Jan

20

A new day, a new year, a new President

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While listening to the president-elect make a speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial this evening on the eve of his inauguration, it was hard not to feel emotional. The music and fireworks that followed were enough to engender a renewed hope that America will continue to stand as a nation.

Most recently, the USA has stood at the crossroads of remaining the land of the free. Our federated republic is both strong and fragile. Our constitution keeps us in the former position while progressive leadership can break the bonds that hold the nation together. We must stay vigilant to the pressure of swaying too far from what  brought us together in the first place.

The country has faced many trials over the course of history and, hopefully, something has been learned through each of them. What is necessary is to not repeat the same. While the country has been through tough times and countless missteps, it appears that God still blesses the United States of America.

Whether you are a democrat or a republican doesn’t matter but what makes America great is that we remain allied with each other, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

Our purpose is to love one another with the same love with which Christ loves us. That is what true freedom is all about.

Jan

14

Colors of her Generosity

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Her hair bronzed like Cola
in a vat of firelight—
her smile as Pink as the sky.
These shades, so special, they could never be found
in my crayon box no matter
how many pictures I drew of her, my Mother.

Her wisdom spread
like a table cloth covered in salt and light,
draped on the edges of her heart
etched in many days of bread and labor,
teaching us to walk with God—her life,
the picture drew.

When I grew up, she put reluctance away
and spread wide her arms, let me go
to draw the pictures I’d seen on billboards,
to touch the world I’d painted Gold…
places I couldn’t scrawl with my crayons—
dreams drawn in Pearl and Onyx.

I drew away to where city lights
danced in every glass, where neon greetings
glittered in tinsel-charms of Silver.
But like the shadows of lost gems,
those pictures dimmed in time…
the wax lent to Bittersweet. Her picture not among them.

When her portrait emerged again, this time from the clouds—
brighter, clearer, and more alive than Blue-green or Green-blue
had ever colored my childhood oceans.
I remembered her words. her voice, they set my heart to Crimson.
The sky broke in hues borrowed from God’s palette,
colors that even Heaven couldn’t contain.

The rainbow drew her name.

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My mother and grandmother, Lucy and Lena, will forever be in my heart. This poem was recently published in In Celebration of Mothers, 2016.

Jan

09

A bittersweet homegoing

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On the first day of this new year, our beloved pastor went home to be with the Lord. Under a crystalline blue sky, we left church with heavy hearts and the knowledge that today would probably be his last day on earth. A bittersweet day.

While we consider the loss of this godly man, who’s come to be like a father to many of us, it’s grievous to think of our church without him. The scent of his cologne, his warm greetings, his sermons, his smile.

The only problem with focusing on our loss is the ignoring of our pastor’s gain. Right now, he is alive and well. He has no cares or concerns or health issues or pain. That is just what we can fathom. Within our finite minds, we’re really not capable of understanding an infinite God’s perfection in a place so far removed from our earthly home.

To ponder our dear pastor’s home going, it’s my prayer that our bittersweet feelings dissolve into just sweetness and that our hope is fixed on that blessed day when we will be reunited with him and all of  our loved ones who’ve gone home before us.

In the meantime, I say, Maranatha, Jesus!

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”- Psalm 116:15

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Jan

02

New Year

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images5New Year’s Eve used to bring such excitement to me as a kid. I’d be allowed to stay up until midnight at which time the celebration came to a climax and then, minutes later, everything settled into just another day.

All of that fervor, excitement and hopefulness the New Year celebration brought! The anticipation had been building all day and into the night, but when the pot banging and fireworks ended, I felt let down. Is that all there is?

Every year, the same thing. It soon got old for me. Eventually, I became so disillusioned at the holiday season.

From that day on, I’ve maintained a sober spirit about New Year’s eve. And the subsequent new year as well. Sadly, I sound like a wet blanket, I know but for me, it keeps me sane. In reality, the day after December 31st is just another day.

On the bright side of New Years’ eve, I look at the day after as one day closer to the Lord coming back. For that alone, I rejoice that the new year is here!

Happy New Year everyone!

Dec

27

Merry Christmas… really?

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outoffocus_christmas_lights_1959351While walking through our neighborhood, it’s lovely to see the creative scenery on display for Christmas:  twinkling lights, candles in windows, red, green, and multi-colored adornments everywhere. Each lawn dressed to the nines.

There was a time when we first bought our house that I didn’t really care to dress it up with lights. The festoonery, to me, was just that. A carnival display. Not for my Lord. He is worth so much more.

For several years, probably a decade, to view our house from the street, one might conclude the people inside did not celebrate Christmas. Then several years ago, a thought hit me. Our house looked dead.

Shouldn’t we have something to show for our love for the Lord? Even though he wasn’t really born in the winter, the historians tell us, still we felt the need to celebrate His birth.

I’d never been a fan of purchasing a dead tree–cut down, dragged into the house, pine needles everywhere, a potential fire hazard, animals could pull it down, although we don’t have animals, but you never know when a neighbor’s dog might amble through the front door. (It’s happened.) Then after Christmas, it’s dragged back out of the house and discarded at the street. Just what is the point?

So since we have a tree out front that’s there all year round–alive and well–I decorated that one. A dozen Christmas balls and a string of lights later, there is the Cantell family Christmas tree.

As our family celebrates the birth of the Lord every day, this was the perfect solution to our formerly Jewish home.

Merry Christmas, everyone!