Shalom

I have fallen in love with this word.  It is a Jewish word, a kind of religious principle.

Shalom.  Shalom.  Cornelius Planting talks about it with words that I love.  The webbing together of God, people and creation in justice, fulfillment and peace.  Shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness and delight- a rich state of affairs where natural needs are satisfied and gifts fruitfully employed.

Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.

Who wouldn't want to bask in this?

Today, I worked at the hospital.  Long hours.  Normal gig.  Around 3, a gal I helped deliver several weeks ago dropped in to visit me with cookies and a little note.  Great big, homemade chocolate chip cookies.  Plate full.   We devoured them and they hit the spot.  What touched me, though, was in that handwritten note, she wrote specifically to me, "I appreciate you."

My son lost a tooth tonight.  The kids are sleeping the same bed with a cowbell tied to a long rope rigged over there heads; a fairy alarm to awaken them both.  He should be dreaming with sweet in anticipation of the tooth fairy, but I can still hear them both in there giggling like crazy each time one of them moves and the alarm goes off.

My husband met me after work to take me to dinner.  Tomorrow, he will make my coffee while I shower, drive me to work for my last shift before our trip and wait, watching, as I hike up the back stairs to labor and delivery, our ritual for the weekends I work, to offer a little wave before he drives home.

Shalom.

I have no-shalom-in-my-home  moments.  When it comes to this rich peace,well being and fulfillment, I can't say that I bask in it.  Or shower in it.  Or even get sprinkled with it as much I would like. There are glimpses, though, of this sweet shalom.  And I am thankful.