Saturday, August 7, 2021                              (today’s lectionary)
Don’t look now, but you’re asleep!
Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Yesterday went on and on. Don’t get me wrong; we had a great time with our grandkids. Miles and Jasper had plenty of energy. We drove over to our apartment dumpster and lo and behold, while we were there the beloved recycling garbage truck drove in and right beside us. We were shrieking with delight. It grabbed our little dumpster, raised it up high, poured it out, and backed away. The driver couldn’t stop waving. We were all entranced with each other.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Write this on your hearts, impress it on your children. Talk about these commandments when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
On the way back into the house, Jasper shut the door on his thumb. Just a little, not enough even to leave a bruise, but he cried awhile. We found an icepack that didn’t fit around his thumb, but I think he felt taken care of. The icepack was a cute red heart.. He decided he felt good enough to have a waffle cone full of fruit at snack time. Miles was not going to get it all.
Tie these commandments as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Maybe we shouldn’t have, because of covid, but we went to the grocery store after Jasper felt better. Our local HEB is building an addition. We have watched it since April. Every construction implement known to man has been in building zone. Now the place is walled and roofed, and we peered into the darkness, listened to all the buzzing and pounding, and it was hard to tear ourselves away. Miles and Jasper rode through the store in the fire airplane two seat cart, and Margaret sped around on her wheelchair cart, and we found fresh dill and heavy cream and yogurt, bread, celery, lettuce, strawberries and protein bars. Waiting at the checkout we also found pink cotton candy to fill out the kids’ cart. Miles saw corn dogs in the frozen section, but we already had them at home, and that’s what we had for lunch!
When you eat your fill, take care not to forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. The Lord your God shall you fear, him shall you serve, and by his name you shall swear.
I talked with three folks in the early afternoon and made salmon soup from a beautiful fish head we bought Thursday at a Japanese market. Margaret made a giant pan of banana pudding. Miles and Jasper helped, or at least they licked things. We put all that in the car and buckled up the kids. I almost forgot Laura’s gluten free lasagna, which Margaret had doctored up a little and was going to be our main course.
I love you, O Lord, my strength, O Lord my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! I am safe from my enemies.
Getting things ready at Andi and Aki’s house, I couldn’t find the lasagna. Andi just got home, but she and Margaret drove back to our house to bring it back, because they had lots to talk about anyway, since Andi is getting her classroom ready to start school on August 16.
But the lasagna was not there.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel.
On their way back empty-handed, they saw a flash of foil on the highway – the lasagna pan flattened, the foil around it gone, lasagna ground into the highway. Of course. I had put it on top of the car and then forgotten all about it. My friend Aaron and I trade tales of what we leave on the top of our cars, and what happens next. This time I was not so lucky with the lasagna, but it’s a darn good story.
O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you?
On the way home while I was maneuvering around a big construction trailer parked in front of the Tomitas, I forgot to look behind me and backed into Andi’s van. Crunch! It sounded a lot worse than it looked; when I got out to see, all I could find was one very small dent. I was relieved; I hope she and Aki will be too. But rather than telling her before bed I decided to wait till morning, and so of course I worried about that off and on all night.
That was kind of the last straw. I realized that I need to rest more than anything else for a couple of days. Margaret’s medical stuff is not unending, but we’re still in the middle of it all. There is always lots to do in our less-than-automatically cleaned apartment, just to keep it relatively neat and livable. I read, write, listen, and pray every day. We love to be with Miles and Jasper.
But I kept falling asleep sitting at the computer writing this story. I think taking two Sabbath days instead of one this weekend is a pretty good idea.
If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
(Deuteronomy 6, Psalm 18, 2 Timothy 1, Matthew 17)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
#
