waiting for me

It's story time folks!  

I have to warn you that this is another one that rates extremely high on the "uncomfortable meter", so I'm not sure how long it will be up.  Here goes...

My "quiet time" reading, praying, etc. has been severely lacking to non-existant lately.  Yesterday an image came to me as I made the conscious decision not to read/pray/etc., but to watch Netflix and cut up shirts to make aprons.  I was walking past the living room - and that's when it came to me.

Jesus was sitting on the couch waiting for me.  (Not in a scary, stalker kind of way, but a friend/lover/I-want-to-be-around-you kind of way)  

I saw Him there and I looked at Him for a long minute.  Then I turned away and went to do something totally irrelevant.

Today I came and sat down on the couch.  I am so glad I did.

Thank you God, for waiting so long for me.

Statement of Faith: Bus Stories - Part 3

On the bus the other day, I sat across from a gentleman.  (That's a pretty good opener, huh?).  So, this gentleman... was around my age (mid-late twenties), he had a buzz cut, mustache and looked like some sketchiness could be in his past and/or his future.  That image is where my "judging a book by it's cover" self might have left things, if the bus wasn't warm that morning, and he hadn't taken off his hoodie.  (*note, I am not usually a judge a book by its cover person, just so you know.  Maybe it would have been better if I had phrased it, "first impression".  Hmmm.)

The second impression surprised me, and I'm quite glad it did.  On his left forearm the word Mercy was tattooed in simple lettering.  On his right, Grace.  I was studying these words (discretely, of course.  I mean, I've been known to make an awkward sandwich or two, but I try not to do that with strangers...in public) - so anyway, as I was pondering what surprising choices "Mercy" and "Grace" were to have tattooed on your arms, he reached into his bag to pull out a hardcover book (another surprise).  When he did, I saw another tattoo, a bit further up his right arm that said "To Live is Christ".

To live is Christ.  I kept turning it over in my head.  To live is Christ....to die is...something.  I couldn't remember what that last bit was.  I knew Paul wrote it and that it was somewhere in the back of the Book, but I couldn't put my finger on it.  So when I got to work, the first thing I did was look it up.  To live is Christ to die is gain.  Philippians 1:21

A complete stranger, with whom I shared no (verbal) words, got me to look in my Bible and made my day.  Thank you tattooed Sir.  Mercy and Grace.  Very fitting words for thought this Lenten season, no?

-Blessings-

$2

I debated about sharing this with you all today (whoever "you all" are, of course).  I debated because it's not something I'm particularly happy with myself about and it's not always comfortable/a good idea to share your shortcomings with the world.  BUT - it is also difficult to hold yourself accountable to things when excuses and reasonings are so much easier.  So, without further ado:

As I was about to get on the bus this morning, the bus driver said something and a gentleman ahead of me in line turned and began to ask people if they had a quarter he could use.  I said, "Sorry, I don't have any change".  Thinking I didn't have any change (once I got on the bus I realized I did have change...).  By that point a young man ahead of me said, "I've gotcha man" and gave him what he needed.  The bus driver asked those of us behind this gentleman to come on board if we had passes, while he straightened out his dollar bills.  He couldn't get the last one to go through the machine so he turned to all of us seated and asked if anyone had a dollar he could use.  

This is where I don't want to tell you what I did.

Grrrrr.

I said I didn't have any cash.

But I did.

Why?  Why did I do that?  All he needed was a different bill.  He wasn't asking for money (and even if he had been - I had a dollar to spare!)  At the time I think I was worried he would be upset for some reason that I had not had change but now all of a sudden I had cash.  Which doesn't really make sense...but at the same time, I knew I had cash earlier.  Why not just give him a dollar bill then (instead of a quarter)?  And now, when he needed the dollar, why not just give him two, to make sure he could get back?  By this point he had been "talked to" by the bus driver (who is not the nicest bus driver, by the way), he was carrying a manila folder full of papers (where was he headed - did he have a meeting to get to, maybe a job interview?) and had the scare of not having the right fare to get to where he needed to go.  That can be kinda stressful.  Again, another young man came forward and used his bus card to put a dollar in the machine for him.  

The gentleman reached his destination.  With no help from me.  I didn't even pretend to try.

All this made me realize something.

I'm not one for regrets, I never really have been.  At least, not about the big stuff.  Not major life decisions like marriage or luggage.  But I do regret what I didn't do today.  That is what I realized.  I can remember a whole lot of little things that I have not done that I sorely regret.  All those times when I could have done something to help; to perhaps make someone's day brighter; to give just a little.  All those opportunities - and I said "no".

I'm sharing this with you all today because I don't want to have any more little regrets.  I have a 'sign' on my cubicle wall that says "Do All the Good You Can".  I'm sharing all this to give you (and myself) a boost - if you have the same regrets I do.  You know, that whole, learn from the mistakes of others thing... let's all get out there and Do All the Good We Can.

I'm still not entirely comfortable with this post, so it might not be here for long...

-blessings-

"let's start the New Year right..."

Why has this storytelling been so elusive to me?  That is what I've been pondering of late.  (Along with the scary thought that I've committed to myself and a few others that I will be using this space to tell stories - what a great idea! I thought as I jumped head first)  And once I'd gone clear over the edge, I realized I don't have any stories to tell.

Or so I thought...

Because well, lets go through a typical day:

Early - wake up.  tend to the baby.  get ready for work.  (have you ever tended to a baby without walking away with a few stories to tell???)

A bit later - ride the bus to work. (oh yes, the bus is full of interesting characters)

Daytime - lots of interaction with lots of different folks...from my cubicle and sometimes beyond (fortunately for you, I probably won't be sharing work stories here)

Later daytime - ride the bus home. (different characters!)

Evening - tend to baby.  make and eat dinner.  all while hanging out with the hubby.  hopefully some crafting in there somewhere. (crafting.  ah ha!  so many stories not only of how things are created, but the material themselves have such a history.  I've been using up-cycled and vintage linens and clothes and I can just see the houses they lived in before they came to me, and the people who used them.  oh yes, so many stories...)

So my challenge (let's not bother with resolutions, shall we?) to you in this New Year, is to discover the stories you have to tell.  And then tell them!  Start a blog, start a journal/scrapbook, write a letter, leave a comment, paint a picture, sew a quilt, embroider a tapestry.  Find something you're excited about and go do it!  

And let's all take these words to heart in our new endeavors: "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story."  anyone know who said this?

Looking forward to hearing yours in 2011.

Storytelling

In a recent post, I mentioned that I would love to be a great storyteller.  Well, while I was catching up on some of my favorite blogs post-Christmas blog break...I stumbled upon this post by Mollie over at The Wild Olive.  And I think I have a way to put in to motion achieving a "goal" I hadn't realized was a goal!

In the new year, I plan on using this blog to tell stories.  I have a lot to learn in this realm, so please be patient and please please please leave some feed back in the comments section!  Constructive criticism will always be welcome...of course, rave reviews of stories will too! ;)  Functional, recycled, art is still the 'business' side of things and "making" will always be what I do, so don't be surprised when those adventures become tales regaled here.

I also plan on talking to Mollie about a little ad on her wonderful blog.  To help out a great designer/embroiderer/blogger/etc! and to keep me honest in this new goal.  So look for that over at The Wild Olive ...soon!

Blessings-

Daphne