Saturday was quite the day! I woke with my whole consciousness dreaming a new world.
Words, of course, for that’s the way dreams work in me. Feelings, too… tears and chills – the important kind. And even a bit of visual awareness. A loaf of bread. Really!
I suspect it had a bit to do with my having watched a replay of Stephen Colbert and Kamala Harris just before bed. You might even say I wandered through the secret door in the back of my own magic wardrobe!
(In case you missed it… here’s a bit of the backstory for later. Please stick with me for now, though!)
The first dream words I recall were these:
Before I built a wall I’d ask to know what I was walling in or walling out, and to whom I was like to give offense... Robert Frost
And then, some more words from back in the day, which went a lot like this…
There is no fence around this table… The Rev. Nibs Stroupe (1987)
Frankly, that one was a bit of a surprise to me – a very new seminary student – the first time I was in the congregation at Oakhurst Presbyterian Church on a Sunday when Communion was being celebrated.
There were no ifs or qualifications in the invitation to that table. Just a preacher speaking on behalf of Yeshua… Come unto me, all you who are tired and heavily laden… and I will give you peace.
You’ve probably guessed that all that scribbling at the top of this page is what happened after the dreaming, while I was sipping my cacao and collagen.
Then, I spent some more time writing, for there are now two books in the hatching phase and I seem to have more stories to tell.
Then, a few more words which may be new to you, even though they’re old for me, and really helpful. Words from Dr. Wade Huie, one of my professors at Columbia Theological Seminary…
If it takes more than 12 minutes, it’s two sermons!
And that means Dr. Seuss, who also made a guest appearance in my dream, will need to wait for more space on another day!
What came next in my day, though, was paint flinging. The kind that involves moving and mark making and not being sure where you’re heading, except that new knowing will be involved.
Then, Michelle Obama and Kamala Harris, preachin’ sense and belonging and hope and mattering… which is a profound change from the guy babbling fascism and hatred and all the people he’s promising to fence out.
Now, I’m not much for math, but the odds are good that, if you’ve been reading along for a while, you’re on team #HarrisWalz.
Just in case, though, that you might be thinking that your voice doesn’t matter, or that somebody will disapprove if you follow your heart, or that “we” don’t vote for ____________’s PLEASE hear me say that your voice DOES matter and it will matter for years and years to come, to all those who come after us.
And our choice really all boils down to this… are we going to vote for the guy who thinks he and his problems are the only things that matter or are we going to vote for a whole tribe of people who think we all matter and that fencing the table of rights, justice, and human value is not what America should be about???
ps… one of the ways we can help our Littles to know that they matter – that they are part of the story – is to read them stories that make room for them. That’s why I wrote A Creation Poem… and you can get copies for your beloved Littles, in stock, now… complete with real, original art, inclusive language, and paper that feels great! (Also, mugs, posters and JIGSAW PUZZLES!!!) Just click the link to be magically transported!
