Philippians

I love the book of Philippians. I just find it so encouraging, for some reason. I have read it several times, and every time I see something new or something takes on a new meaning then it did the previous time. It is so refreshing when that happens. Like God is revealing something to you that is just for you. It’s a great thing to think about, in my opinion.

Anyway, there’s a prompt for this post I do believe. So as I was reading through it I was specifically looking for metaphors. There was only one that really stuck out to me. Now, of course, that is not to say that it is the only one. Nor is it to say that what I thought was a metaphor really is a metaphor. I’m not very good at discerning things like that. So the one that stuck out to me was this:

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Is that a metaphor? Maybe the reason I thought it was is because this isn’t usually how the world views things.. But I’m not sure if it is a metaphor or not. Another one that made me wonder was this:

“But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father.”

I thought maybe this was more like symbolism? Just because it is relating it to something else. Or maybe it is something completely different.. Either way, these two quotes of Paul make you really think about what he is trying to get across. In the second quote I wrote, it uses really good imagery and makes me relate it to something else that is easier for me to understand. Whereas before, it was almost on a level that I couldn’t really understand. It didn’t have as much feeling behind it as it does now that I can understand it on my level.  

Symbolism

Symbolism. Although I read the chapter, this was a difficult subject for me to fully digest. There were so many literary terms I was having to look stuff up left and right. And then when I read the blog post for this blog, and I read the story, I did not understand how I could relate the story to symbolism in any way. So, that was a no go for me. Of course, I also was not there on Tuesday to participate in any of the discussion or activity, so I am probably a little lost in that aspect.

I did think the story very interesting though. Why did they only call the child, the child? Why did they never say her name? But she’s also the narrator, I guess. Yet, it refers to “the child” all the time. I thought that was a little different. And what was the moral of the story, exactly? Or was it one of those things that doesn’t really have a moral, it’s just a story. Definitely interesting.

In terms of “reading, interpreting, and criticizing” however I think I can manage. Upon first reading this, I was a little befuddled, I won’t lie. Just because it was definitely a unique story, or at least way of writing a story. I interpreted the child to be a very curious young girl. She obviously thought she was smarter than the other kids, but I feel like that was mainly because she was maybe more mature than they were in some ways. Then again, I also feel like she was a little less mature in some ways also. They were a little older than she was, and had their minds set on different things, that is the truth. Either way, the child was the star of the show.

Reflecting

So I decided to reflect upon the past week or two and the play we read, since we had no designated reading for this upcoming class. Since this course is supposed to be all about helping and teaching us to read better, I wanted to see if this assignment really did help me learn to read any better. I felt that I gained something from just reading the play the first time through, without any special activities. But then when we read some of the lines with each other in class, it really brought it to life for me. It was just a little more real. Especially hearing how some of the other people portrayed their characters.

Also, the girl that spoke to us in class was wonderful I thought. She just had so much energy and passion about what she was talking about. I loved hearing it! And she also brought out a new side of the play that I wouldn’t have come up with, or even known to think about on my own. Then the last big thing which completely brought the play to life was visiting Alliance for Independence. Seeing the people there and even meeting a couple was so neat.

So I do think that the way we’ve been reading in this class is molding me into a better reader. It is really making me want to do more research and investigate more things than just the face value of the story. I feel that it helps me to really understand and even engage texts better when I put more effort into it. Even just finding things out about the author and the purpose for them writing the story makes a big difference. It really changes your perspective. Another thing I’ve noticed recently, is how the meaning of a book can change depending on when you read it. Kind of like Bible passages meaning different things at different times.

Essay

I read the essay by Dr. Fettke. I also had a chance to meet his son, Phillip, on the field trip. One of the major things I found interesting about this essay was when he talked about people of the church not thinking people with disabilities made in God’s image. That is something I have never heard, nor thought before. I have heard about some people thinking that people with mental disabilities were demon possessed. This is something I have never believed though. So, I found it really interesting that apparently so many people think that humans with mental or physical disabilities were not created in God’s image. I wonder how people can think that though. The Bible says that man was created in His image, does it not? It doesn’t specify that only “certain” people were made in His image. I find that to be very frustrating.

How much more so would someone with a relative close to them with a mental handicap, feel? Or better yet, how does that person with the mental handicap feel? Even though life seems so unfair sometimes, God has to have a purpose for it all, right? Or is that just my naiveté speaking?

One line that stuck out to me was this:

“Hauerwas notes that “helping” the handicapped can actually expose our own weakness, by which he means “our own sense of helplessness and loneliness.”

What I took this to mean was that sometimes when we reach out to the handicapped or try to help them, we feel vulnerable and our own “problems” come to the surface. Maybe that is why many people shy away from things like this? I feel that whenever I am around people with mental handicaps or such, I feel loneliness. But it’s not loneliness for me. Instead, it is more of the loneliness that I expect them to be feeling. And in return I have a desire to fill that void they are experiencing in their lives.

