Recently I rediscovered a short meditation that I wrote on Philippians 1:21 almost five years ago. I thought that I would share it here, because I really like it. (And also because I ran out of time to write something new today... but that's beside the point.)
Philippians 1:21
To live, to breathe, to move.
Every fibre of my being proclaiming His goodness.
In my confusion trusting in His perfect plan,
In my uncertainty walking in His unending love,
In my weakness relying on His unfailing strength,
That every moment of my life declares -
"Jesus is Lord!"
That life now over, seemingly the end,
But in reality, the race gloriously finished.
No more confusion, but perfect, never ending peace.
No more uncertainty as faith becomes sight.
That weakness, once so challenging, now suddenly immaterial.
There, face to face with my Lord.
This is gain.
Tuesday, 30 June 2015
Thursday, 25 June 2015
A Quest for Ethical (part 1)
Food.
We all need to eat, but we can decide what we eat and where we get our food. Here are a few of the small changes we have been making lately.
Vegetables
It is our dream to be able to grow all of our own produce one day. But right now we live in a small apartment, with a deck that faces north-west. So we have to get creative! It has been great to get involved in a community garden project at church, we order bi-weekly harvest boxes which include a variety of (mostly) local produce, and anything else we need we try to buy at small local produce stores or farm stands, rather than big supermarkets.
Honey
Our desire to buy local honey stayed on the back burner for a long time. Partly because we didn't know where to buy it, and partly because we knew it would be expensive, and we don't really have room for extras in our budget. And we go through quiet a lot of honey. But recently we found a local honey farm (is that even what you call it?) and we found out that they sell large containers of baking honey - all the extras of their different favours of honey dumped together. Because it's all the extras and because of the large volume it's sold in, it actually works out to be cheaper than honey from the store! Hooray!! And the size of the bucket? 15 kilograms! Check it out - I put a one cup measuring cup beside it for size comparison:
Meat (and alternatives)
We have started buying our meat from local butchers instead of the supermarket. It is more expensive, but we have also been eating meat less. We have started experimenting with different kinds of beans instead, and to my surprise, I am actually enjoying them! They add interesting variety to different dishes that I used to make only with meat. And not only does growing beans have a smaller impact on the environment than raising meat does, beans are cheaper too! There is something very satisfying about being able to feed a household of three adults (and a baby, but he's not eating solids yet) for a week with only a small roast or half a dozen chicken breasts. (Meat-wise I mean... of course we eat other things too... you know what I mean...)
What are some food-related changes you have made in your life, or are thinking about making?
We all need to eat, but we can decide what we eat and where we get our food. Here are a few of the small changes we have been making lately.
Vegetables
It is our dream to be able to grow all of our own produce one day. But right now we live in a small apartment, with a deck that faces north-west. So we have to get creative! It has been great to get involved in a community garden project at church, we order bi-weekly harvest boxes which include a variety of (mostly) local produce, and anything else we need we try to buy at small local produce stores or farm stands, rather than big supermarkets.
Honey
Our desire to buy local honey stayed on the back burner for a long time. Partly because we didn't know where to buy it, and partly because we knew it would be expensive, and we don't really have room for extras in our budget. And we go through quiet a lot of honey. But recently we found a local honey farm (is that even what you call it?) and we found out that they sell large containers of baking honey - all the extras of their different favours of honey dumped together. Because it's all the extras and because of the large volume it's sold in, it actually works out to be cheaper than honey from the store! Hooray!! And the size of the bucket? 15 kilograms! Check it out - I put a one cup measuring cup beside it for size comparison:
Meat (and alternatives)
We have started buying our meat from local butchers instead of the supermarket. It is more expensive, but we have also been eating meat less. We have started experimenting with different kinds of beans instead, and to my surprise, I am actually enjoying them! They add interesting variety to different dishes that I used to make only with meat. And not only does growing beans have a smaller impact on the environment than raising meat does, beans are cheaper too! There is something very satisfying about being able to feed a household of three adults (and a baby, but he's not eating solids yet) for a week with only a small roast or half a dozen chicken breasts. (Meat-wise I mean... of course we eat other things too... you know what I mean...)
