Dex: Mom, can you fix slinky problems?
Me: Yes, I can fix slinky problems.
My eyes widened as the slinky problem was handed over to me. My mouth has a habit of being overly-confident even when I am filled with self-doubt.
As I examined the magnitude of entanglements I began to realize the time commitment I had made.
Me to me: throw it in the trash
Me to me: Mom could fix this, she’s an engineer
Me to me: Suck it up buttercup, it’s a slinky
I took the slinky with me to the kitchen. I fiddled with it for a few minutes and then I set it down to tend to breakfast. The slinky problem remained the same as I scrambled eggs…by the time I flipped and plated the last mini-pancake the slinky problem had escalated.
I stared down at the plastic-rainbow-colored-mess and felt I was missing something in my slinky-fixing-strategy. I held it up to the light. This new angle removed the distraction of matching up the colors. The problem had been simplified and my actions started to make more sense. Slowly each next right move got me closer to where I wanted to be.
Side note: I couldn’t believe how badly I wanted to fix this slinky. I thought about how many I had owned over the course of my lifetime that were beyond repair. This slinky was not beyond repair, there was not a kink or bend that would prevent it from being exactly what it was designed to be.
When the last coil fell perfectly into place I spent a few seconds bouncing it back and forth in my hands.
I handed the slinky back to my son.
Dex: Hey! Cool!
I watched him stretch it over his knee and then put it all the way up his arm. Then Dex took the slinky off and handed it to his brother, Desmond. I watched Des flip it into the air and I wondered how much life the slinky had left in it.
I think it has just the right amount of time left. However long it lasts is enough.
🎶: Dead Man Winter, Destroyer
“Who knows how the awareness of God’s love first hits people? Every person has his own tale to tell, including the person who would not believe in God if you paid him. Some moment happens in your life that makes you say Yes right up to the roots of your hair, that makes it worth having been born just to have happen. Laughing with somebody till the tears run down your cheeks. Waking up to the first snow. Being in bed with somebody you love. Whether you thank God for such a moment or thank your lucky stars, it is a moment that is trying to open up your whole life. If you try to turn your back on such a moment and hurry along to Business as Usual, it may lose you the whole ball game. If you throw your arms around such a moment and hug it like crazy, it may save your soul. How about the person you know who as far as you can possibly tell has never had such a moment? Maybe for that person the moment that has to happen is you.” –Frederick Buechener, Common Prayer
I’m tired today. Several friends are hurting this week and my heart aches for them. I will say this I have never felt such joy as when I look into the moments that transform into sacred space. A life where religion just might be the call to action we all need. A community connected and committed to doing the next right thing.
The light is winning. Grace and peace, my friends.
