Christmas Aftermath from 2019

 I found this buried on my desk. It was written after last Christmas which was not my favorite Christmas. I had spent December running the Christmas marathon instead of looking forward to the celebration of my Savior's birth. The company was gone and I was in let-down mode.

Christmas is over and peace reigns in the house. Sasha, the cat, comes out from under the bed where she has been hiding from the noise, clammer and one two-year old. She sniffs everywhere to find out who has been here and where they might have been before coming to our house.

She finds an occasional crumb that tastes good and others that she only sniffs. When she comes upon a red M&M on the kitchen floor, she decides it's a toy and bats it across the room.

The Christmas tree lights are still on and the packages that must be delivered elsewhere are still under the tree. But the only sound is the heater going on. Sasha thinks that's a good sound because it means a warm grate to sit upon and warm her flanks. Soon the heater goes off and she remembers her red M&M. She bats it from paw to paw until it hides under her food bowl. Life is good!

It will be interesting to see how Christmas 2020 goes.

Insightfully yours,

Paulita

The First Rain of the Season

 Our first rain! How lovely to sit in a warm house and watch the water drip off our roof. I imagine the air is getting washed, the dust is shoved to the ground and turned into mud.

I hear a siren in the distance and realize that the first rain also brings slick roads and I have to be extra careful when I drive. But perhaps the rain will put out our California wildfires. What blessed relief from God who is the One who brings rain. Was it just last year that we had yard signs all over town that said "Pray for Rain'?

My cat is looking in through the glass door. She had wanted out and we do have a covered porch, but I guess she's had enough cool and now wants to sit on one of the heater vents around the house. She has her favorite.

Interesting, the life of a cat. So leisurely. I should talk. Here I sit in my warm house watching the drips fall from our roof. The first rain.

Waiting for Oz

 I'm out on my patio again this morning with my buttered sesame bagel and creamed coffee and my latest writing project. It's light bur the sun hasn't risen above the neighbor's trees yet. Will it be another orange ball in a brownish gray sky or will it's brightness forbid me to look at it?

The sky is once more a light gray. I can't smell smoke or see it drifting in and out of trees, but neither can I see the blue sky I long for. Do I remember what it looks like? I refuse to count the days since we've had clean air for fear of depression, but neither do I want to listen to the T.V. as it tells me how to protect my pet from smoke. This just is. It won't last forever, so I get on with the day's chores - bathe, wash my hair and make it look presentable, purchase new cartridges for the computer, manage my writing, look in the frig and see what I have to transform into balanced meals.

Again this seems to me a time of waiting. I'm waiting for the Wizard of Oz moment when I wake from my black and white life to the red, yellow, green, and especially blue skies of Oz. Until then I will praise the God of my salvation for new and different ways to learn and grow. Yes, God gives us time to hunker down but somehow I don't think it's now. This is a brand new day to discover,explore, fertilize, water and push open.

Insightfully yours,

Paulita

Ashes, Ashes, All Fall Down

 Today my world is covered with a fine coat of ash. There are wild fires all over my state and the wind has blown the ashes into the valley where I live. Yesterday, I couldn't see the sun through the smoke. Today, I see an orange ball in my gray-brown sky. Yesterday, I went out to water my garden and there was ash on all my squash, swiss chard, and bell pepper leaves. Today, it's my patio. When I walk on it, the ash swirls into small piles.

Our son bought us an air purifier and we put it in our family room where we spend most of our time.We didn't realize our need for it until the last two days.

O Father God, You are the one who controls the storms. Please send us a gulley-washer to clean our air and wash away the ashes.

Father, how selfish I am. Many have lost their homes and livelihoods and pets. Some have lost family members. I have lost nothing except my comfort level. Sweep away the ashes that cover my heart and help me, today, to help someone else.  

Insightfully yours,

Paulita

Holding On or Letting Go

 I'm out on my patio again. The air is cool - 70 degrees F. and I don't smell smoke. It's there, but it's high and not sinking down in the heat yet.

