These things below are things that caught my attention this week or thoughts I was thinking after an interaction. I love to write out my thoughts. It helps me to bring all the things that happen on a daily to weekly basis together and sometimes even deeper understanding and revelation.

A revelation is when something is made known.

Something Ponder-y:

Hey, there is a thing, where when another says something that we think/know is not right or true – we may feel that we must correct that- (I struggled with that – it almost felt like I might lose my mind if it wasn’t corrected)

What if we slowed down and allowed the irritation, resisting the urge to get in a “my knowledge is bigger and better than your knowledge” match. Someone smarter than me once simply said, “HUH… that’s interesting. I wonder if there is more to that?” Leaving me with the space for imagination and wonder to seek out more understanding. It was like the gift of a treasure hunt. And I was able to come back and share again the things I found with excitement and joy.

(PS – if it REALLY matters that you need to know -if they are right or wrong – then you can go look it up later. And if not, then you can move on. No harm there.)

Here’s the scoop – we all want to feel like we are learning, growing, and competent in our understanding. Even if it is limited. Many of us are jacks of many trades and vaults of experience and knowledge. This is why we share what we know and want to create connections.

And guess what –> people don’t know what they don’t know. So, encouragement and curiosity are super important and go a lot further than – “NO, YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT – ITS THIS …GEESH, YOU THINK YOU ARE SO SMART!” All this does and accomplishes is a shutting down any further conversation and likelihood that they will come back and enjoy talking to you. Also, I might humbly submit, that we might learn something, we didn’t know, if we weren’t so dead set on defending what we think we do know. 

Quote I wrote: We are learning about Grace this year in our ladies’ group.

Movie I watched: Dances with Wolves – A 1990’s movie about Lt. John Dunbar who is humbled by an Indian tribe on the western frontier. As he learns more about the native people he begins to let go of his old ways. It’s a great movie. (Watch out for the typical 90’s butt and sex scene.)

What struck me about this movie wasn’t so much the romance the leading man has with a white ” grew up Indian” woman or the friendship relationship that grows between John Dunbar called “shumani tutanka owachi” translated as Dances with Wolves and the character named Wind in his Hair. Though it is a powerful moment when Wind in his Hair is yelling an emotional goodbye to his friend. But it was the thoughts I had after a band of warriors left to fight off the Pawnee. But the Pawnee were headed to the village while they were away. The tribe finds out from their scout that they are coming, and Dances with Wolves gets the guns from the fort. They fight them off but one of them kills one of the elders.

After this death of the elder, I was thinking about what it must have been like to be the Chief of a Tribe and only have one or two of the people you grew up with as young warrior man lived to an old age with you. I was thinking about the scenes with the chief. He is old, lingers long, listens, isn’t rash or full of anger like some of the younger warrior men who are eager to get out there and fight and protect. He is measured and ponders long and goes slow. He doesn’t rush things. He enjoys the people he is with.

How do you rush a river? You don’t. You just go along with the flow.

At the beginning of the year, as we settled back in after a break away from work. I heard my friend Jen say something in her prayer at our staff meeting. She said, “Help us to take it slow and don’t rush.” I wrote it down and it has become my little motto since. I often am hasty, run ahead, think too quickly, and miss the moments to rest and just be with the people while my mind is running a million miles an hr. This motto has reminded me to make space that is serving me well.

What’s coming up: Lent is coming. Lent is the Christian season of spiritual preparation before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday. This year that is on Feb 14. The purpose of the Lenten season is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ—to consider his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial, and resurrection. This year I will be reading a book called The Word in the Wilderness. It is a poem a day from Lent through Easter by Malcolm Guite.

In thumbing through (I will read it next week) the introduction of the book my eyes fell on a passage. It is from a poem called “The Bright Field” by R.S Thomas.

Life is not hurrying

on to a receding future, nor hankering after

an imagined past. It is the turning

aside like Moses to the miracle

of the lit bush, to the brightness

that seemed as transitory as your youth

once, but is the eternity that awaits you

The Bright Field

This life is a journey…

Lord, show us the miracle…of slow….and the brightness of your Son.

I really liked this simple quote I saw:

Thanks for Listening,

Starla