When the Sheep are Loving, Little Lambs are Made

The lectionary text this week was from John 13, starting with the 31st verse.

When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32If God has been glorified in him,* God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” 34I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’

A beautiful passage. The only NEW commandment that Jesus gives us. I carefully prepared my sermon; thought about "And they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love..."; was amused by the title of this posting (When the Sheep are Loving, Little Lambs are Made); researched illustrations and so forth.

What really hit me in the head this week, however, was the events of Monday Past. You see, I "sit in chairs" while my homeschool kids are doing the homeschool Orchestra thing. It's a Christian organization, but not militantly so. No statement of faith; just gentle reminders. I have a certain comfort level in this group; most are Lutherans or Methodists; we understand each other. I have a number of good friends in this mommy group and it's a group where I don't have to be the pastor all the time.

Monday Past, I was typing on this very laptop, doing some statistical research (yes, I do it for the fun of it) and paying attention to the group conversation with about half my brain. Most of the mommies (and a daddy) were arranging a backboard to be used at teh Homeschool conference that weekend. I love putting together things like that, but there seemed to be plenty of people to help and spread opinion around -- they didn't need my opinion. But my ears perked up when the conversation turned to "Baptist are different than Presbyterians because ...." My ears perked up because I have a seminary degree in "Know It All." I just HAD to make sure they had their facts straight.

What I didn't know -- that the daddy present was a minister in the Lutheran Confessing Movement. I later discovered that they make the Missouri Synod and Wisconsin Synod look moderate. I later discovered that their church does not allow women to hold ANY position in their church, nor do they allow the women to vote.

So I pull out my "Know It All" (a position that I'm sorta comfortable with, after all, I am paid to be a theologian in my congregation) and I begin to enter into the conversation. Somehow the conversation turned to my call (an innocent question from a bystander) and IT BEGAN. I started my testimony of how God called me and Rev. Conservative Lutheran started to interrupt; and I began to block and feint. Now, I'm not going to put it all on him. After the first few volleys, I was a willing participant in the battle. I put on my Theological Tank and began to lob handgrenades and shoot mortar shells. He hit me with 1 Cor 14 -- I parried with Galatians. He hit me with the Timothy Verses, I shot back the Rich Young Ruler. (I actually thought I got a good hit -- I argued that the Corinthian verse and Timothy verses were to specific congregations with specific questions; he claimed that the verses were inspired; then hit him with the Rich Young Ruler and asked it he had give away all his possessions and given the money to the poor; he said that it was a specific response by Jesus to a specific individual; I asked how could he used that argument here but not there? He could not come up with a reasonable response. SCORE!)

What I didn't notice until later is that my friends that I had built relationships with over the last year had trickled out, one by one, until only one was left. She asked to be excused and left after 10 or 15 minutes of this -- and I realized there were no winners to this argument; only losers. I had lost my loving Christian witness to so many of my friends. I wasn't loving people into the kingdom; I was more concerned with winning. At that point, I finished my business in the room, shut my laptop and left. I found myself crying in the parking lot, not out of shame or fear or anything but a horrible gnawing sadness that people who call themselves Christian were not known by their love that day, but by the labels they put on their hand grenades. I had instigated or participated in a Theological Tank Battle in a residential part of town and there was collateral damage. Little Lambs were not Made; but slain.

"Daily I crucify Christ and Daily He rises again." I don't know exactly where this quote comes from, but it is so very true. Daily. I confessed my sin; I know that I am forgiven but I am going to learn from this. There are battles worth fighting and battles that are not. I was not going to change Rev. Conservative Lutheran's mind; he was not going to change mine.

This week, I am going to concentration on Loving the Sheep. How about you?

Coke, Rural Boredom and Drugs

I'm reading again "Secret Formula: How Brilliant Marketing and Relentless Salesmanship Made Coca-Cola the Best-Known Product in the World" by Fredrick Allen. I've skimmed it before, but have picked it up again, now that I've graduated from the University That Coke Built.

