The music moved me...I swayed.

A few years ago...quite a few years ago, now that I think about it, I served as the youth leader at the church we attended.  In some way we were introduced to Corinthian Baptist Church in Des Moines, Iowa, and were invited up to a church service during Black History Month...which is February, every year.  The congregation was predominately black.  We were the minority.

We were so excited to go and experience not only a different denomination, but a cultural difference, too.  We.were.blown.away!  The music...the music was tremendous.  Joyful.  We had not heard anything like it.  We had not ever seen anything like it.  They clapped. They swayed. They raised their hands in worship.  It was amazing.  

I've often thought of that church and how they really, really worshiped and did not have any inhibitions in doing so.  They were happy, proud, beautifully in the moment.  

Last week, my husband and I visited a new church after many years of not going to church at all.  We've missed it.  We've missed being part of a church family.  We've been participating in a weekly LIFE group at the home of friends. We were introduced to their church through these weekly group sessions.  

So, we went.  I felt at home immediately!  Greeted in the parking lot with special parking for visitors, greeted at the door, introduced to different areas of the church and handed the bulletin...all while hearing worship music wafting through the doors.  I was eager to go in.

A pretty simple layout; contemporary in design without all the typical emblems and markings of a traditional church.  On the stage was something I was not expecting to see.  Guess what it was?  A mostly black choir.  I don't know what I was expecting or if I had even given it any thought.  I was so happy!  I was so elated.  The music moved me; I felt like I was back at Corinthian Baptist Church where there was an energy and excitement and wholehearted longing to be there and worship and praise His name.  

Now, this is what is so interesting to me.  A difference between the black culture and the white culture that I am accustomed to.  What I know. One not better than the other...but, an observance.  Something I've noticed.  Something I wondered about then, many, many years ago and was reminded of it this past Sunday.  Black people move and express themselves without abandon.  White people seem to hold back.  Why is that?  I have to tell you...I was swaying right along with the best of them.  Back and forth, swaying to the music.  The white people that I saw, stood there, hands clenching the seat back in front of them; no movement.  No joyous abandon.  Why is that?

The music moved me...I swayed...the music moved me!

 

The Cardinal's visit

A crimson red cardinal is a sight to see.  They are beautiful.  They feel like royalty to me.  If there were to be a king and queen of the bird species, to me, it'd be the cardinal. 

I enjoy seeing the many birds that come and go from our birdfeeders on a daily basis.  They are just cute to watch and make me happy.  I can count on one hand the times a cardinal has been seen by me at the feeders...anywhere, actually. 

The very few times I've seen one up close and personal have been times that have been unsettling for me.  I find that very interesting.  I've spoken and written before of the two cardinals that showed up right after my Aunt Kay's funeral.  I was sitting on my front porch, with my husband, and two cardinals (my aunt's favorites) perched on a bush just over the rail by my arm, sat for just a few minutes, as if telling me, "all will be okay."  Then they flew off.  I found comfort in that.

Today is one of those days.  Life just seems to be out of balance for me right now.  I'm unsettled, a bit nervous and simply put, "out of sorts".  I've been here before, as most of us have been.  I'm ready to shake this feeling, though.  Need to shake this feeling.

As I sat down on my comfy couch, pondering the same things over and over, coffee in hand, I looked out my window and there sat a beautiful crimson cardinal.  All will be okay...all will be okay.  It almost brought tears to my eyes. 

It's amazing what seeing that little red bird did for me.  Hope.  I love that word.  I think it's very powerful and if a person doesn't have it, life can be challenging.  I think Hope helps us to survive the unsettling times, the nervous and stressful times.  Without hope, we have nothing. 

This crimson cardinal made me see again, the hope for my future.  It put a little bounce in my step and got a different thought process going for me.  Don't we all need that at times? 

I pray often.  Sometimes it's just me having a little talk with God.  I always feel his presence...always.  But, today...the past few days, I've needed a bit more, and I fully believe, God new that, and sent me the cardinal...

