October is simply the best month of the year. The Georgia heat is starting to abate, the insects are slowing down, I'm starting to smell bonfires and someone grilling meat (people think that's a summer thing, but who really wants to be outside in August, when the mosquitoes are attacking you and you're starting to melt?) In the South, we only get a few days of true fall weather and we suck the marrow out of them.
Ken and I have never celebrated Halloween, you know, Satan's high holiday and all that. But we do celebrate Reformation Day, which happens to be on the same date (interesting contrast). Does anyone remember what that is? It happened way back in 1517 when a Catholic monk (Martin Luther) was concerned about the church selling indulgences, which were presented as a way to reduce punishment for sins. He believed, from the scriptures, that forgiveness came through God's grace, not money or religious works. He wrote 95 statements questioning the Church's teachings and practices, especially the selling of indulgences. He nailed these theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany and asked for folks to debate him about these things. This was considered the beginning of the Reformation, which eventually led to the formation of Protestant churches. He then developed the five "Solas":
1. Sola Scriptura (scripture alone), 2. Sola Fide (faith alone), 3. Sola Gratia (grace alone), 4. Sola Christus (Christ alone), and 5. Sola deo Gloria (to the glory of God alone. There's a lot more, so you might want to look it up... I never knew one thing about it until I was 40-something years old, though I grew up in a Protestant church.
Back to October.... I swanny, there's more packed into the Halloween/Reformation/Fall days than there are into Christmas. This week alone had me running everywhere, painting faces, buying candy and cookies, trying to entertain children (and adults). By the time I got to my art class on Wednesday, I was pooped. I was trying to finish a complicated painting, but my body had turned to a human slug. Nothing was working. It all looked wonky and my stomach started singing a familiar but unhappy tune, anticipating all the other things I had committed to, coming up in the next few days. The older lady across from me said, "Rose, you need to learn to say no." I laughed as I ran to the bathroom. Then while sitting in that hallowed place, I began cancelling things on my phone. Fun, that we can do that easily now. I hated to disappoint so many people, and my Fear Of Missing Out alarm was going off. But alas, occasionally I must remember myself. I stood out in the yard between art class and my car. No one was out there. I listened to the wind, the birds, the crickets. The sky looked like a piece of stained glass, with white swirly streaks through it. I raised my hands to the God of the universe and said thank you. It was the first time in days that I felt the quiet. The peace. I went inside, gathered up my materials and moseyed on home, ate a snack and took a nap. There was some guilt, but I found a way to get through the next few days.
Sometimes it's okay to just shut up and be less than...