What are some food-related changes you have made in your life, or are thinking about making?
A Quest for Ethical (introduction)
Ethical ('eTH.i.kel)
adjective
Avoiding activities or organizations
that do harm to people or the environment.
As a culture, we have been becoming increasingly aware of how our actions affect the world around us. Our comfort and convenience come at a cost far above what we pay out of our own pockets. However, as we talk about sweatshops, child labour, deforestation, sex slavery, climate change, poverty, etc. it becomes very easy to be overwhelmed and paralyzed. The problems seem too big! What on earth could we do to make any difference? Even if we step away from the big picture problems and simply look at our own lives, we can still feel helpless. Is it even possible to live a completely ethical life?
I have been finding it helpful to tackle one thing in my life at a time, instead of getting overwhelmed by everything that I wish I could change. I pick one aspect of my life that I would like to improve and make one small change that moves my life towards being more ethical. Once I've adapted to that one change, I look for another small thing that I can change. While it might seem like these small steps aren't doing much, they are certainly getting me farther than I get when I just let myself feel overwhelmed.
This new blog series, A Quest for Ethical, is going to be about sharing some of those small changes with you, and inviting you to join me in making small changes - and maybe together our small changes can make a big difference in the world!
Perhaps you are the kind of person who prefers to make large, drastic changes instead of small ones. That is perfectly fine! Sometimes I make big changes too. But the important thing is to seek continual improvement, moving towards an increasingly ethical life.
adjective
Avoiding activities or organizations
that do harm to people or the environment.
As a culture, we have been becoming increasingly aware of how our actions affect the world around us. Our comfort and convenience come at a cost far above what we pay out of our own pockets. However, as we talk about sweatshops, child labour, deforestation, sex slavery, climate change, poverty, etc. it becomes very easy to be overwhelmed and paralyzed. The problems seem too big! What on earth could we do to make any difference? Even if we step away from the big picture problems and simply look at our own lives, we can still feel helpless. Is it even possible to live a completely ethical life?
I have been finding it helpful to tackle one thing in my life at a time, instead of getting overwhelmed by everything that I wish I could change. I pick one aspect of my life that I would like to improve and make one small change that moves my life towards being more ethical. Once I've adapted to that one change, I look for another small thing that I can change. While it might seem like these small steps aren't doing much, they are certainly getting me farther than I get when I just let myself feel overwhelmed.
This new blog series, A Quest for Ethical, is going to be about sharing some of those small changes with you, and inviting you to join me in making small changes - and maybe together our small changes can make a big difference in the world!
Perhaps you are the kind of person who prefers to make large, drastic changes instead of small ones. That is perfectly fine! Sometimes I make big changes too. But the important thing is to seek continual improvement, moving towards an increasingly ethical life.
Tuesday, 23 June 2015
"Need Each Other"
Two posts in one day? What is this madness??!?
I just wanted to share a little project with you that I have been working on over the last couple days. Jordan Taylor, a person I follow on YouTube, has an album coming out soon, and he invited people to participate in a contest by recording a cover of one of his songs (Need Each Other). I originally wasn't planning to be involved, (how could I have time for that?!) but the song got stuck in my head and seemed to connect with where I have been at lately. So, long story short, I recorded a cover of his song!
The reality that "We all need each other" is significant for me, as I struggle with loneliness. Recording this song became a way of expressing myself and giving voice to that inward longing. I hope that you enjoy it!
I just wanted to share a little project with you that I have been working on over the last couple days. Jordan Taylor, a person I follow on YouTube, has an album coming out soon, and he invited people to participate in a contest by recording a cover of one of his songs (Need Each Other). I originally wasn't planning to be involved, (how could I have time for that?!) but the song got stuck in my head and seemed to connect with where I have been at lately. So, long story short, I recorded a cover of his song!
