Wednesday, October 26, 2005

the beauty of textiles...

We were at Value Village tonight... and I drifted to the sari section - traditional Indian - ones made in the stunningly beautiful fabric. The colours were/ are spectacular - I love fabric - I own embarrassingly amounts of cloth... In fact when we moved to the new house we kept finding more and more bins. There is a temporary moratorium on the buying of cloth. But, my point was really to talk about the beauty of cloth. The colour and texture - how it feels against the body...that being said there is extremely uncomfortable cloth out there... I am thinking of the polyester doubleknit that I wore as a child....

A fellow blogger inspired me to pick up "The Scandal of the Incarnation" - an appropriate read before beginning the Advent Fast. As I told her, I am grateful for the push. H and L and were telling me we had no ice-cream ....we talked about the Fast coming up and the changing of diet... my children are amazing to me... they take in all in stride... soon no more meat, no more treats - like ice-cream. That is the beauty of growing up orthodox - this is just what we do...

I am looking forward to re-reading this book again. I had stopped any intellecually challenging, spiritually fortifying reading - too tired, out of habit - general sloth like behaviour. Work has been a bit of a challenge for me. Not just the work but working for a Corporation - and yes I meant the big "C". I have also read parts of Leithart's book "Against Christianity" which has challenged me. The one thing I have been reading is the Psalms which I mentioned early on. They are what sustain me. What amazes me as I read them is the "hey, I know this one..." and recognize it from the Liturgy. That is the absolutely best feeling... when I am reading it but saying it before I am reading the text. This is what I am thankful for - this is what is happening to my children Sunday after Sunday. The Word of God washes over their hearts regardless if their mind is attentive.

Another amazing thing I learned.. that H and L are actually walking away with something from Fr. L sermons. We are having more and more discussions about God and the nature of God, the holiness of space, being loved and loving and serving in response to being loved.

Enough.

7 comments:

hunchback scholar said...

That's all so good to hear. It's been a bit of a nagging concern of mine throughout my entry into Orthodoxy how children are affected by the church. I tend to feel that the church environment I grew up in really failed me, and wasn't there for me in my times of greatest need. I don't want my children, when and if they eventually come, to feel abandoned like that. But the more orthodox parents and children I talk to, the more reassured I become. That this place can truly be home, for me and for those I love . . .

biss said...

Okay, I have to be honest. I hate and loathe shopping, but at least once a week I have this incredible urge to run to that same sari section, a hidden corner of extreme beauty in such an ugly place.
If you need to unload cloth, I'm here.

Mr. P said...

I echo Qj over there. one of my concerns when I became a catechumen was that I wanted convert kids, but your post and others talking is reassuring. thank you!

and I echo biss too, I love that section, not so much because I love cloth itself, but I love hanging it on walls.

RW said...

Now who would have thought the sari section would be a common link - that is making me smile.

Children absord the Truth differently than adults.

Kassianni said...

i think it's being 'bred in their bones' more than we realize.
and this comforts me.
i can be such a bad example to my own children.
what i love about fr.lawrence, is that he is so open to talking to the kids about anything.
they'll ask me a theological type question (?!) and i'll be at a complete loss as to how to answer.
mainly because they are things I just haven't had to ponder for so long, and have just come to accept on faith, but fr.l is just so much better at explaining.
so much more articulate in these matters.
and i so appreciate that he takes the time, and with loving care, not a quick, cop-out sort of answer.
he's a good papa to us all.

Kassianni said...

ps: i'm not sure you would win in a textile war. we didn't move into a house with a basement for nothing!!

Mr. P said...

Hey R, if you or thomas would like to join the st.herman's blog, (it was born today) send me an email via the link on the side of my blog, and I will send you an invite. you are both welcome, as active st. herman's bloggers. there are a few others who are invited who are not st. hermanites, but are honorary or friends of st. herman's in one way or another. check it out

www.saintherman.blogspot.com

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