Each of us has a unique perspective; we also each have an individual path, which nobody travels but us. It’s difficult to realize the privilege that so many of us have in our individual spheres. Privileges of skin color, of language, of gender, of social class, money, etc…
We just don’t notice how many advantages we have until some of them are threatened or removed
I once had a cleaning lady turn down the job when my friend and neighbor was looking for cleaning help. It became obvious that she didn’t want to clean for a black family. Blah. I didn’t want a racist cleaning lady, here, either!! But I didn’t give too much thought to it, because what can I do to change anyone’s mind? If they are racist, that’s how they are… I’ve wasted plenty of my precious energy in life trying to change other people’s minds. And it hasn’t worked, so I moved on…
But I have also seen my own share of discrimination from the other side, whether it was the shit that got dished at me in grad school when I had the audacity to have a child before graduating (in addition to being a woman in a physics grad program) or the language disadvantages afforded me in Austria and Belgium.
But the most annoying discrimination at this point in my life is the blatant xenophobia and sexism dished out at me in this country, where the assumption seems to be that the men take care of the cars and home repairs, renovation, construction… that is not the rule at our house, which I’m OK with, for the most part. But I’m not OK with the difficulty I have in getting good help with either of those because of the various sorts of discrimination I encounter from the people here. Not only am I a woman, I’m also a foreigner! Two strikes against me.
I guess I should be grateful for my light colored skin??
My Dutch teacher, who is a notable exemption to this xenophobia, kindly gave me a phone number for an electrician. I called that electrician, who indeed spoke English just fine. However, he did not ever actually keep his promise to have a look at the work that needs to be done here. He simply ghosted me, like all of the electricians I’ve contacted both before and after him. I believe he’s a good and competent electrician, as Dirk said he is, but his competence is not very useful if he cannot be bothered to show up here.
So I keep looking…
So, so small. Our individual perspective is so minute in the grand scheme of things…
I didn’t mean to complain yesterday, about the rotten eggs I’ve met. Yes, there are some of those, and they can be discouraging at times…
But there sure are a lot of nice ones, too.
It doesn’t always work to ignore the unkind, xenophobic, selfish people, but to give them more press time than the good ones, isn’t productive, either (though it’s tempting because that’s what “sells”).
Today, when I fell off my bike, surrounded by a couple of my kids (who were actually stopped and making sure I was okay), two drivers also stopped, on a busy road, and could only be coaxed to drive on when I told them I was OK. The first struck me as an American expat, though I don’t know her and could be completely wrong. The second seemed like a Belgian klusjesman (handyman), driving his little “mini truck” (whatever you’d call that little vehicle they have). That impressed me, after the lack of response from the electricians I’ve called, that a handyman/plumber/electrician would show me concern when I fell from my bike. He required a “thumbs up” before he would drive on. My regret is not getting a number to call for help with my building projects.
No, I’m not okay. I need a reliable, qualified electrician who will work at my house. Know anyone? I’ve also got some handyman tasks I could use help with…
What I should have said…
Anyway, good doesn’t make sense without bad. Light is defined compared to darkness. Kind as opposed to inconsiderate. And so on…
If I didn’t have The Best Dutch teachers, I would have given up on learning Dutch by now. I think they require a certain type of person to teach Dutch in Belgium because I have had three of the very kindest teachers: Bert, Nadia and Dirk.
There are a lot of nice people in this country!
You can only focus on sunshine, if you want to, but rainbows only happen when the light meets the rain
Do not forget or neglect or refuse to extend hospitality to strangers [in the brotherhood–being friendly, cordial, and gracious, sharing the comforts of your home and doing your part generously], for through it some have entertained angels without knowing it. [Gen. 18:1-8; 19:1-3.]
Hebrews 13:2 (amplified bible)
Philoxenia is my new word of the week. Apparently it is translated “hospitality” in the Bible.
The interesting thing is that it literally means to love strangers, those who are different from ourselves. It is the polar opposite of xenophobia (fear of the “other”/stranger), if you follow my reasoning.
There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].
1 John 4:18
As I mentioned before, in my post “Perfect love casts out fear”, love and fear are not neurologically compatible. We cannot love while we are in fear and vice versa.
I was planning to wax poetic on how we, as Christians, cannot fear and hate those who are different from us, but a quick little internet search turned up that Keri Wyatt Kent already wrote a fine blog post to that effect. I recommend you read it here.
