• May. 12, 2008
I'm Invisible
I meant to post this for Mother's Day. It is an excerpt from Nichole Johnson's book "The Invisible Woman: When Only God Sees."
"I'M INVISIBLE "
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?"
Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Pick me up right around 5:30, please."
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude – but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going ... she's going ... she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well.
It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."
In the days ahead I would read – no, devour – the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
§ No one can say who built the great cathedrals – we have no record of their names.
§ These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
§ They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
§ The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it."
And the workman replied, "Because God sees."
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand-bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table."
That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. If we're doing it right, we cannot be seen. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women."
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• May. 11, 2008
Meet "Thumper"
Yesterday the long awaited bunny arrived at our house. dd has been saving her allowance money for weeks now in order to buy one. Prior to this purchase everyone was busy building the rabbit hutch and buying supplies.
So without further ado....meet "Thumper!"
We are thankful that he has been a very relaxed bunny and just loves to be held. He's also felt very comfortable on the blanket spread out in the living room...nice little poop trail to mark his territory. LOL
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• May. 5, 2008
Viva Las Vegas!
Just got home this evening for a quick trip to Las Vegas. dh was heading there for a tradeshow (starts tomorrow) and he surprised me on Saturday morning with the news that I was flying there with him on Sunday morning and returning home Monday evening. He'd made arrangements for the kids to be at grandma's, for my Sunday School class and friends to take care of all the animals while I was gone. He was going to be staying at a timeshare with our friend John from Arizona and I learned that his wife was driving there with him and would also be flying home today. We hadn't met her so that was nice.
We spent from 1-10:30 walking the strip with about a 90 minute break in there for dinner. We were all exhausted and our feet and hips were killing us. We're not as young as we used to be!
We enjoyed this tropical rainforest area so much. Very peaceful.
New York City! A lot quicker sight seeing trip than the one we took years ago.
The musical fountain show at the Mirage. They played "God Bless the USA."
Gay ol' Paris and the Eiffel Tower. Beautiful.
One of many gorgeous real flower displays in the Ballagio Conservatory. Amazingly beautiful.
So a fun getaway although...... we still don't understand why anyone can say this is a family vacation place. To us it just made us think of what Sodom and Gomorrah must have been like. Satan's playground. There were several things I wanted to photograph to show the kids but I couldn't make myself take the picture because of the billboards or things that would appear. Before I went to sleep last night I just laid there and prayed for the children that I saw throughout the day that were being exposed to all this stuff and for the parents who did not see anything wrong with exposing them. I prayed that somehow the Holy Spirit would find a way to work in that city.
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• May. 2, 2008
School Photos & Reptiles
Today we had school photos taken at Friday School. It is always fun to see all the kids in one place as you just forget how many people are involved in our weekly group.
After the group photo was accomplished we broke for lunch and then enjoyed a presentation by "The Reptile Guy." He is only 19 years old but has actually been on television shows such as The Tonight Show. This was a great supplement to go with the Wildlife Refuge class that the K-6 graders have been participating in this semester.
Overall, a fun day at Friday School!
