Today is my birthday. For the curious: I am 72 going on 59. Have been through many deep valleys in my time and weathered many storms, even perfect ones like the one at the church that didn’t really want us. Nicks and scratches, bruises and bumps—these are the marks of having risked comfort many times over in order to live an authentic life. I did not acquire this character on my own and it doesn’t come without some anxiety and fear, but it appears to be part of my DNA. I hope I am learning how to carry it more faithfully…more trustfully.
I am a late bloomer in many ways. The first 40 years were preparatory, the following 20 years were rehearsal for the next 10, and those were the refinement for the current now, when the God in me and the me in God enjoy sharing tea together from time to time. I am grateful for this and all the blessings God gives to me. This year I lost an important person—one who called me Mamacita and sometimes, Kimosabe, and made us a family. It was a hard loss. Then God brought a new family to me, complete with two beautiful grandchildren. I did not think I would ever be a grandmother, even a step-grandmother. I didn’t know how much sunshine little kids can bring to a life full of years. Last Sunday my new family came to church with me and then to lunch. The girls made birthday cards for me and we had a lovely time together.
This one is Miss Green’s card. Miss Green has recently turned 9. Both cards fold in the middle and have little cut-out hinges so they can “stand” on a table (more or less). Clever Miss Green has included a greeting in Japanese and says that she does not know the greeting in Korean but wishes me a happy birthday…and she likes my drawing. 
Good girl!
Miss Pink’s birthday card (note the coins taped on and the kitty face inside) Miss Pink will turn 6 the day after Thanksgiving. Miss Pink is an ardent admirer of both my art and my cats. Ah, right to my heart. I like your art too…but prefer my cats as they also prefer me.
These are happy little projects made especially for me. I’m thrilled to have them. Thank you girls. I love you both!!
Thank you readers—for your interest in my writing, experiences, thoughts, opinions….and the art I sometimes add in. Thank you for being there in the forest to hear the tree falling. It does make a sound after all. For many years I didn’t know this.
I have not made many postings lately because I’ve been busy with visual/worship art projects for my little church at the edge of the city. But soon this will be complete and I will have writing time again. I have so much catching up to do both on this blog and on my Drawing Sacred Circles blog. Stay tuned.
But in the meantime, this is me greeting you today. 
state by state
Tags: Death Penalty, Decisions, Truth
It took 11 years, but Illinois has finally abolished the death penalty. This is not happening in Alabama, where Glenn of the Red Velvet Cake and the Flower in the Bulb is facing his execution date of March 31, but it is an important step forward for the country as a whole. I wish this step could include Glenn…I wish all of humankind could step away from the faulty premise that an eye for an eye is a restorative measure of justice. Our justice system is far from perfect…far from the taint of revenge and the power-grab. Mistakes are made. Judges and juries are fallible. Evidence can be twisted and turned. Innocent people are put to death and that in itself is murder. (I downloaded a fact sheet from the Death Penalty Information Center. Take a look and see for yourself.)
It’s time we, as a so-called civilized society, come to terms with our investment in this practice. It is draconian, violent and irreversible. The penalty of death appears to have little effect on the incidence of violent crimes. Our prisons are overflowing. They are warehouses and hotbeds for increase in crime, not decrease. How do we reconcile ourselves with the innocent victims of this practice…those wrongfully accused? Execution is irreversible. Execution is not at all what the God, Jesus so loved, would do. We may not all be able to forgive as beautifully as the Amish did after the school shootings in 2006, but we can take a look at our own investment in our judicial system, both individually and collectively.
When a loved one is murdered or otherwise horrifically abused, one’s hurt runs deeper than words can say. If the perpetrator is put to death as a penalty, does the memory of pain and loss disappear? My own experience is that it does not. Living by the revenge principle hardens my heart and locks in the pain.
Yesterday began the Christian Lenten season: ashes to ashes and dust to dust…remember that we are dust and to dust we shall return. The message of Lent is repentance. This word is a translation of the Greek word, metanoia. It means turning around, doing it differently…seeking forgiveness. How meaningful it is that the governor of the State of Illinois signed this legislation into effect on Ash Wednesday! I’d like to think that there is hope for the world. Who knows…in time, maybe we’ll even understand that war, far from solving problems, creates them. It could happen—someday.