Showing posts with label Amen to That. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amen to That. Show all posts

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Thoughtful Thursday

Today's Thoughtful Thursday comes as a confluence of events - at first glance, unrelated.

But these things - summer, gatherings, gardens, friends; under the effortless effort of reflection, seem to all belong together.

Not unlike eggplants and corn.

Garden Meditation
by Reverend Max Coots

Let us give thanks for a bounty of people.

For children who are our second planting, and though they
grow like weeds and the wind soon blows them away, may
they forgive us our cultivation and fondly remember where
their roots are.

Let us give thanks:

For generous friends...with hearts...and smiles as bright
as their blossoms;

For feisty friends, as tart as apples;

For continuous friends, who, like scallions and cucumbers,
keep reminding us that we've had them;

For crotchety friends, sour as rhubarb and as indestructible;

For handsome friends, who are as gorgeous as eggplants and
as elegant as a row of corn, and the others, as plain as
potatoes and so good for you;

For funny friends, who are as silly as Brussels sprouts and
as amusing as Jerusalem artichokes;

And serious friends, as unpretentious as cabbages, as subtle
as summer squash, as persistent as parsley, as delightful as
dill, as endless as zucchini and who, like parsnips, can be
counted on to see you through the winter;

For old friends, nodding like sunflowers in the evening-time,
and young friends coming on as fast as radishes;

For loving friends, who wind around us like tendrils and hold
us, despite our blights, wilts and witherings;

And finally, for those friends now gone, like gardens past
that have been harvested, but who fed us in their times that
we might have life thereafter.

For all these we give thanks.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Stop Me If You've Heard This One. . .

A Jew walks into a Southern Methodist Tabernacle.

It's a pretty hot day, and the Humidex is at around 174 percent, give or take 1000.

At the door, the usher offers her a cardboard paddle, and asks, "Fan?"

Distracted by looking around for somewhere to sit, the Jew says, "I don't know - I've only ever heard the first act."

Bah Boom Boom.

(They love me in the Borscht Belt)(Me and Henny. Just like this.)

So, if one were to venture to Mathews County, Virginia (which I did), and if one were to have the most amazing Tour Guides in the world (which I did), and if one were to allow oneself to be driven hither and yon throughout this lush, verdant landscape (which I did), one might find themselves at this crossroads:

You hafta know right away that there is some religion being got 'round here.

I'm not sure if this particular house of worship has become a heritage site, or if it is still functional. I tend to think that it might be the former, as I'm sure this scene I stumbled upon is an act of senseless vandalism rather than fervent prayer:

Irregardless of its status, on the day of our visit, it still loomed large and silent, yet full of spirit.

And you know me, with my vivid imagination (well, maybe you don't. But my internal life? Endlessly fascinating)(To me, anyways). I could easily envision the pews jam-packed, and a lot of praise swirling in and around and amongst, through the open structure and out into the ether.

Without sounding too mawkish, it was the perfect symbol for the Virginia Blogfest - a confluence of spirit, where the sacred was taken to heart.

"Fan?"

Hell, yeah.
 
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