Sistas, we're not sisters
when we put each other down,
when the only thing that feels good
knocks our sista to the ground.
Sistas, we're not sisters
when we judge from seats on high
fellow sistas we look down on
and ridicule as they walk by.
Sistas, we're not sisters
if our only claim to fame
is how we elevate ourselves
as we trash our sista's name.
Sistas, we're not sisters,
not when we believe it's weak
just to rise above the drama,
simply turn the other cheek.
Sistas, we're not sisters
when we read, write and erase,
roll our eyes and suck our teeth,
put our palm in sista's face.
We sistas say we're "sisters,"
yet we have the awful knack
of putting down those we call sisters,
plunging daggers in their backs.
Oh, my sista, not yet sister,
please don't get an attitude.
Why not ask yourself this question:
Is it you I'm talking to?
'Cause if it is, my future sister,
put the drama on the shelf
and realize that how you treat me
shows how much you love yourself.
(I started writing this blog entry last July and think the message is still right on time, so here it is ...)
Yesterday, I hosted a girls-only "soiree in the afternoon" in my home. Not being one to make friends easily (I have built walls, you see), I invited women who have children to come over and spend an afternoon without their children in the company of other women who have children. Some of these women I know fairly well, while others not so much. They all arrived with one thing in common and left, I think, with the realization that they have so much more in common than they knew.
You see, as women, we have so much that unites us. We may look different, think differently, be at different stages in our lives or careers, have different philosophies and faiths, but we really are sisters. We really are in search of a way to get past the things that would separate us and can make us feel so alone. It's just so difficult to focus on the areas of commonality when life makes it so much easier to focus on the differences, on the reasons we really should stay apart from one another - we don't have time to spend together, too many responsibilities and expectations we have to live up to.
There is so much out there that is more important than the ties that bind us together that we lose sight of the fact that we need support to handle everything else. The sad thing is that when we test them, those ties that bind us are strong enough to provide a lot of the support we need. If we would only realize that we are never stronger than when we do stand together and support one another, we would be able to accomplish so much more.
Loneliness is a dangerous thing - sisterhood is a healing thing.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
A Deafening Chorus
Rejoice always
and pray without ceasing,
give thanks for all
the bounty He brings.
Do not despair
and give in to grieving -
believe that God
has power over all things.
So, when you hear
of pain and of suffering,
hold fast to faith
and never let go.
The child of God
may not escape trials,
but still she leans
on the Lord of her soul.
Her comfort comes
not from being spared strife,
her solace not
from eluding the blows.
'Cause the One we serve,
with infinite wisdom,
allows pain for reasons
that only He knows.
Okay, so here I am again. Twice in one week is a little much for me, but that's okay. As I've said before, it's my blog and I'll do what I want to.
Once again, this entry is prompted by something that's going on in someone else's life. That's not to say that there is nothing going on in my life or that I can't apply this to myself, but that a conversation I had with a dear friend of mine put this message on my heart. I might be as bold as to say (okay, so I am bold enough and I'm saying it) that this message can apply to any one of us at any given point in life.
So, you're asking yourself, what is this profound message she's going to share? Well, it's pretty simple, really - no matter what is going on in my life, I should always praise God and thank him for not only the calm, but also the storms themselves. To me, giving my heart and soul to God is not about being pain free all the time. It's about recognizing that the pain itself can serve a purpose - it can make me realize how much I really do have, how important the people I love are to me, how precious the people who love me are, how much better off I was the moment before the pain started and how I'd give anything just to get back there.
Would that I could be so fully aware and grateful all the time, not just when something threatens the things that matter most to me. Would that I could stop taking those people and things (and God) for granted and always be fully alive in my praises. Sadly, that's not the case with us humans. Did you ever notice that when you hurt yourself - really hurt yourself - every fiber of your being cries out for relief? That's because we're never more alive than when we're in pain, suffering and at our wit's end. When we think we can take no more and we cry out for help, that's when we're truly alive, which is a good thing because when the relief comes, we should be more aware of it, so thankful that we cry out again, only in thanks this time. The moment (or endless moments) of pain is also the time we tend to appreciate what we had the moment before the pain began. Everything we took for granted, everything we skipped because we said we would do it later - every single one of those things becomes so precious when we're in the dark valley of our pain.
