Peeling Peaches

Peeling peaches gives one time to think because it doesn't take too much RAM to peel them once you get into the rhythm of it.

This week doing that between Facebook, Gmail, the kids, I thought of the movie I've never seen but heard about - The Bucket List. The list of things you want to do before you die.

I have no such list - other than wanting to go back to China and perhaps.......

I do have a list but it is about others. It is a list of names of people whom I wish to introduce to the joys and blessings I've had these last 3 years, to the person who made this possible, the person who has worked out things for us.

The list mainly contains families who have crossed my path in the last year, who have adopted children from China or Taiwan, who do not know the person referred to above, nor can they introduce their children to this person. It is a list that has grown over time and each and every person represented on that list have become special to me.

A friend offered this in response, which I found very helpful - "Reaching folks about the One who has done so much for you, is like peeling a peach - you don't want to bruise it or rip the skin off. It must be handled gently and peeled slowly. When you do, you find a sweet gem underneath."

Thanks Barbara.

I've met, found, discovered many sweet gems this past year.

Soon back to peeling peaches and more pondering.

Good Friday?

Today many folks have the day off, shortened work days as they prepare for an Easter mass or some other form of celebration preceding Easter.

Good Friday, per say is a croc. This 'holiday' was set up by the Catholic church. The time line just does not follow.

One can not die on Friday, be buried and rise from the dead 36 hours later and be called being in the grave 3 days.

Let's take Thursday for instance. If Jesus died on a Thursday, Friday started at 6 pm Thursday according to Jewish custom. Friday evening at 6 pm would be the end of the first day. Saturday evening would be the second day, Sunday morning would be the 3rd day.

But if he was in fact in the grave on Wednesday evening - ie Thursday morning - Sunday morning would have been the morning of the 3rd day which started at 6 pm Saturday.

The time shift of thinking of the day starting at 6 pm - the evening of the day preceding in Western thought, the morning being several hours later during the Western next day can easily confuse.

Reaching Out

Reaching out across the strands of time
We seek the silvery threads of family
A memory here, a memory there,
Whispers on the wind, we grasp at these,
Slipping, slipping, slipping,
Down through the sands of time,
Here and there we catch a silvery thread,
A glimpse here, a glimpse there of some family member.

What were their dreams, their aspirations?
How has the world changed since "their time"?
What we would have of theirs?
O' to have a glimpse of their faces, to hear just once more the sound of
their voices.
Lonely are we, lost without family.
Slipping, slipping, slipping,
Down through the sands of time.
--------
- Tim Stowell, 31 Oct 2006