A fitting tribute

Today is Tuesday, and I'm feeling so much better. I'm eating real food and so far my stomach is cooperating, thank God. Thank you so much to everyone who left me a note of encouragement!
Yesterday I missed the special celebration in honor of our dear friend Blake Hubbard's 15th birthday. I was so sad to miss it. But I got to see part of it, and I want to share that with you. If you need a bit of inspiration, take the time to watch this video. You'll be glad you did.




**This video was made by Inkspot Crow Films. If you're in need of your own documentary about love, I urge you to check them out. Philip and Mackenzie are delightful. They're based in Durham, North Carolina, but they're willing to travel. Their work is amazing!

In the dark of the night

After an Easter Sunday of unparalleled beauty, today is a gorgeous day in North Carolina. I had special plans for this day. I was supposed to walk in a 5K to raise money for the Blake Hubbard Memorial Fund. Blake was the son of one my dearest friends and our precious next-door neighbor who was killed in January; he would have been 15 years old today.

But I spent the night last night thrashing around in bed and hugging the white porcelain of the toilet. This morning I tried to remember the last time I vomited. I think it was May 2007.

So today I am sipping ginger ale and feeling feeble.

And I am wondering if anyone else struggles in the nighttime.

Yesterday I was capable woman. At 1:30 this morning, I was pitiful. My bathrooms were not clean. My dishes were not done. My laundry was not folded. My desktop was not neat. On top of that, I was a bad wife. I was a terrible mother. I was a horrible friend. I was an awful blogger. Could I be more of a loser? I don't think so.

There's something about being sick in the middle of the night that turns me into a mess. So today, in addition to being weak from the stomach bug, I need to regain my hold on reality. But those middle-of-the-night fears persist a bit. Maybe I am a bad wife, a terrible mother, a horrible friend, an awful blogger. Maybe I am a loser.

Ugh. Does this happen to anyone else?

This changes everything

Several weeks ago I had the privilege of watching a skywriter in action. It was great fun to watch as the pilot dipped and swerved and spelled out a wonderful message: "Love God."



The message made me think of Deuteronomy 6, when the people of God are admonished: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." More than just good advice, this commandment makes up part of the Shema and is a central piece of Jewish teaching.

You may remember the story recorded in Matthew 22, when a Pharisee asked Jesus, "What is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

Jesus answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:37-40, NKJV).

That pilot picked a powerful couple of words to write in the sky.

But this Eastertide, as I consider the death of Jesus, I keep thinking of how different the skywriter's message would have been if he'd added a comma between the two words. I'm a grammar nerd, I know, but bear with me. Think about it. "Love God" is a good message--worthy of being written in the sky!--but "Love, God" is amazing.

It's no surprise that God would expect us to love him. He's God, after all; he deserves to be adored and worshipped. But that he would love us so much that he would give his son to die for us? That's astounding! Stupendous! Awe-inspiring!

John 3:16 is so familiar to us that it has become almost hackneyed. We look for it on signs in the stands at ballgames or emblazoned on billboards. Read it again today:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

That's the story of Good Friday: the love of God poured out for us. "This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (I John 4:9-10, NIV).

Write it in the sky! Proclaim it from the rooftops!

LOVE, GOD

Joining Amanda at Serenity Now for Weekend Bloggy Reading 

and Vanessa and Heather At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday.