Children - not for abuse

The Bible:
II Kings 17:7-9 the children,17
II Chron 28:1-3,5 (to .)
Ps 106:7,8,13,28 (to ,),34-38 (to :),47
Ezek 16:1-3 the word (to ,),20-22 thou hast taken
Jer 7:1-3,30,31
Prov 23:13,14
Mic 6:1,2,6 (to ?),7 shall,8
Ps 144:3,11,12,15
Mal 4:6 he shall (to 2nd ,)
Ps 128:1,3,5,6
Ps 127:3
Rom 12:1-3,9,10,12,19 (to :),21
Eph 4:31,32
Luke 4:14 Jesus
Luke 9:37-43 on (to .)
Matt 18:1-8 the disciples,10-14
Col 3:12-17,21
Gal 5:22-25 the fruit

Science and Health:
241:8
446:27
237:10-12
65:16
327:1-21
405:5-11,22-32
61:4-28
46:25-26
54:3-5
30:19
236:28-29
62:4-12,16-19,27-28
60:6,24
57:10-11,15-30
102:31-2
58:21

Chrsitain Science Hymnal:
Hymn 315:1-3
Hymn 124:1-3
Hymn 179:1-3

The Greatest Gift

The Bible:

Matt 1:18-25
Isa 9:6
Luke 4:14-22 Jesus (to .)
Matt 9:35 Jesus, 36
Eph 2:4-8 God
John 6:1 Jesus,2,28,29,40 (to :)
John 10:10 I am
Rom 5:14 death,15
Rom 6:23 the gift
Ps 68:19 (to .),20
John 11:1,3,4,6,7,11 Our,13 (to :),17,20 (to :), 21-26 (to .),38,39 (to .),41-45
I John 5:11,12 (to ;),13,20
John 3:16
II Cor 9:15

Science and Health:

583:10
589:16
332:9-15 Jesus,19 Jesus
29:26-4
315:21-12
323:24
593:20
30:19-1
51:19-24
38:24-26
39:4-7 He overcame
25:13-19
288:29-2
410:4-9
45:7-13,16

Christian Science Hymnal:

Hymn 362
Hymn 222
Hymn 417

Whom God appoints, He anoints

The Bible:
Ex 3:1-5,7,8 (to ;), 10 -15 (to :)
Ex 4:10-12
Phil 2:13
Ps 18:1,3 (to :), 28,30,32, 49
Rom 13:1 For (to :)
Acts 10:38 God anointed
Mark 1:9-11 it came, 21 and straightway,22, 32-34 (to ;),40-45
John 5:16,17,19 Verily,30
Heb 3:1-2,4,5
II Tim 1:1,2,6,7,9,11
Eph 3:1-2,7,8
I Cor 12:1,4-11 there
II Cor 3:5
II Cor 9:8

Science and Health:
84:14
265:10
258:19
89:18
199:8-12
332:23-26 Jesus,29
333:9-13,19-27
51:28
107:1
108:1,30
109:11-16,22-31
128:4
496:15
258:13-15

Christian Science Hymnal:
Hymn 248
Hymn 162
Hymn 354

God as our Shepherd

The Bible:
Ps 23:1-6
Ex 13:3 Moses (to :),17 (to ;),18,21,22
Deut 5:1-2, 32, 33
Deut 8:1-4,7,9 (to ;)
Deut 7:6-9
Ps 25:1,2,4-6,9,10,12-15,20,21
Ezek 34:11-16 thus (to :),30,31
Mark 6:34-42 Jesus
Ps 143:8-11 (to :)
Isa 58:11 the (to :)
Isa 40:9-11

Science and Health:
454:18-19
566:1-24
254:10-12
596:21-25
151:26
103:25
7:18-21,23
594:12
467:13
vii:1-2
494:10
226:22-2
149:28-29
577:32-18

Christian Science Hymnal:
Hymn 148
Hymn 330
Hymn 305

A garden reminder

A new house means a new garden and some plants that I'm not very familiar with, but am enjoying getting to know. We moved into this home about a year ago, and this spring I am finally having the opportunity to work on the surrounding gardens (not a lot, but enough to have some fun!). They've got a great start, but there's room for more! Fortunately, my mom knows what plants are in these gardens (she should, she planted most of them) and has walked me through to show me what is what.