Everything is quiet except man and his machines, mostly motorcycles. The only signs of life -  micro life, that is -  are a sow bug that's not moving and a busy spider-like creature.

A humming bird comes to our feeder, tastes what is offered and flies away. No wonder. The ants have found our feeder again. They cleverly climb the posts, cross the beam and go down the wire that the feeder hangs from. Then they clog the feeding holes, gorging themselves on free sugar-water. Bill decided to outsmart them by covering the wire with two-sided Scotch Tape, hoping for a result like tar paper or Sticky Paws, but it hasn't deterred them.

I look back at the sow bug and discover he's on his back kicking furiously with all his legs. I wonder how many legs he has. I also wonder if he can right himself.

I hear there's another storm heading up the California coast. It may have dry lightning like the last storm which ignited fires in our foothills and magnificent redwoods. It is yet to be seen how that will turn out. And now more?

My thoughts go to the story of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee when his disciples woke him with their cries, "Master, don't you care that we are drowning?" Jesus told the storm, "Peace, be still," and the disciples marveled that he was master even over the wind and waves.

We are fighting a pandemic which all of a sudden seems dwarfed by these wildfires. Then we hear of two hurricanes which may strike our southern border at the same time. "Acts of God" they are called. But I like Peter's answer when Jesus asked if he wanted to leave him and follow the disheartened crowd, "If I leave you, to whom shall I go?"

I also remember how Satan buffeted Job with wave after wave of disaster hoping to turn him away from his faith in a gracious God. Job's livelihood was taken, his family died, and he was covered with open sores. Even his wife said, "Curse God and die." But Job clung to his hope of a living Redeemer.

I see my little sow bug has all but ceased kicking, so I reach down with my napkin and he hangs on. He doesn't move, he just clings. I watch him. Soon his little front feelers move in exploration. He appears to be OK so I relocate him to some dewy lawn and go in  the house to get ready for virtual church.

Fires and Bad Air

 Today I'm back out on my patio. The air is cool, pushing 70 degrees F, and although the sky is still overcast with smoke, I can't smell it. Three days ago when I came out here, the air was brown. When the sun came up, everything looked orange, like looking through brown-tinted sunglasses. Yesterday the air was lightly cooler but had a strong pungent acrid odor. I didn't come out.

This is California. This is the central valley. This is August and it's supposed to be hot, but we've had record temperatures, most between 100 and 110 with a few above that, for over a week.

This is also wild fire season. (I've split that word because these fires are indeed wild.) Most are due to lightning strikes in the mountains. It causes me to wonder who is in charge of lightning - God or Satan? Surely it is God because He is master over all creation.

Right now there is a fire dangerously close to my favorite vacation spot - a Christian camp called Mt. Hermon. Our family spent a week of our summer vacation every year at Mt. Hermon for many years as our family grew up. What a tragedy it would be for this place of spiritual renewal filled with majestic redwood groves and unique yellow banana slugs if it were destroyed by a wild fire.

I have not heard any current news on the fire this morning and I feel rather like Frances Scott Key when he penned the words, "Oh say does that Star Spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"

It is cooler today. In fact there is a little breeze to blow the smoke out of our valley. Does that portend good news? Does Mt Hermon still beacon the weary to come, be refreshed in the redwoods covered in the early morning mist? Come with me. We'll go see if the banana slugs are still awake.

Insightfully yours,

Paulita

Pandemic at Six Months

It is now  six months into the Pandemic. How are people doing? Not too well I would guess by the articles in our newspaper. How are those who have Christ doing?I think better than  most but I can only tell by those I'm in contact with.It takes effort to keep contact because we can only meet for church through Zoom. There are no hugs, handshakes, subtle winks, or knowing glances. But for those who have Christ, His Spirit speaks to others who have Christ, and there is a bond deeper than family or friends. Jesus said, "I will never leave you or forsake you," and He hasn't.

So I follow my normal routine. I get up early, make my coffee, smoothe cream cheese on my bagel, and go outside to my patio. I sit and admire the beauty around me and it's hard to believe an invisible menace exists. I see the birch leaves waving to me from the next street over and the dove on his favorite branch in my neighbor's tree. He calls and I answer in my best dove whistle. I don't think he's fooled but we play this game for a while.

