Hopeless Not Allowed

Because work schedules and time-frames have been altered, I participated in some HULU binge-watching.  I heard that “The Wire” was a good show, so over the past many weeks of stay-at-home, I watched 5 seasons.

Set in Baltimore, it followed a police force dealing with street-corner drug gangs and politicians.

The storyline followed attempts to shut down the drug trade, of course. Against this background, the episodes traced characters within each group as well.  Narratives focused on the choices (good and bad) these people made as well as highlighting options unavailable to them. 

I was saddened by the deaths of some of the street-punks, which was the term given to those selling on the ‘corners’.  I was distressed by some of the deaths of the ‘drug-fiends’ who bought the drugs. This wasn't all that surprising because I had gotten to know these people and their stories. 

I was stunned as I watched the screen highlight violent neighborhoods because they looked familiar.  I remembered similar boarded-up, crumbling, and graffiti-scarred brick facades of inner-city ghetto-like row-houses.

They were recognizable because I had volunteered in a downtown Cincinnati neighborhood that bore look-alike disfigurements to those depicted in Baltimore.  The scenes were identical from the ‘corners’ to the in-street-shootings, from happy children in playgrounds to those same innocents scrambling away from gun-shots, from glassy-eyed muggers to mothers cradling babies on the filthy steps of the hood.

Online Church: Paying Attention

For so many people, this pandemic has separated them from a form of comfort that was always available, always just down the street and always complete with friends, family, favorite hymns, songs, and favorite preachers.

Routines have been completely disrupted.  The traditions of Sunday church attendance followed by brunch, afternoon picnics, BBQ’s or playing in parks no longer exist.

We are at home with family or possibly even alone.  We are detached from our normal assemblage. We find ourselves in places full of distraction watching a screen.  We observe while desperately hoping for a successful engagement of worship.

The spiritual community has embraced this situation with solutions of many types:

• Services are now real-time streaming with chat options for input and discussions between those who teach and those who attend.  
• Downloads are available for creative learning and group meetings. 
• Musicians sing with or without accompaniment each from their separate locations.  This must be incredibly difficult!  
• Videos connect children to their own ministries and are both passive and interactive in nature.  
• Online video conferencing is used for prayer meetings and Q&A sessions.   

Because Easter Deserves Its Own

He is Risen, Alleluia!

As we celebrate this day, I pray for each of you with this simple yet powerful song by David Haas.

“Prayer for Peace”.

Peace before us, peace behind us, peace under our feet.

Peace within us, peace over us, let all around us be peace.

Love before us, love behind us, love under our feet.

Love within us, love over us, let all around us be love.

Light before us, light behind us, light under our feet.

Light within us, light over us, let all around us be light.

Christ before us, Christ behind us, Christ under our feet.

Christ… Alleluia

Psalm 118:24 

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Happy Easter!

Small Potatoes

In the grand scheme of things, insignificant (user-defined) moments occur frequently.  In our current bubble of time, we now have an increased opportunity to pay closer attention to these seemingly unimportant experiences.  Minutia noticed can provide staggering gifts if we take time to reflect and share.

Supplies were ordered online and collected - the ‘new normal’ of grocery shopping.

I am forced to purchase Russet potatoes one or two at a time.  If I was going to buy a 5-pound bag, I’d have to plant most of them.  It’s been a few weeks and I was in the mood for a baked potato with cheese, real butter, and sour cream with chives.  My shopping list included two.

Because, of course, "you get what you get", I let the clerk load my car and drove home with anticipation.  As it turns out, everything was there this week. Everything! Well, there were 2 substitutions, but come on - Everything!

Even though a successful gathering of wants had occurred, there was one “little” problem; that Russet potato.  Barely larger than my finger, I was at-first stupefied.  Then I wondered, just WHAT is a guy supposed to do with THAT?  Then I got plain silly.

But there’s another side to this story.

A friend celebrated a birthday on the day of my 'is-this-really-a-potato' adventure.  We hadn’t talked in quite a while but I called to catch up rather than sending the typical e-card.

In just a few moments, I hear that her life is a mess.  She and her husband have struggled for several years through layoffs and health issues unrelated to the current crisis.  When accepting employment, they’ve had to move cross-country twice only to be forced into the job market again and again.  They are now in serious financial distress and surgery is looking imminent.

Happy Birthday, right?

When she disconnected, I sent this picture as, during the call, we talked about this potato. A few minutes later, she responded.  Her exact words, “LMAO.  That’s the best laugh I’ve had in three months, I swear.”

It wasn’t just the picture, of course.  It was the conversation. You might imagine how one hysterical thought cascaded upon others.  We said things like, “The size of a finger?  Do you think your shopper was being intentional?” Is this a sign of the times?  Could Scott Tissues be thinking of making rolls of toilet-paper like that?”  Feel free to take this in any direction you might choose! I quite literally cannot stop laughing – even today.

Small potatoes shared brightened someone's day - their birthday, no less.  I admit it was accidental in that the conversation went in that direction on its own. But the little things in life matter greatly.



Please, let us pay attention to the small potatoes of life.  Let us be blessedly surprised when it turns out that insignificance becomes monumental in our lives and in the lives of those we touch.

John 6:9
Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?

I prepared my potato for dinner because that’s just what you do, right?  I did, however, believe it prudent to make a salad.

Weather Forecast

Memes are popular and seem to be everywhere.  Here’s one I saw recently.

Hey Siri, “What’s the weather like today?”

Siri replies, “Don’t worry about it.  You aren’t going anywhere.”

This one just struck me as LOL.  Maybe it is hysterically funny, or maybe it should be classified as gallows humor.  It points to a reality in our current stay-at-home climate but tongue-in-cheek, it clearly indicates shared pain.

I have heard that we used to accept certain things as true, as baselines for discussions.  It was understood that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.  It was understood that we need air to breathe and that without it, we die.  It was understood that if it’s cold enough, rain becomes snow.

Midweek Moments; You Get What You Get

This past Saturday, I ordered groceries online for pick-up.  I’ve never done that before but it’s a new world now.  The amount that I was to be charged was nearly $45.00.

I would be notified when the order was ready and when leaving, I was to use an app on my phone.  Following the instructions, the app calculated the time it would take to reach the store. Directions dictated that I pull up by a yellow post (and there were dozens).   Somehow, this phone app knew where I was and apparently notified the clerk as within a minute, groceries were being placed in my vehicle.