A Gate with no Fence!

 

Sometimes in life, something pops up which startles you, or causes you to be curious. I have been driving by a gate for weeks now and I finally decided to stop and take a photo.

It is quite strange. It is a beautiful fence, recently crafted with lovely lights posted on the top. The wood seems to be carefully chosen, and the hinges are gorgeous, standing out in beautiful black. The odd thing about it, there is no fence. There’s a gate with no fence! Imagine that, and besides, the gate is open most of the time.

I came home and said, “Daryl you’re not gonna believe this, but there’s a house that has a gate with no fence. It’s magnificent. I have no idea why they put it there but what a great symbol for our lives. A gate with no fence. A gate that is open. It seems like a marvelous invitation to come in and see the treasures that await beyond its openness.”

Being practical, as my sweetheart Daryl is, he said to me, “Bonnie Lee, they don’t need a fence. All around the front of the property is a deep culvert. A car could never get over it without severe damage.” “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said. Here I thought it was this welcome invitation. Instead, it’s just a way to keep people out when it’s closed. “Well yes,” he said “that is probably true.” 

 I stopped the other day and took a photo of it because I couldn’t get it off my mind. Imagine my surprise when the house was for sale. At the end of the gate is a magnificent structure, a gorgeous house waiting to be filled with love and laughter.

 As I looked a little closer, I noticed that there was a sign posted right next to the open gate. If you look closely in the photo, or enlarge it, you can see it. It says ‘guard dogs on property. They will attack. Notify owner before entry.’ No way! Unbelievable! Who would put such a sign beside this lovely gate? I was astounded, but then I remembered that the house was for sale and maybe they just didn’t want people wandering around the property without an appointment.

But soon I began to think about my own life. The gate seemed like it was a symbol. I consider myself open, loving, welcoming, and my effort is for people to find a refuge with me, a place to call home. I like when people confide in me and find solace when we are together. I do have a reputation for complete strangers to tell me intricate details of their lives.

 But then that open gate with a deep culvert and the sign caused me to stop and think more deeply about my openness. Sometimes we say we’re open, but when a friend doesn’t agree with our political view, it’s almost as if we put our hands up and say ‘stop it I don’t want to hear it.’ What about the relative who we label as a tin hat, or conservative, liberal, or other such names that I can’t even write here. I’m not going to their picnic, we say, it’s just too hard. We don’t think alike and I can’t listen to their shenanigans.

 What about the person who plays very loud music in their backyard when I’m trying to have my quiet time? I stomp around and say ‘don’t they have any sense?’ Of course, I keep it to myself but my thoughts are so ugly. This morning Mother Theresa reminded me in my devotional that Christ lives in us and through us. Oh dear, I’m not a very good example of that when I have such thoughts am I? So, the gate has become a reminder to be more open, to take the sign of guard dogs away. (Possibly not even have guard dogs, but then again I live in a place of safety) Yes, my soul needs protecting sometimes from the meanness of the world, don’t get me wrong, but so often I shut the gate with a snap before I look deeply into the person’s eyes and hear the wounds of their souls. God forgive me. I was a pastor for many years, and I think about the ways we claim to be an open and welcoming congregation, but on Sunday mornings, do we talk to the newcomer? Well, a lot of the times we just chat with the people we already know. "It's the pastor's job to welcome visitors," we say. If someone’s theology doesn't quite align with our sensibilities, we make comments, ‘perhaps they’re not suited to us.’ That’s like having the guard dog sign there. God help us.

When I spend time meditating before Saint Francis in my garden each day, I’m reminded to love everyone to love all creatures, yes, even the spiders too, which scare the wits out of me; that’s a really hard one. I have a friend who loves spiders. I never quite understood it, but you know what, her spirit is like that too. I don’t know a person that she doesn’t love. Her invitations to parties and gatherings are always open.

So maybe the gate is there to give me a lesson in God's good welcome. May it be so for you today. Sending you my love with all my foibles, Bonnie Lee.

 

Life is Full of Surprises!

Hey, it’s me! I’m back. Well I didn’t really go anywhere, but many of you have been asking when I’m going to Blog again. I don’t know I got stuck I guess.  (This is going to be longer than one trip to the toilet!)

Retirement, well, I don’t know what it is. It’s way better than I expected, but not all what I thought it would be. First of all, I absolutely love my early mornings on the patio, reveling in the garden. It’s comforting, peaceful, majestic, and the result of much hard labor. It reminds me that God is present in all things. On the other hand, I don’t know why I can’t sleep in. It doesn’t matter because I can take a nap if I want to. Well most days I can take a nap, when I’m not running between doctor appointments. 

 

That has been the other surprise during retirement. I thought that I would be free of doctor appointments; that my body would somehow magically rejuvenate from all the rest and less stress that you often face when you work. Ha! Well that didn’t happen. Less stress, for sure, if you don’t consider that our son lost his house to a fire, or our daughter with a chronic illness has faced some critical issues, or that our political situation frightens me on any given day. But I’m full of Hope!

 

No, I’m not a Pollyanna, but you can go ahead and call me that if you like. I’m more like a Dolly Parton kind of girl without the boobs and the money! Life is just a lot more interesting, peaceful, and invigorating when I look at it through the eyes of gratefulness.

