Month: September 2021

So if you read my Facebook post you know that I had a really full week, and that one of the things that I did was a funeral in North Jackson. As it happened this cemetery doesn’t appear to have an address. I actually spent time Friday making sure I knew where I was going. The address the GPS gave me, which I didn’t know at the time, was the city administration office. It’s Saturday afternoon, no one is around, would the person at the gas station have a clue.

I was lost and had no reference point to fix it. No one who could navigate for me. 

What was most surprising to me was the sheer helplessness and panic I felt. I am a planner, and most of the time I am fairly ready for what life brings. But in this case I was stunned by not having the information I needed at my fingertips. Technology. I have a complicated relationship with it anyway, but it has never failed me so profoundly. 

It was a person who got me through it. A person who kept me calm. At one point I said to the 911 dispatcher, I know this isn’t a true emergency but it is for me. And she said not to worry. She never implied I was anything but important. She was an example to me of how to treat people with respect.

So what did I learn? First, that we have to be so careful not to assume that all knowledge is available to us. We cannot know everything. When we start thinking that our phone has all the answers, we swerve toward idolatry. Second, I remembered that asking for help is OK. My emergency wasn’t life threatening and it took me too long to consider myself worthy of assistance. I had to swallow my pride to be able to receive what I needed. 

Finally, I realize that I have to offer that humility to another person. We all know that doesn’t always work out. But we need community, we can help each other, we are connected in a mutual web of shared need. We don’t always need help. Sometimes we offer it. But we always need each  other, and that is a gift not a burden.

The people at the funeral were very kind. Some of them had also experienced difficulty finding the place. We managed to have a lovely service. It would not have happened without that dispatcher though. And I am grateful for that. 

Being able to walk outside is such a gift! I have been nursing a bad back/hip for a while and have missed fresh air. Now the mornings are cool and the flowers are still blooming, and I am appreciating the ability to walk before work more than ever. We have to enjoy it while we have it.

The experience has moved me to pray. In the spirit of the weekly walks for peace that have been happening on Sunday afternoons around the city, I have started praying for my neighbors. It is amazing what you notice when you pay attention. 

I pray for the kids who left out their toys or are waiting for the bus. I pray for the adults who are mowing their lawn or taking out the garbage. I rejoice in the new car or the home improvement project. I worry when the lawn hasn’t been mowed for awhile or there hasn’t been much activity. 

I pray for the person who threw their trash on the sidewalk, who was obviously ill, who is walking aimlessly because they have nowhere to go. I greet every person I pass with enthusiasm, and pray for them on their way. 

Mostly I pray for peace, for my neighbors, for our city, for the world. We need to notice our neighbors, and be relentless in our prayer for peace and nonviolence. Join me!