Has Common Sense Departed Permanently?

In my little corner of the world, there was an Amber Alert issued last evening for a one month old child who had been abducted. The baby has yet to be located as I write this nearly 24 hours after the Amber Alert was first issued, and I pray he's all right. All that's known to the general public is that the baby was Hispanic, his kidnapper African American, & that the infant's mother was foolish enough to leave the baby unattended...in her RUNNING vehicle in the parking lot of the local Post Office!

Am I missing something here? Has this become an acceptable child rearing practice since my youngest was born? (Of course, I know darn well that it certainly has NOT!)

What sort of mental deficiency must one be suffering from to think it's acceptable to leave an infant ALONE in a RUNNING car while they go in to conduct whatever business they have? Granted, the person who snatched the baby is very much in the wrong here; she should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law when she is caught (and heaven help her if that child isn't OK when she is!). But there are also laws against child endangerment in our state, which the baby's mother has grievously violated simply by leaving that infant in (I emphasize again) a RUNNING motor vehicle ALONE! It's a wonder to me that the car was still there when she came back out of the Post Office after who knows how long!

The older I get, the more convinced I become that some people should apply for licenses to breed and raise children--because of cases such as this one! I just pray that child is found safe & sound & is placed with sensible, loving parents, because God knows his own mother sure doesn't seem to be that.

Pondering Motherhood Figures

Victor Shepherd writes of Dame Julian of Norwich, "Julian never hesitated to speak of Jesus Christ as "our mother." In this, however, she was not supporting the current feminisation of God. She knew that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- eternally, and that this God dwells in Jesus of Nazareth. (Col. 2:9) In speaking of Christ as "our mother," Julian was merely likening the work of Christ to that of a mother. He gives birth to those who are "born again." Like a mother, He suffers for them before, during and after "delivery." He must patiently nourish, safeguard and instruct those who are born of him. In none, of this, however, was Julian anticipating the contemporary argument that God is "she.""

I must admit it's been some time since I thought of Dame Julian (1342-1416). The last time was probably while I was still living within an hour of Norwich while we were stationed abroad more than two decades ago. (I've never been able to find Carrow--it may be one of those villages that died out as a result of the Black Death or some other pestilence since that time.) She certainly has her wisdom to offer, which is all about God's mercy, fitting nicely into my blog. What I need is to pray on her profound realization of how mother-like Jesus is in his mercy...and to ask Him to rain it down on myself as I strive to resolve a minor health issue & on a family member who has suffered a miscarriage.

"The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month..."

May I express my heartfelt gratitude to every veteran I know (most especially hubby & dad!) for their service to the country. I'm not sure any of my ancestors fought for the USA in WWI (the birth of today's holiday, born as "Armistice Day," hence today's blog title). However, I know I have at least one ancestor who helped win our independence. I also have five great uncles who served in the European theater during WWII. My husband's late stepfather served in the Navy during the Vietnam era, my father was on active duty in the Army immediately post-Korea, & my better half served in the Air Force just as the Cold War was ending & the Berlin Wall was falling.

Thanks to all the veterans & current military members for all your sacrifices made on behalf of the rest of the citizenry!

Personal Mission Statements

I received an e-mail once from a colleague noting that when God takes something from your grasp, He’s not punishing you; he’s merely opening your hands to receive something better. Try as I might, I had a difficult time accepting this concept at first. It’s hard to believe that God ever says “No” to our prayers, though if you think about it, He must do so at times! (Can you imagine getting EVERYTHING you’ve ever prayed for your entire life? Just by the time you’re 20 you’d have an accumulation of baggage that’d desperately need purging for the sake of your own mental health!)

Once upon a long time ago, when I was but a naïve girl, I had notions of becoming a wife and mother, which of course I now have been for more than twenty years. But in my fertile, active imagination, I saw myself wed to an individual I’m still familiar with, though not particularly close to. As the years have waxed and waned, I’m often reminded that allowing God to guide my footsteps has had tremendous rewards in this area as well as any other. This past Sunday the sermon caught me by the throat and shook me into realizing just HOW God had “opened my hands to receive something better!”

Thank you Lord for the gifts of my spouse and our children; gifts that, had you answered my unspoken pleas nearly thirty years ago, I wouldn’t have today. When it comes to my life’s mission statement (explored in our reading of Whitney Kuniholm’s The Essential Jesus), I think the guiding passage in my life (and hubby’s as well) would have to be Mark 10:13-16.

“And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and

His disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.” (KJV)