The Coffee’s On

My grandparents used to drive across three states in the middle of the night to reach my great grandmother. No matter the time of their arrival, there was always a pot of coffee on to welcome them. My grandparents and great grandmother would tuck my father and uncle into bed and stay up all night talking. They couldn’t wait to catch up.

I wonder how many millions and billions of relationships have been strengthened by coffee chats? How many of us have found comfort in starting our days with that first cup? Perhaps it’s been in the kitchen with a loved one or silently greeting God’s creation at the window? Maybe you’ve groggily yet cheerfully gathered around the coffee pot at work? Possibly it’s been around a table at noon with others who understand or at a café where you finally met?

Look at the Starbucks and coffee shops that have spread like wildfire across this country and around the world as people not only seek out the caffeine but also the warm smiles shared over the counter as joyful baristas ask your name or already know it. Hours and hours are spent in these coffee shops in the comfort of friends or even in the comfort of just not being alone.

Oh, coffee, yes, I am thankful for you.

I’m thankful for the memories of meeting my friends almost daily as teenagers at the Hillcrest coffee shop in Little Rock drinking giant chai tea lattes not worrying about the world revolving around us only caring about each other and that moment. It really was all ok.

I’m thankful for the ways you kept us awake giggling through our studies in college and leading us to the completion of those papers and preparing us for exams.

I’m thankful for the strength you gave me to lift my head and push my cart through Target and smile through every aisle the first time I left my daughter at home with my husband after she was born.

I’m thankful that you bring new people into my life and that you give me time with my dearest friends and colleagues. That you give us a time out to catch up, to listen, to share, to solve, to just be.

I’m thankful for every cup and conversation shared, especially with my parents and my mother-in-law, who always make sure the coffee’s on, and I’m thankful to my husband, who may not drink coffee but who knows how important putting the coffee on can be.

Here’s to sharing that next cup, everyone.

With love and light,

LT

Shaped by Childhood

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It’s my mother’s birthday, and I have childhood on the brain. With 7 and 9 year olds on my hands, you might not find this surprising. Additionally, I work in the admission office of a school and am surrounded by children on a daily basis.

I haven’t been able to escape the thought lately that I learned everything I need to know as a child. When I turned 16, my godmother gave me a book entitled “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” I thought the book entertaining at the time, but as I now watch generations of children transition to adulthood I am taking it more and more seriously. Now experts around the world have published document after document about the importance of childhood development not only for the individual but also for the success of communities at large.

I can look fondly on my childhood. In fact, the ugliness that has come along with adulthood has been softened or dismissed by falling back on lessons learned as a young person supported by loving parents and a caring community of friends and positive mentors.

There, of course, have been some nuances I’ve gathered over the years about how to diplomatically and energetically manage various situations I’ve approached in adulthood. If I am honest though, everything I am today can be traced back to childhood. I was treated with great kindness. When I made mistakes, I was carefully and lovingly redirected. This does not mean my mistakes were without punishment, but within them, I was allowed to correct myself and grow from the experience. I was told no aplenty, but I was never in need. 

I was given the opportunity to pursue my passions. If it was positive, my parents encouraged it. I may not have always had individualized attention in the classroom, but I knew I was safe and had access too much. I was taken to church regularly and felt comfortable in seeking help from God. My friends were close, supportive, and we shared interests that kept us out of trouble (most of it). Not all the girls and boys were nice, but at least one friend could always be counted on. 

We danced. We played tennis and dress up and climbed trees. We loved our siblings (and yelled at them sometimes, too; this still makes me feel guilty). We had pets that showered us with love, and we took joy in loving them back. Trips outside of town were a special treat. We were encouraged to take notice of different cities, museums, music and the beauty in nature. Being near water, whether an ocean, lake or sprinkler, brought great happiness.

All of this I can call back on. All of this can bring light to the darkness. All of these memories, this foundation, help me find the right direction.

I can hope that your foundation was as strong as mine. But I do know, for so many, this was not a similar experience. Childhood was not what it could have been. Innocence and hope were lost.

I am so sorry for this.

I can see now the sad children in the sad adults, the angry adults who as children were yelled at or ignored or worse. I can’t change their childhoods, but I can make room for their sadness. I can take a deep breath, and I can pray love upon them. I can also work hard not to cast judgment. 

I can also try my best to support the children of today. What can I give them so that they might have a glimpse of all that is possible? What strength can I build in them now that will last a lifetime?

If you’re wrestling with questions about today’s society and what can be done, or if you’re feeling a new calling, please do a search for what’s happening in your local community to support children? 

If our adult lives are ultimately shaped by our childhoods, shouldn’t we start as early as possible in helping others? 

It could be helping to establish or to help in a preschool. Babysitting for a neighbor and helping his or her child learn to read or just being kind to him or her. What about tutoring a lower school or middle school student? What about serving as a Sunday school teacher or looking into a mentoring program? Monetary support towards these programs is always helpful, but you might be ready to make a connection with a young person that needs just you!

Teachers, I encourage and salute you! Love on! Mentors, thank you! Give on! Neighbors, yes, keep watch and be supportive! Parents, you are so very important! Take a deep breath and let in the strength and peace of God. Enjoy your children and give them a strong foundation! Friends, Jesus encouraged the little children to come to him; let’s clear the way and protect their precious, innocent, creative and enthusiastic hearts!

Hope can abound! Love can abound! Let’s give these kids a chance. I thank God everyday that I had one.