There is one floweirng plant that is pretty prolific along the sides of the house which I'd never seen before, though was familiar with its name - columbine. My familiarity with its name is certainly not from the plant, but from the high school in Littleton, Colorado, that burst into the naton's consciousness a handful of years ago after that devastating tragedy. I suppose this beautiful plant was the source of the school's name.

Over the last week or so, as I look at these lovely flowering plants and work around them, the association has struck me as sad. They really are beautiful, graceful, fine. Ours have pink flowers. It's been a bit distressing to look at these flowers and think of that tragedy. This morning, at a Bible study group I've been attending, a friend brought up the columbines (She's got lots in her garden and was the source for these in ours.) and said that she hasn't been able to look at them the same since the Columbine High School shootings. To hear her say this out loud and to realize that I'd been feeling the same way, really woke me up. This sad thought couldn't be right, couldn't have its source in such a lovely plant.

After I got home and sat down for some more quiet prayer time, I thought further about this issue. I know that God made this plant as He did all plants, and so they must be good and really can only inspire good - in thought or deed. So it just doesn't feel right that something of His creation can cause me or anyone to feel sad or down in any way. How could I turn this around?

Then I realized what I need to do - I need to use that plant as a reminder to pray, especially for children, schools, education, etc. And that's what I've been doing since when I'm outside doing some garden work. When I look at the columbine plants, I take a moment (or a few moments) to pray to really know that God is caring for all of His children, wherever they are - at home, school, on the playground. Or for our schools and school systems, that they are a safe, nurturing environment, effective in their efforts to educate our communities children and teens. Whatever I feel inspired to pray and ponder. And I know that, as I am blessed by having these beautiful flowers in my garden, my prayers are in some way blessing children and schools everywhere.

• Here's a passage from Science and Health that I really love - so poetic! It relates to this idea. Page 240:1
  
  "Nature voices natural, spiritual law and divine Love, but human belief misinterprets nature. Arctic regions, sunny tropics, giant hills, winged winds, mighty billows, verdant vales, festive flowers, and glorious heavens, — all point to Mind, the spiritual intelligence they reflect. The floral apostles are hieroglyphs of Deity. Suns and planets teach grand lessons. The stars make night beautiful, and the leaflet turns naturally towards the light."
  

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I just finished reading this incredible book! [Yeah, it's been out for a couple of years; just getting to it thanks to my sister-in-law (a newfound book supplier/fellow junkie!).] And it is not, at first glance, something I thought I'd be writing about in this blog, but, wow!, was it good! And so relevant for the time. Kite Runner gives amazing insight into the culture of Afghanistan over the past four decades along with the political and religious upheaval the citizens of the country have endured (a subject about which I've learned quite a bit over the last 4+ years, but of which I still know so little.). Though not containing a focus on spirituality, this book does raise a number of moral and ethical issues - certainly in the spiritual ball park!!

I would probably lump Kite Runner into historical fiction - though it is VERY recent history as it overs the last four decades of the 20th Century. Primarily set in Afghanistan, the story focuses on the life of Amir, born in the early 1960s, and his relationships with his father (Baba), Hassan (the servant's son, who is about the same age). When he is in his late teens, he and his father, under dark of night and with many bribes, emigrate to the United States, leaving behind the shambles of the country they have known and loved. But for the two of them and the other Afghan refugees, Afghanistan continues to be a vital part of their lives. It is truly an intense culture - full of customs and ritual - that they all keep very close.

