Weave and Sew Dust

Our Prayer

 

Through the Eyes of a Grandparent

This past weekend, Chris and I took an overnight trip to Asheville to babysit our sixteen month-old granddaughter while her Mommy and Daddy went to a wedding. We took her to the local cafeteria thinking that it would be easier for her and us in food selection. We forgot how many grandparents love cafeteria dining. Our little one soon became the center of attention as she flirted with each and everyone of them that looked her way! Old duffers were winking at her while the ladies smiled and mentioned their own grandchildren. Pretty soon, gray-headed elders were coming over to our table to ooh and aah over her. She became a surrogate grandchild! If anyone ever doubts that God imbued grandparents with his abundant, unbiased love, they should eat an early dinner at their local cafeteria and observe what happens when a wee one comes in.

"The Help"-- a great read!

Just finished reading Kathryn Stockett's first novel, The Help. She captures the mindset of 1960's Southern women and their maids with both angst and humor. The times were definitely changing, thank the Lord!

My personal favorite came early in the book in a non-conversation between Miss Leefolt and her maid, Aibileen. Aibileen is thinking, "My face goes hot, my tongue twitchy. I don't know what to say to her. All I know is, I ain't saying it. And I know she ain't saying what she want a say either and it's a strange thing happening here cause nobody saying nothing and we still managing to have us a conversation"(29).

How many times has this happened to you in your life? You're both thinking a point of view, but neither has the courage to speak. Conventions of our society, class, pecking order--all these human-made things serve to divide us as a people. Stockett has reminded us of this in her slice of life story (and in two small slices of pie!)

photo from amazon.com

Resume writing when resuming a working life

It has been a l-o-o-o-ng time since I had to compile my resume. Thank goodness I at least had the foresight to keep a skeleton inventory of my work experience up-to-date. The art of resumes has really changed. It used to be that the resume consisted of your work experience. Now, it has to show how whatever experience you have had is relevant to the job you are seeking. This is no time for humility though bragging is not to be desired either. Career Builders has  a great site for a quick read on the do's and dont's--

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/MSN/Category.aspx?categoryid=CL

 

After I got into the swing of it, it wasn't so bad, especially when I read that one should start from scratch instead of trying to cut and paste an old resume. The hardest thing that I can see is trying to build a relationship with the personnel director through an e-mailed resume. It is said you have a couple of minutes to get them to notice something about yourself.

 

Kind of puts a whole new meaning to "first impressions."

Angels sighted

My mom is spending her last days at the Blue Ridge Health Care Center having been moved from the rehab section to the nursing wing. It's amazing, there are angels everywhere in this facility.

I see them in the smiling faces of the staff who work amidst much suffering on a daily basis and, of course, the Hospice team that acts as extra eyes for Mom's interests. BUT, the most surprising of all are the angels I see in the solicitous words and faces of the three different women who have been my mother's "roommates" and who have plenty of suffering of their own.

The first was a sixty year-old African-American woman who is recovering from viral encephalitis and also has lung cancer. Mahalia would let me know if Mom was left too long in a wheelchair and how much food she had eaten. The next was a ninety year-old feisty Southern woman (who didn't want any company until she had her hair done). Ellen had broken her femur in a fall--the bane of the elderly. She told me that my Mom was singing beautifully one night and wondered if Mom had sung professionally (I really think it must have been a program on Mom's TV because the speaker is on the bed). Maybe, it was an angel singing to them both. Mom's current roommate is another African-American woman who is having difficulty swallowing and had aspirated some food into her lungs. Gloria has big soul-filled eyes that do her talking. One of her sweet daughters told me that when she visits her mother, she also checks to see that my mom is okay.

I do believe I have seen a huge angel population!

I Y Q Y Q R

It's funny how I can be feeling down or up or have a question that I have been pondering while driving my car, only to pull behind another car with a message custom-made for me on its license plate. A few years ago, I was having one of those down moments when I was gifted with "I Y Q Y Q R.''

Thought I would pass this on to you on this glorious Monday. Have a great week!

P.S. Having trouble with its meaning? Try-- I YQ YQ R

The Twig

Yesterday morning, with my wake-up cup of coffee in hand, I was sitting on my balcony watching the autumn leaves gracefully dance their way to the ground. I noticed that nestled in the branch of the nearest beech tree was a broken twig that was being held in place by its entanglement. I got to thinking about my mother who has just entered a rehabilitation center after having had a fall recently. She's a lot like that broken twig because only through the support of dedicated individuals will she be able to get back on her feet again (unlike the broken twig, my mom still has life, albeit a somewhat sleep-filled one). We like to think that we are independent when, in fact, we are quite interdependent.

Eve--Biblical Fall Guy?

I am currently teaching a Bible study on courageous women of the Bible and naturally, have begun with the most famous, or infamous, woman known as Eve. I had recently read that some Jewish scholarship believes that the inspired author of the second Genesis story could have been a woman living in King David's Court thousands of generations later. For those of you that don't realize there are two stories, the second story has the creation of woman from man's rib and her being tempted by the serpent. 

I got to pondering that if it was written by a woman, what was she thinking! How totally responsible to write the story so that the woman is the fall guy. I figure that maybe it was Adam who was in jeopardy so she took the hit in the storyline. Could be that she was guilty of that first lip-smacking bite of juiciness, but I somehow have always thought that it takes two to tango. Perhaps it was Adam whispering in her ear that after all, God did tell them to be fruitful and multiply. Anyway, viewing the story from a woman's perspective opens up a whole new vista of possibilities for the original relationship.

Thinking about one of my sisters

I am the only daughter of my parents, so when I speak of sisters it is about my extended community of women friends whose souls have interacted with mine in a unique way. One of them I first met when she was the resident assistant on my dorm floor. She had a habit of standing or sitting with her arms crossed in front of her and, with a beautiful smile and twinkling eyes, express the most wonderful humor in our conversations. Ironic humor. This kind of humor takes a great deal of intelligence and Marsha has a lot of smarts. I loved our conversations and I came to love her too. She became my big sister when I joined her sorority. Many years passed and thanks to Christmas cards and now e-mails, we have stayed in touch. She and her husband love to travel by cruise ship and have even visited Antarctica, where she fell in love with the penguins. 

She's battling cancer again, after a ten year remission. I woke up thinking about her. I hope that she is planning her next cruise.

Feng Shui ourselves to a better world

Feng Shui, for those of you that may not be familiar with this term, is basically the practice of harmony that allows"chi," universal energy, to flow for greatest benefit. Originating in China over 4000 years ago, the ancients observed that certain elements from nature have yang (active) energy and yin (passive) energy. From there, they observed that there are really five seasons, rather than four, the fifth being what we often call "Indian Summer," an early autumn or late summer. To each of these seasons, a different element is applied, as follows:

Wood/Tree = Spring, Fire = Summer, Soil = Indian Summer, Metal = Autumn, Water = Winter

When these five elements are in harmony, they support one another like this: wood supports fire, fire supports soil, soil supports metal, metal supports water, water supports wood. It is all very logical. Wood makes a fire burn, fire ash creates soil, soil compacted becomes metal, metal can make condensation (water), and water nourishes wood/trees. There is also a destructive cycle if one of the elements becomes weak. For instance, without the presence of fire, wood destroys soil (by using up the nutrients) and drains water. Forest fires, foresters recognize, often act to restore balance. For the most part, in observable history, these five elements work in harmony with one another.

This brings me to the point of today's blog. Why can't humanity learn from these five elements how to harmonize with each other? Too much war (fire) destroys solidity (metal) and drains life (wood/tree).

Let's Feng Shui ourselves to a better world!