The Blue Eyed Boy

Good Morning. Thanks for being here.

On Monday evening of this past week, we attended a baby shower - well, maybe it was a gender reveal. Yeah, that sounds more accurate. There was a boatload of people there. Excited to learn the gender of a baby.

The whole thing was really quite beautiful for many different reasons.

Come on; I’ll tell you more about it.

If you’re new to the area, welcome. I hope to share with you what I am coming to know as the gift of Being With People and Being Be’ed With. I hope to cultivate wonder and compassion. Compassion in the direction of all the others we experience in our day to day. I imagine I can do that by sharing with you simple stories, hope-filled quotes, and questions that cause you to pause. If something you read strikes your interest. Respond, and I’ll read it.

Ways you can respond;

Call 615-971-9519 and ask for Tyler; he’s usually available.

Email [email protected]; he will read it in a timely fashion.

If not, I’ll have a little chat with him.

Anyways, slow down. Settle in. Grab a coffee, tea, water, or croissant.

One of those things is not like the other…..

Seriously, draw in a deep breath and settle for a moment.

Let’s kick this weekend off with a big deep breath and a kind reminder.

Back to the story.

We arrived at a graceful and quaint cedar-sided home tucked way back away from the road. The kind of tucked away where the driveway is lined on both sides by pastures and old trees. The kind where the neighbor’s dog is lying in the field of another neighbor's yard.

The owners of this home are the kind of friends you want to have as life unfolds. The kind that, without hesitation, open up their home to host the unveiling celebration of new life.

As we walked through the side door. Because that’s what you do in this kind of home, another couple was putting on the finishing touches of an assortment of foods for the celebration. Strawberries, cucumbers, grapes, carrots, peppers, smoked chicken wings, a vast array of cheeses, dips, crackers, and lengthy loaves of bread. And lamb. My goodness, the lamb.

Pause; sit with me here for a moment.

In our current cultural pace, on a random Monday afternoon (not so random for the expectant couple), another couple opened up their home while yet another couple spent much of the afternoon preparing food and cultivating an already beautiful space into a space to gather around and be together. All of this energy, effort, and time to explicitly communicate to our expectant friends - we see you, we want what’s best for you, and we care deeply about your lives.

People are absolutely beautiful. If somewhere along the way, you’ve lost this, or your fighting to believe this is true, I understand. Gahhh, I soo understand. So please see the section that says ways to respond.

Alright, heading back into the story…. I didn’t ask you to settle in for no reason.

Upon the arrival of the celebrated family, something unique began to happen. A sweet little blue-eyed boy was observing intently the happenings of the room. You see, as the couple made their rounds of hellos and thank you’s complete with wide smiles and long hugs, this blue-eyed boy, their oldest, well, their youngest too. Literally, the only one on this side of the womb was handed off to someone in the crowd. Better yet, was scooped up by someone in the crowd.

Conversations were happening all around, even pouring out onto the porch, which was linked by doorway to the kitchen. Windows lined the space we congregated - with a lush grassy area in the forefront and another pasture beyond. There were other little ones running back and forth, whispering wild things in the wind and squealing in sheer joy without a care in the world.

A couple of minutes later - another friend was holding the blue-eyed boy. There he was, observing. He looked to be at peace with his position. Content but filled with inquisition.

Conversations continue to meander. Deep laughter comes from inside the windowed space while outside, near the grill, there are good old country samplers taking place, which is slang for eating meat fresh off of the heat. I didn’t mean for that to rhyme. But I like the way it reads - we’ll keep it there.

Still an hour or so has gone by, and the little blue-eyed boy is now in the hands of yet another friend. This time, it’s as we sing happy birthday to his mother.

Again, he is scanning the room - taking it all in. Wonder is written all over his face.

I wonder what he’s thinking - does he know we are celebrating new life? Does he know that all these people, the lavish foods, and the beautiful spaces were built to communicate how much he’s loved? How much his family is loved? How much he is cared for? Does he know we are singing to his mother? Does he know that each pair of hands that have held him tonight and will hold him wants what’s best for him?

I wonder if the blue-eyed boy knows.

You see, in this group of friends, the welcoming of new life is a gift - and from my Monday evening this past week, it seems we don’t take it lightly.

I am learning much during this part of my life.

& this week, I learned much. But through observing the blue-eyed boy, I was reminded.

Reminded that this life is better shared.

This life is better in preparation for the celebration of and with others.

This life is better, being scooped up and passed around from loving hands to loving hands.

This life is better when we the time to take it all in, doesn’t cease in our adolescence.

This life is better when we run outside whispering wild things into the wind.

This life is better playing hot potato with meat fresh off the grill.

This life is better as we continue the practice of being with and being be’d with.

I wonder what our days would look like if we lived like the blue-eyed boy?

Mull it over.

What would it sound like? What would it feel like? Who would be there? Where would it be? Where else? What else?

What would our days look like if we lived like the blue-eyed boy?

May you be reminded that maybe it’s in the practice of being with and being be’d with that we are able to relearn the wonder, contentment, and peace that the blue-eyed boy reminded me of this week.

Thanks for being here; talk again soon!

Thanks for being you.