The relationship of these three characters is probably best expressed by the author on page 11:
______________________________

Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yeard. And, under the sames roof, we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba. His was Amir. My name. Looking back on it now, I think the foundation for what happened in the winter of 1975 - and all that followed - was already laid in those first words.
______________________________

And this is so true! Baba is one of those bigger-than-life sort of men - great at everything, strong, athletic, successful. Amir wants, more than anything, to please his father, but, as an almost total opposite - awkward, fearful, bookish - never is able to achieve that goal. Hassan is a friend and companion for Amir - he is totally devoted to him and clings to his every word. Hassan is also a Shi'a, a Hazara, a member of the lowest social and religious class. Though he was truly a friend to Amir, Amir could not, would not acknowledge this fact - espcially publicly, yet not even privately to himself. He just could not find it in himself to say that word, no matter how true he knew it was. This moral dilema is a constant struggle for Amir and leads to the events of 1975 and beyond alluded to in the quote above (not going to tell you anything about them as they are pivotal! Read the book!) - events which totally change the lives of Hassan and his father and leave Amir emotionally scarred for the next 25 years. It is Amir's return to Afghanistan at the request of his father's closest and life-long friend that fully reopens these wounds for Amir and brings about healing for him and, essentially, for Hassan.

The ethical and moral issues abound - racial prejudice, religious bigotry, our relationship and responsibilities to our neighbors (i.e., brothers, sisters, friends, family, with all the etc.), standing up for what is right in tough situations - even in the face of possible death, and I am sure more just not coming to thought right now. Amir faces these - loses, deals with the repercussons, and, at the end, wins. Our actions truly do impact our lives - perhaps not openly, in a physical, for-all-the-world-to-see sort of way - but they do, maybe more than the lives of those who bare the obvious hurt. But there is hope of resolution and healing (always!). The end is sweet and satisfying as Amir reaches for this better goal of resolving his past mistakes. This would make Baba truly pleased with Amir!

I litterally could not put this book down! Except for some crucial points where I was just MAD at Amir (e.g., 1975) and then afraid for him (a few in his trip back t his homeland), the book was always at hand and I zipped through it - and I am an admittedly slow reader! I do hope you will read this book if you haven't. Will love to hear your take on it if you have read it or after you do!

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Have you read this book???? Have you?? You really must if you haven't! Life of Pi by Yann Martel is amazing! I've shared this book with a number of people - all have loved it (well, all but one). My husband's sister (another book junkie) gave us this book. Well, technically she gave it to my husband as a gift, not know that he would probably never read it as it has nothing to do with current events or isn't a newspaper! But it kept calling to me, and the call worked. I began to read it a couple of days after we got it and couldn't put it down. Almost everything else stopped until I was done. Fortunatly I was done in just a couple of days. Please, go read this book, especially before you read further in this post!! WARNING: Spoilers ahead!! And you don't want to spoil this book, believe me!

Okay, warnings are out there. Now on with it.

Life of Pi is the story of a young boy (about 16) from Pondicherry, India. His family owns a zoo there, which he loves. Due to difficult times, his father decides to move the zoo and the family to Canada. While at sea - people and animals and their home on a large freighter - the ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone on a life raft, in the middle of the Pacific ocean, with a Bengal tiger. Yeah, really. Or really??

The book is divided into three parts. The first part is devoted to Pi's life in India. Not a typical life for any teen given he lives at a zoo and his full name is the French word for pool - piscene. (Well, maybe somewhat normal. Exasperating older brother, all the nuances of family life, the hassles of trying to fit in with school mates, you know.) The zoo is somewhat of a refuge for Pi, but he finds greater refuge in religious exploration. Pretty amazing for an early-teen to go investigating the three major religions found in his area - Hindu, Christianity and Islam. I don't know of many people that age who are thus inclined - I know I wasn't! But investigate he does - and he finds something truly wonderful within each religion - something that he really connects with. And then he blends these prime essences together into his daily spiritual practice. Now, be aware, the three men with whom he studies from each of these groups are totally unaware of Pi's interest in the other two religions! This sets Pi and the three spiritual leaders up for a VERY interesting encounter at the zoo one day. An encounter that is perhaps, sadly, reflective of reality of ingrained, traditional religious opinion - that every aspect of what they do is right and nothing that the others do has merit. Oh, well!