In fact, Southern Methodism and Coca Cola are intimately intertwined. Asa Candler, one of the first big-wigs of Coke was the brother of Warren Candler who was the first President of Candler Seminary. That's Warren's grave pictured above, in the same cemetary that holds Bishop Andrews, who originally caused the separation of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church South way back before the Civil War.

Robert Woodruff, another big-wig of Coke, is the benefactor that allowed for part of my education and the education of my peers in the UMC. Intimately intertwined.

So I'm reading the book again, and I was struck by a couple of things: First Pemberton, the man who created the Formula, was involved in all sorts of experimenting. One of the ones mentioned was the creation of an artificial food that would be a complete meal and provide all the nutrients that the body would need. I find this interesting, see that Bill and I are currently discussing "Diet in America" -- how we need to eat things that our great grandmothers would recognize as food and to move away from talking about nutrients and talk more about FOOD. The very beverage that people label as the cause of so many problems in America, cola or soda, being invented by a man who was looking for artificial food: That's funny. Ironic.

Secondly, I was pulled into this paragraph:

"The postwar, sharecropper South was a region desperate for remedies of every sort....[widespread disease, malnutrition, lack of sanitation, veterans returning with aching, lingering wounds and maladies]...On top of it all, the region's poverty and rural isolation led to a grinding, dispiriting boredom that made many Southerners susceptible to the relief found in little brown bottles that contained alcohol or laudanum and other opiates."

Well, what else is new? (That is sarcasm for the uninformed.) Very truly I tell you, there is nothing new under the sun. The rural south is still poor; I have been doing some statistical analysis of my district and I am shocked over and over again about how incredibly poor rural Georgia really is. And the fact of the matter is: they've been poor for generations, there is little to no relief agencies for them, they have lack of transportation that makes their poverty even more grinding. Instead of doping up with patent medicines today, it's meth. Easy to obtain the basic ingredients and easy to cook.

The meth problem is endemic in the rural south; the stories are heartbreaking. The damage the drug does to people, to their families and to the society in the rural south is incalculable. And it's not going to go away without real and substantive work; real and substantive change.

It is definitely not a problem that can be solved with a Coke and a smile.

Sit with it

I don't think I ever realized how important it is to just "sit with it" until I started to preach every Sunday. You just can't rush thinking. You can rush through laundry, cleaning the house; you can put the pedal to the metal and speed along in your car; you can dance faster -- but you can't think faster.

I start the week with reading the text and looking for illustrative material. I exegete, I research, I read, I study some more. By Wednesday, though, I still don't have a sermon. I can't have a sermon until I have some sit and think and pray time.

And this time is not just given to me -- I have to squeeze it out of the week; taking every moment I have to just think. Sure, there is some small amount of multi-tasking that I can do; I can shower and think or fold laundry and think, but I can't homeschool and think.

If I don't sit with it during the week, it shows on Sunday....

I've been online and doing "Social Networking" for 30 years now. In fact, I was assigned my first email address at Georgia State in 1980 -- and I was given my first computer sometime in either 1981 or 1982 (Apple II). It was shortly followed by an Apple II+, Apple IIe, Apple IIc, IBM PC, IBM AT and IBM XT. It was also accompanied by an acoustic modem, which I very shortly replaced with a Hayes Apple Modem which went all of 300 baud. The day after I received the computer and set it up in the basement, I was online -- checking email and joining BBSs. My first "handle" was SchizoBlonde (yes, hard to believe, I know.) I encountered my first flame-war that year too, on the Atlanta Computer Club BBS. In 1984, I received a relatively permanent email addy cmrlbtp@gatech.edu. I kept this email address until, well 1996 or so.

I typed my first paper in ALL CAPS in 1981 and thought that word processing was a Gift From God. I found a kludge to let the Apple II do both upper case and lower case and I was in heaven. I haven't done a paper in 30 years the old fashioned way. In fact, I don't know that ANYONE does papers the old fashioned way anymore.

