AMAZON

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Little Things

Little things
Like a toy
Can give you
Joy

Little things
Like a germ
Can make you
Squirm

~ written by Sometimes Saintly Nick when in the 4th grade

This past week I have again discovered, as I must have when a 4th grader, that little things generally come to our attention when they make more than a little impact on our lives. For example:

This month my pantry became emptier than it has been in a very long time. There was very little in it, so I was able to see little things I had not noticed


I really enjoy Farina hot cereal, but had not eaten any in years, until a couple of weeks ago when I noticed this box in the back of my almost empty pantry. I have now emptied the box.


If I had money, I would have order a pizza for delivery. With no money, I created this meal from NutriSytem stuff. It satisfied me, but I really would have preferred a real pizza.


Thankfully I obtained my flu shot on Wednesday. Just a little pick that I hardly noticed…until my injected arm be again to ache, along with my joints and my head.



Speaking of those little, microscopic viruses that cause the flu, Kentucky has experienced its 10th H1N1 fatality and more are expected. So I am over-joyed that President Obama has proclaimed the H1N1 pandemic a National Emergency.


It’s just a little wine and a little bread, but partaking of the Eucharist is infinitesimal joy. I am aware that private Communion is frowned upon by most Christian denominations; however, I am alone, not yet healthy enough to worship in community, and I so missed the joy that I officiated the service and consecrated the elements for myself.



Actually, I suppose I was not alone. I really don’t believe that the God I know and serve would object to Alex being on the “table.”



I received the above little postcard on Thursday and, as promised, my cable TV reception disappeared on Friday. So, I followed the 3-step instructions on the back of the postcard and, sure enough, the reception came back… for about 3 minutes.



Six times I have repeated the 3-step instructions on the back of that postcard and six times I have had the same results: reception for about 3 minutes, then just static…lots of noisy static. It appears I must make another telephone call.



The following isn’t a little thing, it very big and hugely important:











14 comments:

  1. Sure hope things get better for you, Nick!

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  2. Loved that Alex was on the table with the bread & wine. Hope he is feeling better these days.

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  3. I enjoyed the poem by the 4th grade Nick. Very cleaver!

    I have a communion story to share with you. It might be a bit long to put here, so I'm going to email it to you. Bottom line, IMO you do what you must, and put it in God's hands. Big hands; He can deal with it.

    :)

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  4. It sounds like you are being creative and making the best of what's available to you.

    Good luck with your phone call. I think you're on a roll!

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  5. Jan: Thanks. Things really ain't too bad, but I wish the techno-tyrants would stop messin' with my stuff and my life! All of the "improvements" I've encountered today, from cable TV to Facebook, seem to somehow cost me time and energy to fix. Jeeze!

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  6. Bette: Alex really has the run of this house and everything in it, including tables, desk, etc. He showed little interest in the Cup but did sniff the Plate well. Silly cat!

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  7. Lynilu: Thank you. I wrote a lot of poetry when I was in the 4th grade. My 4th grade teacher published a book containing her student's poems, so she was encouraging us to write, write, and write more.

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  8. Carol: I hope I'm on a (positive) roll. Today I seem to have encountered more technological problems than I have solutions.

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  9. Now that's a cute little poem, Nick and I believe is clever for a 4th grader.

    Little things can bring more joy than big things, I think. Just little acts of thoughtfulness and love.

    As for taking private communion...why not? It's between you and God not anyone else. At least you take communion...I've lost my faith in the church...not God...don't get me wrong. It's the politics that go on in church at times. Again, not all churches are like that...but I feel that our concept of religion, in some cases, is not what God meant at all.

    Right, that's my rant for today. I hope your health is improving...and keep away from pigs. I had the usual flu vac as I always do but didn't worry about the H1N1 vac...just took some sensible precautions.

    Take care, Nick.

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  10. I'm sure your God would be happy that you took the Eucharist Nick and that Alex was there to witness it. :)

    Hope you get your TV sorted out and your pantry filled. x

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  11. Puss-in-Boots: Thank you. I wrote a lot of poems when I was in the 4th grade. My teacher, Mrs. Cope, encouraged us to write poetry, then collected them, and published a book of her students poems. We poets received no royalties for our poems, but Mrs. C. did give each of us a copy of her book. As I remember, I had 22 poems in it.

    That's what I love of about the United Church of Christ: very little denominational dogma. However, since the polity of the UCC is congregational, different congregations run from little or no dogma to oppressive dogma. I would never pastor one of the latter congregations!

    My health is improving. I have outlasted the side effects of the flu shot and, as I wrote on FaceBook earlier today, at the moment I feel quite frisky!

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  12. I guess I should have checked with you first, but I quoted your post title from the other day. It fits my count down the Blog Blast day with peace quotes.

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  13. Akelamal: Thanks. Alex did sniff the wafer, but decided it wasn't a kitty cat treat, so he ignored it. He showed absolutely no interest in the wine.

    I'll know about my TV in about 10 minutes. I telephoned Insight and was provided with more elaborate instructions for resetting the box. I'm to allow the procedure 30 minutes to work. If that doesn't make a connection, I'm to call them back and they'll send a repair-person to get it operating.

    I really do want to watch pro football today. However, if I have no TV connection, then I plan to take my guitar out on the porch and serenade the folks (especially da womens) who walk their dogs up and down the sidewalk.

    Alex is already out on the porch harassing the woofie dogs as they walk by. I have the front door open for him, just in case a woofie dog takes exception to Alex's teasing and the furball needs to scat back inside our house.

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  14. Travis: You never need my permission to quote or use anything I say or create. I appreciate you quoting me!

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