Practice what you Preach

Miss Bertha's house in recent years. In my youth, there were more trees, and rockers on the porch.

Mom has always been someone to see the best in people.

Miss Bertha, the elderly widow next door, despised TV. She kept up to date on state and local happenings in the News and Observer. She kept up with the local "news"  after supper on her front porch. As the broiling summer days cooled down to a bearable temp, and the sky turned inky and full of stars, people gathered on her broad front porch, sitting in creaky rockers or sprawling on her front stoop. Kids, like me, caught lightening bugs, skipping barefoot, while the adults talked.

A lot of "local news" was exchanged on that porch and the Seaboard residents that just happened to be strolling past were always ready to hear the latest. "He said this"  or "She dated who" or "Can you believe he said that?" But amid the eager chatter, Mary Frances always remained nonplussed. She had her own assessments, and they were usually oddly out of tune with the conversation.

"Well, I don't think that's right (accurate.)"
 "I'm sure she didn't mean it."
"You don't know he was drinking."

Miss Bertha held that it was no point in telling Mary Frances anything good; she always made the subject of gossip to be better than they actually were.

What really happened in this circumstances was always impossible to know. Just as impossible as trying to determine what was in a person's heart. And that's always been the challenge for people, and especially hard for Christians. 'Cause we show up spit polished on Sunday morning, but Saturday night we mighta tied one on with our best friend's husband at the juke joint down the road. Who would know?  (Maybe Bubba, but I guarantee, he's keeping mum, too.)

Most of the really deep spiritual stuff is just as invisible. What is in on our heart? Are we lusting after our neighbor's spouse or cussing a big "GD" (in 60's speak) at the driver in the next car? It's a very secretive business. Even those Pharisees who prayed on the street corner never revealed their truest selves.

But now, people, we have a chance to live out our faith. To obey the most simple command, which also happens to be the most difficult to obey. Yep, the Golden Rule. Matthew 7:12.

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.  

See, we've been asked to practice Social Distancing. And yes, that's a fancy way to say to stay your butt at home. And yes, yes, - the nurses, doctors, pharmacists of you, those who work in factories, or at the CVS, or guy who picks up my garage, I know that's not a choice, I get it. BUT, it means DON'T GO to the PNC Arena for a concert. It means DON'T GO on spring break and gather like fleas on a bloodhound. It's means DON'T sit cheek to cheek around your firepit with a backyard full of bros. 

It does mean keep yourself at home, and away from others. Yes, it'd be GREAT if you don't get COVID19, really excellent - and I hope and pray you don't. But the REAL REASON to practice Social Distancing is that is you find yourself with a thermometer under your tongue and sweat on your brow and an increasing bad cough that you can keep it to yourself, or at the worst, to your fellow "social distancers." It means you are staying at home for the "other guy." The folks in your neighborhood, or grocery store, or any where else. You do it for truly altruistic reasons.  You do it for the "others." And you do it so that the need doesn't overrun the capacity of your local health care system. The chart below shows the real strength of this idea.  

So, if you really care about others,  if you really want to practice what you preach, put your fanny where your heart is, AT HOME. I'm pretty much sure that's what Jesus Would Do. 

And PS, He would not have hoarded Charmin, either.  Leave some for others. 

Top O' the Morning! Saint Patrick's Breastplate Prayer

I have vivid memories of a small town upbringing that include going to a joint Baptist/Methodist Vacation Bible School. Our assembly and classes were held in the icy cold Seaboard Baptist Church sanctuary.  For a girl whose own home was hot as a firecracker, the cool chilled sacred quiet was as refreshing as a glass of fresh brewed iced tea.

Craft time was a different story. We went outside (to prevent making a mess, natch) and made wondrous things. No pipe-cleaner creations during those days, but real crafts. I remember diligently making a birdhouse and sloppily painting it white. And I especially remember the senior gentleman who, is in what was a once was a crisp short sleeved shirt,  guided us in our endeavers in the broiling heat. Precious Thurmond Bullock guided our youthful attempts at carpentry, mopping sweat all the while.

One year, we made a little plaque. We were given elegant precut wooden pieces which we dutifully sanded and painted black. And then, on top, we mod-podged a piece of paper with a prayer written in an elegant medieval looking font. Years later, I realized it was the famous prayer called St. Patrick's Breastplate. You can read more about it here as well as the full text: Saint Patrick's Breastplate

A small portion goes like this:

This prayer is as powerful today as it was for the author all those years ago. In times of trouble, we feel our humanity and our frailty. But as the author knew then, and we know now, the presence of God is always with us.

My sister, suffered great debilitating pain. Yet after a hospitalization in which she was wrestled with unthinkable agony, she shared that even in her lowest darkest moments of torment she felt the presence of, in the language of her faith, The Comfortor.

It is easy to feel we are walking the road alone. I have had a few sleepless nights wondering "what if?"  But we aren't alone. We aren't. Ever. Alone.

