Real Reality

Mercury in retrograde. What? Have you heard of this phenomenon? I have and I have been blaming it for everything lately. Dropping things. Turning over two very expensive gallons of paint that spilled nearly completely on my newly painted garage floor. Frustration. The underlying boil of anxiety. Must be Mercury’s fault. IIIIIII don’t know. Am I to believe that as a Christian in such things as astrological pulls? I believe that if God made the sun, moon and stars and me then I believe that we are all connected in that way, yes. The old farmers, maybe even some new ones and my grandmother believed whole heartedly in the power of “the signs”. They planted their crops according to the signs. Had haircuts according to the signs. Raised children- weaning and potty training- according to the signs. Depending on where the signs were based is how you determined a successful crop or properly trained child in the way of throwing away the diaper, breast or bottle. It could determine whether your hair grew longer quicker or not. You can still read about them in the Farmer’s Almanac.

So, what does this mean? Mercury in retrograde. Well, it’s not necessarily responsible for my clumsiness or half assed storage of a paint can. As far as I can tell you, being no astrologer myself, it means that 4 times a year the planet Mercury appears to move backwards. It takes only 88 days for Mercury to orbit the sun therefore when it passes us here on Earth it appears to go in reverse. Kinda like when you are on the highway and the car beside you is not going as fast and then as you pass it, it can then appear to be going in reverse motion. But we know that it is still moving in the same direction… forward. But according to those claiming to know about these things, it has an effect on us as humans in the way of communication and commerce. Apparently, Mercury is ruling over the two. I guess spilling the two most expensive gallons of paint affected the commerce I spent on it. I certainly communicated my disdain for the spill out loud. I know that is not really what it means. I do know that something seems amiss in the world though.

I rode with my brother today as he checked his corn crop to see if it was going to be ready to chop next week. He would shuck an ear, pick a kernel and bite it half. He was checking to see how much moisture was left in it. Some was ok and some was just right. He also drove through a field being cut for hay. “Oh, this is gonna make a lot of bales”, I heard three different times as we traveled over 18 acres. Several things occurred to me on this short impromptu jaunt we took today. #1. My brother has become more and more like my dad. #2. Every farmer has wondered what the hell is getting into his corn. #3. The important things in life happen in real time in God’s world. Being out in the field reminds me that there are more important things to think about than what is happening inside four walls sometimes. Sometimes, when the world seems to be turning too fast or something just isn’t right in your very midst, maybe the answer is somewhere out there in a field. I think it’s why a lot of people who work outside with God do not always make time for the frivolous and it is also why they do not tolerate it when others do either. Their lives are spent close to the very thing from which it is we came. The earth. The air. God Himself. Things are growing and maturing and not waiting around for a farmer to notice. He pays attention or he will miss his window of opportunity to gather his crop. There is nobody to tell him when the right time is. He must figure it out. He must be aware. He must notice everything that is important to this task for which he has little control over. He can sew it. He can plant it. He can fertilize it and herbicide it but outside of that… God is in control of the rest. But if he is not in tune with what God is doing, he will not be successful. Surely God sends the rain? Does He also send the draught? Does it matter? What does matter is that there is a plan. There is a wealth of observation. There is the matter of being present… in God’s world. It never, ever fails me that when I go on these, probably what seem like mundane routine for my brother (used to be with my dad), I find myself in a reality that I am not often abundant in myself. Yes, I go outside with my dogs. I do work around my house outside. I mean, I walk from my car OUTSIDE into TJ Maxx for goodness’ sake. But there is another world in farming. There is a reality outside of what most people know. This is what I find to be the real reality of the world. This is where you can find reality. Real. Reality. When you can turn around and look at yourself wholly and fully. Where you can smell the reality of fresh cut hay. Where you can feel the dirt stirring up around you. Where I can know that God is abounding around me, and nothing is required of me to know it except to KNOW it.

So, if I can find a real reality in the middle of a field… what does Mercury in retrograde have to do with anything? Let me see if I can convey my thought. The moon has a direct effect on the tides of the ocean. The gravitational pull directs high and low tides. Why then is it not feasible to believe that a planet could have an effect on human beings? As an ER nurse and former dance instructor, I can verify that the moon has an impact on human behavior. I could always tell if it was a full moon at the studio because the children were always a bit wilder than usual. The same was true in the ER. I don’t know much about planets or astrology, but I do believe in God. I also believe that God provided a reality for all of us outside of what we believe to be important. When you step out onto the ground and feel the Earth, when you see someone who is paying attention to what God is doing to survive, where news headlines and “reality tv” is far away, something stirs inside. Even outside in this real reality, I still felt the blanket over my heart. Something is still uneasy. I suppose one might say I have a lot of things that I reckon could be blanketing my heart for the past 18 months, 6 months, 2 months, 1 month. Much has happened in that time that has left wounds that will leave marks on my heart until the end of time. But usually, I can identify them… put a name to them. Not today. Not really. I feel like everyone around me has said they are feeling something too. Maybe there is something to this Mercury in retrograde thing. So, I thought I would share. Maybe you feel a bit out of yourself too. Like I told my buddy, maybe just giving it a name helps even if we don’t understand it. Find a farmer. Take a ride. Stand next to a field of fresh cut hay. Pay attention to God’s world like your survival depends upon it. Maybe it really does, Mercury or not.

Thank you for coming along with me today. I hope this leaves you pulling a blanket from your heart. Bless you + JHW