A love story, revisited.

When I gave the toast at my sisters wedding, I talked about love (how incredibly remarkable, I know).

I did so by painting the picture with a very simple story.

I was doing the dishes at the kitchen sink, and Jenna was in the living room. All of a sudden from inside the other room, I hear...

"JOE!!"

Silence.

"JOE!!"

"JOE, COME IN HERE!!"

"JOE!!"

"JOE!!”

“JOE!

Did you see this, Joe?!"

Now, I’m not exaggerating, if you knew my sister you would understand.

I looked over at Arturo, Joes brother in law, who stood in the kitchen with me; we both smiled.

Not so much at the profound love connection between two human beings, but more honestly at my sisters incessant summoning, in all of its .... incessantness.

But just then, it clicked.

Love.

Quite simply, Jenna was looking at something;

and her j o y was not complete, until Joe was by her side enjoying it w i t h her.

I read a poem, and this was my instant experience.

All I wanted to do was share it; to have someone enjoy it with me.

In this I was brought back to this story, and I found it quite appropriate given that the wedding toast was given exactly one year ago today.

So, in honor of my sister - who wore well the shoes of a beautiful wife, and is now walking the road of a widow.

Thank you for inspiring me in your small and simple acts of love. You have always been a delicate soldier.

I pray that it’s His love you cling to. I hope you stay believing that as the chaos of life spins widely out of control- it falls right into His hands. And there's no better place.

This poem is a plea to Him, the Overseer of our souls, written with a true heart of flesh;

showing the nature of our astounding humanness.

So, without further ado ....

“WORLD!!!”

“WORLD!!!”
“WORLD!!!”

“WORLD, Come OVER HERE!”

“Have you READ THIS, World?!?”

;)

Found neatly tucked through the glorious doors of

The Rabbit Room

written by Andrew Peterson

http://www.rabbitroom.com/

(you should totally check it out.)

THANKSGIVING

(A CONFESSION AND A PLEA TO THE ALMIGHTY)

"O God, Magnificent Confounder,

Boundless in mercy and power,

Be near me in my apathy.

Be near me, Savage Dreamer,

Bright Igniter of Exploding Suns,

But not too near. I’d like to live,

By your grace, just long enough

To taste another perfect steak.

And to see my children marry,

And, perhaps, to pen a memoir.

Great redeemer of my lechery,

Bright Dawn of Blessed Hope,

Lay waste to every prideful thing,

Each black infraction of your law.

O Swirling Storm of Holy Anger,

Be patient with me. I’m certain

I will make a second gluttonous

Trip to the festal spread of food.

And I might as well admit, O King

Omniscient, I plan to make a third.

And that will lead to sloth, I know,

If only for the afternoon. Awake,

O sleeper! But not yet, not yet.

I want to dream a dream of light

In Heaven’s towering splendor.

I long, my Lord, to walk its streets

Or better yet, to drive them.

I’ve always wanted a motorcycle,

A cool one that blats and rumbles

Like a herd of flaming zebras.

I could totally impress the ladies

With my holy rolling zebra steed,

But only by your perfect pleasure,

Ruler of the angel armies, blaster

Of the horn of strength, would I ride

The golden highways awesomely.

O Wisdom of the Ages, speak!

Sing to me of secret knowledge

Open wide the gates of truth,

And let me learn it, by your grace,

Through the medium of television–

Smartly written situational comedy,

Perhaps, or an epic space opera.

Let me taste the honey of your word,

My beloved savior. Seriously. Save me

From my wit, my words, my songs,

My sin, my bad poems, my vanity,

My every single human impulse,

Except the ones I like and am able

To justify using my corruptible

Reason, my imperfect understanding,

And my belief in your inexhaustible

Forgiveness. When I awake, saintly,

I will consume a dish of pumpkin pie.

And, as I politely swallow a belch,

I will lean my heart on yours, Almighty,

To whom, alone, is due thanksgiving."

The Hand Wave

As the man in front of me half turned around, hand slightly waved in the air, I was wondering why he would be waving to me.

I had just woken up from an hour long nap on my flight back to Phoenix, and was at the stage of just “coming to.” The jet engines drown out a lot of noise, but as I stared at him in the middle seat in front of me I could tell he was saying something. I leaned my head in to catch his words with my nearer ear..

“My son!”.. he said.

I did the same uncomfortable half body twist to catch a glimpse of the young man sitting directly behind me. His dark wavy hair caught my eye first, and I then noticed that his headphones, along with the faint jet engine roar, drown the hope of his dad catching his his attention.

“Would you like me to get him for you?” I leaned up and asked the father, still waking up.

He let out a huge grin, and nodded,

“Yes.”

I turned around again, and waved toward the young boy; my hand more visible as I was seated a row closer.

“Your dad”, I said with a smile, so as not to alarm him, he’s trying to get your attention.

The boy popped up, and squirmed his way as high on his chair as he could. He caught his dad’s eye with a big smile, and the dad waved once more. His boy smiled ear-to-ear, and waved back.

We all resumed back to our original positions, and continued on where we had been. For me that meant pulling out my computer, to tell this story.

Why?

Because I found this fascinating.

I knew immediately that this seemingly ordinary situation was actually a representation of how God works in our lives.

We get distracted by the worlds headphones. These big earpieces weigh heavily on the gateway to our soul, blocking our ability to tune into the still small voice.

However, when the times comes in which we fall into the deep trance of the worlds music, He will use someone closer to us to come along and help tune us into the song of His voice.

Even if His message is as subtle as a hand wave, as to say;

“Hello child,

here I am.”