Saturday

Saturday sings her own special song. It's slow, wanders here and there, soothes, heals. Her tempo is independent and carries no hint of a march. It sounds more like the wind and somehow holds the smell of bacon and coffee. Slow, soothing, easy. Irresistible.

Currently my dear friend Jayne and her husband Cam are in Lisbon, Portugal and she sent me a slew of amazing photos this morning. I scrolled through them, taking it all in and some travel-type bug began crawling through my mind. So I started snooping around on the website Jayne told me about, imagining a trip, a tour, a package, a anything.

Pastel de Nata from Portugal. All photos courtesy of Jayne and coming at you from Portugal.

But there she is, my mature brain, peering down at the pesky travel bug and asking, "Really? After the week you've had you really want more crazy? Aren't you glad to be home?"

Yes. I am. And, I would love to have an adventure but maybe not today.

How was your week? Were you busy?

A quick snapshot of mine would include a laser eye procedure to clear up some cell growth after my cataract surgery, a MOHS procedure to remove a skin cancer spot on my forehead, a night with some friends discussing church and our desire for it to be a 'shelter from the storm' and each of our experiences of why it has been the opposite, work and feeling guilty for not being able to be there consistently with all my other things going on, time with a sweet, precious granddaughter, BlueJays baseball - lose, win, win, lose, a first time haircut at a salon run by African American women and the delightful people I met there, and then walking beside our son Will and his wife Morgan as they spent time in the ER trying to navigate their health concern and the American healthcare system.

All of it is still sticking to me. Bits and pieces of everything I walked into, the people I walked beside, and all the words I spoke and heard. It clings like a messy blessing.

Saturday's song feels absolutely right. A day without much structure. No marching beat. No ticking clock barking out orders. Duties of course, always duty, but duty on my terms, not someone else's. There is a house to clean, a Sunday School lesson to plan, a supper to cook and I get to do it when I decide to do it.

But before I move into Saturday I'm not ready to leave here until I sum up the week behind me. For some reason it feels like I must pay it homage with a word. What word would you chose for your week? I can't land on just one. The words swirling through my head are: whirlwind, wack-a-doo, weary. Not sure why I went with words beginning with 'w' but I'm going with it. It's Saturday remember? I have a bit of leeway here.

Is a word enough? I'm thinking more celebration is needed. We just made it through another week with all of its pressure, appointments, duty, alarm clocks, all of the stuff a week throws at us. But wait. I don't want to have to get ready for a party. I love you but I'm kind of pooped. Honestly, I don't even want to brush my teeth right now. Celebrating with stinky teeth and jammie pants hardly seems right.

How about this? Let's all just take a moment. A party type moment. We're going to take a moment to pretend because we can. It's Saturday.

Close your eyes. Take a deep breath and see if you can conjure an image of being in a circle holding hands with all the precious people still sticking to you from your week. I'm also adding to my circle all my precious ones I didn't get to see this week. Got it? Got your circle? I know, I know. Some of you don't like hand-holding circles but just do this for me. Remember. It's a pretend party.

We look around, acknowledge each other and the importance of being a part of this circle. You are a part of a circle. You belong. Look around one more time. Acknowledge your presence in this group and all the people with you. Now we bow our heads and take in this blessing of community. Take a few more deep breaths simply because you can. It's ok if a tear or two show up. It happens sometimes when you stop the crazy and step into the still.

Now, without anyone saying a word, we all lift up our heads, then our hearts, then our clasped hands and someone leads us into the exact hymn we need. Yes. That one. We all sing, because we all know the words and the harmony, and together we lift our voices in praise to the God who blesses us with a week.

Thank you LORD.

Thank you.

For all the busy, the crazy, the heartbreak, and the confusion. Thank you for all of it. For being beside us every step of the way.

Thank you for your love and your faithfulness. I can't speak for everyone else but I think I know all about your love and faithfulness. Yet when I stand still for a moment and let it wash over me, the power of it, your power, your presence, in all of the places with all of the people, something inside of me changes.

Thank you.

To you be all glory, honor and praise.

Forever and ever.

Amen.

And because we all need a little more Portugal in our Saturday, here's some more photos courtesy of Jayne. Thanks Jayne!