Supplement

I am. The least crafty person. On the planet.

The hight of my crafting each year is to sew the names of our new household members on Christmas stockings.

…

Yesterday we celebrated my parents’ 43 wedding anniversary. That is a long time.

Our Hungarian friend’s mother had a stroke this past year and last night at the celebration the conversation turned to how her mother was fairing after these many months of struggle.

As she explained in her unique way (gift 1213 in my life: the clarity of broken English), her mother’s memory is improving as her sister has found, “a medication or a supplement or SOMETHING that is helping her link yesterday to today.” “Helping her know that it was fall and now it is winter.”

… and I think … giving her hope that Spring will come.

The terror of a disjointed life begs a cure.

And so each year I “waste” the first week of my clean slate rehashing the past 365 days of photos, video clips and songs - boiling a year of life down to 12 minutes.  Begging for something “to help me link yesterday with today.”

And my Bible reading finds me in Exodus today.  For the 100th time I turn the page from the plagues to the red sea as they stand in terror - falling on their faces in fear and complaint.

“WE ARE GOING TO DIE!!!”

Next page. Water from a rock. Manna.

Next page.

“WE ARE GOING TO DIE!!!”

And I think… someone should have given them a supplement.

And me.  They are me. 

I can turn the page back on their life in awe of their forgetfulness.  

Who will turn the page back on my life and remind me?

So I create my 12 minute supplement of faces and moments that I likely almost missed in busyness.  That I am only now taking the time to say Thank you for.  12 minutes to remind me of who was and no longer is.  Who is, and almost wasn’t.  12 minutes to say, “WATCH - this may be the last year of uninhibited free dress-up dance party every day in the living room.” And breath… something beautiful is happening.

And I have heard it said, that the most beautiful masterful tapestries are a mess from the back side.  Worse than my stockings even.  So my video is my form of faith.  To hang His tapestry backward… for now. Until we get to the other side.  To say, “this must be beautiful - because He is crafty…”

“In the beginning God created…”

He’s been at it a while. Longer than 43 years. And 43 years is a long time… to be living, creating, and remembering… and far too long to be remembering and forgetting.

so…. I better get back to making my supplement - because 43 years will be here before I know it.