Buffering

Buffering......not Buffeting

"My sister has died.  It is the first time I have faced life's challenges without her,"   Lucretia said as tears ran down her face.

Susan died!  Susan who understood everything.  Susan who "got it" everytime Lucretia spoke.  So close in age they were almost twins.  Almost.

Susan.  That was where Lucretia planned to go if she ever became homeless.

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Susan it was  who spear-headed the visits and vacations of three sisters.  Laughing at their younger tag-a-long sister Angie who "never got it".

"Oh, yes.  Angie and I  are close because of Susan's death.  We went through that together.  But she is not a buffer.  I need Susan.  I need that buffer against the world."

"I cannot even imagine a sister who gets it....who loves you.....  who cares,"  I say.

"I know your sister died about the same time as mine," Lucretia says, tears trickling from her eyes. "Don't you miss her?"

"No."

"You don't miss your sister?"

"No  and I avoid people who remind me of her.  She didn't buffer me.  She buffeted me.  Always. Well, not always.  Once she was there for me.  Well, twice.  But stack those two times up against all the times she kicked me and punched me and ratted on me and led me astray and she comes off in my mind as a buffeting sister I was close to, but do not miss.  I'm sorry.  Should I lie about this?"

"I just don't understand."

"Well, it was what it was.  Of course I stole her steady boyfriend as a joke just to prove I could, but heck, we were grown up by then.  I didn't want him.  I dropped him the moment I got him."

Lucretia just looks at me.  Uncomprehending, she stares at me.

"Yeh," I admit.  "I need mercy, too.  But I am glad, truly glad, your family were nice folks."



I really am grateful for Lucrecia's great blessings.  Gratitude is my gift.

Forgiving others is something I have to strive for.  It is not a  strong family trait.

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All my friends are forgiving people.  Go figure.


Thanks for dropping by,
I am grateful,
Riverwatch

No Generation Gap

                         

visionpsychology.com

Indi, my granddaughter, age 4

After multiple requests for screen time in a three minute period without pause Indi says "Do you known what would make me happy?" 

Exhausted and ready to explain yet again that she used up all her screen time for today, Indi's mom  let out a short irritated "What?!!"

 Indi replies, "To known what happens when I die." 



Quoted correctly.  

Known makes sense to me, does it to you?
I myself am a little jaded about past tense, present tense and future tense!
Does it really matter??

                               

                                                                             
                                                                                                                         pinterest.com



weeklygripes.co.uk
"Nope, the answer isn't in here.  
I looked it up on the internet, too.  Nope.  No answer there.
We get to guess what the answer is.  
What do you think is the answer?
What would you like the answer to be?"

I appreciate your visit.
AND your prayers!
Riverwatch

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from Into the Mud. The blog of Christine Jeske

When God says thank you

Normally when we think of thanksgiving and God, we think of these two things in the direction of us thanking God, right? 
I have recently been astounded by the concept that God could actually thank us.  That’s pretty boggling when you think in terms of how much and how frequently we mess up, at least as compared to how little God messes up.  In the game of Not Messing Up, it’s like God scores google-infinity and we score about five.

So why would God thank us?

I was recently touched to read through the book of Mark and stumble upon a story of a woman getting “rebuked harshly.”  It’s the story of a woman who pours out expensive oil on Jesus’ feet, and some disciples say she wasted her gift.

Then Jesus says, right in front of a bunch of men, in a setting where a woman like her should have been treated like trash, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me… She did what she could.” (Mark 14:5-8)

This is not about my ego.  In fact I think accepting thanks from God if anything actually shrinks our egos.  The ironic thing is it does so in a way that actually reveals us to be even more valuable than we thought, not less.  No, this isn’t about me, it’s about the fact that I know some of you need to know that you have done beautiful things for Jesus.  You have done what you could.

Let that sink in for a minute.  Ok, I could be wrong, but if you sit in silence for a minute and give yourself permission, I bet there’s something Jesus would say you did well. In a parable of servants waiting for their master to come back, there really are ones who get to hear the master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”  (Mt. 25:21)

http://www.intothemud.com/2012/09/when-god-says-thank-you/

                                            I just wanted to include a blog post I found interesting.

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Giving thanks
channel.nationalgeographic.com

Receiving thanks

jamesaltucher.com

Thanks for buzzing by,

Riverwatch