Being A Part
And Never Really Apart
In this issue I reflect on connected-ness. With a brand-new granddaughter who is 1072 miles away, it helps to focus on how she and I are connected, rather than focus on the miles between us. The mystery of connection makes us a part of each other, even when we are apart. Thank you for joining me as I ponder connection.
My Mysterious Mind
On January 3rd I held my brand-new granddaughter for the first time; she arrived late the previous night. As she rested peacefully by my body, our small gathering of her parents, my husband, and I began to ponder her “origin story.” When I was pregnant with her mother, the immature egg which eventually became my granddaughter was formed. My daughter’s pre-birth body contained my future grandchildren while still inside my womb. Thus, my “new” granddaughter had started within me decades earlier. We observed how peacefully she rested by my abdomen, commenting how she was reconnecting to where she began.
As this tiny female slept serenely in my lap, I thought about my daughter’s future grandchildren. The immature eggs of those grandchildren were nestled within this little baby. While holding a baby who once was an immature egg in the pre-born womb of my unborn daughter, I was caught up in the wonderment of holding my future great-grandchildren. So many generations were mysteriously connected in that moment!
I also thought about my mother who died over five years ago. When I was growing in her womb the immature eggs for my children were formed within my tiny pre-born body. This mystery is almost more than I can comprehend! My mother was connected to this moment of my holding my granddaughter because of her mysterious connection to my daughter.
On January 5th I held my precious granddaughter, then handed her over so my husband and I could make the 1072-mile drive back home. I was sad, but much less so than I expected. That beautiful little baby was a part of me in 1989 when her mother was born from my womb. I suppose that is true of all of my grandchildren, but I somehow missed the mysterious connected-ness of it until now. Yes, we are many miles apart but we remain profoundly connected because she was once a part of me.
This maternal tether brings me great comfort as I think about families separated by miles or even death. I am forever a part of my mother, as are my children. This feels like more than biology to me. Thinking about this creates a feeling of connection to the generations who came before me and to all the generations who come after me. A painful part of human existence is to feel isolated and alone. The reality is that we are never really disconnected. The tether of motherhood ties the generations together.
Message of Mystery Acres
It was a sunny winter day four years ago when my husband and I first visited Mystery Acres with a real estate agent. There was a light cover of crisp snow blanketing the hills. Humoring my husband with a visit to yet another piece of random property, I had no plans to fall in love. Walking the undeveloped forest, I took no pictures, not with a camera anyway. The property was so obscure there were no real estate signs marking its location. How my husband even found the listing remains a mystery to this day, as he was unable to find the listing again after we returned home from our visit. Only the contact information for the agent remained our tether to this enchanting place.
My husband and I had visited many pieces of land over the years. He had a deep yearning for a place, a desire I couldn’t understand. I grew up on a farm and felt no unmet need for land. If I wanted to return to a place where I belonged I could just go to the family farm where my dad still lives. I happily tagged along with my husband to many interesting and remote places, all within an hour or so from our house. It was fun to wander around in the woods; I was always able to find something unsuitable about each piece we visited, continuing the search and protecting our finances from a possible purchase.
That wintry day in 2019 was different. I couldn’t stop thinking about that beautiful, remote property. Can land “call” to someone? It felt like it did. Somehow it needed to belong to us, or perhaps, in some metaphysical way, it already did. We did the formal stuff, making an offer, securing it, and finalizing the purchase within the next two weeks.
In those first months of ownership we would bring a picnic and lawn chairs. After wandering around for a while we would just sit in the woods somewhere. It “belonged” to us and I felt like I “belonged” to it. Somehow it was a part of me before it was a part of my life. Some things just make sense like that, even though to the rational mind they don’t make sense at all.
No matter how fragmented or anxious I felt, my entire being would instantly congeal and settle in this place. After many trips there, I can find that “place” in me without even visiting my forest. In some strange way, the mystery lives in me now. We are connected, a part of each other, even when we are apart.
The message of Mystery Acres is a voice of connection and belonging. I am connected to Mystery Acres; we belong to each other. I take the mystery of the forest with me wherever I go; the mystery remains with me no matter what. Where do you belong? To whom or what are you connected?
Ancient Mystery’s Voice
“Nothing can separate us.” (see Romans 8:38)
How are two or more things held together? Glue, rope, chains, and other materials can be used to connect items to each other. In relationships, the connective bonds are love, forged through time together and mutual compassion. In the human body, the connective mesh materials are made of laminins, a set of fifteen different proteins. It seems at all levels, physical and relational, some form of connector or adhesive is needed to hold things together.
Paul, a strong advocate for Jesus Christ who traveled and taught two-thousand years ago, wrote many letters to the early Christians. One of those letters was written to believers in Rome, and, thus, is called Romans. In a popular section of the eighth chapter, he posed the question: Can anything ever separate us from the love of Jesus? He was convinced the answer was “no” and he adamantly expressed that belief in his letter. He had been through pretty serious, potentially faith-destroying, experiences, yet he concluded there was nothing that could separate a believer in Jesus from God’s love. That love was displayed in the death of Jesus on a cross in Jerusalem, followed three days later by a miraculous return from the dead.
