Small Wonders Archives - Page 2 of 6

The Wall (Soundings: 1st impression)

The Wall. This year, as the holidays approach, we may find ourselves on a collision course with the seemingly insurmountable.

Rather than writing a post, here is a small heartfelt anodyne — from our house to yours — the first of several Soundings I’ll send you over the holiday months. Dreamer and I hope you’ll share these with those you know who might enjoy them. In a time of walls, relational disconnects, and lockdown, hope, too, may prove contagious.

Today you’ll hear “God of the Living,” a powerful blessing written by artist/writer/speaker Jan Richardson, followed by a song Dreamer wrote—both pieces gratefully voiced by yours truly.

GOD OF THE LIVING

When the wall
between the worlds
is too firm,
too close.

When it seems
all solidity
and sharp edges.

When every morning
you wake as if
flattened against it,
its forbidding presence
fairly pressing the breath
from you
all over again.

Then may you be given
a glimpse
of how weak the wall
and how strong what stirs
on the other side,

breathing with you
and blessing you
still,
forever bound to you
but freeing you
into this living,
into this world
so much wider
than you ever knew.

THE EYES OF ALL (based on Ps. 145:15-16, 18-19)

The eyes of all wait upon you and the reason—
oh, my Lord, you give them their meat in due season.
You open your hand, and every man is made full.

The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him.
He hears their cry and he draws nigh to save.

“God of the Living” by Jan Richardson, from Sparrow: A Book of Life and Death and Life, Wanton Gospeller Press, 2020. Used by permission.

“The Eyes of All” by Bill Klein, Sounding Chord, House of Mercy Music, 1984. Used by permission.

“Stay Safe” photo by Feranmi Ogundeko on Unsplash

Brick wall photo by Shashank Hudkar on Unsplash

Sonata in Stone

by Laurie Klein 23 Chiming In

Sonata in Stone, underfoot: behold a few visual echoes from nature, seemingly composed in the key of longing. These rhythmic patterns captured me, years ago, while walking California’s Jamala Beach.

They could be dancing musical staves—minus the clefs and rests and notes.

Moiré-like in pattern, they could be petrified silk.

Or stony scrolls for the heads of cellos.

Why a sonata in stone?

The word sonata (from Latin and Italian: sonare, “to sound”) denotes an instrumental composition comprising:

three or four movements
contrasting forms and keys
optional introduction and/or coda, or tailpiece

A sonata da chiesa (Italian: chiesa, “church”) was traditionally composed for worship settings. Music played for the glory of God. Without words.

In these troubled days so many conflicting words commandeer the air waves—despairing, mocking, promising, militant.

What about a time out? Let’s identify whimsy. Virtue. Everyday largesse.

I invite you to absorb the implied music in the photos below.

What do you perceive between the lines? How might God expand your perception? What prayer might you offer that we could pray alongside you?

I see the floating hems of an oil slick . . . May we cherish and guard our local bodies of water, Amen.

sonata in stone, the colors of oil slicks

I see organic brain scans for dementia . . . May grace companion our loved ones who suffer, Amen.

I see a Topo contour map . . . May we aid a loved one or stranger braving the ups and downs of this day, Amen.

Despite all that divides us, much remains that we can agree on.

Will you gift us with an observation and petition or blessing in the comments below?

Hai*Pho — No, it’s not a new entree . . .

by Laurie Klein 24 Chiming In

What on earth is Hai*pho? A fleeting, luminescent marriage: poem and image. Pho-to + Hai-ku.

“So much depends on the light, and the way you squint.” (Margaret Atwood’s astute observation.)

Welcome, friends, to my growing, mid-pandemic gallery. Here’s my first arranged engagement.

MARCH

Snowstorm on the way.
Hope takes a morning ramble
among buttercups.

Matchmaking with lens and keyboard prompts my imagination during our current lockdown. It propels me outside, clad in battery-heated sweatshirt (thank you, Dreamer!) and polka-dot mud boots.

And one blustery day . . . snow boots.

FIRST ROBIN

Cheerio, chirr-up . . .
Icy lacework of twigs and snow—
how the world rallies.

During these surreal times, it’s stimulating to focus on the diminutive Japanese art form. Haiku is nature-based, 3-lines, 17-syllables, arranged thus: 5, then 7, then 5.

It’s terse. Evanescent. Hopefully, memory inducing. And thought provoking.

LIKE US

A pond, locked in ice,
dreams of open water. Oh,
how we need the sun!

Hai*pho aims to grasp the come-hither hem of beauty and truth. Mercurial moods and possible meanings simmer beneath everyday surfaces that surround us.

Break the word down and voila! — a cultural marriage. Hai is Japanese, for “hello” and “yes.” Pho is Vietnamese for “soup.”

Hello . . . soup. O YES!

The pond shot above does have a soupy look. Perhaps hai*pho IS an entree. A little something to nourish hope . . .