Continuing the story

So, I finished the rest of the play we read. I won’t lie, I cried a little. Especially when Barry’s father came and was such an idiot. We watched that part of the movie in my social work class, and it was portrayed even worse then. It is just really hard to imagine someone being so completely insensitive. On one hand, I can understand that the dad probably has issues of his own and there are probably reasons that he acts the way he does, but I just don’t want to give him any excuses for what he did. Maybe I’m being insensitive in thinking that way. Either way, that really affected me.

Another thing that was pretty sad is that Jack had to leave, and then their reaction to that. I completely understand why he had to leave. It was getting to be way too much for him, and he wasn’t able to separate himself from his work. That’s really hard for a person to handle. I just think it is so sad that it has to be that way. But that’s life, I guess. It’s a tough thing to grapple with though. It makes you wonder what will happen when Jack leaves, and the next person takes his place. Will the four men develop the same type of relationship with the new social worker as they had with Jack? Then the cycle would continue whenever that social worker got overwhelmed and someone new had to come in. Eventually I feel like they would just decide not to get close to people because it seems as if they all leave. Of course, maybe because of their disabilities, they wouldn’t think like that. I know that is what happens to kids and things quite a bit though.

I’m really curious to see how the field trip on Monday is going to go. I want to know what we’ll be doing there, and what kind of things we’ll see. Interacting with people who have mental disabilities is hard for me. Not because I’m necessarily scared or are unsure of what to do, although that does happen sometimes. But it’s mostly because I get sad. I feel bad that they have to live with that, and then I feel bad that I feel bad for them. Like I’m diminishing their life just because I feel bad for them. So, I don’t know. It’s something I think about.

The Boys Next Door

I absolutely love the story we are reading now! I feel like it is such a change from the other stuff we’ve been reading lately, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Typically, I get very defensive whenever anybody makes fun of someone with a disability or anything of that nature, but I felt like this story put it in a new perspective for me. I felt like it was portrayed in a way that made me feel less sorry for them. Like they still live, and develop relationships and do things, it’s just different then what I do. Obviously they still need help, and you can see that in the fact that several people took advantage of them.

The writer makes the situation humorous. What’s interesting is that I watched part of it in my Social Work class this morning, and the movie was pretty darn different then the story. I like the story better, since it’s more graphic. However, I really wish I could see it in play form.

Anyway, I’m curious as to what kind of research the author did before writing this. Maybe he has had experience with people who have disabilities? I feel like he would have had to do a lot of insurance to know all of their little niches, and unique qualities. Also, the social worker in the story seems to be getting pretty frustrated. I think he is having trouble separating his work from his home life, which is never good. And I feel like maybe he is putting too much on himself, in the way that these four guys are living. Like he wants to see some major improvements, and whenever things don’t work like that, he seems to be greatly discouraged. I don’t think this is good for him as an individual. I feel like he needs to learn to separate himself from his work more and relax a bit more. I could be totally wrong though. J

Park

I went to Lake Bonny Park for this field trip, and I stayed for at least fourty-five minutes.

So this nature visit was very interesting, for me. I went Monday evening and the sun was beginning to set a few minutes before I left. Needless to say, it was very pretty. I have always enjoyed sunsets and this one reflected off the trees in a very grand way. I found it a little difficult to concentrate on my reading when I first got there, because there was a lot of commotion. A huge group of guys in trucks came and were playing flag football, and there was a soccer game going on, and there were also quite a few kids playing on the playground. So there were quite a bit of things distracting me, until I found a way to get somewhat by myself and tune the rest out.

I spotted one tree that really stuck out to me. It was a red tree in the midst of all the green ones. So as the sun was setting and hitting this tree in its unique light, it sure was sight to behold. I ended up focusing on this for quite a while and I looked at the lake for a bit too. There is just something about water, and the reflections in the water that are so mesmerizing, don’t you think? Personally, I could look at it for hours.

Another thing I noticed was that to begin with, all I could hear was the sounds of the kids playing and the soccer game. But once I was about to get slightly away from all of that and tune some of it out, I noticed the little things of nature that we usually miss. Like the noises the birds make, the wind making the leaves rustle, the wind making the water move. It’s those sounds and sights that inspired my two nature poems:

One-

The way the sun hits the trees,

Makes you never want to shut your eyes.

Of course, you only get this unique picture

When the sun is on its descent.

Where is it going?

It’s on its way to provide someone with

A beautiful sunrise, I suppose.

The reflection in the lake

Is almost as beautiful as the image of the tree.

And all this is because of the sun.

Two-

As I look at the clouds, they almost look unreal.

Like maybe they were simply painted there.

The mixture of blue, pink, and cream;

It’s a fruit smoothie for the eyes.

What else is a greater confirmation

That there is a God who created it all?

The birds ceaselessly chirping,

I wonder if they’re singing praises

In the unique way that only birds can.

What a beauty.