Ineffable in Everyday Ramblings

This is a statue of our former mayor Vera Katz who died recently. Someone very appropriately put a pink hat on her this morning.

Our version of the Women’s March 2018 was canceled and while there are four smaller events today and tomorrow there won’t be anything locally with the power of last year’s march.

I can only hope that the combination of women running for elected office and the revelations and behavior changes occurring because of the #metoo movement will carry on the wonderful energy released a year ago.

Viola Davis’s speech today seems to indicate that I am not alone in this hope. Gosh is she beautiful in her strength and anger.

So Mrs. Sherlock and Frida and me had our own mini Women’s March today.

She had her training this week at the day shelter for homeless families that we have in our church. It is connected to two other shelters, both that allow families to sleep over. She said there was a big group of volunteers and one of the things that surprised her was that how many of them are young.

The shelter provides food, of course and warmth and safe human contact as well as access to a variety of services and lots of donations of clothes and diapers and a path to independent living but it is not a babysitting service, there are rules and expectations.

We talked about how she is looking forward to listening to stories and the humanization of the individuals for whatever reason have found themselves in this most dire of circumstances.

In the meantime she also bought a coffee for the guy stretched out on the bench in front of the Starbucks we were having hot drinks at after our walk.

It is right across the street from the downtown headquarters of the police and today there must have been some training going on because there were quite a few sheriffs, military types and regular police officers in with us.

As we were leaving I took Frida out front (earlier we had smuggled her into the warmth around the side and she is a well trained dog so wasn’t a bother) and Mrs. Sherlock stopped to talk to a group of officers on the way out about their take on the explosion of people living rough here.

They each had a different response but basically they said that while there are laws on the books that the city itself is of the mind to be kind, that we all have to work together to make things better.

Squeaky wheels and all that.

I did read her my post here about her views on grace and your responses and questions about her definition of grace. She says it is helpful and that she needs to think it through more but that both Grace and God are things that it is quite challenging to define.

We both feel that grace is most likely ineffable but that we know it when we see it. And that often it is apparent in those who live a little closer to the bone in terms of comfort than ourselves or those we surround ourselves with.

We also talked about the relationship of forgiveness and grace. I was sharing the story of the man who I heard interviewed this week that was a leader in the skinhead movement Frank Meeink that went on to write a memoir and lecture to anti-hate groups.

About what pivotal role forgiveness has played in his life and how maybe forgiveness can be the thing that opens the door to grace.

And speaking of grace…after 26 months I have gotten through all my dental surgeries and much as I appreciate and like my Periodontist I don’t have to see him again for what I hope is a very very long time!!!

I am a little sore today but he was so happy with the healing I didn’t need additional bone grafting and I don’t have stitches!

To celebrate I came home and ate a pint of this chocolate cashew frozen dessert and took a bath and went to bed. I have to eat soft food for a little while but then everything left to do is regular dental stuff. You know, molds and a crown and regular cleanings.

It is over over over and I am ever so happy.

Now, if I could just harness some of that energy and tackle a few of the things I am procrastinating on I’ll be rolling out of winter into spring personally giddy with relief.

Last updated January 20, 2018