Thursday Travels – Small Town America

Thursday Travels – Fall Water

Piece by Piece

This year’s Halloween costume combines many of the things I love. My go-to costume for years was my 14th century cothardie from my medieval days. I missed a few years for my kids, but I have been dressing up in recent years even though I stay home to hand out the candy instead of walking around with the kids. I had considered dressing up as Ellen Harvelle from Supernatural or Charlie Bradbury, also from Supernatural, but in the end opted for The Walking Dead’s Maggie Greene.

I was a bit put off from Maggie because of my body type and it being so different from hers. However, one day a couple of weeks ago, I was getting dressed and was kind of astounded at how much my fall wardrobe resembled her post-apocalyptic couture.

It’s nice, or extremely disconcerting that my everyday wardrobe is apocalypse appropriate.

Layers are the key in any kind of end of the world fashion scenario. Should I wear a jacket? Or an extra long sleeved shirt? This overshirt can be removed and tied around my waist, especially during those sultry Georgia summers.

An End to Fall

Theresa’s Rosary

The Living Rosary

On Tuesday night, my church held a Living Rosary. There is music with our organ and the choir. There is a candlelit procession of all the beads on the rosary. There are prayers, and the benediction of the adoration that’s been in the church all day. It is a wonderful, faith filled, and beautiful tribute to Our Mother, Mary.

There is so much beauty in candles being carried into a dark church. The organ playing, the choir and congregation singing. And then the rosary being spoken as I pray on my own beads.

The Glorious Mysteries were read and prayed on:

1. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
2. The Ascension of Jesus to Heaven
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
4. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven
5. The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth

There is so much to admire about Mary. Her acceptance of G-d’s will, her bravery and determination to walk on a path that was so foreign to her and to the times in Ancient Israel. Often people look at her as a background figure. The Bible is filled with Jesus’s deeds and Words, but not so much of Mary’s. That’s fine, but we forget that his public ministry began when he was thirty. Prior to that, he was just a boy; a little Jewish boy growing up and doing the things a boy at that time and in that place would do.

He’d have friends. He’d play with them. He’d learn carpentry from Joseph, his father. He’d learn to worship and pray. He must have had chores. Did he make his bed or tend the sheep? How often did Mary have to remind him to wash his hands or shake the dust from his sandals. Did he have to prepare the table for eating or did he help with cooking. Or lighting the fire?

In the so many ways that He was different from us, he was also the same.

After the candlelit rosary, Father J talked about Mary. He began by mentioning Pope Francis’ devotion to Mary and how it began in Germany when he was a student. I began to smile. I couldn’t help it because I knew this story. This is my favorite devotion to Mary. Pope Francis grew attached to a stained glass and a painting in his church. Before I knew of his devotion, I had already formed my own to Mary, Untier (or Undoer) of Knots. I carry that particular prayer card in my purse daily, which I showed the father after the service.

Mary, Untier of Knots speaks to me on so many levels. I do especially think of her when in the very tangible job of untangling my daughter’s necklaces, but also in the broader spirit of fixing things.

Everything can be fixed if we try at it long enough. We can pray on it; we can think on it; we can ponder and ask questions and sleep on it. We all have knots in our lives. How will we pay that bill? My son is sick, what can I do? I had a fight with my spouse or my child; or my parent.

The knots of our everyday need untying, and Mary can help us with that through her intercession.

Anything that can be done, can be undone.

There is nothing that can’t be forgiven.

A Barrel of Joy

I had a ten minute conversation on where I wanted to eat lunch, most of that with myself. I finally decided on Cracker Barrel. Good food, reasonable prices, good atmosphere for writing. I have my rituals for pretty much every place I go. Cracker Barrel is a glance around the store and a trip to the bathroom before I get settled in my seat with whatever I’ve brought to do. Today it was my kindle and keyboard.

Applepicking

Birthday Cheesecake

My son’s birthday was yesterday. He is my only child that gets a homemade birthday cake. One year he wanted pumpkin brownies for school, which weren’t too bad, but one year he asked for a cheesecake for his birthday cake.

Now, every year I offer and he accepts, and it’s his favorite. This was the first year with chocolate chips.

Yum.

First Day of School

I titled this week’s theme, Artistry and Spirituality. I’m a little behind on my posting (and writing) because of yesterday’s Rosh Hashanah holiday. I have a few posts planned for this week that include aspects of either or both. The combination of artistry and spirituality really appealed to me. I was lucky enough to be able to attend two drawing retreats. The mix of prayer and coloring and unusual perspective drew me out and stayed with me. I’ve always photographed odd angles, through windows, under tables, tops, bottoms, half of this or that.

When I was putting my kids first day of school pictures up on Facebook, I found these that I also took that morning while we waited for the bus, and I liked them better finding them than taking them.