Ouchie

When my grandchild, Mim, came marching in the door this morning, she came chin first, just waiting for me to say: "Oh my goodness! What happened to you!" I can assure you she got the reaction she desired.

She proudly told me that she had tripped and fallen on a cement step three days ago. Her mom, told me that at first they thought she must have broken her jaw, so they took her to an emergency care clinic. Mim filled in the details with: "I cried all the way there."
Anyway, she's fine and the swelling should go down in a few days.

Later, after lunch, while she was rolling around with this big exercise ball, she motioned for me to listen to something she had to say. Then she whispered:
"Aren't you going to break out the camera?"

People who survive trauma like to let others know all about it, and Mim is no exception.

The Earth Groans

A groaning earth swells up... and we,
tossed and trampled, fall shaken to our knees.
He is the rock.

Icy winds scream overhead...and we,
shivering and solemn, stand cowering in the snow.
He is our refuge.

Fires rage, alarms ring out
We lose the ones we lived for...and we,
Surviving residents of a relentless world,
stand numb--alone and hollow.
He is our comfort.

We live in a world of beauty and bitterness
creation at war, a savage pit...
prone to upheavals and rages, and tumults
He is the hand who steadies us
until the day when He becomes
The only way out.

Even so, Come, Lord Jesus.

It's that Crazy Time Again

Homecoming Week...dressing up, painting, acting a little maniacal.
Our theme is "City"...from "City set on a hill cannot be hid." I think the decorators used a little poetic license with the theme, however, because they turned the halls into inner city streets--yellow line down the middle, graffiti everywhere, and black lights hanging above. Today was "white-out" day; tomorrow will be "black-out". Although it was difficult to find all white clothes, almost everybody wore some thing white...which showed to advantage under the black lights. I loved the colorful graffiti on the lockers, which are interesting anyway because students use them to set up cubicles of private space. I asked Emily if I could take a picture of hers, and she acquiesced graciously.

Now I'll admit that it is more difficult to present a lecture to a room full of students in togas and insulated pajamas, but it isn't impossible...and...since it only happens a couple of weeks out of the year, I'll put up with it, just for the fun of making memories. I think it gives students an opportunity to be daring in a safe way.