Today, for the first time, I decided to participate in Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday linkup. Each Friday Kate provides a one-word prompt, and participants do a five-minute freewrite on that word and post it on their blog.
The word today is "CONNECT." It jumped out at me because I've been reading a lot of blog posts where people choose their One Word for the year. I wasn't really planning on doing that, yet for some reason the word "connect" kept bouncing around in my consciousness. So when I saw Kate's prompt, I decided to write this little five-minute post.
*************
Unusually for us, we traveled at Christmas. My brother-in-law
and sister-in-law, who live 6 hours away, invited us; we arrived there on
Christmas Eve and stayed three nights. They were such wonderful hosts. We ate
lots of good food, played games, and had a chance to relax.
They got a new hot tub last fall. My sister-in-law, who is the
youngest of 13 children, lost both of her parents in the past year and a half;
family and connection were very important to her parents, so she bought the hot
tub as a symbol of connection and being together. So far, she says, their three
teens aren’t using it a whole lot, but for her and her husband, sitting in the
hot tub in the evening is a wonderful way to relax and connect.
On our last night there, a few of us went out and sat in the
hot tub. They turned off as many lights as they could so it was as dark as
possible. As our eyes adjusted to the darkness, the stars seemed to pop out of
the sky. There was the Big Dipper, hanging there reliably as ever. The stars
seemed linked together in an invisible net.
Connection is something we can foster (by buying a hot tub or
gathering for a meal or a holiday), but it’s not something we have to strive
for. We ARE connected, like the stars in the heavens. God holds everything
together, and we just have to rest in that knowledge and pay attention to the
signs all around us.
Hi Jeannie, welcome to FMF- glad you joined us! I enjoyed your post. That sounds amazing- sitting in the hot tub, gazing at the stars. And that's a great lesson that while we can foster connection we don't have to strive for it because we already are connected. Visiting from #20.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Lesley -- I'm glad that after lurking around FMF for a few months I finally took the plunge to participate. I appreciate your comment.
DeleteHi Jeannie. This is my first Five Minute Friday. Well pretty much. I did it well over a year a go for a few runs. I love how even when connecting with your family by just soaking in the hot tub you also connected with something so much larger. Love how God works. :)
ReplyDeleteDropping by from FMF #28 Ah I wish I was still that age...well partly.
Ha ha, it will only be a (ahem) handful of years till I'm 2x that age (assuming it's the 28 you meant....).
DeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting, and maybe I'll see you on another Friday before long!
Jeannie, I'm so glad you stepped out of lurk-dom and wrote for FMF! I love your words here. And what you shared about fostering connection—that's so neat that your SIL bought a hot tub to encourage connecting. We do need to do those things, don't we? Today, I connected with my youngest through baking, and it was so much fun. :) Those memories are built, hearts are woven together and joy is found in the weaving.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I got to meet you today!
Same here, Jeanne: thanks so much for stopping by to comment. Take care!
DeleteJeannie, the connection you found in the strs being held together by God actually made the connections we have here on earth seem more real to me. If he can do that in the vastness of space then certainly we who are all located on one planet are connected as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tim. As we sat there under the stars I of course remembered Chesterton's statement about the vast cosiness of the night sky, and how that was a factor in his coming to believe in a good, loving God. I have never forgotten that.
DeleteWhat a beautiful way to spend Christmas. I enjoyed how you tied this all together looking at the stars; we truly are one. It was nice to connect with you this Friday:-)
ReplyDeleteSame here, Rebecca. I really appreciate your reading and commenting; take care!
DeleteI love "connecting" with you through your blog, Jeannie. :) Your last paragraph speaks to me. We don't have to strive to connect, just rest in it. And pay attention!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Betsy - I so enjoy our connection as well. Have a great day.
DeleteHey Jeannie ... you sure packed alot into all of 300 seconds! Let's hear it for the joys of connection ... and hot tubs, too!
ReplyDeleteIn my writing group we do regular 10-minute freewrites, but 5 minutes is so short! It's a neat experience, though; have you ever participated in FMF?
DeleteAs for the hot tub, I had never before been in one in the wintertime. It was only about -1 Celsius; I wonder what the experience would have been like at -20....