Every day a little flock of ;birds comes through our yard to feast on the bugs on our crepe myrtle, our camelia bush and the Lily of the Nile. I have to watch for them because I can no longer hear their high-pitched chirps. Fortunately they appear at approximately the same time every day - a testimony to the rhythms of life God has ordained.

I sit with my Bible on my lap and read of God's faithfulness and His love and care for me. I will continue my routine for the day, both the mundane and the fresh and new, and I will enjoy both God's sunshine and my house's air conditioning. I will trim expired blossoms and also look for new tomatoes and squash in my garden.

Meanwhile my cat sleeps on a nearby chair with her face towards the sun. She is at peace and so am I.

Insightfully yours,

Paulita

Pandemic Protocol

My first thought when I heard about the plague coming around the world was, "I think this speaks of the end time. I have to look it up in Revelation."

My concern rose when our son brought us two weeks of food - mostly staples like protein bars, meat sauces to mix with rice or noodles, chicken broth for soup, canned vegetables and fruits. Our daughter brought us T.P. and disinfectant wipes. They both knew my method of shopping was to wait until I was out or nearly out of food before I shopped again.

I checked on our supply of Clorox and rubbing alcohol, and I found our oral thermometer. I really didn't feel panicky, but rather awestruck as I asked myself, "Is this the way the end comes, not necessarily for myself, but for my family, my country, the whole earth?"

During the next week, we kind of hunkered down and followed the news. Within a few days, during my regular Bible study time, it seemed God gave me a list of what I should do. This became my reaction to the pandemic.
1. Think clearly.
2. Rely on Jesus.
3. Manage resources well.
4. Obey sanitary rules.
5. Follow my routine.
6. Live one day at a time.

I thought about cleaning out cupboards and closets and even the garage, but I didn't do it. I thought about writing, but that didn't happen either. I thought about what my mother had done with us kids before antibiotics, when we had contagious diseases. There was Milk of Magnesia to assure bowel movements, peroxide, mercurochrome, and iodine for wounds, and there was isolation.

We were confined to bed in our bedrooms when we had measles, chickenpox, or flu. When my sister had Scarlet Fever, I was sent to my Grandmother's for two weeks. During isolation in our rooms,we played with toys on the bed, read, or listened to the radio. We were not allowed to come out except to go to the bathroom. All food, delivered on a tray, was eaten in bed. Our temperature was taken regularly, and we were not allowed to interact with siblings until it maintained 98.6 for at least a day. Three days later we could return to school. Interestingly, my husband rarely missed a day of school.

We are now in our fifth month of shelter-in-place. The hardest part for me has been to accept new ways of doing things. I make a grocery list on my computer and my groceries are delivered by Instacart, mostly what I want although some brands may be different. We changed pharmacies so we could go through a drive-thru to pick up prescriptions. We go to doctor appointments with masks on, and we attend church at home using Zoom.

As I look back, and also look to the future, all that doesn't seem so hard. I think the suddenness took us by surprise, but we have learned. The world hasn't ended yet. We have taken rides together in the surrounding countryside, had pick-up lunches beside a lake and watched the geese parent their new goslings, and ventured into grocery stores during the early hours reserved for "at-risk" patrons. Our family has gotten together in our backyard using social distancing and bringing their own food and drink. We have finally let the cleaning ladies back into our house every other week, and eventually I'll go to the beauty shop to get a cut and have some color put back on my hair. I'm not fond of long, motley gray.

My overall feeling, if I have one, has been that this is a time of waiting. It is hard to wait, and if you give in to it, you can become irritable and restless. So, I go back to what God told me. I start my day with "God time" so I can think clearly. I follow my normal routine so there is order to my day, and I'm beginning to add writing, socializing, and some deep cleaning. If God hasn't opened other doors yet, I'll wait, and continue to praise Him from the hallway.
Insightfully yours,
Paulita