If you come visit Belgium at this time of year, I will take you to see some bluebells. In fact, we even have some in our front flower garden. Although that doesn’t hold a candle to the the carpets of them in the Belgian forests right now!
If you have heard it between the lines in something someone has said.
If you have sensed it in your soul.
I don’t belong.
I don’t belong here. I don’t belong anywhere. (Or where do I belong?)
Blooming bluebells
Newsflash: that’s a lie!
Truth: you DO belong where God has placed you!
I marvel that God has planted me in Belgium, amongst this beauty!
No amount of xenophobia can take away what God has decided. I need to remember that. And if you feel like a transplant wherever you are planted, you need to remember that, too!
Floralia at the Kasteel van Groot-Bijgaarden. Worth a visit!
Both for the dreams that you’ve quit chasing and the conspiracy theories that you need to…
Elusive as fog
Aptly for Martin Luther King Jr day, I caught a couple of podcasts (sent by my life coach) about the importance of dreaming. So yesterday I was meditating on MLK’s dream and my own, a little about how they intersect…
But then I was abruptly forced back to this world and the conspiracy theories flying around. And I realized that when we give up on our own God dreams, we leave ourselves open to conspiracies, to the energy vampires who are happy to suck up everything we are willing to give them in their quests for glory and grandeur.
Instead of bringing glory to the rightful throne, we bring it to those who are trying to usurp God’s place in our hearts and in this world.
It reminded me that I had recently been pondering those conspiracies, because lots of people I love are very concerned by them. I asked, “What if there is some grain of truth to them?”
The response was swift and decisive, “Do you or do you not trust that God is in control?”
“Well, yes and I want to trust more.”
“Then it’s completely irrelevant if somebody is trying to pull a fast one because you are not the one who is here to stop them.”
My brother Arne wrote much of what occurred to me, so I am just going to quote him:
I believe that God is sovereign, and that regardless of what is or isn’t true that He holds it all in his Hands. As Jesus says, His Kingdom is not of this world, and His Kingdom is rather in the hearts and minds of His true followers. Christ came for the whole world, and he isn’t in the “Christian” nationalist movement (and I’m not doubting that the country was founded on some solid Christian principles, by men who had lots of flaws as we all do) My point is that it’s not wise to get wrapped up trying to figure it all out, and on a practical level don’t listen to sources that aren’t based in reality and regularly get it wrong. Entertaining these ideas do harm not only to the country, but also to the cause of Christ because it makes us look foolish (*as it should).
In fact, our instructions from Jesus, to love our neighbors and spread the good news to everyone, remain unchanged. Conspiracies only serve to shift our focus off our true purpose and we find ourselves chasing smoke and frightened of our own shadow!
Technically, no handshakes but literally “make no hand contact”
I expended way too much mental energy the other day. I was shopping and I went to move my empty produce bags out of the cashier’s way, so he wouldn’t (Godforbid) touch them. The cashiers at various shops have been really weird about shopping bags, so I wanted to help him out and protect him from any potential germs on my bags, when the most awful thing you can imagine happened: I bumped his hand. Our hands touched and I spent the rest of the time at the register worrying that I had horribly offended him. Who knows, maybe I gave him the ‘rona?
Please don’t ask how that is possible, since I don’t have it. I just got freaked out. I broke the rules. No touching other people. Not allowed. Thou shalt not! Even if it was an accident… And then I felt silly for all the mental energy I expended on the issue. (He said absolutely nothing and didn’t rush off to wash his hands or anything!)
But I concluded, on the way home, the ‘rona is going to make us all crazy, if it doesn’t kill us.
Lovely, I know. So uplifting!
Bunny meet cat. Cat meet bunny!
It was on the way to the same store, somebody honked at me. I stared in shock at the man. He pulled in front of me as I drove lawfully, at a safe and legal speed on a priority road. I slowed down when he pulled in front of me, but wondered out loud if he had seen me. “I’m driving here, if you don’t mind.” But I didn’t honk, just kept driving… When we reached a traffic light, he signaled his turn but remained stopped at the green light, for more than the normal couple of seconds. Baffled by his bad driving, I decided not to let it get to me. I saw that I could safely go around him on the side he wasn’t turning, so I did. That’s when he honked. I was so confused. Was he trying to cause road rage? And when I didn’t honk, he felt a need to?? Someone needed to be angry. What was wrong with me?? 😂
Oh, Lord! This virus is messing up our brains?!? Or something is...
