In Gennesaret

I put it off just because of the hassle . I knew my box of piano music was somewhere in our outdoor storage unit. But there are boxes piled on top of boxes in there. I had already looked through the easy-to-access ones . . . I clearly was not going to find what I wanted without going to a stinkin’ lot of effort to pull out a lot of crap and seriously dig. But this afternoon, the weather was lovely, I had energy from a week off of school, and I had time. So, I started digging and moving and shoving and searching and THERE IT WAS. At the bottom of a stack in the back. Of course. Not until later this evening did I open the box. I had already been looking in the piano corner to see where I could store my stash now in the new house. Some would go in the piano bench, but only a few things would fit there. I have a basket sitting by the piano that has been holding blankets (yes, we still cover up with blankets inside in South Texas) – that would work for a while until I figured out someth...

This book I just finished reading, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer . . . it stirred up so much within me. And you wouldn’t think that would be so because this isn’t a topic I gravitate to. Kimmerer is a botanist. She writes about plants and the earth and creatures like salamanders and the reciprocity of our relationship with them all. How to keep the land healthy because its health is linked with our own. But Kimmerer is also a Potawatomie, and so her scientific view of the world is also informed by the values, beliefs and stories of her Indigenous heritage. She speaks of the plants as our brothers and sisters: they were here before us, and they are older and wiser. We would do well to listen to the lessons they have to teach us. She talks about thanking the earth for the things it offers us for our survival, and only taking as much as we need, always with a gift we give back. I read these stories awed by the beauty of how she sees the world . . . and yet feeling a bi...

“It is the duty of birds to sing and the rest of us receive the song as a gift.” ( Braiding Sweetgrass , Robin Wall Kimmerer) This sentence would not let go of me all day long. It seems like there is something important there . . . I’ve always been fascinated with discovering people’s gifts – talents and abilities bestowed upon them by God for him to use to accomplish his work. As my daughters were growing up, it was SO exciting when their strengths and passions began to be revealed, and I really tried to affirm them. I do the same with my students. I love when I am able to point out to a young man in my English class that even though he struggles to read Jules Verne, he is able to read the hearts of his classmates in a way others can’t. It’s a gift , honey. The quote above from Kimmerer (whose book has been opening new doors for me for the last month or so) gave me a different perspective on this. I do love seeing others use their giftings, and I’m quite aware of my responsibili...