Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Preventing Grace

Home
Evangelical
7 Takes For Such A Time As This

7 Takes For Such A Time As This

Last updated on: July 7, 2017 at 8:44 am by Anne Kennedy

7 Takes For Such A Time As This 2017-07-07T08:44:10-04:00 Anne Kennedy

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It’s Friday! That’s Takes!

One
We’ve been having a lovely, languid first true week of summer with grandparents and outings, with weather mercifully cool for those who had been hoping to escape the heat of Texas for a short time. Indeed, there’s even been rain–such a treat…for them. In the most givingest way I have put my bitterness about any temperature below 90 on hold while they’re here. It’s actually very pleasant to sit on our grand porch and watch the rain come down and not be soaking wet, nor blown to smithereens, nor persecuted by flies. We’re going to be in the depths of misery when they leave in a few days, and are trying not to think of it at all.

Two
It’s been a such an easy going week that you’d think I could have mustered up a blog post or two. But somehow the slower pace caused near total collapse. Two mornings I woke up and couldn’t think my way out of my cup of oolong. Thank heaven for YouTube and all those ridiculous videos.

I am always waffling between various weaknesses. I am hidebound in the matter of routine, and it is my routine to write. Somehow if I don’t do it every day I feel like I haven’t properly donned my own humanity. I’ve tried to confer this sense of extreme discipline onto other important areas of personhood, like doing the laundry, but that always falls prey to the free flowing, organic, bohemian portion of my character.

The trouble is, taking breaks is a good idea. No one should do everything unfailingly all the time. No matter who you are you should stop whatever it is occasionally, if only so that you’ll have more strength to keep doing it after the rest. What’s the word for that? Its on the tip of my fingers. Some archaic word from the Old Testament Law delivered on Mt. Sinai. Oh well, maybe if I can’t ‘remember’ what its called I won’t really have to do it.

Three
In spite of all the happiness with grandparents, tragedy in a severe form has befallen us all. Two years ago or so, Alouicious tripped over a friend on the ice rink, sharp skates and cold limbs sprawled out in time to a nostalgic eighties dance hit. His newly acquired adult front tooth embraced the ice first, and chipped in half. He was most alarmed and saddened, but we recovered the bit that had left him, lying there in the flecks of ice, and the dentist glued it back on for us, with a sad whisper that at sometime in the hopefully very far distant future he might be facing a rather less pleasant solution than a bit of plater could afford.

Today is that day. He is going to have to have a root canal this afternoon, the whole thing having finally infected itself. He seems pretty cheerful about it, but that’s only because he hasn’t had one before, and because he is young and foolish. I have pretty successfully hidden my total alarm and despair by smiling cheerfully and leaving the room whenever I feel faint from thinking about it. I don’t ‘do’ the whole medical thing very well. When there are emergency room visits in view, Matt is the one who goes. I stay home and drum my nails on the counter and inquire bitterly of God why he doesn’t love us any more. But I might have to go today.

Alouicious, smart child, has already been trying to milk this for anything he can. ‘I need a bike,’ he keeps saying, ‘and I’m about to have a root canal. How does that make you feel?’
‘Terrible,’ I say, ‘I feel terrible.’

Four
Binghamton, it seems, will be soon blessed by one clever young lady’s idea of a topless march through town sometime in August (though, wouldn’t it be much more brave if she were to arrange for this to happen in January?). It isn’t fair, see. Men and women are equal now, but not really, because the abusive society in which we live allows men to go around with their tops off, but women aren’t allowed. It’s So Unfair. Also, apparently, its not against the law for women to go around with their tops bare, so she’s organized a march. I applaud her, really. What better way to gain the respect and dignity deserved by being female, than to give all those awful misogynist men exactly what they want. That’ll show um.

Five
OOO, and I loved this. Someone over at Jezebel is upset about this funny new movie, The Big Sick, because she herself is sick (cough) and tired of seeing ‘brown men’ getting together with ‘white women’ on screen. I’m employing good old fashioned scare quotes because I’m scared of even bringing this up, and am sort of alarmed that she, whoever she is, isn’t. Not that I think that fear is a good thing…isn’t it so great how easy it is to talk about race and sex and gender and all those important issues that are rending our society asunder?

What I liked best about the article, though, was that half way through I decided to try to replace the intersectional/feminist babble with Christianese. When you see phrases like ‘the commodification of otherness’ swap in ‘hedge of protection’ or ‘battle in the spirit realm.’ Once I really got into it I couldn’t stop laughing and had to get a grip on myself and go fold laundry. Thought I was going to make myself sick (get it…).

Six
Here’s a picture of the children after a nice lunch in Cooperstown yesterday. They are still better (except the little one) at the angry expression than the happy one. They fall right in. ‘Let me take a picture,’ I say, and they immediately paste on a scowl and hunch over. I’m basically guaranteed a good shot every time.

We didn’t get to do anything fun after lunch. The rain set in and so we drove sorrowfully over to the Farm Museum and waved at it and promised to come back another day. We did discover a nice old bookstore, a real one, like that one in Ithaca where you can buy actual books. Spent 30$ in Ithaca, and 45$ in Cooperstown. Told Alouicious he didn’t need to worry about getting a bike now, as I’d spent all the money on books. ‘You can lie back with the pain of your tooth,’ I said, ‘and read all these fascinating books. You won’t even Feel like riding a bike.’ Truly, a mother’s love is far seeing and providential.

Seven
So, there you are. Go check out more and better takes! I will rouse myself to go gaze at the laundry in an artsy, avant-guard, intersectional kind of way. I will commodify its otherness and pray a hedge of protection around it. And then I will turn to that nice plump stack of books which, I’m pretty sure, are here For Such A Time As This.

culture watch

In conversation with children

Previous Post

July 6, 2017

More To Cheer Your Day

Next Post

July 8, 2017 Trees and Water...Are More Precious Than Gold

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category books Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Children in Conversation culture watch Daily Devotions Demotivations with Anne faith alone for the grandparents GAFCON In conversation with children In the News Kitchen Notes Lambeth Learning Notes Life Going On Men are Human Notes from Home Pictures Reading the Bible Saturday Links Sermons Signs of the Apocalypse The Bad Word Association The Prayer of Jonah Travel Notes Uncategorized Witless Wednesdays Work and the Christian

Select a Month June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In which city did David reign seven years before becoming king over all Israel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Hebron Bethlehem Jerusalem Shechem

Books by This Author Books by Anne Kennedy

See All Titles »