Sunday, January 20, 2008

Sweeping...

Yay, I found my dust pan and whisk broom - in the hall closet where, technically, they should always be kept when not in use. However, they've been set in a corner of the kitchen, instead for so many many months that the closet was not the first place, nor the last, I must confess, I thought to look. I actually looked in the closet to check the size of the air filter in my A/C unit so I could by a new one next time I buy groceries. And there it was.

But all the dust and dog hair have been duly swept. I even went to The Home Depot and bought air purifiers to help decrease the dust
(99% of it anyway) and other stuff in the air. It's even supposed to remove odors--one of the other primary reasons I decided to finally break down and buy some. I bought three: one for the living room, one for my son's newly repainted/remodeled room, and one for my own room. The other rooms will get one once they've also been upgraded. We'll see how well they work at keeping the dust down. They seem to work well at deodorizing the air, though. After being out the rooms for awhile and then going back into them, especially the living room, it does smell better...

My other stressful activity is now a thing of the past. My knot is still making its present felt, so no telling what's causing it now.

The wedding was lovely. I actually cried during the ceremony, and I wasn't expecting that. I didn't cry because I am especially close to the bride or the groom, my sister-in-law and new brother-in-law they may be. But because I was lamenting the fact that though the wedding was held in a lovely church (the groom's family/childhood church), and the reverend (pastor??, priest??) actually spoke about God being the third cord in the tri-fold cord that a marriage should be, but because I questioned the... what's the right word...? The deepness, the true-ness of the bride and grooms, and in fact, most of the guest's, walk with God. My perception is that people like to get married in churches whether or not they even know God. And when they hear a preacher speak of including God in a marriage, they all nod, and say 'oh, yes, God should be there' . But they leave the church go to the reception and drink buckets of alcohol, get terribly drunk, and never give God another thought. Until the next wedding or funeral they attend.

I know this is not true of every wedding guest. It is just my perception/opinion of society at large.

You want to know about me, huh?

I sat in the church (prior to the ceremony, we were there fairly early) and marveled at the beauty of the sanctuary. I read the literature in the the holder stuck to the back of the pew in front of me, and wondered about the fact that they have women reverends at their church (my church does not believe in the leadership of women over men), and what they teach about tithing.

I reminded myself that as long as they teach that Jesus in the one and only way to heaven, then everything else is really just a difference of opinion/interpretation of Scripture.

When we got to the reception, I griped to my other sister-in-law about how there didn't seem to be enough seating, yada, yada, yada... but we were finally told one of the reserved tables was actually for my husband's immediate family (including us, of course). My bad...

I watched many, many people drink, whether the beer & wine served, or harder stuff from the hotel bar downstairs. In fact, the groom's father was so drunk by the time the bride and groom left, he had to have a person on each side of him to make sure he got where he needed to go.

I didn't drink, though my husband had three beers, partially because he was fighting a severe headache and no one had pain reliever. Occasionally, I do drink a drink or two.

We got home at one am, much to my annoyance, because despite his headache, my husband insisted we stay until the bride and groom left. But I got up this morning and made it to church on time. Early, in fact.

I think about God everyday. Some days I'm more diligent about my walk than others. But God is present in my life and in my thoughts everyday. I think about Him, and me, and what He wants from me. Of where I fall short. Of His grace and mercy that allows me come before His throne each day. And of His blessings, which I have not earned, and could never deserve.


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