I could both type and read at 300 baud -- pretty slow it was. I updated the first couple of years to a 1200 baud modem (Hayes, of course!) By the time I was married in 1986, we had an Apple Mac in the living room with a 2400 or 9600 baud modem -- and I was on several mailing lists, USENET, and several email services. Believe it or not, I met my husband online at GT's forum and we exchanged multiple emails that were unbelievably smushy. The party at which we first met was a FUG -- a Forum Users Gathering. So, you might say that I met my husband online.

In 1993-4 we had a big leap online -- the advent of the World Wide Web. I used a text based browser called "Lynks" or something like that, until I downloaded a real browser. I could get to all sorts of information! It was wonderful. Things move fast online -- by the time I had kids, people were putting up pages with dynamic content; things we might call a "blog." In 2002, I started a blog, but I suppose there just wasn't enough interest and until I hit Blogger did I become a Blogger. Now it's Second Life, Meebo, ChatRoulette, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and so on and so on.

What I've learned it this: because I was exposed to computers at such an early age, all of this came easily to me. (My mom would sit me down in the front of her terminal when I was about 6 to just hit random keys and made "patterns." In later years, I played "Adventure" on the PDP-10 or 11 in 1976.) It is even easier to my kids. The technology changes and morphs; our uses do as well. There is always going to be the "flavor of the moment" -- I don't think that will ever change. What makes this generation different is the fact they EXPECT the change. They understand flavor of the minute.

It's interesting to me that "Business Computers" in our high schools are very program specific. The questions on the tests are usually something like, "What keystroke do you use to do so-and-so?" What a sham! By the time the kids learn these programs, they are already out of date. What to do instead? I don't know -- but I do know it is a different paradigm of learning for our kids. They know how silly it is to memorize keystrokes, especially seeing that the flavor of the moment is soon to change. What we need to start teaching is just "how do I pick up this program?" and "where can I go to find the answers?"

I consider myself a digital native because of the way I have almost always been surrounded by the technology. However, few of my age group are so immersed. We need to realize that what is changing are the paradigms of learning and the paradigms of information transfer. Until that happens...

Trailer Decor

Too much help. The "Art Critics" kept making catty remarks.

To Collar or Not

I have been thinking about clerical collars all week -- since I met a delightful retired Methodist minister who wears one. She has an educational therapy center in Loganville and although she's been retired for several years, she wears one to the center every day.

Now, I think she's been clergy for a very long time. In fact, I think she's one of the first in our conference. I can understand wearing one to be set apart -- to signal to people who and what she is, especially seeing that many years ago, women clergy were an odd beast. It would be rather like a college prof wearing a tweed jacket with leather elbow patches, a little bow tie and smoking a pipe. Or like the receptionist at a doctor's office wearing scrubs. A sort of "unofficial" uniform.

I purchased one on a whim a couple of years ago. The shirt fit like a tent, so I have altered it a bit. I wore it once to the hospital (a Catholic one, at that -- and on purpose as a "statement") and I've worn it at a funeral where I needed to set myself apart without wearing robes. I found it grotesquely uncomfortable. I've noticed some Methodists wearing them. I will admit that at first I found it an affectation. We are not terribly a formal institution; more "fellowship-y" than that.

But meeting that clergywoman last week had me thinking -- I did indeed unconsciously view her somehow *differently* because she was wearing that collar. It was a comfort to me, oddly enough. Otherwise, I would have just viewed her as another LOL (little old lady). Perhaps that is the reason I've seen so many women wear the collar in my denomination. I know I acted differently and people re-acted differently to me as I wore one. In a way, I didn't like it -- I didn't LIKE being set apart. I like being "one of the guys." But ... I am indeed set apart. Perhaps it would be a good reminder to me of that. And the uncomfortableness would be a part of it.

Just thinking....

We have a new trailer!!

The kitchen -- pretty spacious, compared to our old one.

The buffet and table.

The entertainment center.

The main bedroom.

The basement.

The grill.

The exterior of trailer sweet trailer.

The living room.

