Thoughts on a cool Monday morning

It's Monday, February 8th, 9:00 a.m. in the Pacific Northwest. The weather should be nice later, but right now it is Oregon gray. There should be a paint in that shade. People in the rest of the country would like the cool light gray-blue. Northwesterners would never buy it. Luckily my mood is not shady at all. It's a sunny pink day to me. I found out last night how many people care for me, and that makes every day sweeter, more golden.

A Twitter friend of mine posted a request for prayers and good thoughts for me because I'm having a surgical procedure in two days, and she understands the potential seriousness of that surgery. So many people responded. I was amazed that over 25 people tweeted me with one who said "A LOT of ppl care. You might be surprised how many do. You're a light in the world. We'll be waiting to hear you're okay." Wow! Thank you, Twitter!

The surgery is angioplasty to open three clots in my leg arteries. Angioplasty is an everyday procedure. However, I had an angioplasty over a year ago that didn't work because my arteries are badly damaged and couldn't handle the stent. The alternatives aren't great if it doesn't work. I don't have many extra veins in good enough shape for bypasses. I don't know if this procedure will work either, but I can always hope!

Another bright spot yesterday was my little dog Rags. I got her a little toy white lamb with a rattle inside. She chewed on it until I could have wrung dog spit out of it. She even took it to bed, hiding it in her special spot under the corner of the bed.

Rags had a bath last night. I wash her in the kitchen sink so I can use the sprayer to rinse the baby shampoo out of her fur. She does not enjoy baths but the little nut can get so dirty. My husband throws tennis balls in the back yard for her to fetch. Now she meets him at the door with a ball in her mouth. Can you tell we love our dog?

The Super Bowl was yesterday. It was low key at our house. I wish we had been at a Super Bowl party with lots of excited people. As it was, I tweeted, watched commercials, and was glad when New Orleans won. I didn't get into the Super Bowl this year, even though I love football.

The other great thing about Sunday was church. I love going to church, seeing friends, singing the songs, listening  to the message. Our church is looking for a pastor, and the guest speaker we had might be "the one." He has a nice wife and a couple of teenagers. There were lots of microphone problems when he started, and he handled them with aplomb and humor. He had his message written out but he didn't appear to read it and often became conversational as he talked about his own life and how to "bear good fruit." My husband and I liked him.

After church, we have a time for fellowship. That means food. Yesterday was a celebration of birthdays and anniversaries. So many people brought cakes and cupcakes that some was even left over. There are about 70 regulars and around 30 children. It's nice to get to chat, catch up, relearn the kids' names and who their parents (or grandparents) are. Other Sundays are usually potlucks, soup and sandwiches, Mexican food, and so on. We come to know each other, not just recognize each other. The fellowship time is one of the reasons I love my church.

Next Saturday there will be a kids vs. old guys football game, and I am helping with the hot dogs. Again, food! See what I mean. Eating together somehow seals the friendships. Not having other people and traditional food around is probably why the Super Bowl was less important to me this year.

Sometimes people ask me why I believe in God, and how I can be a progressive politically and still be a Christian. I don't find the two incompatible. It's how I was raised. The two great commandments are important to me. I do love God, and I believe other people should be treated as I want to be treated. I believe in God because I cannot NOT believe. The complexity of creation belies randomness to me. When I consider the human body, the way bodily systems interact autonomically to sustain life; the mind and its abilities and potential; the functions of the muscles and tendons and bones to support the body's frame throughout decades of hard stresses, I just can't write that up to random evolution. And then when I consider nature, the uniqueness of different insects, the way species interact with one another, the universe and its possibilities, I believe. There must be a Creator.

Not that I don't think evolution makes sense. I see evidence of evolution and know that Adam didn't ride dinosaurs or that everything wasn't created 6,000 years ago. That's nonsense. The God who made the universe and nature also created a system of adaptation so that living creatures could survive change events.  I just don't see the conflict that many Christians find between creation and science.

But it's Monday morning and I have a new week ahead of me. A surgery. Meals to plan and cook. Political issues to learn about and discuss. Friends to talk to. Now, it's time for more hot coffee! That's another thing that makes mornings great.