Please, dear Lord, give me the strength to give my children hearts full of love and light to carry them through this lifetime. Give us all the power to grant peace and love to the many who have missed this opportunity in the past. Help us lift them up to a place of peace so that they can recognize the love and light that truly surrounds them. And for every child in our lives, whether we know their names or not, help us make a positive difference in their lives. Help them to know that they are loved and that they are full of light.

I ask your grace be upon the adults of this world who were never shown kindness as a child. Please let love be shown them in such a way that their hearts may be so mended and encouraged.

I thank you so much for the love and light shown to me as a child. I am grateful for the foundation.

With love and light,

LT

Labyrinths and Ladybugs

I love a good walk, especially one that includes the opportunity to gaze at filtered sunlight through the trees, a steady musical beat and my pup happily walking by my side. I can feel the healing and strengthening power with the growing steps as my mind clears and my body breathes more deeply and rids itself of any building toxicity. I find myself thankful that I still have the ability to move my limbs and that my senses enable me to connect fully with the activity and my environment. 

There is another form of walking though that I find even more powerfully stimulating and important for my soul. It is the spiritual practice of walking the labyrinth, a purposefully designed maze of ancient origin designed for a myriad of reasons but mostly focused on journey and centeredness. For me this meditative journey includes focus on my relationship with God and God’s grace in my life and journey. 

I remember the hesitancy with which I approached my first walk. Our church had just purchased a canvas labyrinth and dear sweet Lynda Gayle had taken the time to lead us through a meditation explaining the opportunities for reflection the labyrinth affords each individual along the path. Her words of wisdom included the reminder that for each person a walk upon the labyrinth is unique and also somewhat private. If walking the path with others, we don’t make eye contact, and if we cross paths, we gently move to the side to let others pass. It's ok to pause and take your time. Labyrinth walks are silent and focused, although you’ll sometimes find music added to guided walks to create a calming atmosphere. There is always a way in and a way out, and there are no traps or hidden turns, just the journey. 

Walking the labyrinth is not a daily or weekly practice of mine, although I do hope for this opportunity in the future. For now, I’ve taken the time to walk the labyrinth during times of great transition in my life or when I find myself with the most questions. Each labyrinth walk has been significant.

I’m in Santa Fe, New Mexico to celebrate my dear friend Ebet’s birthday with a special trip. We find ourselves walking the labyrinth in front of the Cathedra Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. I can feel my parents’ presence as they take time to sit and rest and wait for us. My heart fills with joy and comfort when after reaching the center of the labyrinth I watch my friend step confidently into the center and begin her journey outward enabling me to follow. I’m just beginning to realize that this trip is the beginning pages in a new chapter in my life. 

I’m in Santa Fe, New Mexico again, this time at the Museum of International Folk Art. I’ve just finished walking the labyrinth with my daddy and my babies, Abby and William. It was their first walk. We are getting ready to leave when Abby grabs William’s hand and they run back onto the labyrinth. At first I start to call them back, but instead, Daddy and I just sit back and watch. When they reach the center, they laugh and dance holding on to each other’s hands. A sense of relief engulfs me as I give thanks for the friendship and love that they share and will share for a lifetime.

I’m on Sanibel Island in Florida and my sisters and I have met a wonderful new friend on the beach. She has just finished building a four-circuit labyrinth out of shells, seaweed and driftwood that she has found on the beach. Her husband has early onset of Alzheimer’s and walking the labyrinth helps him to reconnect with his memories as well as to stay connected to the moment at hand. She is lovely. He is lovely, and they take great delight in sharing this journey with me and my children. She builds a labyrinth for her husband everywhere that they go.

I’m at Saint Columba Conference Center in Bartlett, Tennessee. After a walk at dawn across misty fields covered in dew, I walk the beautifully natural labyrinth crafted of stone and moss. Afterwards, I stand in the beams of light from the morning sun and reconnect with another powerful moment in the same space. Feeling fully present in the grace of God, I do not want to turn around to leave it, but I know I must. When I finally turn, I find myself joyfully overwhelmed and delighted that I am faced with the same love and light and full feeling, it’s just different scenery. God is everywhere.

I’m at the West Clinic in Memphis, Tennessee. It is Saturday and the buildings are deserted, and I am most grateful for the clinic’s gift of the labyrinth garden. I’m finding myself in one of the most powerfully challenging moments I’ve crossed in my life. I enter the labyrinth sadly and feeling alone. When I finally reach the center, it is the first time I’ve found myself sitting down during a labyrinth walk. I bury my head. After a while, a ladybug lands gently on my arm and suddenly I don’t feel so alone any more. The words and scenes from “Under the Tuscan Sun” fly into my mind. Frances and Katherine are discussing sadness. Katherine explains that when she was a little girl and would fall asleep in the field, she would wake up covered in ladybugs. As Frances continues on her journey, she eventually gives in to enjoying and celebrating the experiences she is having and the people who surround her. As she rests in one of the final moments of the story, love walks into her life and finds a ladybug settling on Frances’ arm. This thought fills me with peace, and I find the strength to stand and continue my journey. I realize and remember, I was never alone in the first place. (I must share that as soon as I wrote this very last thought, my husband sent me a fun and sweet text. My heart is full.)

So whether you’re walking through the neighborhood or you find yourself upon the labyrinth, I highly recommend walks as a reflection and prayerful exercise for your body and soul. 

With love and light,

LT  

Editor’s Note: On my list of labyrinths yet to walk are those at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, California; Chartres Cathedral near Paris, France; and St. George Episcopal Church in Maple Valley, Washington. I would love your recommendations for other walks as well! Please feel free to share in Love and Light’s comments!