The second bedroom -- 4 twin bunks, wardrobe and place for TV for the kids.

And it's absolutely lovely.

The Taj-Mahal of Homeless Carts

Found here.

The Joy of Homeownership and Other Ways to Spend Money

We have had a record week of spending. Girls' clothing = lots of money. New transmission = lots of money. New dryer = some money (not as much as the clothing cost!) New refrigerator = 1/2 the cost of the transmission.

And we aren't finished yet. We are looking to upgrade the trailer to one that I can manage all on my own and one that is easier to winterproof and is more secure safety-wise. That's going to cost as much as I've already spent, plus more.

We've discussed how to manage all this spending; it's going to take a little buckling down on "going out to eat," managing how much we spend at the Rainforest (online, people, think), cutting down on groceries a bit, cutting down on the kid's acquisition of gaming paraphernalia. I really need to sell the books in the garage and dispose of the dead (and dying) appliances.

And (of course) I can think of more ways to spend!

• new sofa and recliner (almost getting to the "necessary" stage)
• new drop-in stove (ditto)
• new back-splash in kitchen (the old one is getting "swollen" with repeated dousings of water from the sink -- I thought it was supposed to "splash it back" not absorb it!)
• repair woodpecker holes in siding when the babies grow up. (Thank you Woody!)
• remove yucky wallpaper in half bath and replace with something more durable.
• cat door in laundry room wall to outside. (We have 7 cats -- need I say more?)
• carpet the stairs and hall; maybe our bedroom. (15 year old builder grade carpet -- it's getting really bad; there's actually a couple of holes.)

And then there are the things I just want:

• new handles on kitchen cabinets
• new faucet in kitchen
• new faucet in 1/2 bath
• remove wallpaper in kitchen and paint
• new countertops in kitchen
• new microwave to match new fridge and new stove
• new dishwasher (ditto)
• new outside deck (actually, almost to the "necessary" stage)
• new shrubs outside
• desktop computer with huge monitor
  

Ah, the ways I could stimulate the economy!

Theology and Homeschooling

In January 2009, I began to homeschool my children. It was not a hasty decision; but one I did make rapidly. My reasons are varied. I was concerned about the increase of gang activity in the area. I was concerned about my children’s health (both mental and physical). The final straw was a real and substantive concern about the Mathematics curriculum in Gwinnett County and the resistance I felt from the administration when I voiced my concerns.

Therefore, I began to homeschool on Jan 20, 2009. I shortly discovered that there were homeschool associations around in my area and I tried a couple of them out. I decided to join one and attended a couple of meetings. When I was given the application, I decided that I could not sign their affirmation of faith in good conscience. I submitted to them the Articles of Faith from the UMC Discipline and they decided that I was not a suitable match for their group. I would have to agree at this point.

We Believe: The Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God and is the completed and final revelation. Nothing has been added to it and it is the only source of divine truth. The Bible, in its original form, is without error in whole and in part, including theological concepts as well as geographical and historical detail. (2 Tim. 3:16, Rev. 22:18-19) God has existed from all eternity in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ was God come in human flesh, being fully God and fully man, except without sin. (John 1:1-18) All men are in violation of God’s righteous requirements and His holy character, both by nature and act; and are therefore under His wrath and just condemnation. The central purpose of the coming of Jesus Christ was to pay the penalty for man’s sin through His substitutionary death on the cross – the successful accomplishment of which was attested to by His subsequent visible bodily resurrection. (Romans 3:10, 23 – Romans 6:23)
Salvation is offered as a free gift; free to the sinner. This gift must be responded to in individual faith, not trusting in any personal works, but the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ alone! (Ephesians 2:8-9)

My Problems with this statement are not huge. There is more here that we agree on than where we differ. But to enumerate the problems: First, their stance on the Bible is usually called Biblical Literalism. I am not a Biblical Literalist: I take the Bible very seriously and it is my primary source, but see that revelation of God can also occur through reason, experience and tradition. Secondly, they believe in substitutionary atonement, whereas I subscribe to an atonement theology better described as the moral government theory. (The governmental theory teaches that Christ suffered for humankind so that God could forgive humans apart from punishment while still maintaining divine justice.) This statement of belief is a very common one for Christian Homeschool Associations.

