It's also nice to have community when there are rodents infringing on one's house. what? gross. a mouse. again. this little booger went to a whole new level this weekend when I was away: he crawled into the impossibly narrow space between drawers in my ROOMmate Paige's bedside stand. translation: in my room, 2 drawers above my desk stuff, next to Paige's head. NOT OK. then, during our house prayer/share time Sunday evening, we all paused as we heard the tell-tale scratching/munching sounds coming from around the corner in or near the kitchen. Three brave housemates stood while I remained happily out of it. that thing was chomping on our pizza box in the recycling! hilarious though - Nick, who was the first one up, came back in and asked for a shoe - any shoe - b/c he knew he was gonna freak (his scream rivals any 12-year old...hehe)
Anyway other things I'm learning in community: how to mow the lawn. ok, confession, I had never operated a push-mower before this year. Since I've lived in a parsonage my entire life, we didn't have to do our yard, and my brothers and dad took care of the back half-acre field without me or my sister ever having to do it. and aside from a couple dabblings in riding mowers - occasionally at my grandparent's old farm - I just hadn't done it. but I enjoy yard work and when it was my turn to do that chore, I phoned a friend and dear Michael instructed me on the way to begin via cell phone (I love those cross-country calls) :) So by the 2nd rotation of me doing yard work, I had it down, right?
right. so, the problem was, the lawn mower ran out of gas. no big deal - the gas tank is down there and I figured - given my relative intelligence and intuition, I could figure this out. here's the rub: oil and gas are NOT SYNONYMS. and if one would, hypothetically, mistake the oil tank/dipstick/valve with the GAS tank...then that's not good. thankfully, Paige's parents were visiting and her dad came in and I calmly explained that I thought I had ruined the mower and when he heard what I had done he was like, ohhh....yea..probably (ha, to which Paige's mom was like, 'he's a pessimist!') but anyway, we drained the now-ruined dirty gas and tried to start it again with oil in the oil tank and the remaining gas in the GAS tank. it started after smoking but then it died again (here's to hoping b/c it still didn't have enough gas!). So....lessons. good solid life lessons...while living in community. awesome.
the final thought to carry me home I guess could be on living in this wider DC community given all of this last week's events, though part of me thinks it should be its own post. but a few thoughts, nonetheless. it was exciting to live in DC when history was made last week. since 93% of DC residents voted for Obama, once the election was called it was one big celebration breaking out all over the city. a few of us who had been watching at my house ran down our street and through a few neighborhoods (fueled by the fervor of civic duty! ha) and there were neighbors smiling/laughing/waving/hugging other neighbors who before were strangers; there were honks from cars, trucks, buses and you knew it was for Obama; there were fireworks and toasts and screaming and dancing and...well, it was amazing.
I'd be happy to reflect more on specific thoughts regarding Obama and his policies. I am not a 100% fan of what he believes, nor do I anticipate a full acceptance of how he governs. but I AM inspired by his posture of listening, by his promises of change (especially in some of the areas of US policy that I tracked most last year, including how we treat enemy combatants and the shift I believe will take place in US-sponsored torture), and by the way that people of color and young people and people tired of what has become of the US standing in the world are imagining new things for this country and the people within it.
now, I want to be careful to say that Obama is not, and should never be confused with Jesus - and some things I believe people are yearning for will only be fulfilled by the Holy Spirit moving and bringing about the kingdom of God here on earth. People longing for change could mistakenly put messianic hopes onto Obama (there were certainly those who did the same for McCain/Palin) and I would say that's not healthy nor is it loving. As Christians, we live in the world but are not bound by what fellow humans can promise us. We live in Christ, the Eternal Hope, who was the ultimate example of how we are to love and live and serve and bring about the kingdom that he began.
ok, my preaching is done. May you find encouragement by the words of this corporate prayer we prayed in a church in Philly this weekend:
As we go we call this to mind and therefore are filled with great hope: your mercies never cease. Your compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness to your people! Let us rejoice in the real life of Jesus. May his person be made more real in our hearts. May his love be more fully expressed in our living. May his joy be our sustenance. Amen.