The reality that "We all need each other" is significant for me, as I struggle with loneliness. Recording this song became a way of expressing myself and giving voice to that inward longing. I hope that you enjoy it!
Wanted
Back before Steven was born, I remember hearing that being a new mom can be very lonely. I dismissed the thought. I'm an introvert - I thoroughly enjoy alone time! And I really enjoy all those housey things like cooking, sewing, and gardening. And I like kids. Being a mom must be my dream job!
Now I am approaching six months of being a mom.
My life is full of all the joy and satisfaction that I thought it would be.
And I am also incredibly lonely.
It's not that I don't have any friends, but that my kind of "busy" has changed. Instead of being out and about with a full calendar - with class, work, homework, volunteering, or whatever - I am simply at home. But it's not like I'm just sitting around! Between baby, housework, preparing meals, etc. I have all that I can handle and more! But because I operate in a sphere where very few other people exist, it becomes very easy to feel lonely. I do what I can to get out to where the people are, but some days/weeks I just don't have the energy. I also do what I can to include others in my world, but usually it seems that people are much too busy with their own lives.
The following poem is not meant to belittle the friends that I do have here - I appreciate you so much! It is also not meant to sound "needy" or like a guilt trip. It is simply an expression of how I have been feeling. I share it in the hope that it might be meaningful for someone else who also feels lonely, or who has been there before and knows what it is like.
Wanted:
A friend.
Or maybe two.
I really don't need many.
You don't even have to say anything
Just be there
In the room
Maybe hold the baby sometimes
When I need a break
We could walk down the street
For an icecream
Or something.
Or sometimes we could talk
About the weather
About things that matter to us
About anything really
I wouldn't care
If you did all of the talking
I would listen
I'm good at that.
And then on the weekend
We could go to the lake
Throw a frisbee around
With some other friends
That I don't have yet
But I will
Enjoy that game
Someday.
After the baby's in bed
We could watch a movie
A musical perhaps
And sing along
If we wanted to
We could play a game
Because there aren't many
That I can play alone.
But
I know you're busy.
If you ever have a chance to come...
I'll be here.
Now I am approaching six months of being a mom.
My life is full of all the joy and satisfaction that I thought it would be.
And I am also incredibly lonely.
It's not that I don't have any friends, but that my kind of "busy" has changed. Instead of being out and about with a full calendar - with class, work, homework, volunteering, or whatever - I am simply at home. But it's not like I'm just sitting around! Between baby, housework, preparing meals, etc. I have all that I can handle and more! But because I operate in a sphere where very few other people exist, it becomes very easy to feel lonely. I do what I can to get out to where the people are, but some days/weeks I just don't have the energy. I also do what I can to include others in my world, but usually it seems that people are much too busy with their own lives.
The following poem is not meant to belittle the friends that I do have here - I appreciate you so much! It is also not meant to sound "needy" or like a guilt trip. It is simply an expression of how I have been feeling. I share it in the hope that it might be meaningful for someone else who also feels lonely, or who has been there before and knows what it is like.
Wanted:
A friend.
Or maybe two.
I really don't need many.
You don't even have to say anything
Just be there
In the room
Maybe hold the baby sometimes
When I need a break
We could walk down the street
For an icecream
Or something.
Or sometimes we could talk
About the weather
About things that matter to us
About anything really
I wouldn't care
If you did all of the talking
I would listen
I'm good at that.
And then on the weekend
We could go to the lake
Throw a frisbee around
With some other friends
That I don't have yet
But I will
Enjoy that game
Someday.
After the baby's in bed
We could watch a movie
A musical perhaps
And sing along
If we wanted to
We could play a game
Because there aren't many
That I can play alone.
But
I know you're busy.
If you ever have a chance to come...
I'll be here.
Thursday, 18 June 2015
Game Review: Pandemic
In my series of games posts, I have been highlighting some of our family's favourite games. Here's another one: Pandemic.
The premise behind Pandemic is that there are four diseases spreading around the world, and the players have to work together to find cures for the diseases and stop them from spreading. Originally a board game, Pandemic has also been made into an electronic game that can be played on ipads. Since Steve has the electronic version of the game, this is the one that we play.
The game board is a world map, with certain cities that are labeled and connected with lines, which are a way of traveling from city to city. Each player has a certain "character" or "job" that gives them special abilities, such as protecting the cities they are near from being infected by the diseases, or building research stations for free.
There is one way to win Pandemic... and there are many ways to lose! The goal of the game is to find a cure for each of the four diseases (by collecting five cards of each colour) before: you run out of cards (two are dealt out at the end of each turn), you run out of disease cubes (each time a city is infected, a disease cube is placed on it), or there are too many outbreaks (each city can only hold three disease cubes - if it receives a fourth it outbreaks and cubes are placed on all the surrounding cities). A certain number of cities are infected with one cube after each turn, and there are epidemic cards in the deck that put three cubes onto a city. Sounds like a recipe for disaster? Good thing everyone is working together!
I am a big fan of cooperative games. I like it when everyone is working together to win. Perhaps because then I don't have an internal conflict between my desire to be nice to everyone and my desire to win. And in Pandemic, you are definitely all working together against a significant challenge! There are four levels at which you can play, and we often win... when we're playing at the easiest level!
I have only played the actual board game once, but I have played the electronic version many times. We like to project the game onto our big screen, and play the accompanying music through our sound system. It makes the game experience even more intense!
Pandemic is a fun and challenging game, using a lot of strategy and a little luck. Nothing can beat working together as a team to save the world!
The premise behind Pandemic is that there are four diseases spreading around the world, and the players have to work together to find cures for the diseases and stop them from spreading. Originally a board game, Pandemic has also been made into an electronic game that can be played on ipads. Since Steve has the electronic version of the game, this is the one that we play.
The game board is a world map, with certain cities that are labeled and connected with lines, which are a way of traveling from city to city. Each player has a certain "character" or "job" that gives them special abilities, such as protecting the cities they are near from being infected by the diseases, or building research stations for free.
There is one way to win Pandemic... and there are many ways to lose! The goal of the game is to find a cure for each of the four diseases (by collecting five cards of each colour) before: you run out of cards (two are dealt out at the end of each turn), you run out of disease cubes (each time a city is infected, a disease cube is placed on it), or there are too many outbreaks (each city can only hold three disease cubes - if it receives a fourth it outbreaks and cubes are placed on all the surrounding cities). A certain number of cities are infected with one cube after each turn, and there are epidemic cards in the deck that put three cubes onto a city. Sounds like a recipe for disaster? Good thing everyone is working together!
I am a big fan of cooperative games. I like it when everyone is working together to win. Perhaps because then I don't have an internal conflict between my desire to be nice to everyone and my desire to win. And in Pandemic, you are definitely all working together against a significant challenge! There are four levels at which you can play, and we often win... when we're playing at the easiest level!
I have only played the actual board game once, but I have played the electronic version many times. We like to project the game onto our big screen, and play the accompanying music through our sound system. It makes the game experience even more intense!
Pandemic is a fun and challenging game, using a lot of strategy and a little luck. Nothing can beat working together as a team to save the world!
Tuesday, 16 June 2015
Meditation on John 5:1-16
Thirty-eight years
Sick.
Thirty-eight years
Invalid.
Thirty-eight years
Waiting.
One man.
In a multitude.
Insignificant.
Ignored.
A stir in the crowd:
Jesus is coming!
Voices murmur
Gossip ripples
Through the masses
Ears strain
To hear the stories
Of miracles.
Of healings.
Even if it is true
Does it matter?