The well-known symbol of the love of Jesus is a simple cross. The shape of the cross is found in jewelry and atop most churches. There is even a flag for Christians which includes a red cross. The cross connects believers to each other and reminds them of the love Jesus displayed.
Recent molecular-level research has revealed something amazing about the power of the cross. The primary adhesive comprising the connective tissues of the body, is known as laminin, and is shaped like a cross. Mysteriously, the cross not only “holds” believers together, it holds the physical body together as well. MacGyver used duct tape to hold his makeshift contraptions together; the Creator used cross-shaped proteins called laminins. It’s encouraging to know there are powerful forces holding important parts of us together. There is comfort in thinking about connected-ness.
Living in Mystery
Each of us is not a meaningless, disconnected fragment floating around an uncaring universe. Through the maternal tether each of us is connected to all previous generations and all the generations to come. Our bodies are held together by a cross-shaped adhesive. No matter where we walk, we walk in places others have traveled and many more will travel; the land connects each person to all the rest, past and future. Today is connected to all of our yesterdays and connects to all of our tomorrows.
You, my reader or listener, are connected to me through these words. I am not alone as I write because of you. We belong to each other through the power of words. One of my favorite hobbies is collecting antique books, especially those still in print. I especially love ones written over a century ago by women writers. Their words connect me to them long after the authors are gone. Oh, the power of words to connect!
As an old mom to young parents, I encourage you to think about your part, and your children’s part, in a multi-generational story of community and connection. My 91-year old father was once a babe in the arms of his mother. My newborn granddaughter will one day be an adult, and, hopefully, a very old one! Where are you in your family’s story? Where will your children be in the future of that story? Nothing you do is fragmented and unimportant! All of these ordinary days are connected to the days past and the days to come.
I find great comfort thinking about connection. Living in the mystery of being a part, and never being apart, means knowing each of us, every day, is part of something greater, something profoundly durable.
Connecting with Mystery
Dear Lord of All Mystery, I often feel alone and disconnected despite the countless ways my life is connected to others and to You. Help me to trust the invisible fibers binding our lives together, past, present, and future. Thank You for connecting us to You through the mystery of Jesus. Amen.
Bonus Content: The Story of Oscar
Running in the cold rain of January 8th, crossing diagonally through a busy intersection, the frail, frightened dog was spotted by a volunteer for a dog rescue organization. That volunteer, a friend of mine, had pledged before Christmas to “find us a dog” after we came back from our travels. Though expecting to go through the usual adoption process, here, in her path, was a lost dog, less than 48 hours after my husband and I returned from our 2200-mile trek at year’s end. Our friend caught him easily and called me. With no room in her affiliated rescue organization, this lost dog would have to go to the Humane Society. Sensing diving orchestration, my husband and I told her to bring this poor dog to us.
Severely malnourished, multiple injuries on ears, nose, and legs, this corgi-dachshund mix began his “trial” period in our home. After only two days with us, he became my constant companion. As I write this in my journal, his head is resting in the bend of my elbow. My husband has named him Oscar. He had no tags or collar and no microchip. His condition indicates he was either neglected/abused or he’s been lost for a long time. He needs us, and, after our difficult loss of Ollie less than two months ago, it is very good to be needed. He’s not house-trained but he’s eager to please us. He wears protective clothes when in the house but is quickly learning to use outdoor bathroom spots. I can’t leave my chair pulled out from under the dining room table because he’s not aware of places being off-limits. Be he hates to be corrected and wants very much for a pleasant tone of voice to reassure him that he is loved.
With sub-zero temps coming in a few days after his rescue he most certainly would have died soon if he hadn’t crossed that intersection in front of my friend. Instead, thanks to beautiful, divine timing, he’s warm, safe, and loved. It will take some time for his ribs to stop sticking out and those scabs on his ears to heal. There’s something wonderful and mysterious about the synergy of being needed. He needs us, but we need him, too. He fills a hole in our home where Ollie was. My friend, the rescuer, said, “Ollie would approve.”
Hopefully, in time, Oscar will be as well-behaved at controlling his bladder as Ollie was.
Notes from Dr. Mac
If you want to do your own investigation of any of the scriptures I use, I suggest you go to Bible Gateway. This free online version of the Bible allows a search of words or phrases in various translations. For today’s meditation I encourage you to look at the broader section of Paul’s writings in the eighth chapter of Romans. Imagine what Paul would have written about had he known about laminins!
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Cindy,
This was a great post. Connectedness is so important. Congratulations on your new grandchild. I didn't know that the seed of future generations were present at birth. Amazing. God is so awesome in his creation.
Thank you so much for taking in Oscar. I loved that story. With this extreme cold weather, I have been so concerned about people and animals who have no place to go. And I think you needed Oscar as much as he needed you.
Marian