Keep trying our best... and advice from Sister Carol

I got a chance to go to the grocery mid-morning yesterday, due to the unexpected (but deeply appreciated) day out of school (too many sick teachers and kids). I also ran two other errands, and was home before 1pm. AND I had supper all made well before 11 am, and in the fridge. I'd be amazing at retirement. (hehe)

That all said, I saw a friend of mine, Sister Carol McKenzie, whom I have not seen in a while. She is one of my favorite people; she explodes the idea that most folks have in their heads when they hear "nun." Sister Carol is a retired English teacher, and she drinks whiskey and yells at football. She has a bitingly funny wit, and a truly take-no-prisoners attitude when it comes to abject stupidity. Thus, we chatted a long while about the "state of things," and she and I are in full agreement. So that's good, right? In parting, I said that I'd "keep trying to do my best," to which she rejoined, "and God will have to do the rest." 

I find that oddly comforting. 

We never really know how our prayers are going to be answered, but I think that my chance meeting with Sister Carol was anything but chance. God knows I need reassurance, a friendly chat with a woman who takes her vows seriously, and humanity not so much. I needed that chat more than I can say. 

We are told in our faith tradition to live in the world, not of it, and that's a pretty hard thing to do. It does not mean that we are supposed to ignore worldly things, but we are to try to avoid making them "golden calves." And I'm pretty sure I'm dangerously close to making doom-scrolling far more important than it should be in my life. So, a corrective in the person of Sister Carol? Quite possibly so.

I have so many other things that I could and should be focused on, and reading the never-ending slush-chute of toxic "breaking news" is making me ill and ill-tempered. I will do better. I can't and won't ignore the dangers that are looming, but I need to fight back: they will not have power over me. 

Have a good day, folks. I'm going to work on some poem submissions and do the laundry. That, to me, is a good balance.

C