Mrs Metaphor

One of the things that influenced our decision to move to Tennessee a couple of years ago was this quote from Gerhard Lohfink:

“It can only be that God begins in a small way, at one single place in the world. There must be a place, visible, tangible, where the salvation of the world can begin: that is, where the world becomes what it is supposed to be according to God’s plan. Beginning at that place, the new thing can spread abroad, but not through persuasion, not through indoctrination, not through violence. Everyone must have the opportunity to come and see.

All must have the chance to behold and test this new thing. Then, if they want to, they can allow themselves to be drawn into the history of salvation that God is creating. Only in that way can their freedom be preserved. What drives them to the new thing cannot be force, not even moral pressure, but only the fascination of a world that is changed.

Clearly, this change in the world must begin in human beings, but not all by their seeking through heroic effort to make themselves the locus of the new, altered world; rather, it begins when they listen to God, open themselves to God and allow God to act.”

This felt like something I wanted to revisit today. This felt like something I wanted to put out into the world today and so, there it is.

I found this blog today and had to post about it. I know my blog buddy BC will totally DIG this blog.

Going Jesus

Going Jesus is the blog of a woman who describes herself this way:
“Me: 36, living in the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley Division. Married to the fabulous Dennis, writer and stay at home dad to our boy, the amazing baby Isaac. Catstaff to Gracie and Beatitudes (aka The Bea). Unlikely Christian, Episcopalian Division. Still amazed that this actually works, but it does. “

This is just a small sampling of her very cool approach to her faith and her life.

How can I not love someone who promotes “WTFWJD” Tee Shirts?? lol

Be SURE to check out her Nativity Calvalcade pages…you will literally laugh out loud!

Alas, at the risk of ruining you for my “serious stuff” down the line, please find enclosed another installment of  “Time out for Fun.”  This one may reveal my slightly off-center sense of humor or perhaps it will merely accent my oft mentioned love of nature.  As always…there is a lesson to be learned here.  I’ll gladly take your submissions of how this metaphorically fits with your own life.  Please submit in writing.

Someone spoke to me recently about the danger of taking oneself too seriously. While it’s true that I have a great number of serious things on my plate at the moment I suppose, though, I can see the wisdom in taking time out for jocularity. For this reason I have decided to offer a new feature here at Mrs Metaphor for that very purpose, “Time out for Fun.”

When in doubt…turn to Devo, I always say…

I got news this week about a friend who is facing a diagnosis of bone cancer. We don’t know anything for certain yet except that it IS cancer and that it is either on his sacrum or in it. Depending upon the type of cancer that it is, they will let my friend know how best to treat it.

In the face of this news I began to pray because that it is the only thing I can think to do and because my friend asked me to pray. It is not nearly as instinctual for me as I’d like. I’d love to be the sort of “pray-er” who falls right into the well versed, proper stance for prayer but mostly it just follows Anne Lamott’s example of “help me, help me, help me” or “thank you, thank you, thank you.” Today I approach the throne with rather a surly attitude and all I can muster is “why?” and the occasional, “please!”

I’d like to say that it’s because of the injustice of it all and make some grand pronouncement about bad things happening to good people and the wisdom of God and not understanding God’s thinking on all of this but in the end it just boils down to me thinking about me, really. All I can think about is me, I confess. I feel like I’ve entered into a new phase of life in which I see people I love dearly passing into ill health, devastating crisis and fatality. Someone told me it’s because of my stage of life but this is a hard pill to swallow since I am only just knocking on the door to forty but I suppose she might be right.

It seems as though every year for the last 5 years there has been a loss of a friend or a friend’s family member or child and each time my response being mouth agape and lost for words. Because I’m a writer and because I’m a talker I look for the words when I see my friends who are suffering, who are facing treatment, chemo, radiation, nausea, death. I look for words and you know in the long run, words just fail…they just do. Once when I struggled to find something wise and comforting to say to a friend who was looking at terminal cancer I broke down and sobbed and she smiled the most peace-filled gracious and loving smile I have ever seen, she became the Comforter, the face of Christ and what a tremendous gift that was to me.

The same friend went through radiation several times. What is striking about this sort of treatment was that she could not touch or be touched for a few days afterward, she’d have to announce to people as she saw them with a stop sign palm out, “I’m neutropenic…” meaning that the radiation had destroyed so many white blood cells in the fight against the cancer that it also meant that our germs could hurt her, our touch could cause her more illness.