 

Yesterday was the most incredible day. It was not at all what we expected. We took our truck to get serviced. The guy told us to show up at 9 AM which we did. He said it would be a couple hours so we went for breakfast. We found this little diner called Eggs Up Grill. Everything was tasty and the atmosphere so delightful. We still hadn’t received a call from the mechanic so we decided to pick up a few groceries. As you probably know by now, a few groceries usually turns into a cart full. But I got some fresh kale so that counts for something right?

 

We headed back to the auto shop. The car still wasn’t ready and the gentleman said it would probably be about an hour so we decided to take a nap in the car. I couldn’t nap so I started walking around. We went back in and he said well it’s actually gonna be longer.  By now it’s noon and so we headed for lunch. 

 

Now I have a strange craving for cheesesteaks. Since moving to South Carolina, I have not found any place that  makes good cheese steaks and of course not Philly cheesesteaks. But Daryl happened to find one online that was called Cheesesteak University close to Coastal Carolina University so we thought we’d try it out.

 

Oh my, we went there and was I ever excited! Daryl and I shared a half of an original cheesesteak and it was phenomenal. I saw people eating soft ice cream and I said to Daryl "they have ice cream here as well." So I went over to the counter and said to the gentleman, "I would like to buy some ice cream." "Oh ma’am,"he said, "our ice cream is complementary. You just help yourself." You have got to be kidding me! Cheesesteak sandwiches and free ice cream! I have just now found my favorite place to eat! What fun!

 

So you see all that waiting turned out to be a great benefit. We headed back to the auto shop and it still wasn’t ready so Daryl and I sat together in the waiting room and basically looked lovingly at one another. It’s OK to take that kind of time you know. Remembering the love and making googly eyes at each other! 

 

The truck was finally ready, and the gentleman told us that our truck is an excellent shape and that we are taking good care of it. OK, I already knew that since I’m the one who checks the oil most of the time and looks under the hood to inspect it. I have no idea what I am inspecting but it seems like a good idea in case anything has made a home under there! 

 

Next, our stop was to the DMV of South Carolina in Conway. Now I have to tell you, DMV offices get a bad rap. This place was run like an Amazon plant and filled with kind people. We went in and asked the first lady how she was doing. She kind of laughs and says, "oh just peachy." I said, "well that’s a good answer, but I don’t think that’s really what’s happening." She said "let’s just say peachy shall we?" And kept a smile on her face. It’s so happen that when they had issued Daryl his South Carolina license they had not put his motorcycle designation on it. We were so happy to find out that he did not have to take the test again, but they would reissue him a new license for free! We took a number and sat down. 

 

It wasn’t very long before they called our number and he had his photo taken and we were out of there. People were so nice and they were working so fast, but it didn’t feel like you were being rushed through. Now, how did they get like that? I don’t know. Maybe it’s all those miniature glass figurines on top of their computer monitors that cheer them up and make them smile, but their attitudes are beautiful! 

 

Now you might think that that was enough for one day and I could go home and take a nap but I couldn’t sleep so I made a new kind of dinner with a new recipe. All I can tell you is, it didn’t work. Ever since I retired I thought that I would become this really fantastic cook and I would do new recipes and we would just have great food. Well, it’s unfortunate but not one single recipe that I have tried has really been delicious. Daryl is so kind and just eats it and says oh that was OK. But this definitely was not OK. Yeah, I’m gonna put everything in the crockpot tomorrow with Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce, and I’ll tell you it is gonna be good!

But what happened after dinner was probably the most rewarding part of our day. We went out to water the lawn, because we’ve got new grass that was just seeded and that’s when the people start walking. A young mother and her son introduced themselves. She stayed and talked and talked, and I just loved it. Then a couple came over and said to Daryl, "we’d like to talk to Bonnie Lee." So Daryl had me stop my watering and go call them and they came over and went inside. They had never been inside our home and even though we were polite with each other previously,  we did not really know them. It was a beautiful meeting. They shared a concern with which they thought I might be able to help. 

 

Next, I had written a message to someone in our community that I’d like to talk to them personally over some situations that were happening in our community. They said yes they would be there in half an hour.  Oh my, was that ever the crowning glory of my day. A man, his wife and their baby

came and stayed two hours. It was a great delight. We shared our garden with them. We sat in the house and they looked at all the paintings and the art on the wall.  We shared our struggles of living in the community and our great joys of being here. They were intrigued by the organ and their young son was wideyeded as Daryl played the Native American flutes and he loved the loudness of the organ! We found kindred spirits. Once they left, I said to Daryl, "my cup is full and running over." That wasn’t to be the end of the day!

 

Our very dear friends from California called and we chatted with them and then just as I was getting ready for bed my sister called me. She kind of forgot what time it is cause she’s retired but I absolutely love talking to her. She is so funny and so witty and just makes the best out of life. So I sat in my recliner and chatted with her a bit. And finally with a contented heart and a weary body, I snuggled down to the best man in the whole wide world. 

 

So there you have it, my dear friends, nothing very inspiring, no great truths, no insights to give you; just to tell you I love you dearly, Bonnie Lee