Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: RITUAL (01/20/22)
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TITLE: Threads of a Tapestry | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jennifer Percell
01/27/22 -
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Chain three, connect with single crochet in the chain of the previous row. Repeat twelve times. Yellow, blue, green, yellow, blue, green. Only this border to finish and the baby blanket will be ready for the shower tomorrow afternoon.
I stand up and only catch two balls of yarn before they fall from my lap. I step on the ball of yellow, jerking out several stitches before I realize it is caught. The brownies smell done and must be checked. I still need to make the lasagna for carry-in dinner and cut out paper plate animal masks for the nursery lesson on Noah.
I walk by the guest bathroom and notice the crayon soaps drying and the soggy Paw Patrol towel on the floor. Jeremy and Amy had so much fun last night, we played outside for hours so I thought bedtime would be smooth. I should have known the bubbles and giggles of a warm bath would revive them. Only six bedtime stories, three thirsties each and two extra lullabies happened before quiet finally set in. Bedtime routine seemed so hard when their daddy was little, now it is fun. I wonder if all old mothers like me feel so blessed.
Noodles, sauce, meat, cheese, noodles, sauce, meat cheese. Lasagna is my signature dish, I learned how to make it as a volunteer cook at Bible camp. I layer all the ingredients the night before and I don't have to pre-cook the noodles. It would be fun to try some new recipes but the simplicity of something I have done hundreds of times before seems to always win at the grocery store.
I cut the lions, elephants and bears while the newsman tells me a tragic story just in, from every corner of the earth. I try to remember when I stopped feeling afraid of the news. Which personal heartache taught me to let go of panic? The news became a part of my routine when His Presence dulled fear's sharp edges. But I can never quite pinpoint the arrival of His Presence. There is no exact moment, no sermon or retreat or bright lights, but He's here all the time now, a steady, strong foundation born of the years of searching, trusting, depending....
I taste a brownie and grind the coffee beans. I chuckle to myself as I remember watching my grandmother turn off the news and prepare her morning coffee pot. I've become a doddering old lady I suppose. Grandma hadn't told me it would be like this. I had felt sorry for her, thought life had passed her by. Nothing she could have said would have made me understand then that her calm routine was life fulfilled.
I slip quietly into bed beside my sleeping husband. I warm my cold toes between his legs and curl around him spoon fashion, settling into the rhythm of his steady breathing as I have for forty-five years.
At nine a.m. I slip into the pew we have occupied for months of Sundays, year after year bookmarking our weeks in this sanctuary. The lasagna is on warm in the fellowship hall, the masks delivered to the grateful young teacher, and I am at settled in my happy place. I smile at a new face then catch the eye of a friend I haven't seen in too long and nod my welcome. I look around at the busy ones who are fidgeting with details, the bashful ones afraid to be here, the duty bound and the passionate ones. All parts of a precious body, a safe community, a well-loved bride.
I know the stories most of them carry, the joys, the fears, the wounds and I thank my ever-listening Father that they have come today. A soft hand brushes mine and I feel the embrace of my dear friend, we quietly mention the names of those who are missing, voice our concerns, celebrate our gratitude and open our Bibles. Seasoned saints, grandmothers, sisters in Christ, those blessed to know the beauty of the evidence of experience. We love how the years of baking, cleaning, teaching, praying and serving have brought us to this holy place. Here all the loose threads of our lives are bound by hope. Here we have the communion of love, the sharing of sorrows and the joy of celebration. Here we preserve the rituals of this body of Christian love, the Lord's church.
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Loved it!