I CANs

With the nightfall draping us in darkness around 4:15 pm during this time of year, I have noticed a woman wearing a hajib. She cleans one of the neighbor banks at night. The bank is lit up on the interior with the outside darkness almost like a theatrical production. I stand as an audience member wondering if she notices me because I would like to smile, wave and acknowledge her.

Then I remember with sadness a woman from Ethiopia, who sat down on the side cement steps outside of All Pilgrims Church earlier in 2017. She worked but was ashamed to say she was a custodian because she was not living the American Dream. I looked her in the eyes, smiled and said something about an honest day’s work and an honest day’s pay. I also mentioned that I am not sure if I have lived the American Dream. I can’t afford a house in Seattle, and maybe it is the “I CANs” that I understand not the “I CAN’Ts in the Ameri"can." Dream.

I hope the day this woman cleaning the bank looks up and out the window When I am standing there.I will smile and wave. You matter.

It could be you

A dark and chilly evening walk slowly making steps home. I gave all of the hats knitted and loomed out to those in need. All I have is my Santa hat. Thinking about it, I don’t have gloves, and I remembered that I promised my elderly neighbor a hat.

I noticed a makeshift bed in a doorway. The man was dancing and singing at the top of his lungs in the middle of the street, leaving his bed abandoned. I pressed the crosswalk button. I slowly walked out into the street with my crutch and led him to the curb, where he continued dancing and singing.

He did not have a hat so I left him a gift. I have one more Santa hat in the trunk of my car. It’s time to make a hat for my neighbor as I sit and loom in my warm apartment with a cup of tea.

Merry Christmas, my friend and may you have a good night!

Side Note: Many of the people in my neighborhood are living examples of helping in their way. However, I do not encourage others to put yourself in harms way or an unsure situation. If you are unsure how to help, call the SPD non-emergency line. 

I called it before the weather changed. A man was naked. He took a shower with the hose in front of my apartment and asked me for a bar of soap and towel. There were no apparent clothes to be found. I waited for the police cruiser. The police helped him. God Bless, the SPD!

What will your day hold?

Okay...why not have a good time when you are buying new orthotics with plain black flat functional shoes? I purchased a new pair of shoes yesterday. I walked with my own type of swank like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.

I met this young man, who worked in a dingy neighborhood grocery. He was so kind to the street people and poor who entered through the doors. He counted their money so they could see what they were able to buy.

I bought a lotto ticket from him. He shared in between the customers how he was an abused child and survived. How he survived a drug addiction. He overcame his past. He recently graduated with his college degree. He will eventually earn his doctorate. He has a plan. He is living his life with purpose. He lives with compassion, purpose and a plan. I won the jackpot by buying a lotto ticket yesterday. It was worth the price.

A man by the name of Rob stopped on the corner as I left the store. He had a crucifix. Rob was looking for a good Christian woman to marry. I said that I would marry him in 35 years if each of us had not found a spouse. I started to cross the street. Rob yelled, “Wait.” He laid his crucifix on my right leg. Rob offered a healing prayer. He wanted his future wife to be healed.

I stopped on the way to my car to the Hotel Sorrento and St. James Cathedral to offer a prayer for the afternoon, including the people and a marriage proposal.

What will today bring?

Don't water down your greeting or your belief!

I hit “like” on this post last week. I have reflected on it as I rode the bus. I reflected on it during my evening walks. I have reflected. You are welcome to have your traditions. I am welcome to practice mine, to share my greetings and beliefs without retaliation or fear because I am a Christian.

I will continue to wish all a “Merry Christmas” as I wear my Santa hat and without it. I am proud to be a Christian. I expect you not to change me by saying, "Happy Holidays." I expect you not to change my faith. I expect you will learn about me, and I will learn about you. Where is the conversation?

How can you say that I MUST water down my journey to walk with you on yours? I have celebrated other faith traditions, and I am respectful of them. I learned about Kwanza last year, and the list goes on and on.

Respect each others’ holiday traditions. You do not have to embrace all aspects of other’s beliefs. Learn about others’ faith. Be accepting.

