Sometimes the World Worries Me

I grew up in church. In fact, I grew up singing in a choir through every year of my young life and I have continued as an adult. One of the gifts that I can give of myself is singing and my commitment to being a good worship leader. I’m duty led to be in church. On our drive into church on typical Sunday mornings, we see lots of people who are not so led.

On the rare Sundays that we are not in church, I find myself watching people. Why isn’t’ the jogging man showered and walking down the aisle to find a seat before church service starts? Why isn’t the young woman making her way to church where she ..should be dropping her children off at their Sunday School classes and going to her own? Why isn’t the ‘mature’ couple speeding around in their convertible speeding to church to meet other couples in an adult Sunday School class before worshiping in church service?

I suppose the belief in heaven and hell has diminished. The belief in faith has too. They’ve obviously never depended on their faith to get them through anything.

The day

In more recent Sundays out, I have noticed more and more people are making Sundays:

• Yard work day
• Movie day
• Sit at the Starbucks in sweatpants day
• Eat brunch out day
• Grocery shopping day
• Anything besides church day.

The Sundayisms go on.

• It’s the only day ‘I’ have.
• I work all week and cart the kids around on Saturday. Sunday is ‘my’ day.
• It’s the only day I can catch up on laundry or housework.

Sorry if I sound preachy but that just isn’t right. Sunday is God’s day.

The decline

Attendance, participation and contributing to churches is declining for every denomination.

Weirdness, violence and downright spitefulness happens all over cities and towns where no one every imagined it would.

Correlation? Hmmmm.

We live in south Charlotte in a usually quiet neighborhood. 2 weeks before Easter, a terrible act of violence happened just 3 houses down from us.

The hope

That’s frightening to me because I expect to be safe when I need to walk my dog at midnight or 6 am.

The world worries me because it seems that the people who didn’t grow up caring about people are gaining on the group that did and it apparently is a trend – not an anomaly.

To counteract this trend, we need to do random acts of kindness, keep the faith and hope our group stays larger than their group.

And Then Came Ozzy

With the MBC diagnosis, my oncologist and I discussed how it might impact not only my life but Dennis’.

It’s a lot to comprehend. And now, 9 months into the condition, I understand the toll on everything – work, social life, work out schedules, travel – everything.

And the focus on the cancer beat down. It’s visible every day. I get scans so often that I should have my own machines at CMC Radiology!

But that’s OK! Whatever keeps them monster at bay!

And that is the attitude I have to have about this. As does Dennis.

It’s taking it toll on us both.

We both are anxious and angry at times. We both wish we were in a different situation.

I feel bad that he has to endure this because of me.

He just wants treatments to work and for us to enjoy life.

The trick is to enjoy life despite it.

One thing for sure is that you spend lots of your time focused on the disease.

My oncologist shared this thought and then another: ‘you two need a distraction.’

We began to embrace the idea of getting a puppy.

When we were in pre-op for my biopsy, I just blurted it out ‘I think we should get a puppy.’

Post-biopsy we did lots of research – looking at different breeds and all the details about obtaining and owning one. We took a ride ‘to just look’ at some Morkie puppies.

Mistake: thinking we could JUST LOOK at puppies.

Reality: we came home with one.

By the time we’re ½ way home, his name was Ozzy and we had already stopped at Walmart and loaded up on a puppy bed and lots of the other items that pups need. We also stopped at Petsmart since – of course – Ozzy would need food that Walmart didn’t carry! LOL

Within 4 hours we were complete puppy owners. Well – not completely. We just got the ‘wet kisses are the best’ car magnet the other week.

What a great distraction. I can take care of Ozzy while everyone takes care of me.

Dennis has a little buddy to play with and pick on – and to distract him from my troubles.

This did bring some initial nighttime interruptions, but the wet kisses and ‘where have you been’ look are worth whatever the nighttime brings!

Ozzy immediately became our ‘child’ – complete with wardrobe – and is the definition of spoiled. He travels with us and sometimes eats out with us.

 

We examine foods and toys like engineers examining bridges and worry about everything he tries to eat.

Fanatical. Crazy. Some say ridiculous. But – yes – a great distraction from the tiring schedule MBC forces on us.