Today,
I successfully distributed 23 daisies.
For the most part,
I gave them out by two's
and told the recipient
that she had to give
the second daisy to someone else.

Cool thing:
at 10:00pm,
someone came banging upon my door.
"Someone gave this daisy to me,
and I just wanted to give it to you!"
We traced the daisy's history,
and it had gone through 6 or 7 people today!
Imagine the happiness
one little flower can give!

Lots of fun;
thank you
Joy for providing
the daisies.

me at three:
in chubby fist
i clutch a red crayon.
my Daddy will be home soon.
berry-apple-fire-truck-red
dances around my paper.
my Daddy will be home soon.
the front door creaks;
his big shoes clump.
my Daddy is home soon.
i give him the red on my paper
and a little-chin-on-his-knees hug.
my Daddy is happy to be home soon.

now i am twenty-two, fretful
over "composition" and "technique"
my Daddy's home-coming forgotten.
i twist my soul to study
other's invented hues;
my Daddy might like them better.
i scorn the scribbling that once i loved;
seeking perfection at others' schools.
i know my Daddy will like this better.
no joy-drawings now;
washed-out intellectual games
do i give my Daddy.

i want to be three again

for the student:
"Thou shalt get good grades."

for the fundamentalist:
"Thou shalt not compromise."

for the BJ affiliate:
"Thou shalt do the best thou canst in everything thou canst."

I am especially guilty of making the first and last "commands" my own personal greatest command. But Christ grants freedom and peace in one simple commandment:
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."

It's time to re-prioritize

As is typical
of hard-headed, stupid sheep,
I wasn't thinking
a jot
or even a tittle
about the words
I was singing
until
somehow, one phrase
clobbered me into attention:

“Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?”