Author: debrabee

Yesterday surprised me with its chilly air but I put on some layers and went to Davis with a friend to check out the farmer’s market. My favorite days are the kind where I am free to do whatever comes my way. There was something so relaxing to feeling the sun’s warmth on me in the car and have a window down to feel the cool breeze. I didn’t have to drive so I was free to let my whole being just be in the moment.

One of the more interesting observations I made was at a booth where yarn was for sale, but not like anything I’ve seen in the chain stores. There were hats being sold made from wool that looked so soft. On one of the hats was an image of a lamb you could only see if you were looking for it.

Behind the table was an elderly woman working a spinning wheel. Her eyes did not look up to see me or anyone else for that matter. She was quite old and it was obvious she gave all of herself into making this yarn and the clothing items. The beauty of her clothes took on a unique quality when I understood how much of her passion went into making these.

I walked away from her thinking about passion. The passion of really giving yourself fully to what you love, all the things you love to do, all the people you love. I want to live a passionate life where I hold nothing back in reserve but have spent myself completely.

Background noise can distract me when I write so I am partial to silence. In the days we are living however, I need to accustom myself to the din around me and still be able to accomplish what I am purposed to do. This is not an easy task if I set myself inflexibly upon my “customary ways”.

How do we come to the place of “custom”ary except by expecting the same thing day in and day out? Without notice we begin to get used to things around us and things we expect to always be the same, we call them habits! Mind you some are good, but the unbending nature is not teachable. Let me be more blunt and ask a straightforward question…..how many of us have heard the phrase “they have a stick up their…”?

No question about what is being referred to and none of us ever want to be the one this description is spoken of? I thought not. Moving on however takes some self-examination. Am I set in my ways? Am I willing to change? The bigger question is….do I want to learn a new thing? I have to admit I like some of the things I have become “accustomed” to but if it means I am to miss out on the adventure of life itself, I’d rather be a traveler into a “less comfortable” existence of not knowing what’s around the corner of my life.

Don’t you just love old buildings with huge doors on them? I am ever curious to know what’s behind them. These days I am seeing more doors open in so many ways. Opportunities, friends, places to go, things to see. Every day I look for the door I am to walk through….what an adventure.

You ever want to just “shake” the junk off of you? Me too! I liken it to a centrifuge reaction.

Centrifuge simply defined – A centrifuge is any number of devices that spin at high speed to press objects outward with centrifugal force.

I’ve had conversations where I literally felt as though I were being “spun”. Mind you, I didn’t know why I used this vernacular but in light of recent revelations in my life, the word seemed to suit. More suiting still was the need to be “spun” so those things clinging to me could be loosed off!

The best example I could think of was a photo of a dog shaking off water from it’s coat so it could be dry and comfortable again.

He sees the man across the street begging for change outside a liquor store. While he sits in his car, he’s able to turn the heat up a little so the cold and chilly air doesn’t affect him much. It’s now he notices the man’s clothes are threadbare and his coat is a flannel shirt with holes in the elbows, the shoes long ago wore out and had utility tape to hold them together.

Zipping up his leather jacket he starts tapping his own boots against the floorboards in time to some tune quietly playing on the radio. He can feel the bulge of his wallet in his back pocket. Looking away from the scene being played out; the beggar giving away more of his dignity to each passing stranger, he tries not to see anything.

His mind wonders what brought the man to this place and circumstance. He’s reminded of a father he’s never known and returns his gaze to the bum he’s been watching. Is that man someone’s father? Is there a son or daughter somewhere wondering where he is or what has become of him?

He hesitates for a few moments and reaches for the door handle. It’s time to find out if there’s some kind of hero in himself……..

Matt 25:35-40

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’