Quarters from grandpap

Piccaso "The Dance"

PSALM 27
Triumphant Song of Confidence of David
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
One thing that I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

When I was a little girl, I remember Thanksgiving as being one of my favorite holidays. It was especially fun if we headed to the Pittsburgh area to visit my Grandparents. Although my grandparents lived in a rather quiet suburb of the city, it was much more exciting than the rural environment I was accustomed to. For a few days, we’d spend time with our grandparents, eat meals together, talk about what we wanted for Christmas, and flip through the various family albums my Grandma had collected and filled full of photos of all her children, grand children and some great-grand children. There was a feeling of belonging that I will never forget about my Grandparent’s house. It wasn’t fancy or big. There were very few toys to play with. But somehow, in the smell of the food my Grandmother cooked, in the laughter and chatter of the whole family sharing together; I knew that this was a place that I was loved and belonged to something bigger than myself.

The hardest thing about going to my Grandparent’s home for the holiday was piling back into our family sedan and heading home at the end of the weekend. Being at my grandparent’s home was something that I never wanted to end. To help me get into the car, my Grandfather would hand me some shiny quarters and say, “Hold on to these till I see you next time.” I’d hug him so tightly, but eventually I would slump into the back seat between my brother and sister and I’d try to nap to hide the tears in my eyes as we pulled out of their drive way and begin the drive back home.

“One thing that I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”

There are times in life so rich with meaning and emotion that we never want them to end. Sadly each day is filled with not just beginnings, but endings as well. Years later, after the passing of my Grandfather, I remember the moment when the funeral director called the family forward to say their final farewells to him. I approached the coffin, recalling all the good memories of Thanksgivings past with my Grandpap. He gave me many quarters throughout our relationship, but beyond the quarters he gave me his love, his laughter, his songs and his assurance that I belonged somewhere. As I stood there in the flood of memories, I remembered what it was like to have to leave him at the end of our visits. Only this time, his spirit had departed ahead of me.

I took out a quarter from my pocket and laid it the palm of his hand. “Grandpap, thank you for giving me all those quarters to hold on to, here is one you can hold till the next time we’re together.” In that moment, I better understood the feeling of belonging and the desire I had to never leave my grandparent’s house. Part of the feeling of belonging I’d experienced was connected to the faith we held in common. It was possible for me to walk away from his funeral that day knowing that we would always have a home in heaven together. Someday, I believe we’ll be together again.

I often wish I could live as if the quarters never run out, the sun never sets, and that the family holiday never ends; but the truth is that the coins do get spent, the sun sets and sooner or later you have to get back in the car and head back home from the holiday. Life has moments of both sadness and beauty, but God, weather we realize it or not, is always present with us. God doesn’t’ need to give me any quarters - because he’s always with me as I dance, in sorrow and joy, on the road of life.

SWB part one: Thursday, Friday and Saturday

Last week, I spent some time in Cincinnati, Ohio at the National Youth Workers Convention. I had the honor of helping out with registration, so I went a day early as it took over six hours for me to drive there.

On my way out to Ohio, most of my drive was gray and rainy. About four hours in to the trip, the sky opened up to pockets of sunlight. The light streamed in beams upon 271 South to 71 South for the remainder of the drive. My mood was lifted by the sunlight as I drove through the places they touched down. I began to forget about the chill of the long rainstorm I'd driven through. The sunlight helped me to begin thinking in the realm of possibility and promise.

The whole convention had the theme of "time". It encouraged the youth workers that attended to be sure to allow for the care and rest of their own souls, as well a the motivation to not take the present moment for granted. Each day seemed to settle into its own theme for me as well.

Getting started:

Thursday and Friday were registration, so I had the pleasure to meet many other youth-workers and see some old friends. I was nervous when learning the registration computer program that checked people in as they arrived, but person by person I began to settle my heart on the possibility of what was to come in the next few days.

Friday night:

Friday rolled into the evening quickly and my friend Libby and I headed to a local burger restaurant in Fountain Square. Our server Brandi, was so friendly that we started chatting with her each time she passed by. Eventually she asked us why we were in the city and we let her know about the convention. As it turns out, Brandi was a founder of a local after school mission project for homeless children in the area of Over the Rhine. We listened to her story of how a community service project to help maintain her scholarship for the school she was attending at the time. Eight years later, Brandi still is helping in the neighborhood of OTR. She's received some help from other peers and ministry workers, but she still carries a burden for the people who are the largest population of homeless in this country - children. Brandi invited me to stop by Fenton Market on Saturday to get a better perspective of the neighborhood she had been working in. I took down her information and tried to think through the commitments for the upcoming day to find a way to make a tour of this neighborhood possible. While our meal was fantastic at Rock Bottom Brewery, the conversation with Brandi was the most memorable aspect of Friday.




