Jason Fix Please

NOTES OF HOPE 1.24.19

“LAYERS”

Sundays as I drive to work there are often beautiful sunrises.  This one really caught my eye as I noticed the different layers of color and mediums.

On my way to work I also often see a very large man near the Meridian Street on-ramp to I-65.  While his size catches my eye, it is his layers of clothes and layers of blankets that is most striking.  He stands, or sits, in a spot where others do not congregate. Usually I see homeless people together. This man is all on his own in his layers of warmth.  He doesn’t hold a sign and never asks for anything, even though it looks like he should be doing that.  When I make the time and figure out where to park to get to him, I’d like to hear his story, why he is in that particular spot alone, and whether he needs more layers to stay warm.  

When I think of layers, I also think of my Godfather.  His wife, whom he called “Baby Doll”, would often make that layered Jello salad with all the bright colors and white cream in between.  I loved that dessert but have never made it.  I need to do that, too.

Finally, layers makes me think of Thomas Merton, a great writer and contemplative in the Catholic tradition.  He reminds us that there is no single event in the life of most of us that leads us to Christ.  Very rarely are there divine revelations and conversions like Saul on the Road to Damascus. Instead, it is layer upon layer of people and events that send us into our Savior’s waiting arms – the person who gives you a warm coat in winter, the breathtaking view of a God-creation: sunrise, and godfathers who serve layered Jello.

As we read in 2 Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.”  

May we be a layer in others’ lives and recognize those who have been layers in ours.