"Buckle Up Butter Cup" is what Paster Rachel said last Sunday prior to reading the Ten Commandments.
I've been reminded of her words several times and it's only Wednesday.
I am 85 years old and, while I seem to still have most of my marbles, at least until 5:pm or so, stuff is continuing to happen.
We do not know what the future holds but, by seeing what's happening to my close friends and some family members....and me, it's going to be a bumpy road.
So, how can we cope? A couple of ways for me are to remind myself of who I am. I am an analytical person. I don't do "emotional" well at all, and I know this is sometimes seen as not caring. I'm a planner, but almost every single day the plans need changing, due to unforeseeable happenings to me and others. For instance, out of the blue, I acquired a bacterial infection and have been on heavy antibiotics for two solid weeks. Didn't see that coming!
Many decades ago, two women, Susanna Wesley and Anne Lamont, helped me learn how to move forward.
Susanna lived in the seventeen hundreds, was married to a poor preacher, had nineteen children, and had the tragedy of seeing most of them die. When asked how she coped, she said something like this, "I get up, wash my face, ready my devotions", etc. She essentially said, I keep going by keeping going.
This one thing has helped me over and over when my life's been turned up-side-down. And Anne Lamont (who is still very much with us) said the same thing in her book, "Bird by Bird."
And then there is Thomas Merton's most famous prayer that begins with:
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end.
These words may not seem comforting to you, but they are to me.
So, everyday, I do my devotions and (unless I just can't) take my 2 mile walk in my neighborhood. My neighbor, who is 90 and sharp as a tack, sometimes goes with me. She can't do it every day because she's booked up most mornings. We are both upbeat. No gossip. No interrupting. Likewise I try not to watch super scary TV (the news) more than a few minutes a day and I faithfully get together with other like minded friends (some of whom are in way worse shape than me,) and I watch Sunday morning worship on my TV, where I usually find some clues for living, like the title of this posting.
I have a couple of close friends with whom I can spill my guts from time to time and they do the same with me, but we almost always do it in a problem solving mode.
Why would we waste one day, at this point, whining and complaining when we're all living in a time when we desprately need to "Buckle Up Butter Cup."
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(Old man painting by David Runyan.)