Put us in touch with your dreams for us so that we don’t do anything crazy to bring glory to anyone else but you!
If you said “clover”, that’s what I thought at first… But it’s not. It’s “wood sorrell”, I think.
when someone tells you something you’d rather not know, how do YOU respond?
I have been pondering this because my neighbor introduced me to a new weed the other day. I assumed it was just another type of clover (yellow clover?!?), which although invasive, at least enriches the soil. I can’t find information indicating that wood sorrell has any redeeming properties, other than being edible in small quantities. And it is very invasive, perhaps more so than clover. So I have been diligently ripping it out wherever I find it, ever since I learned this new information.
While pulling it out, I’ve been wondering, “Why can’t I just stay in my ignorance and assume it’s fine? It would be easier. It was better before I knew that it’s invasive and not enriching my soil. Can’t I just pretend like it’s clover??”
The analogy to life, to the things we learn when we open our ears to the cries of the oppressed, the things we learn when we read ‘the other side of history’, when we watch the videos and movies that have been produced by those less in the mainstream, …
We can’t unlearn those things. It might be easier to pretend they are not true, but alas, I’m afraid there will be consequences. We cannot forever close our ears to the oppressed. We cannot forever pretend that the house isn’t burning down!
In this picture: red clover, white clover and the now infamous, yellow NOT clover…
The world was appalled last month to see George Floyd die at the hands, or rather, under the knee of a person who was supposed to be upholding the law, whose job it is to serve and protect. The Black community pointed out that this violence is neither new nor increasing, it’s just (finally) being filmed.
Burning old, dry herb branches from the garden: rosemary, sage, and lavender
“So many voices!! All this noise!“
13 I may speak in ·different languages [tongues; 12:10, 29, 30] of people or even angels. But if I do not have love, I am only a ·noisy [resounding] ·bell [gong] or a ·crashing [clanging] cymbal. 2 I may have the gift of prophecy. I may understand all ·the secret things of God [mysteries] and have all knowledge, and I may have faith so great I can move mountains. But even with all these things, if I do not have love, then I am nothing. 3 I may give away everything I have, and I may even give my body ·as an offering to be burned [to be burned]. But I gain nothing if I do not have love.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
When I shared my horror, I was essentially told by some to “shush” because I was “stirring things up.”
“Please stop the racket! What is this din?“
Another voice said, “Let’s all pray (quietly) about this.” Ah, but I’ve been praying about oppression for awhile already and NOW it’s time to act!
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!”
(There is a time to get MOVING — that was a lesson from last year’s VBS! Sometimes we have to stop praying and start moving!! Moving prayerfully is always recommended.)
Exodus 14:15
Yes, of course if you have no idea what to do and you haven’t been praying about it yet, by all means, pray before acting. Because nobody needs more ‘nice white people’ actions, or more noise added to this chaos. We need to be doing things that genuinely change our systems which are oppressing the poor and the minorities. We need real, lasting change, not some superficial, feel-good, theatrical performance!
“Wake up, everyone! The house is on fire!!”
I feel called to write this post, although I honestly don’t want to hear my white voice on this subject. Especially since this (post about my kittens) and my recent poem are about as good anti-racist messages as I can formulate, even when I try.
Really, I still feel joy when I look at my two cats, who are brothers but very different from each other in appearance. I imagine God feels that kind of pleasure looking at the variety of people he has created, and especially when we get along with each other, when we are busy being the beautiful people he created us to be… But this post isn’t about cats and whether they are getting along or not; it’s about people!
If the house was literally on fire, would you still wish for quiet? Because figuratively, it IS!!
I’d so much rather share the stories and ideas for action from those who know this struggle intimately. The best quote, the one that hit home for me, was from Pastor Jimmy Rollins of i5 City.
“I have three children and I never felt the pain of childbirth. But I breathed with my wife through labor. Although you (white folks) will never know our pain (as people of color), you can help us breathe through our pain.”
Paraphrased from Jimmy Rollins
His advice: find a Black friend (or several of them) and make sure they can breathe!!
If you don’t have any Black friends, then you have some work to do. Get started!!! [Pro tip: If you haven’t been in touch with the people of color you know in many years, they maybe don’twant to hear from you right now! You might need to make some new current, diverse friends.]
