The Exhaustion That Accompanies Doom-Sayers

I don't know about anyone else, but I've found the past few days to be exhausting. Not because I was getting my house and/or affairs in order for the doom-sayers predictions, but I'm exhausted from realizing just how divided we are any more as humans.

Let's face it...folks got pretty snarky.

I figured there would be a few out there who, for whatever odd reason, would do some posturing and "in your face" strutting about, making it very clear to all of us folks of faith that we're just this side of not too bright. But wow...really?

As the day went on today, so too did the barbs, the sarcastic remarks, the generally indignant taunts. The scary part, however, to me was how it was beginning to reach a fevered pitch. I did a lot of online work today that had piled up and it got to the point that I just shut everything down...it got that bad. One guy who I generally consider a reliable and thoughtful resource on my Twitter feed went so far as to post "no rapture=God is dead". I've stopped following him...that's just crossing the line in my book.

What has become of us as a learned society? Intelligence doesn't equate hatred and intolerance. Yet this is what happened this past week. We are quick to point out others' intolerance, yet this happens?

My heart goes out in several different directions today. I feel sad for the people who wanted to believe their leader so badly that they forgot a simple tenet of our Christian belief--NO ONE knows when the rapture will occur. Christ himself said He doesn't know. I'm banking that if He doesn't know that a mere mortal for sure won't. And why do we need to know a time? Anyone who dies for whatever reason is "raptured", so to speak. The mortal journey is over...the eternal one begins. I find that incredibly reassuring and exciting.

My heart goes out equally to those who, as a result of being made to think about their mortality, found a great deal of hate in their hearts and lashed out. It got pretty rough out there, folks. Pretty ugly from the mortals. Yikes.

After multiple distractions throughout the day, I decided to put the top down on Miss Priss and just get out and drive a bit. Did me a world of good. Life got back in a welcomed routine. I went and visited my mom and fixed her hair; I went and bought my needed ingredients to prepare the Friday Night Challenge; I drove through the Ireland flats and got inundated with the aroma of turkey manure being spread on the fields. I felt the sun on my face, the wind in my hair. I heard the birds singing their hearts out. And life came back to normal...what a great word.

I'm a firm believer in God and an afterlife; I find it very reassuring and comforting to know that our journey won't just end abruptly once our bodies give out. I like the idea of greater knowledge, understanding, and discovery down the road. It all makes sense to me.

I truly hope that this past week of events will help us all to slow down, enjoy life, and do a little self-examination when it comes to tolerance. We all come into each others' lives with some form of baggage; equally, we all have things that matter greatly to us. How about we start practicing what makes us feel good to preach. Let's just live and love and accept.

Peace be with you.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom

I'll admit it freely. I'm one of the luckiest kids on Earth when it comes to parents. I love them now; I loved them when I was a teenager. I knew they were always in charge, but I also knew they were always in my corner. I felt protected without being smothered; I felt free to be creative and unique while being tethered by a common sense. I felt special while knowing I was not the center of the universe. I was raised like a kid, not a science project. I was allowed to get my clothes dirty, to get scratched up, to get my feelings hurt. I was simply told, as a result, to get cleaned up, that a band-aid would fix the scratch, and to let the hurt go and get back out there and have fun. I carry those same truths with me today. 


When I was little, we were like most people and pretty well scraped by--I just never knew it. When I got older and Dad got a prized job at the mine running Big Kate, we were doing pretty well--I just never knew it. We were just people, plain and simple. A pretty good way to be.


When Dad died a few years back, Mom lost her best friend in the world. It would have been easy for her just to fold up, too. They had been together for over 60 years; suddenly she was alone. But anyone who knows Mom knows that wasn't going to happen. She's a trooper; she doesn't expect life to be easy, and she doesn't want to be pampered. She'd rather laugh than cry, and she's always reminded us that God didn't promise us a bed of roses for a life. All that reality gave us good roots.


On the other hand, no mom is better at helping kids reach for the sky. During our kid-hoods and now as adults, the three of us kids still invent crazy things, try just about anything, and don't get too excited if we really mess things up while learning something new. Things can be neatened up, cleared up, and cleaned up. Experiencing all facets of life can be pretty messy; truly experiencing all those facets can come out looking like a train-wreck. However...once that new skill is learned, that challenge met, or that creation brought to fruition...fantastic.


Thanks to Mom and Dad, we have common sense roots, we have dreams that never end, and we truly know love. 


Mom is 83 and has never been more beautiful. I'm blessed to have her as my mom and honored to have her as my friend.


Love ya, Mom.