A crimson red cardinal paid me a visit today.  It was telling me all would be okay.

Springtime Sights and Sounds

From a distance, I can hear the growl of a caterpillar moving dirt. The farmer, our neighbor, is terracing his field...a little conservation practice going into effect.


Outside my window, birdsong floods the air. It's so light and airy, a pleasant sound for the senses. Baby cows beller, teeny tiny sheep frolic and play.


In the early morning, just before dawn, the birds wake me from my slumber. What a great way to be awakened. Slowly, but surely, the sounds invade my mind. One eye opens, then the other. The birdsong is drowned out by my other senses. Then I concentrate and listen more intently. I crack my window to hear it more clearly. I love it.


Somewhere else, in the distance, I hear the whir of tires on pavement, as people travel to work. I'm sure their radios are up and there minds are on the day at hand. Did they hear the birds when they made their way to their car? Did they take in the sights and sounds of the early morning dawn...springtime sounds?


Springtime sights...an earlier rain greened up the lawn. Lawn mowers are in driveways being prepared for their duty...surely to be used sooner, rather than later.


Soon, tractors with planters, grasshopper-like vehicles will be trolling down the road, one farm field to the other, readying the fields for a crop that will soon be prolific in the countryside.


Fresh mown hay...I love the scent, will be rolled into bundles. Small squares will dot the horizon. A group of young men will be seen throwing the small bales onto a haywagon. Strong, hot and sweaty.


Springtime sights and sounds will give way to tall stalks of corn, stubby bean bushes and then, before we know it...fall harvest. A whole new world will awaken the senses again.


I love the sights and sounds of spring. Faith, hope and new beginnings.  I'm Inspired...oh, to be an inspiration!

Cardinal watch

Today, from our comfy couch in the sunroom, my husband announced, "hey, there's a cardinal". Sure enough, a crimson cardinal was just beyond reach, sitting pretty on the tree limb in front of us. It is my goal to have cardinals and blue birds come pay our feeders a visit on a regular basis. We've seen each kind here and there, but they would not be considered regular diners by any stretch of the imagination.

Blue birds remind me of my Grandma Grace. Cardinals, my Aunt Kay. Both are gone now, but I don't think there's a week that goes by, that they don't meet me in my memories. Something happens or someone says something and I remember.

Today, I'm reminded of my Aunt Kay. She was my mom's younger sister and the first of the 'siblings' to pass away. Kay was committed to her church and the children that went there in her early years. I was blessed to be on of them. She inspired in me my faith.

Aunt Kay loved birds and the feeding of them. From her living room window, she could see the birds flitter and dance around the feeders, enjoying and appreciating the bounty provided them. Of those, there were cardinals.

When Aunt Kay got sick, she asked my husband and I if we'd raise her son, should anything happen to her. She had already lost her husband, so finding someone to care for her son was important to her. We, of course, said 'yes'. And, it came to be.

Knowing that what we took on was going to be a daunting task...for many reasons, but we moved forward, just as she would have done. Saying 'yes' and having it become a reality are two very different things. It was a very difficult time...especially for her son.

A couple of days after her funeral, my husband and I were sitting on the front porch having a cup of coffee. There, amongst the flowers and weeds, came to cardinals. They landed, looked and flew away. I looked at Steve and he looked at me. I could not believe it. Never before had we had cardinals...NEVER! And, we never had them again, at that place, that I witnessed. I found such comfort in that one instance. That one event. It was like she was telling me it was going to be okay. COMFORT in an overwhelming moment. It meant the world to me.

Who inspires you? With their words, their grace, their presence in your life. Is it a touch, a smile, a wink? I have found, it's in the subtle moments, the life lived, the word said unknowingly, that has inspired me...my life more than anything. Be inspired, be an inspiration, be someone's CARDINAL in life.