As a mother, I love Pastor Jimmy’s image of childbirth. I love that something beautiful comes from labor pain. I love that Pastor Jimmy gives us something concrete to do. But I also love the way it ties in with this quote from Romans:
For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Romans 8:22
Something good is coming from this! I look forward to seeing what it’s bringing about. <I hear there is discussion in Belgium about the racist image used in December called Zwarte Piet. Should be interesting to see where that goes.>
There is a lot of work to be done, so everybody should be doing something!
My own life story as it relates to racism is not very interesting, but it’s relevant to the discussion, so I hesitantly offer these pieces…
I remember using the N-word, some 40 years ago. I was in first grade, at a Bloomington elementary school, not many miles from where George Floyd and Philando Castile were murdered, in fact. I was angry at the girl who cut ahead of me in line. I justified saying the word because of my anger at this “injustice”, as one might justify using brat or jerk! But even then, at age 6, I sensed the ugliness of the word. That is why I still remember this experience, halfway around the world and more than 40 years later!
I suspect I’ve muttered it under my breath or allowed it into my thoughts at some points later when dealing with people of color I didn’t know who had offended me in some way(s).
I don’t remember the details, but almost certainly struggled with racist thoughts in my early 20s when a Black woman stole my purse and used my checkbook and driver’s license to forge checks. So I am not saying that was my only use of the word or my only racist thought or action, by any means, but it’s the time I remember speaking it aloud and hearing how ugly it felt on my tongue and how badly it sat in my spirit.
As I grew up, MLK’s ‘dream’ speech would bring tears to my eyes whenever I heard it. His dream became my own, and I was, on a conscious level always wishing to see people for the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. However, I did not really know very many Black people, growing up in suburban Minnesota. The one I remember sat beside me in high school math and pestered me about whether my dad would object to us dating. Truthfully, my dad would have objected to anyone I dated and since I wasn’t really interested, I simply ignored his pleas for getting rid of racism and honestly wrote Todd off as someone with a chip on his shoulder. I regret that now, for the years I’ve lost, and because I ignored him when he was telling me that the house is on fire. But we can’t turn back the clock…
After growing up and moving to Europe, where I interact with a much greater variety of people from all over the world, and making friends with some people of color, I realized that they are really not that different from myself and eventually just became a bit blase to the race issue until recently.
As long as I can remember, I have been uncomfortable with the fact that “race” is included on my birth certificate, as if it is some important piece of information about people. I’ve long since resisted answering the ‘race’ question on surveys. If I can write something in, I write ‘human’! or N/A — not applicable (read: none of your business) if that’s an option. But that is my white privilege in action, when I assume that everyone’s story should be like mine and race should simply not be an issue any more. It still is an issue for too many people, so it needs to be an issue for me, as well, until the racist systems are fully dismantled and sent to hell, where they belong!
Anyway, back to my cluelessness, I was so oblivious that it hit me by surprise, a few years ago, to realize that my new neighbor/friend was black. After so many years of spending time with people from all over the globe, the thought that Christina would be another race didn’t even cross my mind when I met her. I noticed her kind eyes and big smile. All I saw a fellow mother, a new friend and another American living in Belgium with me. Honestly, I was probably jealous of her lovely complexion, as well, but ‘Black’ didn’t cross my mind! However, when I saw a Facebook post of hers about growing up Black in Oklahoma, it hit me, “Oooh, Christina is Black!” Not that race made any difference to me, in deciding whether to be her friend or not, but I was surprised at my own oblivion to something that was obviously very important to her. She is still very dear to me and we keep in touch, although she’s since moved away. I miss her! She still educates me remotely about Black issues and concerns. My life is richer with her in it!
This “discovery” about Christina was not so very unlike the surprise of the moment when I realized that my South African friend Alison actually has African DNA, and isn’t some European transplant, like most of the South Africans I know. Not that it matters, truly, but my oblivion to my friends’ struggles makes me sad. (I have plenty of other friends of color, also, but those were the instances where my oblivion to race issues was the most glaringly revealed to me.)
I recently began reading, “How to Be an Antiracist” in which Ibram X. Kendi makes the claim that there is no such thing as colorblind. I am going to question that a little because I think that eventually we will get to a point where we can appreciate our differences, of all sorts, and see them for the beautiful reflection they are of God’s diversity, but not see them as race divisions. That time hasn’t come, on a societal level, yet, though. In my experience, it will probably require a lot more integration, in every direction, than we currently have.
