God Moment
The next day I met another Winkler friend for coffee at Mulligans again. Her husband is also living with Parkinson’s.
I tell her about my intention to begin blogging about my experience. But this time, I don’t want to just complain about it I want to turn it into an adventure story—perhaps even fictionalizing it - changing names, inventing characters, blending experiences so that people aren’t recognizable or retraumatized.
“I’m even thinking of renaming Parkinson’s,” I say. “Maybe I’ll call it Parker—something I can say without flinching.”
She laughs. “Perfect.”
Then we start talking about the other characters in this Parker community. There are the faithful caregivers. How will they be portrayed? What name should I give them?
She laughs again. “What about Polly?” She explains - because it hints of at Pollyanna attitude—that hopeful, sometimes naïve idea that they can be perfect caregivers. She smiles. “We are always patient, always wise, always strong.”
Then I begin describing another character in this new life plot. The one I keep wrestling with. The one I call God who plays a different role in this new challenge. I wonder about naming him the Elephant.
But why the name Elephant? An elephant is intelligent. It remembers. It carries weight. It travels long distances. It moves slowly but deliberately. The elephant in the room can be a real but unseen presence.
Both of us know the story of the six blind men coming upon an elephant. They feel their way around the elephant’s tusk, tail, side, and ear, and they draw different conclusions about what an elephant is. The blind man holding the tail says, “An elephant is like a snake.” The one with the tusk says, “An elephant is like a spear.” The one by the side says, “An elephant is like a wall.” And so on. There is freedom in that story – there is one God – huge – and we will all experience him differently.
And just then—while we are talking about this elephant— the restaurant background music starts playing the song by Chris Tomlin, "Holy Forever."
The words fill the room.
They fill our souls.
And the angels cry, “Holy”
All Creation cries, “Holy”
You are lifted high, holy
Holy forever
The restaurant has turned into a sanctuary. We remind ourselves that we are.in a golf course restaurant on a weekday morning… which just makes it all the more unexpected – more special.
This time my tears come out of a sense of awe. It is truly a God moment.
When a man lives with God, his voice shall be as sweet as the murmur of the brook and the rustle of the corn. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
I tell her about my intention to begin blogging about my experience. But this time, I don’t want to just complain about it I want to turn it into an adventure story—perhaps even fictionalizing it - changing names, inventing characters, blending experiences so that people aren’t recognizable or retraumatized.
“I’m even thinking of renaming Parkinson’s,” I say. “Maybe I’ll call it Parker—something I can say without flinching.”
She laughs. “Perfect.”
Then we start talking about the other characters in this Parker community. There are the faithful caregivers. How will they be portrayed? What name should I give them?
She laughs again. “What about Polly?” She explains - because it hints of at Pollyanna attitude—that hopeful, sometimes naïve idea that they can be perfect caregivers. She smiles. “We are always patient, always wise, always strong.”
Then I begin describing another character in this new life plot. The one I keep wrestling with. The one I call God who plays a different role in this new challenge. I wonder about naming him the Elephant.
But why the name Elephant? An elephant is intelligent. It remembers. It carries weight. It travels long distances. It moves slowly but deliberately. The elephant in the room can be a real but unseen presence.
Both of us know the story of the six blind men coming upon an elephant. They feel their way around the elephant’s tusk, tail, side, and ear, and they draw different conclusions about what an elephant is. The blind man holding the tail says, “An elephant is like a snake.” The one with the tusk says, “An elephant is like a spear.” The one by the side says, “An elephant is like a wall.” And so on. There is freedom in that story – there is one God – huge – and we will all experience him differently.
And just then—while we are talking about this elephant— the restaurant background music starts playing the song by Chris Tomlin, "Holy Forever."
The words fill the room.
They fill our souls.
And the angels cry, “Holy”
All Creation cries, “Holy”
You are lifted high, holy
Holy forever
The restaurant has turned into a sanctuary. We remind ourselves that we are.in a golf course restaurant on a weekday morning… which just makes it all the more unexpected – more special.
This time my tears come out of a sense of awe. It is truly a God moment.
When a man lives with God, his voice shall be as sweet as the murmur of the brook and the rustle of the corn. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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