At a loss for words and a loss for touch…what am I left to offer?

My gracious smiling friend said to me once in the midst of her treatment that she was so glad for visitors because even though they could not touch and there was little, if anything they could say, she wanted to be seen, she wanted to be heard. This is what made her feel as though she was still a part of the human race. Her perception was that at first during her cancer people were everywhere, wanting to help, wanting to pray, wanting to speak but over time people drifted off somehow, got tired of the battle or got busy with their own lives. She suspected that the struggle was just too much. I suspect that the it was not the struggle but rather the loss..the loss of words, the loss of touch, the loss of control, the eventuality of the loss of a friend. Maybe we shut down to cauterize the pain of loss but forget that those still in the business of survival merely grieve for normalcy, for ordinary time, for the chance to have coffee and talk about American Idol.

I wish I knew more…I wish I could change things…I want to understand….I want to know God’s mind on this…I hope it turns out well…I hope my friend doesn’t die too soon…I hope he is not in pain…it all begins with “I.” Maybe “I” is all I have right now.

What comes to me is this; To see and be seen….to hear and be heard…maybe that is something. Maybe being present, being available, being eyes to see and ears to hear is enough. I hope it is a valuable. I hope it is a gift. I hope it is enough.

Well, it has FINALLY happened…after all my wishing to win the lottery I guess it’s happened. I feel so privledged and honored to have been chosen by Mrs Fahad Al Din for this task and I hope I am up to it.

This is the email I received today. I was excited to be able to share this with you but I hope it does not put my new found opportunity for wealth at risk. I’m willing to take the chance because I’m certain you would never tell the West African Government of the plan, yes?

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From: Mrs. Halimah Fahad Al Din
Address:N°38 Rues Des Martyrs Cocody
Abidjan,Cote D’Ivoire
West Africa

Dearest in Christ,

GREETING IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD

I hope you will not be embarrassed receiving this mail as we have not had previous correspondences on this. I got your email address through the assistance of Microsoft church directory system.

I hope you will not impede the trust and confidence I repose in you. In brief introduction. I am Mrs. Halimah Fahad al Din ,from Saudi Arabia. I am married to late Dr. Fahad Al Din, who worked with Saudi Arabia Embassy in Ivory Coast for Twenty years before he died in the year 2003, after a brief illness that lasted for only 10 days.

We were married for Eighteen years without a child. Before the untimely death of my husband, we were both born again Christians.

Since after his death I decided not to remarry or get a child outside my matrimonial home which the Bible is against and also I am too old now. When my late husband was alive he kept the sum of (US$2.5,000,000 M)(Two Million five hundred thousand Dollar) in a General Trust Account with a prime bank in Abidjan Cote d’ Ivoire in west Africa, and this money is still in the bank.

Recently, following my ill health, Doctors have told me of my detoriating ill health due to my cancer problem. Having known my condition, I decided to donate this fund to a Christian’s organization (Church) or believer in Christ who will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct herein, according to the desire of my late husband before his death.

I want this fund to be used in Christian Activities like, Orphanages, Christian schools, and Churches for propagating the word of God and to endeavour that the house of God is maintained.

The Bible made us to understand that “Blessed is the hand that giveth”. I took this decision because I don’t have any child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives are still Moslems and I don’t want my husband’s efforts to be used by unbelievers.

I don’t want a situation where this money will be used in an ungodly way. This is why I am taking this decision .I am not afraid of death hence I know where I am going. I know that I am going to be in the bosom of the Lord. Exodus 14 VS 14 says that “the lord will fight my case and I shall hold my peace”. I don’t need any telephone communication in this regard because of my health hence the presence of my husband’s relatives around me always.

I don’t want them to know about this development. With God all things are possible.
As soon as I receive your reply, I shall give you the contact of the bank in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. I will also give you the document that will prove that you the present beneficiary of this fund.
I want you and the Church to always pray for me because the lord is my shepherd. My happiness is that I lived a life of a worthy Christian. Whoever that wants to serve the Lord must serve him in spirit and truth.

Please always be prayerful all through your life. Contact me on this e-mail address hfad@myway.com) any delay in your reply might be a reason for me to contact another believer or Church for this same purpose.

Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I stated herein.

Remain blessed in the Lord.
Yours in Christ
Mrs. Halimah Fahad Aldin

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Mrs. Halimah Fahad Al Din…you have chosen well.