Ironically, I had a Zoom call to discuss racism with a Black friend of mine in mid-May, because I realized she was in a “mixed marriage” many, many years before it was even considered anywhere near normal. I wanted myself and my children to hear her stories about racism against her in Belgium, but she instead shared several stories about”reverse discrimination” suffered by her husband in Africa. So, apparently, it does exist and can even be life threatening in certain situations in other countries. The way reverse discrimination looks in America, as I have experienced it, pales in comparison (pun intended) to my recent discoveries about the Black experience in America. Having someone give you a ‘look’ and tell you where the Jazz Museum is when you are trying to buy tickets for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is not life threatening. Feeling uncomfortable because of the way people look at you (based on your light coloring) in certain areas of some cities is not fun, either, but it’s not generally life-threatening, either.
In truth, people from all over the world can be xenophobic and discriminatory toward anyone who looks different from them, doesn’t speak their language, etc. I have seen plenty of this over the past 19 years in Europe. However, I am white and in Europe (by choice, to some degree), so I know I still have privileges frequently not afforded to those with darker skin.
Racism. It still exists.
White privilege. It’s really a thing.
Changing the world to root out this evil from our systems. It’s really necessary!
As long as this is happening, we have a problem:
White Privilege — an illustration
I have privilege as a White person because I can do all of these things without thinking twice about it…
I can ask someone to put a leash on their dog when it is required in the public park we are in (#ChristianCooper).
I CAN BE ARRESTED WITHOUT THE FEAR OF BEING MURDERED. #GeorgeFloyd
White privilege is real. Take a minute to consider a Black person’s experience today.#BlackLivesMatter
from a Facebook post about White privilege
I certainly don’t want to write off the struggles of African Americans by saying that people discriminate against others all over the world. Especially since those discriminated against have usually chosen to travel where they are (with the exception of refugees), as opposed to the Africans who were abducted from their shores and shipped all over the world to provide labor, upon which we have built our economies! There are currently plenty of people upon whom our economies are still being built, trafficked people working in factories, migrant workers, etc.
The oppression of whole groups of people will no go unnoticed and unpunished by our creator! Everybody wake up!! And DO SOMETHING!
To those who are still thinking, “Don’t rock the boat!” I have got news for you, theboat IS rocking! Let’s make sure we go down on the right side of history this time, folks!!
“But I don’t understand why!?!”
Maybe you are one of those wondering why things need to change. I’ve heard this from people, seriously. I am sharing just a few of the most convicting lists I have seen recently. If these don’t hit you, then find some people to talk to who see things differently from you, preferably some Black people, and consider their stories!
My friend Myrna had to jump for dear life to avoid being attacked by a dog who was apparently trained to attack dark-skinned people. Another friend, Fee, who is trained in law, actually, was offered a job as a house cleaner, presumably based on the color of her skin. Neither of these incidents happened in the US, though, so I dare you to claim things are better there. NO, I think we can safely say that there are more than enough problems there, also. Based on the news stories coming out now and this telling piece by Veggie Tales creator, Phil Vischer, it sounds like it’s worse in America. Regardless of how it compares to the rest of the world, we can safely say, things need to change!!
On a recent trip to Minnesota, I was zipping down one of the freeways and I looked at one of the people I passed, as I frequently do, curious if it is an old person or why they are driving so slow? Is s/he talking on the phone? Texting? Or what? One time I noticed, it was a young lady of color. Not such a young lady that she was still learning to drive, mind you. That is when it struck me, she was probably going the speed limit, or maybe slightly under, just to make sure. I was probably, unwittingly, speeding because the traffic speed tends to be quite high and I have never had a light foot, although I try to respect laws. But at that moment, I realized that she was simply staying safe. My heart went out to her when I realized that she does not have the luxury to risk speeding. If she gets stopped, it is a lot more frightening than if I do. It’s not just about whether she gets a little fine; It could even cost her her life! What a sad statement on our society!
I had that thought completely independently, long before seeing these two lists. Although I am not Black and cannot personally vouch for the fear they must live in, I find these lists believable, because I know some of the people who suffer from this stuff and I empathize… It’s not funny, although some (apparently) wish it was jut written in humor! The ridiculousness of their situation needs to incite us to change it, not just write their experience off as impossible, laugh, and walk away, as I have seen from some of you…
Don’t get pulled overor have traffic offences, which for others would result in a ticket.