Part 1 ends with Pi and his family on their way Canada - zoo and home packed up. Soon into part two, in the early morning hours the ship is foundering. Pi is able to make it to a life boat along with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and that Bengal tiger. Eventually it is only Pi and the tiger. With the help of what he has learned from the zookeepers at his father's zoo, Pi is able to come up with solutions that protect himself from the tiger. It is a long, arduous drift across the sea from there. You feel Pi's struggles, his ups and downs, rejoice with his little victories.

I found myself frustrated through some of this section of the book though, mostly because, after all that set up in part one where Pi is learning about God and how to relate to him, Pi never prays (accept for a couple of calls out to Allah or Vishnu). Religion seems cast aside. What was all that point from the first part? To me, the answer to this question is revealed in the third part of this book. Pi has come to shore somewhere in Mexico. He is found by natives and eventually makes it a hospital. When he is recovered enough to tell his story, agents from the shipping company come to visit him in an effort to learn about what happened to their freighter. Pi tells them his story - tiger and all. And, not surprisingly, they don't believe him in the least. After many questions and prying to get more out of him, Pi fianally tells them a different story. He wasn't the only human survivor from the shipwreck. Three others join him in that lifeboat - his mother, the ship's cook and another who I can't remember (and the book's still on loan!). The cook was ruthless and soon kills the other two and would kill Pi. But Pi is able to outwit him enough to stay alive. The cook eventually is killed by Pi, and Pi is alone, drifting towards Central America in a life boat.

So how does this second story answer my question about Pi's religious convictions? Here's what I am thinking - essentially both stories are true (and this is the question those with whom I've shared the book have asked - which story is the real story?). Perhaps, on the surface the latter/part 3 story is the real one, but in a spiritual context, the second one is equally true. Pi was able to see each individual in that boat as an animal quality in a sense. This view of the situation helped to protect him from what could be an extremely psychologically traumatic and potentially damaging experience. In essence, he saw the tiger as the killer of the hyena, not hiimself as the killer of the cook. So his religious learning helped him discern the difference in the real nature of the individuals around him, separate from the animal natures that wanted to surface in response to the dire situation.

It also dawned on me recently that perhaps this seeming lack of God is kind of like the book of Esther in the Bible. I don't know if you are familiar with this book, but in it, God is not mentioned at all - not once, nada, zilch. His name is never said, evoked, referred to, nothing. But, really, that doesn't mean he was left out of the book. (I wrote a paper on this in college - Old Testament course - so, bare with me!) God really was present in the good and moral acts that Esther and others do in this book. Their love and trust of God enabled her to take the steps she needed to do to save her people. And that, I think, is the case for our friend Pi adrift on the ocean. God is there with him (well, I believe that God is there with everyone all the time anyway, but that aside...) protecting him, giving him the wisdom he needed to survive, sustaining him. His view and love of God sustain him on that ocean. What he learned through his prayers, etc. in part one lifts his thought above the awful picture before him. This saved him. A good lesson for us all - whether we are adrift on the ocean or just feel like we are!

So, I would love to hear what you thought about this book! Please let me know! Perhaps you have further insights on it or another perspective. Would love to hear it.

Dearest Daddy

This weekend I faced a first in my life - suicide. My brother's father-in-law committed suicide Saturday morning. I have never been so close to this type of situation. It was - is - truly devastating to his whole family, immediate and extended.

I didn't have the privilege of knowing him, Andy, very long. My brother and sister-in-law have only been married 5 1/2 years and I was living in another state for most of that time. So our contact was minimal - a few holidays here and there. Never really got any sort of 'tradition' established for the extended family. But knowing Andy was a privilege. And I know that he was - is - a great guy. He loves his family intensely. They are all so important to him. And, essentially, this is why he did what he did. Though I am also sure it is not the answer his dear wife, wonderful daughters and sons-in-law and sweet grandchildren would have picked to respond to the difficulties they seemed to be facing.

