Lent Day 23 (Day 369 of experiment0

Scripture: Ps 95, 91, 92; Genesis 47:1-26; 1 Cor 9:16-27; Mark 6:47-56


Scripture standout: Ps 91: "⁴ He will cover you with his feathers, 
   and under his wings you will find refuge;"

PS 92: "⁴ For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD;
   I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
⁵ How great are your works, LORD,
   how profound your thoughts!"

1 Corinthians 9: "¹⁹ Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible...²² To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some."


His Deed/The Day: Ahh, it's 6:39 and today's deed is done — which is great because this is going to be one of those days. Marley still has a high fever. This is the seventh day, and I've never seen anything last so long. I'm going to call the doctor in a minute from the parking lot of the Northside Best Buy, where we will be sitting for the next couple of hours waiting for a ticket to buy the new iPad 3. This is Ben's deal. He got one for Christmas from an aunt, but decided to wait until the new one came out. He's literally been asking us everyday for a month when the new iPad's coming out and what our plan is to achieve it for him. Now the plan is hatched, and off we go to stand in line like all those techno geeks. All for the love of a child, right?


Oh, the deed. I had the opportunity to tell a teacher of the year semifinalist how beautiful she looked at last week's Teacher of the Year presentation. She really did! Sparkly black gown, big smile — lots of hugs and waves. I wish I could tell every teacher how pretty they looked. Every one of them were dressed in their finest and looked so happy and proud. I hope a small compliment will help Ms. Fitch have a little lift in her morning.


Deedcslosure: Empathy and sympathy: they are two strengths every mom uses daily. I have felt sorry for Marley all week — it is God awful to be hot, and cold, and sweaty and shivery and yucky. I've been hugging her a lot — dodging coughs and hacks — to show her how I know. I know you feel terrible. I've been there. Let me (and my hand four-pack of Motrin) be in this with you. I think being empathetic and sympathetic, depending on the situation, are deeds in themselves. Because to be in both states, a person has to put themselves in someone else's shoes. When you're in that place, someone else's hot sick hacking shoes, it's a whole lot clearer how to best help them. And sometimes that's just being present, and sorry, and to be present some more.