"Weather (or not)" by Rev. Barbara Merritt and Memo from Mississippi

Wed Apr 18 12:41:35 CDT 2007

M I N I S T E R ‘ S   M E M O

“Weather (or not)”

We were duly warned by T.S. Eliot that “April was the cruelest month.” But
2007 seems to be pushing the poetry past cruel, all the way to obnoxious.
When Christmas is warmer than Easter, when the sunrise service is conducted
on frozen ground with the temperature at 240, when the next Sunday only has
highs in the mid-thirties, when the 10-day forecast promises nothing but
cold and rain, mixed with occasional snow and sleet and we’re approaching
May, it’s not right!
But then, I love to complain about the weather. (I also love to become
deliriously happy about what I define as “wonderful weather”
 730 with a
gentle breeze, sunny, mild with the smell of spring flowers wafting
sweetly.) Those of us who become passionate about the air temperatures,
especially when suffering from the external oppression of great heat, or
great cold, are doing more than arguing with the reality that presents
itself on any given day. We have an easy topic of conversation with the
stranger in the grocery line, with family far away, with co-workers and
colleagues.
I didn’t like living in Berkley, California. The weather was so unbelievably
“pleasant” and unchanging for months at a time that I not only found the
climate boring, but there was also no easy distractions from my own internal
weather of depression, frustration or impatience. Give me a nasty New
England spring, any day. When someone asks, “How are you?” – the reply is
straightforward and to the point, “They’re forecasting 3 inches of snow (or
three days of rain); how do you think I am?”
I am well aware that quarreling with the weather is a logically absurd
pastime. Thus far, my objections  have never resulted in a better forecast.
Knowing what is true and real about the meteorological phenomena has never
stopped me from exercising the emotional release I apparently need and enjoy
from my ongoing “commentary.” It’s disappointing to a Unitarian Universalist
that knowledge does not necessarily lead to more enlightened behavior.
Anne Lamont, in her new book “Grace, Eventually,” says it with her usual
eloquence. Her issue, in this case, is not the weather – it is the jealousy
she feels over the accomplishments and successes of her friends.
“Jealousy always has been my cross, the weakness and woundedness in me that
has most often caused me to feel ugly and unlovable, like the Bad Seed. I’ve
had many years of recovery and therapy, years filled with intimate and
devoted friendships, yet I still struggle. I know that when someone gets a
big slice of pie, it doesn’t mean there’s less for me. In fact, I know that
there isn’t even a pie, that there’s plenty to go around, enough food and
love and air.
But I don’t believe it for a second.
I secretly believe there’s a pie. I will go to my grave brandishing a fork.”
>From what I can tell, all of God’s children are brandishing forks and habits
and stories that they just can’t shake. We are not lacking information,
imagination or motivation. It’s just that “knowing” how to think clearly
doesn’t make it so. Someone who lived before Jesus  noticed this universal
human tendency. Ovid wrote, “I know what is better, I do what is worse.”
Things haven’t changed a whole lot in 2,000 years.
If we can’t be saved by being smart, or knowledgeable , or insightful ,
where is our hope? Where is a confused religious liberal to turn?
Consider facing in the direction of endurance: steady on, keep going, get up
when you fall, and appreciate the effort you put forth today. Depend on
grace. There is some help and strength and goodness that moves around us,
and within us, that is irresistible; that isn’t stopped by our complaining,
our stubbornness, or whatever weapons or forks we happen to be brandishing
at the moment. And finally, continue to seek out good companions: at church,
and among family and friends; there are those who will continually remind us
that, no matter the weather, we are loved.

Memo from Mississippi

Hi Barbara, and Everyone at First U!

Well we have finished our first day of work and I am exhausted. The kids are
really excited about doing their projects. In a number of cases, we have
been able to talk to the people whose homes we are helping to rebuild, many
are living on the site in their FEMA trailers and come to say hello. Our
train trip was both relaxing and fun although there wasn't anyone who really
slept well in their coach seats. We have so far, painted, burned brush,
chopped tree limbs, climbed ladders, scraped floors, dug ditches, cut
soffits, built bunk ladders, carried tools, avoided fire ants, snakes and
something really weird called a "mud bug" that builds little muddy towers
all over peoples yards and that look like something from outer space. We
have met lovely, friendly people and now know for certain (from a sign
downtown) that "Jesus is Lord of Picayune" We also, are pondering the
possibility that "maybe, the hokey pokey IS really what it's all about!" The
kids have been spending this first full evening wandering around the camp
site, meeting new friends and visiting the local pawn shop and Dollar Store
down the street. It’s almost 11p.m. and I just got in bunk, waiting for the
final kids to get home... the last I saw them, seven of our precious
teenagers were quietly discussing the problems of the world and telling each
other scary stories, slowly swingin’ on lawn chairs under a clear moonlit
Mississippi night sky. Spring is in the air!

God bless,
Dave Blodgett

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