My bigger problem is putting a definition on the word "Christian." If I say I am a Christian, why is that testimony not good enough? I have a problem saying that I will hangout with THIS group but not THAT group, because they aren't "Christian enough." As a Methodist, I will NOT turn anyone away from fellowship; not because of personal creed, how they dress, how they smell, their race or national origin. I will NOT turn them away and disallow the shear grace that can be found in Christian Conferencing. We have open arms and will greet ALL. In fact, I even welcome to my church those who don't call themselves Christian: the least, the last and the lost are those who need God the most. Can I get an Amen?

THEREFORE, I want to start a group of Methodist and Moderate Christian Homeschoolers. This will be a Christian group in that we follow Jesus' example. We will eat with sinners and rub elbow with tax collectors. Anyone who wants to join can join. And we will welcome them with open arms and say Hallelujah! AND there is no "minimum" statement of belief AND we won't make you read Chick Tracts and whap you over the head with big 10 pound Bibles. But we will do prayer and devotionals. What do you think?

Lectionary this last week

Was John 12:1-9, where Mary "wasted" a jar of perfume worth a year's wages on Jesus feet.

This morning I ran across this story World's Tallest Treehouse where a minister built this enormous treehouse as a devotion to God. It's an incredible structure; I just want to go and explore every nook and cranny. Then I read this comment lower on the page:

RosyCheeks Says:
November 2nd, 2009 at 1:29 pm

Did his god tell him that he is acting selfishly with this monstrosity? Does the minister house the homeless / orphans / etc. in this place? He could have used the resources more appropriately and made smaller dwellings at ground level for those in need. It looks like the landscape architect (I’d like to see his portfolio) needs to come back down to earth and get real. Because this thing, well, it just isn’t.

I would love to tell RosyCheeks that the extravagance is the entire POINT. Yes, he could have built little houses for the homeless. Yes, he could have donated his $12,000 worth of nails to Habitat for Humanity. But...

Today

The girls and I are suffering from a lingering deep cough. We tend to not take care of little illnesses until they become big illnesses; however the "slow-down" of this week did cause a change in perspective.

What are indeed the things that are important in life? I know all the "things" people answer -- you can name them probably as well as I can. However, in the end, it's all about relationships. Period.

Ponderings on Evangelism

Wonderful video diary entry from Penn of Penn and Teller fame. Great question he asks (paraphrased): How much must you hate me to not share the gospel with me?

I've also watched Morgan Spurlock's "30 Days" where an atheist lives with a Christian family for 30 days. It reinforced my belief about forging relationship -- prompting me to ask one of my favorite questions: How can I be an agent for change if I am not in relationship?

BUT how long must that relationship be in place before you share the good news of the gospel?

Things to think about.

Time Waster #256

Rooster Teeth.

I blame the kids.

Long time, No blog.

Between the two churches, the kids, the homeschooling, cello lessons, violin lessons, homeschool academies, orchestras, doctor appointments, karate, Tai Chi and all the other things I fill my time with, it's not too surprising....

I've started knitting. I'm getting great pleasure from it. I'm using looms and am looking forward to the two needle version.

I've purchased my own cello. I have had a couple of lessons. I find it calming. I'm also practicing some jazz piano; mostly the blues.

I'm working on the decluttering projects; I consider them more of "life improvement" projects. There has been progress made; much still needs to be done. I'm considering giving away my entire fabric stash. Yes, the whole thing. I may keep one milk crate because that seems so very radical -- a quilter who is giving away 25 years of stash... but if I haven't used it in 25 years, it's time to go. I'm still working on the book sale idea; it is getting closer to realization. The more of this clutter that I give away, the more liberating it feels.

