Neon, Desert, Dust and Dog Hair: July 2015

Neon, Desert, Dust and Dog Hair.

THE BACKSTORY

"Neon, Desert, Dust and Dog Hair" represents more than colorfully lit location and challenges to sanitation, (or random word choice). I've joked that if I ever wrote my memoir, I'd call it Dust and Dog Hair, as that seems to characterize many of my mundane ongoing irritations. I like to think of it as my version of The Small Stuff. Alternate possibilities include, I Can't Answer the Phone Because my Dogs are Eating my Tax Return. (That actually happened.) or I Really, Really Wish I'd Used the Restroom Before I Left.

NEON IN THE DESERT

I have a very surreal view, particularly at night. ("View" defined as looking out over the distance rather than referring to a questionable attitude, though I suppose that depends on who you ask.) If I walk out my front door, follow my street as it curves downhill into the next, turn left, turn right, then left again until I come to a large intersection, take the crosswalk to the other side, go halfway back up the same hill and finally turn around to face the valley below, then I have a view (as well as rather dubious sentence structure). It's a trek, but it leads to a unique and spectacular sight. Ah, location, location, location.

Imagine the Earth was indeed flat, and tilted at a severe angle until the world's historical icon's of architecture tumbled, rolled, slipped and slid down to a single edge. Now visualize dressing them in obnoxiously colorful neon like they were going to a RAVE or a roller-disco. (I'm trying to provide multi-generational references here, my generation admittedly embracing the latter.) Finally, put the entire collection in a dryer on the hottest setting.

Photo courtesy of Brett Mathews

Only in the Neon Desert will you find a noticeably "shrunk" Egyptian Pyramid, Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower. Neon framed electronic billboards cast rapidly changing shadows across a fifty-years-young Roman Colosseum complete with R-rated statuary. Among the many other questionable wonders exists a faux version of Venice's Rialto Bridge under which flow chlorine-scented canals laden with tourists in motorized Gondolas snapping selfies as they are piloted by singing young men wearing the compulsory striped tight T-shirts. Mind you this is all on the same street!

You might assume that living above the Neon Desert must be terribly exciting (or excitingly terrible). Really, that hasn't been my experience. I go to work, come home, clean things and fix things. If I crave variety, there are always bills to pay. I go to bed. I get up. Repeat. Sound familiar? It's just...living. Most of us have some experience with a similar pattern, even if it doesn't include slot machines at just about every gas station. (Not a temptation for me. I lose money in vending machines!)

DUST AND DOG HAIR

Living in the desert (neon, incandescent, candlelit or otherwise) brings a persistent supply of dust. It's truly unfortunate there's no market for dust. I'd love to package it in charming little bottles with tiny corks and have potential buyers get into furious bidding wars on eBay. However everyplace has its own dust. Who would covet my dust when there is the local variety to contend with?

Photo courtesy of my dogs

In addition, I have three perpetually shedding dogs that glory in rubbing their furry bodies on every accessible surface. Sometimes I suspect they are cats in disguise "slumming it" as dogs. Dog hair gathers with the dust in the corners. It delicately floats off the tile at the slightest disturbance only to spread farther out. It seems impervious to vacuums and laughs at brooms. Mops fear it. It possessively attaches itself to furniture and grabs onto clothing like a living parasite. Furthermore, each dog is a different shade. Black, beige and white fur are all represented so that it doesn't matter what color the carpet, furniture or my clothing is. The dog hair will show. It wants to be noticed.

To combat the relentless battle with dust and dog hair, I have lint rollers and static dusters in every room. At one point it looked so appallingly utilitarian to have WMCs (weapons of mass cleanliness) strewn about that I finally placed them in vases like flower arrangements in hopes that they might be decorative as well as functional. It works for me, anyway.

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT

Neon, Desert, Dust and Dog Hair. Perhaps I should use the acronym "ND³H"? Hmm, maybe not. It sounds too much like a synthesized chemical. We all have our own form of Neon, something that is unique to our circumstances. It locates, anchors, and sometimes defines our environment. Even if your surroundings feel commonplace, truly they are exceptional. Why? Because you are there, even if you have to hike a little to see more clearly.

"I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well." (Psalm 139:14, HCSB)

Likewise, we all have some personal variation of dust and dog hair, those ceaseless irksome things that noisily demand constant and immediate attention, though we probably could acknowledge that they just aren't that important. (Clearly I do not refer to anyone's children.) I wonder what might happen if we merely acknowledged the dust and dog hair and focused on matters that truly are significant, meaningful and even eternal.

"Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own." (Matthew 6:34 HCSB)

NOT ALL DESERTS ARE NEON

Photo courtesy of Edr Zambrano

We have all been in a spiritual desert at one time or another. Maybe you are in one now? Nearly 3,500 years ago, Israel wandered the desert for forty years due to their disobedience and disbelief. They were delivered from Egypt just as we can be delivered from our sins through Christ's sacrifice. But they lost faith. They rebelled. They didn't trust God's promises. I'm loathe to admit it, but I've had seasons where I've done the same as the early Israelites. I doubted. I rebelled. I wanted to run my own show. Unfortunately the ratings were horrible and the season was cancelled after the first few sorry episodes.