A man
Sees.
Notices.
Walks over.
Asks:
"Do you want to get well?"
Absurd question!
Thirty-eight years waiting.
Helpless.
Shouldn't it be obvious?
Indignant.
Embarrassed.
Make excuses.
For being here
Thirty-eight long years.
The man speaks again:
"Get up."
"Pick up your mat."
"Walk."
Immediately
Standing
Obeying
Healed
Restored
New energy flowing
Through every limb
Moving freely
Picking up the mat
Walking away
On two feet
All else forgotten
This is what it is to be free
Halted by harsh voices
"How dare you
"Carry your mat?
"It is the sabbath!"
Abruptly reminded
Of rules
And expectations.
Joy evaporates.
Make excuses.
Blame the man.
It's his fault.
Slink away
Fearful of judgment
The mat now a burden
Heart turning
To the simplicity
Of life by the pool
Is this freedom
Really what I wanted?
Sick.
Thirty-eight years
Invalid.
Thirty-eight years
Waiting.
One man.
In a multitude.
Insignificant.
Ignored.
A stir in the crowd:
Jesus is coming!
Voices murmur
Gossip ripples
Through the masses
Ears strain
To hear the stories
Of miracles.
Of healings.
Even if it is true
Does it matter?
A man
Sees.
Notices.
Walks over.
Asks:
"Do you want to get well?"
Absurd question!
Thirty-eight years waiting.
Helpless.
Shouldn't it be obvious?
Indignant.
Embarrassed.
Make excuses.
For being here
Thirty-eight long years.
The man speaks again:
"Get up."
"Pick up your mat."
"Walk."
Immediately
Standing
Obeying
Healed
Restored
New energy flowing
Through every limb
Moving freely
Picking up the mat
Walking away
On two feet
All else forgotten
This is what it is to be free
Halted by harsh voices
"How dare you
"Carry your mat?
"It is the sabbath!"
Abruptly reminded
Of rules
And expectations.
Joy evaporates.
Make excuses.
Blame the man.
It's his fault.
Slink away
Fearful of judgment
The mat now a burden
Heart turning
To the simplicity
Of life by the pool
Is this freedom
Really what I wanted?
Thursday, 11 June 2015
No-Bake Cookies
With the warm weather that we have been having lately, I have been on the hunt for recipes that don't require using the oven. This no-bake cookie recipe was a hit, so I thought I'd share it!
You start by mixing the honey, cocoa, almond milk, and coconut oil and bringing it to a boil for one minute. Then you take it off the heat and add in the peanut butter, oats, vanilla, and salt.
When it's all mixed together, you form it into cookies and put them on wax paper in the fridge to harden. It's that easy!
Check out the original recipe: Healthy No-Bake Cookies. I used honey instead of agave nectar, peanut butter instead of almond butter, and I omitted the coconut.
Along with no-bake cookies, we've also been having a lot of iced tea and chickpea salads around here lately. What is your favourite summer recipe?
Saturday, 6 June 2015
Five Months Big
Yet another monthly milestone has arrived in the life of our little boy! Highlights from the past month include Nana and Grandpa staying over for a sleepover (so mom and dad could get away to celebrate their anniversary!), visits from Auntie Caitlin and Daddy's cousin Angela, an overnight hiking trip, sleeping through the night for the first time(!!!), and learning how to reach for things, grab them, and put them in his mouth.
 |
| Smiles from a big boy who just slept through the night |
 |
| Hey Batman! |
 |
| Enjoying the trail |
 |
| He's cute and he knows it |
Thursday, 4 June 2015
A Minimal Wardrobe
I don't particularly enjoy shopping. Nor do I particularly enjoy spending money. I am also not particularly interested in fashion. So needless to say, any attempt to improve my wardrobe in the past hasn't really gotten anywhere. In fact, a significant portion of my clothes were second-hand clothes that I kinda liked and that kinda fitted me, but at least they were cheap! After once again looking through my full closet and my over-full dresser and once again proclaiming that I "had nothing to wear", I decided that something had to change.
