Jon C. Swanson's Blog, page 9

Raspberries

Raspberries are not my favorite fruit.

The tiny seeds are annoying. The stalks have bristles. There are often mosquitos around our yard when we might be wading in to pick them.

And yet.

Eaten by a three-year-old within seconds of being on the bush, they are wonderful.

There are things that are wonderful.

Just reminding us of that.

Love around.

Dear KG.

I took some time off from writing. But I’m okay. Thanks for asking.

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A few weeks ago, Ben’s aunt got married. His dad’s sister. Ben was assigned to a table at the reception. Along with his mom and dad. And his dad’s parents. And his mom’s parents. And his uncle (dad’s sister). Every seat at his table was filled with his people. The people who love him. Who care about him. Who care for him. Who make him laugh.

And the people who are very aware that he is three. We all a...

A prayer for Trinity Sunday

God.

We need to talk with you about how we feel right now.
Because in this place, in this land, in this world, there are troubles.

You told us, Jesus, that in this world there would be troubles.
We can’t say you didn’t warn us.

But in this place this week and in this land this week and in this world this week, it feels like lots of people I know, and we each know of, are harried and hurting and hollow.

Lives shouldn’t end before they start.
Slow declines shouldn’t become sudden ends...

Restarting from the dirt.

Someday soon, this road will be rebuilt. It will be a smooth connection between our subdivision and the next.

In the meantime, it’s been a terrible connection between our subdivision and the next.

Sometimes the whole street was closed. Sometimes half was open but went from concrete to gravel. Sometimes walking was the only way through.

Sometimes you can’t keep filling potholes or paving layer upon layer. Sometimes you have to take things down to the dirt.

You know your life. ...

Working like a three-year-old.

There is dirt between the brick facade of our house and the back row of iris. It is perfect if you are three and appreciate “construction vehicles”.

Before Ben, who is three, finished his work on Sunday afternoon, he got his construction vehicles ready for the next workday, whenever that may be. They aren’t lined up against the wall the way he does it sometimes. Instead, they are ready for the workers to start working.

The obvious adult lesson is that we could prepare our work like B...

A prayer for Pentecost

God.

You are here.

We forget.

We make plans and then we ask you to make them happen. We call it asking you to bless them. But you heard them all along.

On some of them you made suggestions and we listened. On some of them, you made suggestions and we ignored. On some of them, you long ago said, “don’t do that,” but we did anyway and asked you to bless our plans. To make them happen.

We confess to forgetting that you already know our plans.
We confess to forgetting that we seldom...

Don’t force it

One of the most memorable childhood lessons from my dad was, “Don’t force it!”

He was a great self-taught handyman and mechanic. We had a succession of old VWs that required constant fixing. Sometimes, he’d ask for my “help.” I would join in and learn a little bit about what it meant to fix something.

I was not always the best at choosing the correct bolt to fit the need. Sometimes I’d choose one that was close, but not exact. I’d screw it forcefully and nothing would happen. If I were...

Safety and laughter and love.

If you read yesterday’s post, “Internal Conflict“, you know the cycling project that Rich and Becky Dixon lead has been disrupted this year.

After reading Rich’s post before I scheduled it for you, I thought that I would love to write a fundraising appeal for my friend Rich. Actually, not for Rich but for the kids Rich cares so much for. Actually, for the kids that God cares about and has helped Rich care about and that Rich’s Ride has supported.

This is that appeal.

This year, t...

Internal Conflict

Rich Dixon is pretty honest about what goes on in his head.

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As the guy who’s supposed to “lead” the FREEDOM TOUR, my last few months have felt a bit conflicted.

It started in December when we discovered, just as we were ready to launch, that we had to completely alter our traditional one-day ride.

Our team got remarkably creative.

I waged an internal battle between what I believe and what I feel.

What I believe: I trust that God will use these new circumstances for good...

Noticing.

I went for a long walk. Not because of needing to cool off from an angry moment, or needing to get somewhere because the car broke.

I walked just to get a long walk. As I was getting near the end, I moved from the paved trail to cut across the campus. I realized that, apart from mowing, I haven’t walked on the grass for a long time.

I spend enough time being aware of individual differences to not want to argue that we should all go outside. I’m aware of mobility enough to not privile...