Don't Eat Kale

Strange mandate to find on the rear end of a car: Don't eat kale. But I laugh, shake my head and wonder about the driver. Bumper stickers talk. Some yell! And some generate more than a passing thought. Like, "And God bless the rest of the world, too."

So what's generated this topic? Well, the other day I lunched with two dear friends, Paul and Darlia. One asked, "Where do you get your ideas for your blogs?" Part of me wanted to say something really holy like, "I hear a voice telling me to take off my slippers and listen up." UP being the operative word. But truth won. So I confessed, ideas come from books, conversations, current events, concerns, sermons and nudges. I believe in God nudges but in a climate where God talk gets used to justify all kinds of actions and reactions, I'm cautious to credit/blame God.

But mostly, I write about what's going on inside and around me. I write about growing up and growing older. And I pray before, during and after each post, not to feel holy but because I need God's help. I ask God to bless and encourage the readers and protect them from being harmed by my words. Words draw us together or dig a ditch between us. We never speak, write or act in isolation.

So yesterday, as I drove to church, traffic stopped. And that's when I read that bumper sticker: Don't Eat Kale. OK. I know, for some, Kale is a four letter word. Like, please, bring me a leaf or two of iceberg lettuce for my BLT, not Kale. But when I think of all the things to fear, or avoid, Kale doesn't make the cut.

And that nudges me to ask, what do I fear today? What do I need to avoid? For sure, the words I listen to, write or speak top my list. Need a laugh about now? My friend Laura, sent this to me, "Some people need to use a glue stick instead of Chapstick...Just sayin'. "

Which I'm aware of when I look in the mirror or sing an old hymn, like we sang yesterday in church. Just As I Am. Take hope! We sang it in the Episcopal Church! The old Baptist part of me wants to go forward whenever I sing or hear that song. Especially, when I sing these words:

"Just as I am, though tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt

Fighting and fears within without, Oh, Lamb of God, I come, I come."

And maybe that's where I need to take my fears and doubts today to help tamp down the rhetoric and boost hope and create space within and around me for truth and compassion to thrive.

Meanwhile, I think I'll make a BLT. Kale has it's place but not sandwiched between crispy bacon and juicy tomato slices. Are you still reading? Or have you gone to the kitchen or paused to order take-out?