Don’t lawfully carry a weapon.
Don’t experience car trouble.
Don’t do anything.
If you have been paying close attention, it is not safe to drive while Black, it is not safe to walk while Black, it is not safe to jog while Black, it is not safe to be in your apartment while Black, it is not safe to be arrested while Black, it is not safe to be stopped by the police while Black, it is not safe to defend yourself in your own home while Black, it is not safe to wear a hoodie while Black, it is not safe to play while Black, to name a few, so please tell me, exactly what it is safe to do in this skin?
I too used to believe that if these Black Americans abided by the law, followed the instructions all law abiding citizens should follow, then they’d be ok, but it is simply not true and we can’t pretend it is any longer. In these cases Black Americans are killed for offenses that are easily deescalated and resolved when it involves other races.
Please, please, please WAKE UP and dosomething! Because our house is figuratively on fire!!!
When your house is burning down, do you criticize the person who points it out? Do you hide in your room, where the fire hasn’t gotten, yet? Do you anesthetize yourself with substances or distractions?? Or do you do what you can to put out the fire and figure out what is causing it?
Oppression is a complex issue and involves more than just racism against African Americans, or people of African descent in various parts of the world. Having worked with the migrant workers, I have seen how they were treated in Minnesota in the 1980s! Based on comments I have heard regarding the spread of the virus among the migrant communities, I know that racism against them remains rampant, and I assume the oppression has not improved.
The hanging deaths this month of so many (6) Blacks (primarily men, just as during the lynching days) is something we cannot look away from, either. They have officially been ruled suicides, but I am calling BS on that one and demand that they be PROVEN as suicides, if they are going to try using that lie again.
We have a choice: we can be frustrated that this is all bubbling up again, or we can be thankful that we have a chance to make a change. We have a chance to right the wrongs of our forefathers. Or we can just keep on keeping on with the sins of the fathers… If you think you are not oppressing anyone, and I challenge people of every race, color, tribe, religion, nationality, to give their lives and consumer habits a good, long stare. If you honestly think you are not oppressing anyone, but are not actively fighting against the inherent biases and oppression of our current systems, I challenge you to think again. Oppression is built into our society; it is interwoven into our economy and also deeply into our minds. I beg you to help change the oppression!!
But now the decision is yours: Will you numb yourself with another pill, drinks, food, distractions, a movie, another vacation? Or will you help put out this fire?
I will leave you with a couple of Bible verses to chew on while you think about it. I meant to put all the verses into a separate post, then I had to make a second post with more verses, but these last two came to me as I pondered how to wrap this up. (I hear my Father’s voice on matters of oppression, and He doesn’t have very many good things to say to the oppressors, other than, “Repent!” There is hope, but only if we turn from our evil, selfish, lazy ways and choose God’s ways!!)
[Listen; Behold] The ·pay [wages] you ·did not give [defrauded from] the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you [Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14–15], and the cries of the ·workers [harvesters] have ·been heard by [reached the ears of] the Lord ·All-Powerful [of Hosts/Armies; Sabaoth; God’s warrior name referring to the angelic army].
Imagine a world with only white roses. For although they’re beautiful 😍, we would be missing so much color and beauty!!
I preach with a song and I pray with a dance.
I thank you, dear God, that You gave me a chance!
For I too have sinned, and fall short of Your glory
Don’t know where to begin, to share this my story:
I’ve failed to trust God, I’ve failed to love man
Often neglected to do, all that I can…
Rather hold for myself, what I should be giving
To those who need, so they can keep living
Complementary
I’ve strived and I’ve fought
I’ve craved and I’ve bought
I’ve hoarded and eaten
I’ve grasped and I’ve beaten
With money, with choices
I’ve quieted voices
While Black folks have wept
I’ve numbed and I’ve slept
I know that I cannot repair
this heart of mine, so I truly care
But trusting in a God that can
Save me through His perfect plan.
Colorful handfuls
Thanks, God, that You forgive, regardless of race
So we can all live, free in Your grace.
Variety is the spice of life. How about this curly poppy?
Knowing that God is near to the oppressed
Close by the downtrod, the sad, the distressed
Shows why we’re paupers in all things that matter
By drowning out voices, list’ning to our own chatter
White lavender: pretty but only as an accent to other flowers. We NEED colors!
