Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Home again, Home again, Jiggity Jig

Back at work, and glad to see my friend Kirstin, She Who Makes Me Laugh. That could be her Indian name--Makes Big Laughs. It's hard to be without my mom, but my friends here at work make it easier, and it is a joy to see Shirley and fam, and Scott and Tracy and fam. (Shirley gets top billing in her family--I know it isn't fair, but there you are.)

One way I am dealing with not having mom around is by wearing something of hers every day. Yesterday it was some pearly beads, today a vest that isn't very fashionable. It's actually a Pykettes garment...I used to hate that my mom bought those, and was embarrassed about them. But wearing this vest of hers makes her seem close to me.

I don't know what the theology is about whether the dead can see us, but the passage about the "great cloud of witnesses" always seems to be about those who are watching us, and the people described right before that passage are all dead...so it seems that perhaps we are being witnessed by a great cloud of people who have gone before us. And that can be comforting, and also a bit uncomfortable; it's like the old childhood adage that Santa "sees when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he knows if you've been bad or good..." And of course that equates Santa with God, who is the real watcher of everything we do, but in an infinitely more intimate and loving way than any imaginary Santa. God is present, alive, intimate, watching, listening, aiding. It freaks me out sometimes. And since God is watching, I'd better start working.

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