I haven't done this before, but I'm going to ask everyone who reads this to stop and pray for the people in your life who are suffering (whether you know it or not), the people you don't know who are suffering and for everyone else who is reading this. If we all do it, then each of us will have countless people (because this blog is so popular) praying for him or her. Prayer, whether we know it or not, doesn't go unanswered. I like the idea of "inciting" a deafening chorus of prayer that will uplift those of us who know others are praying for us.
and pray without ceasing,
give thanks for all
the bounty He brings.
Do not despair
and give in to grieving -
believe that God
has power over all things.
So, when you hear
of pain and of suffering,
hold fast to faith
and never let go.
The child of God
may not escape trials,
but still she leans
on the Lord of her soul.
Her comfort comes
not from being spared strife,
her solace not
from eluding the blows.
'Cause the One we serve,
with infinite wisdom,
allows pain for reasons
that only He knows.
Okay, so here I am again. Twice in one week is a little much for me, but that's okay. As I've said before, it's my blog and I'll do what I want to.
Once again, this entry is prompted by something that's going on in someone else's life. That's not to say that there is nothing going on in my life or that I can't apply this to myself, but that a conversation I had with a dear friend of mine put this message on my heart. I might be as bold as to say (okay, so I am bold enough and I'm saying it) that this message can apply to any one of us at any given point in life.
So, you're asking yourself, what is this profound message she's going to share? Well, it's pretty simple, really - no matter what is going on in my life, I should always praise God and thank him for not only the calm, but also the storms themselves. To me, giving my heart and soul to God is not about being pain free all the time. It's about recognizing that the pain itself can serve a purpose - it can make me realize how much I really do have, how important the people I love are to me, how precious the people who love me are, how much better off I was the moment before the pain started and how I'd give anything just to get back there.
Would that I could be so fully aware and grateful all the time, not just when something threatens the things that matter most to me. Would that I could stop taking those people and things (and God) for granted and always be fully alive in my praises. Sadly, that's not the case with us humans. Did you ever notice that when you hurt yourself - really hurt yourself - every fiber of your being cries out for relief? That's because we're never more alive than when we're in pain, suffering and at our wit's end. When we think we can take no more and we cry out for help, that's when we're truly alive, which is a good thing because when the relief comes, we should be more aware of it, so thankful that we cry out again, only in thanks this time. The moment (or endless moments) of pain is also the time we tend to appreciate what we had the moment before the pain began. Everything we took for granted, everything we skipped because we said we would do it later - every single one of those things becomes so precious when we're in the dark valley of our pain.
I haven't done this before, but I'm going to ask everyone who reads this to stop and pray for the people in your life who are suffering (whether you know it or not), the people you don't know who are suffering and for everyone else who is reading this. If we all do it, then each of us will have countless people (because this blog is so popular) praying for him or her. Prayer, whether we know it or not, doesn't go unanswered. I like the idea of "inciting" a deafening chorus of prayer that will uplift those of us who know others are praying for us.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Blame it on Eve
She took the apple from the tree
and bit it on a whim,
so now, and ever, we are blamed
for weaknesses in him.
No, I didn't just write this. I wrote it several years ago when, I'm pretty sure, I was fighting with my husband. It just so happens that I pull it out periodically when I feel it applies to my life. I recite it. Over and over again. And it keeps me from nagging, you see, because I am so very busy reciting it. Over and over. Okay, so the reciting and nagging parts aren't true, but I enjoyed saying them.
And, yes, I'm sure that every woman has felt this way at one time or another - whether she admits it or not. Don't read too much into it. Just let it flow over you. Chew on it a little. Digest it. And then let it go. That's what I do.
Talk amongst yourselves.
and bit it on a whim,
so now, and ever, we are blamed
for weaknesses in him.
No, I didn't just write this. I wrote it several years ago when, I'm pretty sure, I was fighting with my husband. It just so happens that I pull it out periodically when I feel it applies to my life. I recite it. Over and over again. And it keeps me from nagging, you see, because I am so very busy reciting it. Over and over. Okay, so the reciting and nagging parts aren't true, but I enjoyed saying them.
And, yes, I'm sure that every woman has felt this way at one time or another - whether she admits it or not. Don't read too much into it. Just let it flow over you. Chew on it a little. Digest it. And then let it go. That's what I do.
Talk amongst yourselves.
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