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2, ESV)

If you are wandering a spiritual desert right now, I urge you to get right with God. It's so simple to initiate. Just...talk to Him. Speaking in Ye Old King's English isn't a prerequisite, so don't feel you need to include "thee" or "thou" (though you can if you wish). Open up to Him and be authentic. Tell Him how you feel, even if it's angry. Trust me, He can handle it. Admit your mistakes and ask for His forgiveness. He knows you better than you do. I know He loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. In fact, He has great plans for you. How am I certain of this? Because He said so.

"For I know the plans I have for you, " declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV)

By the way, if you don't know Jesus yet, you need to. I strongly suggest you don't put that off. Check out this short video.

God Bless You - Mimi

Photo courtesy of Chris Rande

STARTING OVER

Are you anything like me? Are you a woman somewhere in the middle of your life but feel like you’re at the beginning?

Maybe you just went through a life adjustment like a change in marital status, a move, a career change or retirement, and/or your kids leaving home to go find their own beginnings. Possibly you are investing in a new business interest, (re?)learning a skill or a hobby that you hope will grow into something bigger, are going back to school, or even starting a new diet/fitness program.

Even if the only alteration is your hair color, it’s still change! I went from years of being blond to becoming brunette to cover my increasing gray. (This sounds so embarrassingly vain as I write this, as well pushing the boundaries of run-on sentences. ) Perhaps that seems flippant, but it was a substantial adjustment. For one thing, my hair was dark, but my eyebrows were still blond resulting in further, uh, cosmetic modifications. I went through a season of looking at my reflection and feeling like I was seeing an entirely different woman. It took time to grow into. It affected other people in my life too. Some liked the new look. Some didn’t. Occasionally reactions were unexpectedly strong! Of course there were those who felt free to share their unsolicited opinions, especially while I had incompatible eyebrows. In a very tangible sense, it was a new beginning.

THE HIGHEST PRIORITY

Photo courtesy of Pat Wise

More significant (than even hair color), maybe you realize that there’s more to this world than what you can see, touch, smell, hear, and taste. You sense that you were never meant to go through life alone. Perhaps, like me, you are rekindling a relationship with God that somehow fell to the bottom of the priority list just below descaling the coffeemaker and picking up the dry cleaning.

I’m not joking because I’ve done this. Routine responsibilities overshadowed my relationship with my maker. It’s so easy for this to occur unnoticed, like a couple of pounds a year that creep up on you or a few extra charges on the credit card each month. Then one day you look at yourself (or your credit card statement) and think, “When did this happen?” Of course, I wouldn't know anything about either of those. Ok. Maybe I do.

Possibly you’ve just entered into a relationship with Him and recently accepted Christ as your personal savior. That’s not just a beginning, that’s the beginning. I'm thrilled for you, because it is an awesome one!

BEGINNINGS FOLLOW ENDINGS

Photo courtesy of Kat Kelly

Beginnings follow endings. Unlike fiction which typically moves from start to end, real life is cyclical. “The End” is just followed by another beginning. Endings usually are a result of change. It’s when something changes, either externally or internally, that we take stock of where we are at, and more vital, where we are headed. This is one of the many reasons change is good, though often uncomfortable. OK, frequently uncomfortable, but necessary. I recently went through a divorce, and I’ll be 50 in a couple of months (or like a kid might say, “I’m 49 ¾ “, and yes, there are 49 year old children).

The dissolution of my marriage was a traumatic “end” for me. It was not something that I wanted, but it happened. However that ending creates so many possible beginnings. The conclusion of half a century of living causes me to evaluate how I spent those years and how I want to engage in the upcoming ones. While presented with so many choices, one thing I do know is that I need to grow more solid in my relationship with Christ.

I wonder what the previous fifty years (49 ¾) would have been like had I put Him higher on my daily to-do list than checking my email. I’m ashamed, but just being honest. However rather than lament over former choices, I need to avoid "rear-view mirror thinking". If I only look in the rear-view mirror while driving, I’m guaranteed a head on collision. What if I run into an overflowing garbage truck or one of those tricked out SUV limos that cost more than my house? That would be awkward.

"Do not remember the past events, pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert." (Isaiah 43:18-19, HCSB)

ARE YOU WITH ME? THEN LETS DO THIS!

So here we are, at a beginning, or maybe you are approaching one. What are you looking forward to? What are you apprehensive about? Don’t focus on regrets (and plow into that expensive SUV limo). While regrets can inform your future by letting you recognize choices you might not want to repeat, don’t let them impair it. I invite you to join me in the beginning of not merely another chapter, but a whole new story!

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)

The last chapter is over. Begin your new story!

Photo courtesy of Shannon Swift

God bless you - Mimi

Neon, Desert, Dust and Dog Hair

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Title, Explanation, Attitude or Inside Joke?