While many other people may not share my dislikes, I don't think I'm the only person who has piles of clothes and yet feels like they have nothing to wear. So I thought I'd share the solution that I found: Get rid of most of it!
I began going through my clothes ruthlessly. Something didn't fit properly? Gone. Something wasn't my favourite? Gone. Something used to be my style but wasn't really any more? Gone. By the end I had a huge pile of clothes to give away, and much less in my closet and dresser.
The result of this purge was surprising: even though I had less clothes, I felt like I had more! There are several reasons for this. For one, all of the clothes I have now are clothes that I like, without all of the clutter of things I only half-like. I also have less choice now. As much as we are led to believe that since choice is good, more choice must be better, in fact too much choice is paralyzing. Now, while I still have some choice, I have limited my choices to clothes that I like and want to wear. My emptier closet and dresser are now able to be organized and tidy, and that helps my bedroom feel more peaceful. It seems that this is a case where less is indeed more!
I followed my purge by taking stock of what I had, and I made note of a few items of clothing I wanted to get to round out my smaller wardrobe. But now I have guidelines for when I am out shopping for clothes - anything I get needs to fill in a gap in my wardrobe, and it has to be something I really like.
Of the clothes that I still have, I am finding that there are still things that I don't wear, so I could probably narrow it down even more! And there are still a couple of things I would like to add at some point. It will take a little while, but my goal is to have a wardrobe that has everything I need - and no more.
While many other people may not share my dislikes, I don't think I'm the only person who has piles of clothes and yet feels like they have nothing to wear. So I thought I'd share the solution that I found: Get rid of most of it!
I began going through my clothes ruthlessly. Something didn't fit properly? Gone. Something wasn't my favourite? Gone. Something used to be my style but wasn't really any more? Gone. By the end I had a huge pile of clothes to give away, and much less in my closet and dresser.
The result of this purge was surprising: even though I had less clothes, I felt like I had more! There are several reasons for this. For one, all of the clothes I have now are clothes that I like, without all of the clutter of things I only half-like. I also have less choice now. As much as we are led to believe that since choice is good, more choice must be better, in fact too much choice is paralyzing. Now, while I still have some choice, I have limited my choices to clothes that I like and want to wear. My emptier closet and dresser are now able to be organized and tidy, and that helps my bedroom feel more peaceful. It seems that this is a case where less is indeed more!
I followed my purge by taking stock of what I had, and I made note of a few items of clothing I wanted to get to round out my smaller wardrobe. But now I have guidelines for when I am out shopping for clothes - anything I get needs to fill in a gap in my wardrobe, and it has to be something I really like.
Of the clothes that I still have, I am finding that there are still things that I don't wear, so I could probably narrow it down even more! And there are still a couple of things I would like to add at some point. It will take a little while, but my goal is to have a wardrobe that has everything I need - and no more.
Tuesday, 2 June 2015
Lessons from a Baby: Crying
God often uses others to teach us, and I think he especially loves to teach us through babies. Maybe because "The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these". Maybe because they haven't had the years of building habits and self-defensive layers that the rest of us have. Babies give us a window into a time when we didn't know many of the things that we know now, and when we knew some things that we have since forgotten in the business of life.
Crying.
Babies cry. This we all know. Crying is a baby's way of communication. Since babies can't speak, and don't even have words with which to understand their experiences, they communicate through emotion. This can be frustrating for caregivers, especially when it is hard to find out what is wrong, or when it seems that nothing is wrong, and yet the baby continues to cry. One approach that some parents take to cope with a baby that constantly cries is called the "cry it out" method, in which parents (once the baby's needs are taken care of) just lets the baby cry until they stop or fall asleep. And this approach does in fact seem to work - studies have shown that babies who are left to "cry it out" spend less time crying than babies who are not. However, this approach is discouraged by healthcare specialists, for an interesting reason. These babies cry less because they have learned that no one will come to help them when they cry. Why communicate that you need help, or just need someone to hold you, if you know that no one will?
