Creatures and growing things

Friday, February 9, 2024

A double walk with one dog is what I manage this morning. I leash Juno the labradoodle at 7:00 a.m. since she's most likely to howl if left behind. She trots at my side like a pony. Later in the day, I take Bailey the poodle on a loop. He is stroked by school children, who are normally frightened of dogs. 

"He's like a little lamb, feel his coat," I encourage them. The brave ones go first. When we get home, he naps.

Our houseguests have their own agendas so the house is quiet during the day while the helpers work. Ibu Siti the masseuse grinds the kinks out of my back.

Yesterday, Alaine my spiritual director led me through a body-awareness exercise to see where emotions are being carried. "Sometimes the body responds before the mind or spirit are aware of what you're feeling." Things grind to a halt mid-back.

Alaine encourages me to pay attention to what fear and joy and stress feel like. Then, when my body reacts, I can recognize the emotions I'm feeling. Good idea. Right now, the tangle of thoughts in my head is like these pea sprouts.

"Name the block you're feeling, if you want to," Alaine says. "Identify what belongs to you or what the block is carrying for you. Then ask what you can offer up to God." Maybe she's expecting me to name the tension in my back: "stress," or "block," or some other identification.

But "Fred," pops into my head. I laugh aloud. I've been thinking often about Dad, who died 3 years ago, so I guess that's where that word come from. For decades, my dad assumed his middle name was Fred in honor of his uncle. He called his business AFD Enterprises - his supposed initials. But when he checked his birth certificate in his 50s., lo and behold, he had no middle name. There was no "Fred."

So the label FRED makes me laugh. It soon becomes an acronym for things in my life: "Family, Relationships, Emotions, Distractions." My amusement at FRED's identification entwines with sorrow at the complications of life. I was ready for spiritual direction and Alaine hears from God what can guide my journey.

And today, Siti the masseuse gives me a fresh start, grinding out the knots. After I'm relaxed and showered, the lovely Caron drops by to listen and give comfort after the strange weeks we've waded through. We drink tea and coffee (her treat) on the Porch and eat freshly-baked cookies made by IbuA and IbuS this week. Caron's visit assures me of God's sovereignty and love through it all.

After combining bouquets to use in the hall Sunday, I finish grading class assignments from the past weeks. I drop the grades into a fresh Excel sheet. There's one more task - a long one - ahead before the class is done. I'll spend the next month correcting revisions and offering suggestions to make the student papers the best possible. This is an intensive class for the lecturer but if the students improve their writing, I'm happy. No free passes though. No excuses. They have to do the work.

Saturday - Lunar New Year

The best thing about any beginning is the hopefulness about what may lie ahead. Melvi, Laurel, and I walk a few blocks to see Alice and her family. We've just eaten but they serve lychee and rose tea - the same blend we drank the last time I visited their mom. They offer delicious snacks: banana chips and spicy bbq chips.

The waterlilies are blooming in the pot beside the Porch when we get home.

One little durian falls off the tree. We don't have helpers here today (New Years vacation) so we send it off to the first neighbor on the list. The whiteboards and other supplies for Tanikota's English Program arrive via truck: shipping is cheap. It costs only a few dollars to move things across Java.

Saturday is usually a sabbath. When I wake at night I ponder how I'm living out the resolutions and promises I've made in years past. Realignment would allow God to pour out more abundance and grace. There's internal work to do, clearly.

Though it's the middle of the night, I start writing my annual Lenten blog. If I don't follow the prompting, there's no trace of the ideas in the morning.

Some Lent or Advent seasons, I write each day, exploring whatever I'm experiencing in this life of faith and discipleship. Those years, writing is a discipline of daily observation and recording.

This year, I'm apparently writing ahead of time - blindly listening - and trusting that each daily post will be the challenge God has for me that day. I ask God to speak through the words he's putting on the page. I finish a week's worth and turn in to bed, to continue sleeping.

Sunday

Laurel preaches her heart out on the meaning and significance of the Church. She's amazing, a gifted communicator.

The young people head off to lunch together. They come from almost every continent.

It's great fun to see their friendships develop.

It's also treat to meet Vanessa, visiting from a "sister" IES congregation in Jakarta. Turns out that we know many of the same people.

Lunch? A wonderful Mushroom Rules pizza at Miss Bee Providore. I eat a few slices and pack the rest up for later.

The dogs are happy to see me and sprawl nearby in the sun and wind. W's asked me to edit a chapter he's writing but I have no capacity to find the original document. I change out of "Sunday" clothing and relax on the Porch with the dogs around me. Periodically they run around the yard, barking up a storm - and then they come back to rest. Good doggies.

When the clouds and rain roll in, Gypsy hangs out by our room. When someone comes to the gate, he's off in a flash to make sure no one comes in uninvited. Then he settles down nearby.

I'm working my way through the most recent Morning Pages journal. I have about a dozen of these. Most are in Seattle but a few have filled up here. 

HINT: If you wonder who you are and what your gifts are, watch to see what you do without thinking or hesitation. I write. I dabble in art and I think a lot about decor - but I always write.

With high humidity and rain, many plants thrive. I got this ivy from a friend last Easter. It hasn't taken off like the ivy does in Seattle but it's still sending out vines.

On the other hand, the green wall is filling up with ordinary ferns. They need to be culled - maybe for a flower arrangement  - before they crowd out the orchids, birds nest ferns, and staghorn ferns.

Beside the Porch, the papaya tree sends out a continual parade of edible flowers.

The canary sings his heart out as soon as the rain starts to hiss through the garden. The creatures great and small, the Lord God made them all.

Read more:

*Repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in Christ’s name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Luke 24:47

*It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:26

*Jesus says: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15:4-5

*Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2

Moravian Prayer: Faithful Companion, we thank you for your constant presence while we run this race. May your presence rejuvenate and strengthen us on this journey as we anticipate our salvation in Jesus Christ.

Gracious Redeemer, sometimes we take for granted how powerful it is to be pardoned of our sins. Help us to always embrace this blessing and proclaim the joy of sins forgiven with confidence to the whole world. Amen.