trish hermanson - Home

Am I Willing to Speak Up?

1/18/2021

Am I willing to speak up about things that matter? About lies that lead people into conspiracy theories that can lead to anger and sometimes violence?
     But how should I speak up?
      “Time is cluttered with the wreckage of communities which surrendered to hatred and violence,” Martin Luther King Jr. said. “For the salvation of our nation and the salvation of mankind, we must follow another way.”
     King resisted the temptation to fan the flames of anger with more inflammatory language. Instead, he combined truth with love. Am I willing to speak up that way?
  That’s a lot harder.

When the Gate Swings Open to Another World

1/15/2021

Every once in awhile an invisible gate swings opens before me, and I realize I’m living in two dramas - the world around me and an unseen world.
     That happened when we sold our ranch-style home. We’d completed upgrades that we loved: installing wood and tile flooring everywhere except the living room that we kept carpeted, and turning two bedrooms into one to create a master area with a separate retreat.
     We loved it, but then we sensed it was time to “right-size.” Crazy, I know, but we put it on the market.
     A young couple with two kids nabbed it. At closing, the woman turned to me. “I couldn’t maneuver my daughter’s wheelchair on the stairs anymore. One time I lost control and she tumbled down.”    She explained her young daughter had a genetic anomaly that confined her to a wheelchair. “We needed a home on one level with all hard surfaces, except one carpeted room for physical therapy. And a big master bedroom to keep her bed near us so we could reattach her breathing tube when she loses it and chokes overnight.”
     I blinked back tears. Unbeknownst to us, we’d prepared our home for them. A God prompt? I think so. This reminds me that “…we are but actors in the play, not the director, and in fact we must listen carefully to the whispered stage directions,” author Philip Yancey says.
     That’s good to recall these days when the world is spinning out of control. More is going on than I can imagine.

Does Character Matter Anymore?

1/7/2021

Remember when character mattered?
     When doing what was right was more important than getting our own way? When truth was valued more than holding onto a fabrication of what we want?
     I miss those days when Washington and Lincoln were our heroes. They weren’t perfect, but their ethics embodied what made our civilization “civil.”
     We’ve lost that.
     Instead, today we fall into idolizing political, sports, and entertainment figures for their fame, and simply snicker when they’re loudmouthed, brash, or bullying. We normalize their behavior, even when it’s not above that of two-year-olds. No matter where we land on the political spectrum, we may even justify that rioting and looting are free speech when they promote our agenda.
We pay for this.
     So do our kids, who observe that swagger is more important than character - why bother to be nice when you can be powerful?    I fear we’ve opened Pandora’s box, cursing ourselves and our culture with a lack of respect that will lead to our downfall.
     Does character still matter? Do words matter? What about integrity? Honesty? A grasp of right and wrong? I think so, and hope we’ll each take a close look in the mirror and make a conscious ethical about-face wherever we need to.
  Otherwise we’re doomed.

Beware of the Blind Curve Ahead....

1/1/2021

When I saw this sign along the trail, I realized what good advice this is for me for the New Year. After all, who imagined what would race toward me around the blind curves of this past year? It was pandemic, street pandemonium, and political tirades.
     I can’t predict what’s around the next corner in my life. None of us can. But when it veers toward me, I can choose to “keep right.” I’m not talking politics here. I’m saying I can choose to speak and do what’s right.
     Otherwise, I might get in a wreck.
     We’ve survived the Year of 2020. Now, even as disease and discord still foment around us, let’s do more than survive. Let’s thrive by being redemptive forces in 2021.
     I appreciate all of you! Here’s my toast to you through Regina Spektor’s gentle song welcoming the New Year.

What Ripped You Apart This Year?

12/28/2020

What ripped you apart this year?
     The loss of a loved one to COVID? The loss of a job? The loss of a political candidate?
     We’ve all been ripped apart one way or another. But during these days in which we continue to be pulled apart by political mud slinging, let’s remember our commonality.
     Whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, a Libertarian, or refuse to associate with any of the above, and whether you’re red, brown, yellow, black, or white, we share this beautiful spinning ball called Earth.
     Together, what lessons can we take from this horrific year?
     That the world can be brought to its knees in a flash.
     That my life and livelihood can be torn away.
     That we desperately need each other.
     And I’ll add, that problems aren’t solved by either the left or the right, but by reaching up to God.
     I want to keep these lessons in mind so I’ll retain 2020 vision in 2021. Otherwise, I’ll suffer from the nearsightedness of forgetfulness.
     As we enter this New Year, let’s virtually hold hands at a safe social distance and discover how we can mend what has been ripped apart. This song by Peter Mayer, recorded in pre-pandemic days when life was cheerier, still speaks to me about our shared future.
     What are your lessons from the year?
     ***    Lego artwork by Nathan Sawaya.