Happy Birthday, Lyle

from September 15, 2014

How is it that I became your mother

without giving birth to you?

How is it that you have gone from 7 to 31

in the blink of an eye?

How is that the cuddly little boy has become

a broad-shouldered, somewhat bearded man?

How is it that you found a life partner who 

is our dream fulfilled for you?

How is it that I still so often see that wondrous little lad 

me grinning at me through a man's eyes?

How is it that whatever life brings

you, my son, are full of courage and joy?

How is it that the words "Happy Birthday" cannot begin to express 

this momma's many wishes for you?

I love you, son, and wish you God's richest blessings on this day, your 31st birthday.

Laura

 

The Sandwich and the Cigarettes

from September 14, 2017

Sometimes you observe things that need to be recorded in word, and today, I hope I can do this moment justice.

Yesterday we sat outside Sharon’s Deli in Hope. We were chatting with a fellow named Arne who was drinking a Coke. The gal from the deli brought him a couple of complete loaves of bread to take home. He was on a bike and didn't have a bag to carry the bread home in so we gave him a cloth grocery bag out of our trunk. We got to chatting about everything and nothing and eventually I asked him what his favourite thing to eat was at the deli. He said a beef dip, so we bought him one with ketchup chips as he requested. We continued to chat as a woman in a loose blousy dress wandered towards us. As she got closer, I saw that she was picking up cigarette butts from the curb and the street. She explained to us that she was ”butting because they took $300 of her cheque”. She must have seen the puzzled look on my face because she explained that butting is picking up used cigarette butts and collecting the bits of leftover tobacco to make one complete cigarette.

As I processed this information, Arne reach over to the woman and handed her two cigarettes from his own package. She stepped out of the gutter and took them.

And the metaphor that was playing out in front of me struck me between the eyes.

This unremarkable man met this woman's need. She stepped out of the gutter to meet him and he gave to her out of his own riches. No judgement, no prequisite, no condescension....just a genuine gift with no strings attached.

It was a small thing for us to give him a sandwich....it was a huge thing for him to give her two cigarettes.

We have been given the same opportunity to step out of the gutter we are in and have our needs met by the One who extends the Hand of Grace towards us.

There is no judgement...no prerequisite....no condescension.

Let us grasp the Hand that reaches to us, that we may be lifted from the ditch...into joy.