Think of You

I can’t not think of you

when I see a sunrise

I can’t not think of you

when I see Phineas and Ferb

I can’t not think of you

when I hear a sneeze

I can’t not think of you

when I see a lamb

I can’t not think of you

when I hear “Let Her Go”

I can’t not think of you

when I see white with cream

I can’t not think of you

when I see an elephant

I can’t not think of you

when I see a card game

but isn’t that the way life is suppose to be?

Filled not only with things and experiences

but with people

to define those things and experiences.

And so I think of all the people

that fill and define my life

with a smile

because that is what each of you

make me think of

Wikimedia/Jessie Eastland

The Little Red Book

When my grandma died

we found a little red book

filled to the brim

with family history

birthdays

marriages

deaths.

The little red book

was stuffed between

fluffy, white towels

in the up stairs bathroom closet.

Oh the strange places we find treasure

yet to some

the little red book would not be treasure

just “useless history about dead people”

Yes, it is history

and yes, it is about dead people

but it’s my history

it is my dead people

it is my people.

With that in mind

we lost the little red book

for three years

and a week

to be exact.

We found a treasure and lost it

and found it again.

I found the little red book

in a Bible of a woman

that I never met

but know so much about.

That Bible was next to another Bible

belonging to another woman

that I never met

and know nothing about.

One from 1979 and the other from 1869

I have never met them

but they are my people

My people.

The first entry in the little red book

is a birth of a man 1847

a man that I don’t even share a name with

and the last entry in the little red book

is my parent’s marriage.

After excitement of the find

and awed page turning

The little red book

descends to the basement cabinet

with all the other family history items

pictures

letters

newspaper clippings

spoons

souvenirs

old Bibles

military dog tags

items belonging to people

I have met

and some I haven’t

They are my people

My people

How Are You?

How are you?

A simple question

And most of us answer with a simple answer

But our lives are so much more than

“Good”

“Fine”

“Great!”

“Okay”

It’s a question that everyone asks

but do not truly need the complete answer to

It’s a phrase

not a question

It’s a saying

not a wondering

It’s a custom

not a need

It’s a habit

And

What’s up

is no better

and simply saying ‘Hello’ will lead you back to the question again

So I want to instead ask

How is life

as a whole

with the joys

and troubles

and fears

and stress

and sunsets

and doubts

and smiles

Yes, this may take time

and bring unwanted problems

but sometimes

it’s worth it.

But what is hard

with this culture we have grown into

is that it is bad to not be OK

it is bad to struggle

it is bad to be vulnerable

So we say that we are well

and that we are not depressed

having marriage troubles

or stress at work

or in a broken family

or can’t pay the bills

or do not know what to do

or just want to give up

We say that we are well

and smile

Eccedentesiast – one who fakes a smile

I ask

How are you, truly?

Me,

personally,

right now,

this instant.

I am lovely.

And that is not faking.

Each Blade

Have you ever

just stared at the grass?

Sit or lay down

in the grass

This sea of green

and only focus on the grass

Not the birds singing

Not the wind blowing

Not the dogs barking

Not the bugs buzzing

Just the grass

Waving your hand across

the soft and fluffy

or maybe hard and crackly

blades.

The different widths

long and thin

short and wide

dark emerald

light emerald

easy to bend

stiff blades

All these differences

and unless you get down to their level

You’ll never notice

***

What if

God sees us this way

This sea of people

with different problems

and joys

Loves

and Fears

And God could just keep on walking on the grass

But He doesn’t

The Lord gets down to our level

He learns each and everyone of us

He learns our hearts

our dreams

our relationships

how we think

our stress

Knows us personally

Have you ever

just stared at humanity?

God has

hummyhummy / Foter / CC BY