Perhaps that is what is happening with the blogging as well. I wrote a long time ago about how some of my life changes are like moving the deck chairs of the Titanic -- just moving the furniture around -- not real systemic change.* Life is changing on a different level now. Where things will settle down, I don't really know.

*Wow. That was like, 5 plus years ago. Wow.

Advent #3 -- "Herald In the Wilderness" (John the Baptist)

Herald, in the wilderness,
Breaking up the road,
Sinking mountains, raising plains,
For the path of God;

Prophet, to the multitudes
Calling to repent,
In the way of righteousness
Unto Israel sent;

Messenger, God’s chosen one
Foremost to proclaim,
Proffered titles passing by,
Pointing to the Lamb.

Captive, for the word of truth
Boldly witnessing;
Then in Herod’s dungeon cave,
Faint and languishing;

Martyr, sacrificed to sin
At that feast of shame;
As his life foreshowed the Lord,
In his death the same—

Holy Jesus, when He heard,
Went apart to pray:
Thus may we our lesson take
From his saint today.

Advent #2 -- "Arise, Sons of the Kingdom!"

Arise, sons of the kingdom!
The King is drawing nigh;
Arise, and hail with gladness
The Ruler from on high.
Ye Christians, hasten forth!
Your praise and homage bring Him
And glad hosannas sing Him,
Naught else your love is worth.

Arise, ye poor and needy!
The King provides for you;
He comes with succor speedy,
With mercy ever new.
He Who a beast did heed
Lets not His children perish;
All hopes that man may cherish
He can fulfill indeed.

Arise, ye faint and fearful!
The King now comes with might,
His heart hath long since loved us,
He makes our darkness light.
Now are our sorrows o’er;
No wrath shall e’er befall us,
Since God in grace doth call us
His children evermore.

Haste then, with eager footsteps,
To see your Sovereign there!
He rides as King of Zion,
Strong, glorious, meek and fair.
Draw near the Lord and give
To Him your salutation,
Who bringeth great salvation,
And bids the sinner live.

The King in grace remembers
His loved ones here below
With gifts of royal treasures,
Yea, doth Himself bestow
Through His blest Word and grace.
O King, arrayed in splendor,
To Thee all praise we’ll render
Here and there face to face.

O rich the gifts Thou bring’st us,
Thyself made poor and weak;
O Love beyond expression
That thus can sinners seek!
For this, O Lord, will we
Our joyous tribute bring Thee,
And glad hosannas sing Thee,
And ever grateful be.

Note: I am aware that the lyrics are not particularly gender inclusive. I present this just for your edification and suggest that if necessary, you might change them for your use.

Advent #1 -- "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!"

Advent started on Sunday. I've been thinking about hymns. We typically sing Christmas Carols for the Advent season because there are only a handful of Advent hymns in our hymnals. Advent just isn't celebrated the way it used to be. For instance, we now use blue instead of purple because we do not view this season as one of reflection and repentance.

So starting now I am going to blog one Advent hymn a day, with music (if possible) ending with Christmas Eve.

Have a Blessed Advent. O come, Emmanuel!

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Seasons

I'm having a hard time blogging (in case you hadn't noticed.) I'm either really dry, or I'm tired of people pontificating or maybe a little of both.

I've entered into a couple of conversations recently where I just grew weary of the debating. They are usually the same old debates: the authenticity of Scripture, double dipped supralapsarianism with a twist, evil, yada, yada, yada. I am just tired of it. I wish we could spend less time debating and more time living it.

I honestly wonder if there is anything new under the sun; if all the big newsie stuff is just the old stuff in a new package, in a new medium.

Just where I am right now. I think I'll go back to posting pictures of kittens.

Illustration for the Widow's Mite

Sermon title: Enough

Source: http://www.bobperks.com/wish.htm

I Wish You Enough

Speaker Bob Perks was at an airport when he overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her departure and standing near the security gate, they hugged and he said, "I love you. I wish you enough." She in turn said, "Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy."

They kissed and she left. He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say goodbye to someone knowing it would be forever?"

... Read the rest at the website.