And Merry Christmas!

Don't water down your greeting or your belief!

I hit “like” on this post last week. I have reflected on it as I rode the bus. I reflected on it during my evening  walks. I have reflected. You are welcome to have your traditions. I am welcome to practice mine, to share my greetings and beliefs without retaliation or fear because I am a Christian.

I will continue to wish all a “Merry Christmas” as I wear my Santa hat and without it. I am proud to be a Christian. I expect you not to change me by saying, "Happy Holidays." I expect you not to change my faith. I expect you will learn about me, and I will learn about you. Where is the conversation?

How can you say that I MUST water down my journey to walk with you on yours? I have celebrated other faith traditions, and I am respectful of them. I learned about Kwanza last year, and the list goes on and on.

Respect each others’ holiday traditions. You do not have to embrace all aspects of other’s beliefs. Learn about others’ faith. Be accepting.

And Merry Christmas!

WE ARE ONE!

As the week begins,

I have been reminded so many times this past week of similarities and differences yet WE ARE ONE!

When I first moved to Seattle, I lived a friend’s basement in the Lake Ridge neighborhood. I shopped in Renton at the Walmart. Neighbors said, “It is the scariest store.” Some asked, “Why don’t you shop at the Fred Meyers?”  I heard last evening from folks I had dinner with in South Seattle, and they reiterated, “It (Renton Walmart) is the scariest store.”

I walked into buy a couple of items yesterday morning. Two men from two different countries were delighted to see each other. They smiled. They laughed. They hugged each other.  So many people from so many countries lifted my spirit.

When I walked with my purchase, I shared a few words with the Kettle Korn Man, Robert. A woman shared with us about her church in Skyway. Robert stepped out of In His Hands Kettle Korn stand and joined us in a group hug. Robert then offered a prayer.

I headed to the DK Market, where I buy digestive cookies. They are delicious with a cup of Dutch Brothers coffee. I do digress. Or is it I digest?

The DK Market: "For some, the wares found here is the answer to an exotic ingredient quest, for others this is a giant taste of home.”  I did not even understand the languages that filled the air. I was in the moment and accepted the environment that engulfed me.

I watched the movie “The Big Sick” last week. I did not appreciate the F-bombs. However, I liked the message. I placed a snippet of the message that resonated with and allowed me to be observant and live my Renton moment this past Saturday.

So “As the week begins…” I encourage you to observe where you are in the moment.

https://www.facebook.com/julia.shaffer.37/videos/10210407078476428/

Kenneth

Since I had given my entire collection of Bibles away to those in need who have asked for one, I stopped on my way home last evening at a thrift store. As I looked through the Bibles and books on prayer, a young man walked up to me. His name is Kenneth, and he moved to America from Uganda 7-years ago.  He said, "Most Ugandans received Bibles because of the Gideon’s.” 

As I listened to Kenneth share his journey, the movie, “Hotel Rwanda” ran through my head. His compassion translates to love. He cares for the developmentally disabled in supported living settings.

When I asked him to name a challenge or what he did not understand when he moved to America, Kenneth said without pause: “I did not know where to go to church. There are too many denominations. I did not know which church to choose. American’s seem to over think God. Isn’t there one God?”

Kenneth continued to pull this torn, tattered and worn copy of the King James Bible from the shelf. He repeatedly handed it to me. I replaced it on the shelf each time. The final time Kenneth removed it from the shelf. He offered this piece of scripture for me:

“²⁴ Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”                                         

-1 Peter 2:24 King James Version (KJV)

He handed me the Bible one more time as he walked away. I thumbed through it, and I realized that my Shaffer cousins would understand these comments.  There was a copy of Psalm 121 that my Grandpa Shaffer had me memorize as a young child secured with a rusty paperclip to the front page. There was clip shaped as a heart with the saying:  “I Love Step.”  I do not plan to move either item from their place in the Bible.

This Bible was given to another stranger named Raymond with an inscription from another stranger, named David: “To Raymond on his birthday with best wishes. David.” March 12, 1959.

This Bible will be a gift for more years to come.