And Today We Remember...

... Saints Mary and Martha of Bethany! Along with their brother Lazarus, these siblings were friends of Jesus and their home is mentioned several times in the Bible. I love stories of this family, they seem like such real people, people I might know today.

Of course, I usually put myself in the story as Martha of Bethany, not Mary. I grew up thinking that Mary was the good sister and that as a Martha, I needed to change so that I would be more like Mary. Now I think that there is value in both the meditative spirituality of Mary and the hospitable spirituality of Martha - I can take pride in being a Martha, instead of wishing I were a Mary.

My friend Mary and I laughed last night as we teased each other about being the Mary or Martha - the worshiper or the dishwasher. Each of us has traits that would align us with each of the sisters. The key is balance. Feeding the hungry and weary (and cleaning up the kitchen afterwards!) would be just a job without the foundation of faith that comes with taking time to sit at the feet of the Messiah and soak in the presence of the Divine.

So on that day, I guess Martha complained and maybe Mary felt guilty. I would bet that when all the dishes were washed and put away, and the guests had all gone to sleep, that the sisters mended their relationship. Mary said thanks for all Martha had done during the evening and Martha was grateful that Mary had listened so carefully to Jesus that she could fill Martha in on the latest adventures of the Saviour and the guys who traveled with him.

***Also today, NASA celebrates its 50th anniversary. Founded during the Eisenhower administration, I can't remember a time when NASA didn't exist. My growing up years are punctuated with space events. I wonder what the next 50 years will bring. Will my grandchildren watch as NASA sends a traveler to Mars? With a little luck, they'll get to see someone walk on the moon!

Blog Neglect!

Oh, dear. This poor blog is just crying for some care and feeding! In the time since my last entry I've been enjoying and recovering from the annual St. Anne's Dominican Republic mission trip. It was a fantastic week that deserves more serious blogging than it will get today; stay tuned. I've also been recovering from an nasty bug that lodged in my sinuses and drained to make some icky cough attacks. Happily, the cough is going away and I find that I've been neglecting my self-imposed writing responsibilities!

I have been thinking of my blog in the past couple weeks, though. Here are some recent observations from around town lately:

The crepe myrtles are in full bloom. In shades of pink and purple, they manage to look cool in the late summer heat.

Goldfinches are hitting the purple cone flower seed heads. They whiz around in little streaks of gold and black - such elegance.

I get a chuckle out of cars that go by with the bass playing so loudly that I sometimes think the gas mileage must improve with the depth of pitch but yesterday, I had to laugh out loud when a little car full of veiled Muslim women careened around a corner. The women in the car were bouncing to the beat and carrying on an animated conversation.

A phone call with 18-month-old Hannah the other day was punctuated by a the beeps that come from a toddler pushing buttons. Here's the funny part... when she pushed the buttons, she said, "On!" Oh, natively proficient technological kids!!

The goat cheese I bought at the farmer's market today is outstanding. And the sunflowers I bought look great up at the church.

St. Anne's in the DR!

Hey there! Check out the Dominican Republic trip blog. Sorry to be absent from here. See you soon.