Strong  or weak, young or old, well or ill, afraid or secure, we are cloaked in the great love and presence of God. Call it what you will: the Comfortor, the Holy Spirit, Yahweh, Teacher, Counselor, Strengthener. But just as the writer of St. Patrick's Breastplate knew - the spirit of the living God is all around around us, encompassing and embracing us - spiritual "personal protective equipment" that  nourishes our souls - that replenishes our heart - that meets our faith and keeps us whole.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. -PSALMS 46:2-3 

Amen and Amen. 

Seven Prayers in Seven Minutes to put a Face on COVID-19

I have heard the story many times.  Years before I was born, a  Bible salesman came to the door of my remarkable neighbor, "Miss" Bertha Parker. She was a young widow with a houseful of young children and she  politely refused him. He played the guilt card; "Ma'am, are you going to stand between your children and salvation?" Her response was classic. "No, I'm going to stand between them and starvation!"

And that's what scares us today. There is nothing that stands between us and COVID-19. No vaccine, no immunity, no testing, no anti-viral meds.  Maybe even no hospital bed.

So in this time of fear, I invite you to join me in a daily practice. It should take only 7 minutes at most. PRAY for seven people or groups. If you don't have a God of your understanding, then reflect on them. I think this practice will calm and restore you. Here's my suggested 7 topics for 7 prayers.

1. Chose someone specific to pray for in leadership. Pray for our POTUS, the head of the CDC,  or Dr. Fauci, the NIAID director who has advised seven presidents. Pray for their strength, their leadership, their health and their wisdom. Reflect on what an incredible time this is in human history and how it begs for voices of hope. Ask God to help them lead with courage and care and communicate truthfully.

2. Chose someone specific to pray for in the medical field. Pray for a health care provider that you know personally. Pray for a nurse on the front line, or a pharmacist filling as many prescriptions as she possibly can. Reflect on the many people that make a hospital work, from the cleaning staff to the receptionist, to the respiratory therapist. Pray for a doctor.  Ask God to help them care for themselves and their families and for doctors to make judicious decisions.

3. Pray for someone elderly. Your grandma, your neighbor, your neighbor’s grandma. The old guy you see at the neighborhood coffee shop.They are living with the knowledge that their days are numbered, hoping for a peaceful end of life. Now their latter days are threatened. If we have a surge of case and they become sick, they may be denied care, or they may face dying alone. Pray for their strength and safety and comfort.

4. Pray for someone with a pre-existing condition and/or immune suppressed. We all know someone; that someone may be us. Pray for someone with asthma, cancer, COPD, diabetes, high blood pressure. The list of what makes people suspect is long and they know they are targeted by this bastard of a virus.  Ask for their peace, their rest. Pray they are lifted and encouraged by friends and family and that they feel the love of all around them.

5. Pray for someone with COVID-19. Don't know someone? You likely will. If you don't, thank God and pray for the faceless numbers on the charts, and  their families, trying to quarantine. Ask  for healing, for peace, for faith, for trust. Pray for available treatment, hospital beds, ventilators.  And if praying for the unknown  doesn't float your boat, pick Tom and Rita Hanks or Rudy Gobert or Sophie Trudeau. There will be more.

6. Pray for the scientists.  One of my sons is an epidemiologist, so I'm a bit partial to their ilk. Or pray for researchers who are trying to tease our treatments from our current arsenal of cures or those who are working to develop a vaccine as the whole world waits with bated breath.

7. Pray for the families of all of the folks above. Their lives have been upended; they are grasping for a foothold in the rapidly changing landscape. They worry, fret, pray, research while doing their darnedest to lift up their loved ones. Pray for Strength, Hope, Wellness, and the Peace that Passeth All Understanding. Pray for love.

In this time of fear and angst, of politics red and blue, we've been given an opportunity. To see what is good in our lives, in our people, in our country. To shoulder the burdens of others as well as our own. Expand this list, add utility workers, Amazon deliverers, grocery store stockers, restaurant servers, USPS employees, and others. There is no sector of this country exempt. Pray for those who live paycheck to paycheck and without insurance. Just Pray.

And finally, be better.  Stop spewing hate. Stop with the divisiveness.  Just stop it. This is far bigger than trying to derail an election. Your attitude is as virulent as COVID-19. You may not realize it, but you are being seen and heard and you are influencing others. Try a kinder, gentler, more empathetic tact. You might even like yourself for it. Share your toilet paper  and paper towels. Don't buy 12 times what you will need. And especially, don't assume you are exempt.

Take stock of yourself as well as your pantry. Make sure there's empathy, compassion, and genuine concern. Keep an eye on the news, the CDC website or the NYT. Be informed, but not inundated.

Eat good food. Love your family. Write a letter. Read a book. Do a puzzle. Stream that series you never had time for. Walk in your neighborhood. Play with your kids. Call a friend. Cherish the gifts in your life.

If we work together, if we recapture the 9/11 sense of unity, we can get through this as a nation. It's likely to be a marathon, not a sprint, but with God's help...and each other, we got this.

And in the meantime, if you need a really good laugh, watch this SNL skit: The Sands of Modesto

Peace, out.