Trademark "Good"

"I think we're creative all day long. We have to have an appointment to have that work out on the page. Because the creative part of us just gets tired of waiting." ~ Mary Oliver

Sometimes one needs a nudge...often one needs a series of nudges....ok, more often than not one needs hit over the head with a sledgehammer before one realizes, "O, that's what I should be doing....." As all of us can attest, one's days can quickly become a litany of to-do's and try-to-pleases and have-to-do-this-cause-it-will-make _______ (add whomever fits this space for you)happy. Faithful blog readers have read it before....ok, many times before....I need to commit to writing. I need to commit to speaking. Take this any way you wish, yet, I've had myself committeed to the task of daily writing.

Being one who always looks for a cool celebration or anniversary or special date to start anything new, today, 12 June, is perfect as it is the birthday of Anne Frank. Thanks be to the designers of high school curricula who deemed it important that students should read THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK and kudos to Ms. Ruth Bird who assigend this book to my sophomore self. We're familiar with the story. On her 13th birthday, Anne received a diary that she named Kitty and on whose pages she confided. Anne and her family who fled Germany for the Netherlands went into hiding in response to the Nazi occupation and would eventually be captured and sent to a concentration camp where, except for Otto, the father, they would all perish. An acquaintence of the family, found Anne's diary and returned it to her father who had it published in 1952.

It is the dark backdrop of war and holocaust that brings even more gravity to, perhaps Anne Frank's most well-known quote: "Despite everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." I remember debating in seminary classes if humans were innately good or innately evil. I landed on the innately good side and so do still believe.

I recieved my call to ministry while working as a summer program staff for two summers at Jumonville, the biggest of the three church camps run by the Western PA Annual Conference. I remember working an elementary kids camp that included several little cherubs that would bring me to question my belief that we are innately good. Johnny, please don't wear our identifiable orange bandana as a loin cloth. Jennifer, the fire is to help us cook our supper, please don't pile on one more log as you yell, "Camp Inferno!" It was during this week circling through the woodsy version of Dante's levels of hell, that I recall the camp dean repeating over and over to the youngsters, "Remember, make good choices." Sounded good, yet, where was the instruction of what would happen when their choices were not good and bordered on destructive?

As we know, every action has a consequence, or, as I am fond of saying, every action creates a ripple ---- good or bad. Every person can list moments when we've made terrrible choices, created really bad ripples. For many of us, the consequences were lessened by a strong support system of family and friends and community. What about those persons who lack any support system? Who's responsible? As members of a shared community, what is our role? Do we have one? What happens when we refuse to play it?

A few points to ponder as the days grow hotter, the sun shines brighter and the grass gets greener.

More to come.....nudged worked;

sj;