I pray with a dance; I preach with a song,
Dear friends, I entreat, make right this great wrong!
“Eat your rainbow” We’ve heard it with food; but metaphorically speaking, no wonder we and our institutions are so pale and sickly when our social lives are limited to those who are most like us, our policies keep out the colorful and the diverse. Time for some real change?!?!
Things are not always as they appear. Don’t judge a book by its cover, etc, etc. I’m sure we’ve heard them all, but how many of us still struggle with jumping to conclusions, giving too much weight to first impressions?
Flying above the treetops? Or jumping to conclusions?! 😀
I know I have been taught this lesson over and over again. And I am still learning…
I have certainly discovered things I have in common with the least likely of friends; prejudging people is a common problem in our society today, as we see from the protests that are happening all over the globe. But for purposes of this post, I will stick with the more “neutral” subject of food…
We had been living in Belgium for awhile before I finally tasted the “ugly” pears they have here, “Conference” pears, as they are called. They remain green, so they never ripen (or appear to ripen) in the sense I am used to. But I finally tasted them, after some months (or years?) in Belgium, and YUM 😋 I like them so much I want to plant a conference pear tree! If you have visited me here, you have undoubtedly been introduced, as well!
I also waited for years before making pickles in Europe. I kept looking for the “right kind of” cucumbers. When I finally decided to use sliced European cucumbers (which are lovely) I looked at my jars of cucumbers as they were pickling and thought, “I have seen jars of pickles like that before!” And the pickles were delicious, so no more food prejudices!
Sunburnt strawberry?
These strawberries are my latest food prejudice lesson. When you see them, you think, “Something is wrong with those strawberries!” When you taste them, you know, “Something is right with these strawberries!!” They are delicious! I don’t know if they are sunburnt, slightly sun-dried, or if there is something else going on, but they are the sweetest strawberries you will ever taste! If anyone knows, please tell me.
I’m sure there is some deep spiritual lesson to be had, as well, about what makes fruit sweet, versus over-sized and watery tasting. But for today, let’s just stick with the straightforward lesson of tasting before judging!
We ·live [walk] by ·what we believe [faith], not by ·what we can see [sight].
If you are not familiar with the context of the various verses I’ve quoted, you’re invited (encouraged) to look them up. Because at times the quote is something that indicates a problematic attitude. For instance: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” That is not a lovely heart attitude! I do not support it nor encourage it.
“Beautiful flowers!” declared a passing dog-walker, as I photographed the poppies reaching toward the heavens. My heart smiled at his appreciation!
“He (or she) who is without [any] sin among you, let him (or her) be the first to throw a stone at her (or him).”
Matthew 8:7b
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you.
Matthew 7:1-2
But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Ephesians 5:22-23
13 I may speak in ·different languages [L tongues; 12:10, 29, 30] of people or even angels. But if I do not have love, I am only a ·noisy [resounding] ·bell [gong] or a ·crashing [clanging] cymbal. 2 I may have the gift of prophecy. I may understand all ·the secret things of God [L mysteries] and have all knowledge, and I may have faith so great I can move mountains. But even with all these things, if I do not have love, then I am nothing. 3 I may give away everything I have, and I may even give my body ·as an offering to be burned [L to be burned].[a] But I gain nothing if I do not have love.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Peonies do not open properly without the work of the lowly little ants!
And of course:
Babylon (the Great) is fallen, is fallen!
Isaiah 21:9, Jeremiah 51:41, Revelation 14:8 and Revelation 18:2
I’m just going to list all of those Babylon verses here, since each adds a bit more food for thought:
Then I heard a voice shout out, “Babylonisfallen, isfallen; and all the idols of Babylon lie broken on the ground.”
How Babylonisfallen—great Babylon, lauded by all the earth! The world can scarcely believe its eyes at Babylon’s fall!
Then another angel followed him through the skies, saying, “Babylonisfallen, isfallen—that great city—because she seduced the nations of the world and made them share the wine of her intense impurity and sin.”
He gave a mighty shout, “Babylon the Great isfallen, isfallen; she has become a den of demons, a haunt of devils and every kind of evil spirit.
These are in addition to the verses I listed yesterday… Yes, I’ve been doing some pondering!
elämänpuun lehti 