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The More Things Change
Author:
D Anthony, D-Productions, 06/01
I'm
sitting here, looking out the window, on what has become
a quiet, hot Saturday afternoon. The rain falls, the trees
sway, the thunder roars and an occasional streak of lighting
makes its way across an otherwise somewhat dreary sky. As my Momma used to tell us this is the Lord's time.
And this is not the best timing either… I had plans
for today. I was determined to spend the bulk of the day
working on the site and other initiatives. My objective
was to have a productive day. Instead a passing storm
has forced me to turn off my PC and sit here watching…
waiting… Just like when I was growing up…
My Mom didn't play when it came to thunderstorms. Anything
electrical had to be shut off - and many times unplugged.
No phone calls, no running around, "get away from
that window", no playing (although sometimes we could
get away with doing so quietly), no music… nothing.
Typically my siblings and I were assembled in the living
room together with my Mom to wait it out - somehow my
Dad apparently had an ongoing abstention.
I can remember it being an issue for me. The storms always
seemed to come at inappropriate times. The dreaded clasp
of thunder would come when I wanted to watch something
special on television… when I wanted to be outside…
when I had more important things to do. Instead there
I was stuck in silence with my brother, sisters and mother
- until who knew when. And what was the purpose anyway?
We had heard the explanations over the years ranging from
it being God's time and we needed to show respect…
to not wanting us to be struck… to a story she had
heard when she was a little girl about a child being struck
and killed… to it being what her mother used to do.
But none of these reasons hit the mark for at least one
of us. I had respect for God - it was why I prayed and
went to Sunday school. I had seen a good number of storms
and I knew a lot of people who knew a lot of people and
none of them had ever gotten struck by lightning - whether
they were talking and playing or not. Furthermore, not
one television, radio or game within that radius had been
demolished by the weather. So why did we have to interrupt
our plans and huddle around in virtual silence?
I told myself "one day"… I was off to
college soon enough - on my own. Sure enough, during thunderstorms
I could watch television and do whatever else I wanted
to. My logic held up without a hitch. My electronics and
me remained catastrophe free. Eventually I graduated and
bought a house for my Mom to come and live with me. Invariably
the first thunderstorm came. But things were different
now… I was an adult. So there I was, while she
turned off everything and sat quietly, in another part
of the house doing what I pleased.
My Mom would pass away just a few months later…
It's funny the things you think about when you lose
someone you love… funny the things you wish you could
just take back. Now I would give anything I have to
be able to sit through one more thunderstorm with my Mom.
And I couldn't care less about any of those shows on television,
music or anything going on outside.
So here I sit with everything turned off… watching
God's work… respectful of the majesty of it all. I have come to understand that that is what it was,
and is, all about. It was about respecting the Lord.
It was about slowing down. It was about being around the
people that loved you. It was about tradition. It was
about reminding us there were bigger things than us. It
was about caring. It was about simple times. It was about
respecting Mom's wishes. It was about then and now. It
was about a Mother's love. It was about not moving so
fast that you lose track of where you needed to be. It
was about doing what you were told whether you understood
it or not. It was about time… and how we spend it.
It was about loving your Mother… and what she stood
for. It was about the glory of God.
Now I understand that…
And now, with the storm beginning to head off in the
distance… I have new direction. I realize that no
matter what I accomplish when I turn the PC back on it
will pale in comparison to the understanding and impact
this brief thunderstorm has brought my way. I can now
anticipate my family huddled quietly in one room during
a storm - with the kids silently cursing the storm and
me. I can see it clearly now…
And I know my Mom is smiling.
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