Thursday, April 3, 2008

Webster defines "beginning" as...


Who ever knows how to properly begin something? I remember those terrible presentations (read: chapel talks) in middle school where every guy (no girls allowed!) began his devotional talk with a short anecdote about something light, say "Sin" or "Dying to Self," and then followed with the cliff-hanger "Webster defines 'sin' as..." It's a cop out. Granted, so is beginning anything with a question (see above). But it can be hard to get started.
So let's go:
1) Anecdote: When I was little, about 13, my Grandma took it upon herself to teach me how to make a "man-worthy" dinner. We pan-fried hamburger steaks in her ancient cast-iron skillet, steeped green beans in bacon grease and oleo, and crafted what could possibly be the most perfect banana pudding I've ever seen. I asked her, once I was grease splattered and up to my wrists in vanilla pudding, when was the "proper" time to make such a dinner for a guy. Certainly the time devoted to such an evening would necessitate some sort of commitment from the consumer, I thought. But Grandma knew better. She'd lived to cook for her husband, her children, and now her grandchildren. "When?" she asked, "Well right from the beginning."

Webster defines 'beginning' as something, I'm sure, but I like to think of it as not a true start, but rather the first glimpse someone has into the world which has welcomed them. This isn't my beginning, but it is ours.

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