paper lantern icons

while i was in miami i bought paper lanterns for the kids that had an indian looking design on them (a little bit like these ones). last night we finally bought some cords and colored low wattage light bulbs and hung them in their rooms.

their response was unwarranted. crazy.

jaelyn was (literally) jumping up and down running back and forth across the hall jabbering non stop. addison was two steps behind and two (half-articulated) sentences behind.

stuff like:

"I love my new lamp."

and

"That's so cool, Daddy."

and

"lamp, lamp, lamp, lamp. pink lamp."

and then out of the blue, right in the middle of all the running and hopping and smiling and laughing, jaelyn shouts, literally,

"hosanna!"

wow. lynn and i just looked at each other. i think we were both filled with ambivalence in this moment.

there's a part of me that always feels wierded out when people start using church-code-talk. even in church. calling each other "brother" and "sister" and "blessings" and "greetings" and when they start to feel sick about a decision or inconvenience -- changing course midstream because -- they "didn't have a peace."

how do you have a peace? just one.

but then there's this other part of me -- the part of me that's trying to parent by surrounding my kids in the stories of the Bible -- instead of in the decadence of church-bubble-culture -- that goes: wow. jaelyn just reached deep for a better, bigger expression of joy, and came out with a storied truth -- possibly ritualized for her in the three year old class in the basement of our little church -- but ultimately, she found that story meaningful. i love that.

i know people who would correct their children, no, honey, JESUS is who we shout Hosanna to. only him.

but i'm glad that jaelyn shouts hosanna when she feels deep joy, because ultimately, the connection will come. deep joy springs from great longing and long waiting and surprising magnificence. that seems like a good incarnation for the Divine for her for right now.

BTW ~ Lynn, if you're reading, I just realized where ELSE "hosanna" has been ritualized for her, but that only ratchets up my ambivalence by about twenty-eight (exactly twenty-eight). so i'll save that story for another blog.

peace~