He Will Hold Your Hand

Tonight I went out and got my hair cut.  After the clock change last weekend, only one nearby salon stayed open after dark.  I was able to just barely get my appointment in before they closed.

I saw a darling little boy getting his second ever hair cut.  He was quite ready to climb up into the chair and get the cape put on him.  He was all smiles and very well-behaved.  But pretty soon a little hand reached out from under the cape towards Mommy.  He wanted Mommy to hold his hand.

There is a beautiful verse in Isaiah:  “For I, the Lord your God will hold your hand and say to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’ ”  (Isaiah 41:13)  God knows that deep down inside we all feel like scared little children sometimes.  He will hold our hand when we are afraid.  That’s a very comforting thought, isn’t it?

Touching (and Washing!) the Hem of His Garment

I spend my Sunday nights doing Jesus’ laundry.

(For those of you who are not Catholic, I’ve made a page explaining my beliefs about the Eucharist.  This post will make more sense if you read it.)

For almost five years I have cared for our Parish’s altar linens every week.  Because of our belief in the Real Presence, I treat these linens with great respect.  Many have touched the Eucharist.  They often contain the remains of consecrated wine.  We believe that the Real Presence leaves when the wine dries, but I still soak the linens before cleaning them.  The water gets poured out into the garden where people are unlikely to walk.

Remember the woman who was healed by touching the hem of Jesus’ garment?  Every week I not only get to touch, I get to scrub, wash, dry, fold, starch and iron the “garments” He has actually “worn”.  Sometimes I even leave kisses for Him to find the next time He “wears” the linens.  How many people get that opportunity?  I’m a very lucky little Sparrow.

Share My Joy

Tonight I met a friend I feared was dead, and I am so happy I have to share the news!

His name is Splotches.  He is a giant slug.  Yes, you read that correctly — my friend is a slug.

Slugs are nocturnal, and they seem to love coming up onto our front walkway.  At first I just didn’t want to step on them when I went to get the mail after dark.  Believe me, stepping on a slug with bare feet is disgusting!  I doubt the slug likes it, either.

Last summer I put a chair outside so I could enjoy the warm summer nights.  That’s when I started paying more attention to the slugs.  They are actually very interesting little creatures.

When we have stale bread, I put it outside at night for the birds to eat in the morning.  One time I must have dropped a piece on the walkway.  The next night there was a slug munching that bread.  I had no idea slugs liked bread.  I’ve been feeding the slugs ever since.  My family thinks I am crazy.

One very large slug came right to the front door almost every night.  I named him Splotches.  Splotches is about 5 inches long, and has quite a sweet tooth.  He really likes pie!  After eating, he curls up around the food, puts his head on top like it’s his pillow, and takes a nap.  None of the other slugs do that.  They just much and run, if run is the right word for a slow slug.

We recently had a freak snowstorm with days of very low temperatures for our area.  For weeks I’ve looked for Splotches.  I’ve left treats in his favorite spots, but he never showed up.  I thought he probably didn’t make it through the cold weather.

Tonight I looked down, and there was Splotches!  I was so happy I could have kissed him.  (Don’t worry, I’m not that crazy.)  I did bring him inside to show my mom.  She was thrilled, ha ha!  Actually, she called him disgusting and told me to take him outside.  I took Splotches outside and gave him a graham cracker and a piece of banana.  He happily started munching.

I wondered if it were really Splotches or another look-a-like slug.  A while later I looked outside again.   He was still there.  He was all curled up, with his head on the banana taking his nap.  That’s when I knew for sure it was my friend, Splotches.

Psalm 84

For most of the year there is too much sunlight for me to go to church on Sunday.  We have an evening Mass (I am Catholic) that I can attend from November through part of February.  It always hurts so much when I have to stop going to Mass.

I don’t know if this is correct, but I read once that David wrote Psalm 84 while he was living in the wilderness to escape King Saul who had gone crazy and wanted to kill him.  It got so bad that David had to leave his country and live with the pagan Philistines for more than a year.

I read that Psalm 84 expresses David’s own longing to be back in God’s house.  He was envious of those little sparrows and swallows!  “They are happy who dwell in Your House, singing Your praises!”  Even the little birds can sing their praise to the Lord.

I think about this Psalm when I can’t go to church anymore.  I know a little of how David might have felt.  Such lucky little sparrows having their nest by His altars!

Why am I the Nocturnal Sparrow?

I have a medical condition that has remained a mystery in spite of years of specialists and tests.  I am unable to be in any sunlight, including through windows.  When the symptoms are very mild I get dizzy, I can’t think clearly, and my skin prickles and itches.  I sometimes break out in welts, kind of like mosquito bites that leave bruises behind when they disappear.  In the more severe reactions these welts can become extremely large, 4-5 inches or larger.  In the worst reactions I can go into a kind of stupor and lose my ability to move.  One time I actually stopped breathing.

For some reason the frequency of my exposure seems to intensify the reactions.  The only way to stop this is to stay out of all sunlight most of the time.  Then I can handle the occasional trip to the doctor or dentist, etc.  As long as I’m not the one driving!

The most practical solution we have found is for me to sleep in the daytime.  My bedroom has several light blocking layers on the window.  During the summer it isn’t dark when I get up in the evening, but we have very good shades and heavy curtains in the main part of the house.  It isn’t as light proof as my bedroom, but I’m fine for a few hours.  I just stay out of the rest of the house until it is dark.  Then I am free to go wherever I want!

Every morning before I go to bed, I let myself have one good look out the window in spite of the sunlight.  That is when I see the little sparrows hopping and chirping in the trees outside.  They always make me smile.

Introducing The Sparrow

Hello.  This is my first blog post.  Starting a blog on Ash Wednesday — seems a bit strange to me.  You may be wondering (especially if you know me!) why I chose to be The Sparrow for this blog.  Let me tell you why I like sparrows.

A sparrow isn’t bright and colorful like a blue jay or a cardinal.  It isn’t majestic enough to represent countries like an eagle.  It isn’t wise like the owl.  It can’t learn to talk like a parrot.  It isn’t exotic like a peacock.  It isn’t big enough to be a holiday dinner like the turkey.  (Lucky sparrow!)

The sparrow is simple little bird, a plain and humble bird compared to the others.  They just hop around in the trees and bushes sweetly and cheerfully chirping no matter what the weather.   That’s why I like them.  I can identify with the sparrow.  I’m not colorful, majestic or wise.  I want to be humble.  I want to learn to be sweet and cheerful in “bad weather”.  So I am The Sparrow.  The Nocturnal Sparrow.  I’ll explain that in another post.