I think that this past Saturday will be one of those days that I'll always remember, even as sort of remote as the impact really is for me. My brother called late morning asking if I could come watch their kids. I could hear some quality in his voice so knew something wasn't right (and he's a police officer, so it kind of takes a lot any more to shake him up). He blurted out the basics of what happened and so my husband and I scooted out the door and drove to their home as fast as we could. It ended up being a long day with the kids - almost 3 and almost 2 respectively, - midnight before we got home. I am so grateful I could be of some help to my brother and sister-in-law in the immediate aftermath. And it was a good way to spend the day - plenty of opportunity to pray for all concerned - Andy, his family, all individuals who feel they are in such a desparate situation that they contemplate this act - while we did puzzles, played games and read books. That helped me immensely and I feel confident that it is helping everyone in some way, too.

I still have much more praying I need to do about all of this, I am sure. One thing I've noticed over the years, though, every time your life is touched by death in some way - the passing of a loved one or whatever - the issues are unique. It is not always, at least for me, about praying about what life really is or means. There are other new ideas that need to be learned and understood. So I know there are more lessons here.

Okay, so, this blog post is supposed to be related to Bible study. How is that fitting in here? Well, Sunday was kind of a long day as well - mostly filled with waiting. Waiting to see if or how we could help further. By the end of the day, I was pretty tired, so I climbed into bed with my weekly Bible study guide. (I use the Christian Science Weekly Bible Lessons as one of my Bible study tools.) The lesson topic for this week is "Are Sin, Disease and Death Real?" Wow, how appropriate! I was very grateful for this - knowing that I'd find some answers to help me think through the previous day's events.

After I read it, I put the booklet aside and laid down. I was suddenly and totally overwhelmed with tears. I just felt this agony for Andy's four precious grandchildren - the youngest about 9 months and the oldest almost 3. I knew that, in one way, they are so protected by the ages they are at right now. They aren't experiencing the drama of the situation. They'll get to be untouched by the immediate impact of it all. But I still ached for them in that they wouldn't have this wonderful grandfather to grow up with (and my brother's two will not have any grandfather as our father passed on 12 years ago). That is, or at least can be, such a special relationship! And, having seen Andy with these children, you couldn't miss how much he cherished each of them. Oh, how overwhelmingly sad it felt to think of these dear ones not having that love and lavish attention from their grandpa!

As I lay there crying and calling out to God from some help, the words "Abba, Father" came into my thought. [These words are used a three times in the New Testament. Their use in Paul's Epistle to the Romans 8:15 was part of this week's Bible lesson, that I had just finished reading.] Abba is a term that essentially means Daddy. In this part tof Paul's letter, he is talking about our sonship with God, and our right and privilege, by adoption into His family, to call Him Daddy. The tenderness of that word, the closeness it evokes, is really wonderful and warming. As I thought about these words in relation to Andy's grandchildren, I realized that all the love and tenderness Andy expressed to them had its source in God in the first place, and those kids are never going to lose the love God envelopes them with! They'll still be loved, cherished, cared for, lavished with attention - just what our dear Daddy does for all of us - it will all just be coming from other people in their lives (grandmothers, aunts and uncles, etc.). They can't miss out on good - no one really can.

These ideas brought me such comfort. The tears soon stopped and I just felt so grateful for God's care and all of his wonderful ideas. Since then, I have not felt an inkling of that distress and continue to love and cherish those children and that whole sweet family in my thought (as if I wasn't any way, just seems like this needs to be turned up a few notches right now!). They can all continue to feel the love their human father and their divine Father expresses toward them. (I know I'll be listening for ways to help them feel it!) And they all will certainly keep the memory of Andy alive for each other over the years. Thank you dearest Daddy, Father!

• Here's a thought from Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy that reflects this thought: Page 332:4-5
  
  "Father-Mother is the name for Deity, which indicates His tender relationship to His spiritual creation."