Blog on the Lillypad
Saturday, June 05, 2004
 | Bright New Dawn for Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004
Reagan so much believed in light and wisdom and all the powers of genuine and honest goodness that I am only happy for him today. He has struggled for a decade in the only circumstances that could really daunt him: the clouding over of that sunny nature that wanted to know and comprehend the Goodness the he so firmly believed in. |
Alzheimers is such a horrible illness that it makes death welcome. I prayed for him and mourned for him when he announced he was suffering from it ten years ago, and I've prayed for him and his wife in his suffering during his decade-long illness.
But today I know that he has his mind restored to him, and I know that, once again, he knows that Goodness in which he believed, now more intimately than ever before, with more certainty, and with gratitude and comprehension. All of this lies ahead for those of us in Christ. Ronald Reagan truly suffered the loss of all things: all that he knew, all the memory of what he had done, all the intimacy of knowing and loving his own closest loved ones. And now in Christ he truly has gained the wealth and the bounty and the bright light of heaven. I'm happy for him. He's free; he's restored to his right mind, and he sees his Saviour face to face and will never sin again. Thank God he's free at last from chains that no human medicine or skill could unlock.
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
 | Jesse gets in a jam
At work, our favorite kitten is the pet of Carol, our "medical coder". She comes in with stories about orange marmalade Jesse, a sweet and precocious young tom cat that Carol and her husband adopted as a gas station stray. Jesse is still a kitten. Two days ago, while Carol was sewing, he got into her sewing basket and came out with a long length of elastic. He carried it around the room and tumbled around with it. |
Carol was not dismayed that he had chewed it in half. She didn't bother to go look for the other half of it. She coaxed him to let go of the chewed end he had carried up, and she threw it away. They settled down for a peaceful night.
Thr next morning, Carol heard poor Jesse crying so loudly that for a moment she thought it was a child. Then she realized it was he. She hurried downstairs to find him in pain. Almost abruptly, he became listless. Normally he sits on the bathroom counter as she puts on her makeup and watches her, but he didn't budge from his curled up position near the litterbox.
Carol began to realize what had happened to the other half of that elastic cord. She put him in his carrier and took him to the vet.
The vet took x-rays and saw a mass inside him but said there was no knowing what it was until they took it out of him. She told Carol to go on to work, and she would call with the results. Poor Jesse, who had been quite listless, snapped at the vet. He was afraid and uncomfortable, but there was nothing to do but send him under the knife.
A couple hours later the vet called to tell Carol that she had removed two feet of elastic cord from Jesse's stomach and intestines. He would have to stay for another 24 hours, but he was doing well. "And," she added, "he's not a good patient." Apparently in his fear, Jesse won't let anybody touch him, although normally he is the sweetest and most affable of felines. He wants his beloved Carol and Randy, and he wants to go home.
Update: Carol brought the elastic band in to work today. It is, indeed, two feet long. With shaved tummy and shaved forepaws, Jesse is delighted to be home. He doesn't have to wear a "halo"; by some new medical technique, his stitches are all "on the inside," where he can't do them any damage. Carol said he has used the litter box as though nothing has happened. And he expressed his delight to be home again by rubbing up against everything and everybody quite frequently. As cats often don't associate things they swallow with painful consequences, Carol has resolved to be extra careful to keep dangerous objects out of his reach.
Sunday, May 30, 2004
 | Perpetua: A Bride, A Passion, A Martyr by Amy Peterson Jeri's Review:
Amy Peterson's first book, released through Relevant Publishers, is about the early church martyr, Perpetua. This amazing woman, at the age of 22, suffered arrest, imprisonment, torture and death at the hands of the Roman government. She was sustained by a sharp awareness of the presence and majesty of God, an awareness that overflowed into dreams that comforted her and others with whom she was imprisoned. Indeed, the tone of Perpetua's final days is not one of sorrow but rather joy. |
Peterson's book is a welcome addition to Christian fiction. In terms of depth and breadth, this young author's first novel delivers a vivid world from the distant past and portrays the differences and similarities without compromise. The early church was different in many ways from the modern church, and Peterson faithfully depicts the church as it was. She brings the ancient Roman empire, its glory, its scholarship, its savagery, and its stunning arrogance to life with a detail and accuracy that rivals such standards as BEN-HUR or THE ROBE. Indeed, I found Peterson's book more convincing and clear about the details of that age and culture than either of the others.
Perpetua herself, this 22-year old married woman and mother of an infant, has often been reduced by church history to a glyph of piety and fortitude. Under Peterson's pen, Perpetua comes to life as a real young woman, the offspring of a noble family. She is educated, curious, impatient, anxious to marry, concerned about all of the uncertainties that assail any young woman ready to begin life. And she suffers from all the sins and temptations that beset all of us. In making Perpetua real, the author succeeds in making Christ real and showing that He is the source of the faith of the martyrs.
However, this book was not a quick read for me. In the early chapters I had some difficulties adjusting to the Latin terms and their corresponding footnotes as I read, but in review I think that was the best way to handle a necessary introduction to an ancient way of life.
Yet there are weaknesses in the narrative style. Christian fiction as a whole suffers from "over writing", an inundation of imagery that slows the plot, as well as too much personal reflection from the point of view character that hammers out the conclusions that the reader should reach. Peterson's book is not exempt from these afflictions; some sections move quickly, and others do not. And I was startled in the first half of the book to stumble over incorrect use of the verbs lie/lay more than once. There are occasional instances of jarring word use. I just cannot fathom ancient nobility discussing the "perks" of an aristocratic assignment, not even in translation.
Yet these are small quibbles, overall, and the burden to accurately proof and streamline a text lies with the editorial process at the publishing house. The book starts well enough, sags in the middle at times, but the final third of the book hits a consistent and well-paced stride. The narrative never misses a beat as the writer draws together all the threads that captured Perpetua, her husband, and several members of their congregation in a net of Roman persecution.
Any Christian novel that prompts the reader to bring matters to God, to pause from reading in order to pray and ask God about some of the troubling issues of one's own faith, is a worthy Christian novel. For me, this book did just that.
Perpetua is an ambitious and worthy first novel, an explanation of a culture long past, and an exploration of the Christian faith and work of Christ in that culture. I recommend it for young adults, and I think Christian book clubs would benefit from reading it together.