Saturday:
I woke early Saturday morning to join a prayer walk group. I was amazed to find that our prayer walk was heading downtown, to city hall and was eventually to lead to the historic area of Over the Rhine. This was the same location that Brandi had told me about just the night before! We saw the sexton at the Catholic church setting out the sandwich sign at 8am for mass times all weekend, we saw the groups of homeless folks standing in huddles for warmth, getting breakfast a the soup kitchen, and telling us which kitchen was the best one to visit in the neighborhood, we say shotgun houses in all kinds of conditions: burnt out, leaning over, and beautifully renovated as well. There was a garden that Brandi and the kids used to plant vegetables last summer, there were murals all over the place, and finally at the end of our walking prayer we found the Findlay fruit and food market that I'd heard about. It was such a place of contrast, this area of OTR. If I could come up with a word that described OTR, I'd say it was paradox. There was despair, but there was hope. There was homelessness, but there were revitalization projects to restore the old buildings into hip loft apartments. There was so much need, but at the end of the street there was a market with so many sources of nutrition, I was overwhelmed. In this unique neighborhood, there was depression and sadness, but then again there was joy.

The beams of sunlight break through even in the neighborhood of OTR.

Later Saturday night, I listened to stories of other teens that have helped with various mission projects around the world - mosquito nets for people living in countries over-run with malaria, change for change to end modern-day slavery, and shoes for people who have none to wear and suffer physically because of it. The frosting on Saturday's cake, was the Children's Choir of Africa. These children have been helped by Compassion International and have the resources they need because of sponsorships worldwide. Apart from the help they have received, their lives in Kenya are very difficult. The walk to school is dangerous and many of them are orphaned but these children expressed a joy that beamed through the concert hall. These children danced and sang, in spite of their circumstances, and revived the joy of Christ in my own heart.

Sunlight beams where it chooses, thankfully the sun is generous with it expression and placement; from the highway, to Brandi's story and work, to the OTR, to Kenya and the convention center of Cincinnati. The sun still shines.

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

I celebrated Guy Fawkes Day once because a friend from England was a part of the church community where we lived and we wanted to make him feel more at home here in the states. I stuffed a Guy Fawkes dummy for my front patio, made homemade scones and clotted cream and we had our own little party. There was no bon-fire or perpetual torture. Just good friends, a nice tea, and my kids asking why I was making a scary dummy on the porch since Halloween was already past. It 's all in the perspective I suppose, and a day for clotted cream and fresh scones is one I'd celebrate any day!

Although Bonfire Night is an ancient ritual, Guy Fawkes Day emerged as a nationalistic reaction to “The Gunpowder Plot” of 1605. The leader of the conspiracy, Guy Fawkes, was an ardent Catholic who attempted to blow up King James I and the Houses of Parliament with the hopes of challenging the Protestant control of the country. The failure of Fawkes’s plot brought about an immediate surge in English Nationalism; Parliament quickly declared November 5th a national holiday that would be celebrated with “the pealing of bells and firing of cannon, with communal rejoicings, and a special service to be held in all the churches” (Hole 218). Evidently the English government’s original intention was to make “Guy Fawkes Day” a celebration of the strength of the Church of England.

for more information on Guy Fawkes Day and it's history, visit Class Projects.

SWB: Highlight and low lights

This past week Mary Lue and I have both been out of town on business trips. Sadly our trips did not bring us to the same city, if that were the case - we'd been jumping for joy to meet face to face! Apologies for being late in host posting, but with a few days away, there is always a great deal of catch up when coming home.

As I look over my past week, I begin thinking in terms of the hi-lights, or speakers,people, moments, that stood out, were especially encouraging, or the most thought provoking in one way or another. As for the specifics of all that, I'll save for my own SWB post.

No matter where you "traveled" this last week, what were the low-lights and high-lights? In this season that is getting darker and more chilly by each dawn, the light is something we all are drawn a little more to. What light was capturing your attention this week?

I hope you've had a great week - I've missed the SWB crew. Let's have a moment and hear what bread/light you are holding on to today.