

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    Replies
    1. Oh that is a beautiful verse Ruthie.
      And I loved your post today.

      xo

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