I often remind myself of this when I begin to get frustrated because my baby is crying. Instead of grumbling that once again I am interrupted halfway through what I am doing, or starting to cry myself because I just wanted some sleep, I remind myself to be thankful. Thankful that my little boy knows that I am here for him. Thankful that he knows that he will be heard and held and cared for.
I believe that this ties dramatically into our lives as adults too. As we grow up, we stop crying so much. We learn words to express ourselves. We don't have to cry because we are hungry or because we pooped our pants. (Although, to be honest, I might still cry if I pooped my pants.) We can explain our needs to others, and we learn to fulfill many of our needs for ourselves. However, as we learn to speak the language of words and logic, we start to forget the language of emotion. Then, when we are faced with something that we don't have words for, that we don't understand, or that just feels wrong, we don't know what to do. Someone very dear to us dies. We lose a friendship. We aren't understood by the people around us. We feel restless, lonely, adrift, brokenhearted. We feel a deep need to communicate this, but we have forgotten how to cry.
Perhaps one reason we have forgotten how to cry is that we don't really believe that there is someone who will hear us.
The Psalms is the Bible's book of prayers. There are many different kinds of psalms, but the most common kind is the lament: A prayer that cries out to God, not with logic, but with emotion. Perhaps there are so many laments in the psalms to remind us that we can cry out to God. Cry about the loneliness. Cry about the loss. Cry about our broken and hurting world. There is someone who hears us. We are not alone.
Crying.
Babies cry. This we all know. Crying is a baby's way of communication. Since babies can't speak, and don't even have words with which to understand their experiences, they communicate through emotion. This can be frustrating for caregivers, especially when it is hard to find out what is wrong, or when it seems that nothing is wrong, and yet the baby continues to cry. One approach that some parents take to cope with a baby that constantly cries is called the "cry it out" method, in which parents (once the baby's needs are taken care of) just lets the baby cry until they stop or fall asleep. And this approach does in fact seem to work - studies have shown that babies who are left to "cry it out" spend less time crying than babies who are not. However, this approach is discouraged by healthcare specialists, for an interesting reason. These babies cry less because they have learned that no one will come to help them when they cry. Why communicate that you need help, or just need someone to hold you, if you know that no one will?
I often remind myself of this when I begin to get frustrated because my baby is crying. Instead of grumbling that once again I am interrupted halfway through what I am doing, or starting to cry myself because I just wanted some sleep, I remind myself to be thankful. Thankful that my little boy knows that I am here for him. Thankful that he knows that he will be heard and held and cared for.
I believe that this ties dramatically into our lives as adults too. As we grow up, we stop crying so much. We learn words to express ourselves. We don't have to cry because we are hungry or because we pooped our pants. (Although, to be honest, I might still cry if I pooped my pants.) We can explain our needs to others, and we learn to fulfill many of our needs for ourselves. However, as we learn to speak the language of words and logic, we start to forget the language of emotion. Then, when we are faced with something that we don't have words for, that we don't understand, or that just feels wrong, we don't know what to do. Someone very dear to us dies. We lose a friendship. We aren't understood by the people around us. We feel restless, lonely, adrift, brokenhearted. We feel a deep need to communicate this, but we have forgotten how to cry.
Perhaps one reason we have forgotten how to cry is that we don't really believe that there is someone who will hear us.
The Psalms is the Bible's book of prayers. There are many different kinds of psalms, but the most common kind is the lament: A prayer that cries out to God, not with logic, but with emotion. Perhaps there are so many laments in the psalms to remind us that we can cry out to God. Cry about the loneliness. Cry about the loss. Cry about our broken and hurting world. There is someone who hears us. We are not alone.
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