EQUINOX

He summons the night
to dance with the dawn: shadows
elbowing sunlight.

How merciful that our hopes and prayers for healing across the wide world coincide with the equinox, emblematic of balance, and Spring, and Lent . . . everything quietly pointing toward Easter.

NEST EGGS

Shells. The fearful crack.
The soft, extended wing. Then . . .
beaks. Songs. All-new songs!

What creative endeavors are keeping you lively during the pandemic? I hope you’ll share in the comments. Who knows what you might spark in the mind and life of another?

“I will show them my wonders.”

—Micah 7:15

Going Deeper: And Everything Eddying into Light

by Laurie Klein 36 Chiming In

Floor-to-ceiling windows frame acres of light.

The walls showcase B&W close-ups of architectural details: poems in stone. The photographer with the impeccable eye will also perform my root canal.

Scared and fretful yesterday, I memorized part of an old prayer. It’s still with me now, as I leaf through a glossy magazine, where posh Londoners show off their new home. One bathroom features a pschedelic paisley-on-steroids toilet. As you’ll know from previous posts, I’m acutely attuned to plumbing. I show Dreamer, then the receptionist, and we all laugh.

I turn the page. “Oh look. They also installed a personal pole dance room.”

More laughter.

Comic relief helps. A friend died under general anesthesia, a freak allergic reaction. I try to imagine her larking about heaven.

When the Anesthetist arrives, he’s witty, direct, and unhurried. A man I can trust. I tell him about my friend.

“I’ll watch over you,” he says.

Down comes the mask:

claustrophobia
soupy air
aroma of magic markers

“Hold my hand,” he says. “Squeeze as hard as you want.”

I summon the prayer, but it fragments: From this little room and this short hour . . .

“You’re doing great, Laurie.”

. . . I can lift up my mind beyond all time and space . . .

“You haven’t squeezed once.”

. . . unto Thee, the uncreated One . . .

“Just float.”

The mind shrugs. A bodily sigh. All is serene, surreal. Hypnotic. I’m a kite, riding a chemical thermal.

. . . until the light of Thy countenance illumines all my life.

Beneath the crown and dentin my diseased molar holds four canals, each one different. For over two hours Dr. T. wields drill and file. He rasps and reshapes, routing out wider routes, clear to the roots.

Then the bleaching. The final sealing. Like every painstaking work of God: artful, thorough, radically cleansing.

Another severe mercy.

I awake in a different room, brimming with light, still feeling held; tooth saved, the deep work done.

From this little room
and this short hour
I can lift up my mind
beyond all time and space
to Thee, the uncreated One,
until the light of Thy countenance
illumines all my life.

—John Baillie

Tell me your favorite thought or prayer for difficult times.

Photo by Daniel Frank on Unsplash

Change: Brought to You Today by the Letter “R”

by Laurie Klein 50 Chiming In

Two vases, cast off
by their owners,
stand side by side
in my greenhouse window.

My Jack Sprat-and-wife of the pottery world.

Both came from yard sales, several years apart, and I enjoy them every day. But this morning … I see them a-fresh.

Last year, you could say my life resembled the tall vase: shapely and capacious, with an easy, upward outlook. Familiar, much-loved dimensions.

Then I got scary sick.

Talk about crushing. It was like being squashed into the squat, bulbous vase: squeezed, compressed, diminished. My personal soundtrack underwent change, too, from carefree humming to yelps, groans, the occasional whimper.

In the words of Jeremiah the prophet, I was being emptied from vessel to vessel.

Without my permission.

“The people of Moab,” Jeremiah said, “are like wine left to settle; they have never been emptied from one jar to another.”

Dregs are so repulsive.

And no one wants to be forced into shape-shifting change. So we pray, rebel, scout silver linings. We whine, rage, then pray some more.

Panicky at being out of control, we pursue compulsions. (Why yes, I did solve 31 jigsaw puzzles and 413 crosswords.)

Sometimes we make lists: Things I Can Still Do.

We binge. Then pay. Grieve. Pray harder.

And all the while, friends—like you!—keep showing up. You pray, send cards, emails, puzzles, and gifts. You prepare healing foods and assist with errands.

The goodness of God shown through loving, practical grace has kept me hopeful, tensile. Malleable.

Little by little, I’ve found peace in the awkward new shape of my days.

“Through love all pain will turn to medicine” (Rumi).

Friends, after five long months my new favorite word begins with the letter “R.” I am officially in Remission. End. Of. Siege. No more Abominable Abdominal C. diff!

Now begins the slow, stretching efforts of trial-and-error diet, to heal the interior damage.

Perhaps I need a third vase.

Have you been disrupted, too? Emptied from vessel to vessel?

I would love to pray for you.

You might also like Kissing — Actual, Metaphorical — Changes All

Thank you to Cris DiNoto for Railroad Crossing photo (on Unsplash)