It Ought To Be Simple

There are many keys to unlocking the scriptures. Here is one that surprised me.  Firsts I've been interested for a while in "firsts" in scripture, the first time something happens, or the first time a certain word gets used.  The culture of faith is an evolutionary process.   The word "contrite" was first used by King David after his sin with Bathsheba.  David's broken heart before God is a new concept, it needed a new word.      I feel like our friend and cantor Mark Dayan used to quote this verse a lot:     A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. Psalms 51:17     David then uses the verb "to bow down" to mean one's spirit is "contrite"    Personally, this scripture was a "first" for me.  It's the very first portion I ever thought deeply about. The portion I am reading today is Exodus 7:1-5 .   Moses has just finished telling God all the reasons he can't do what God ask...

Here is a story  that's taken years to tell, my favorite kind:   It's a New Year's Greeting and Blessing for you.   I've been posting photos on FB over at least 18 months of roses that are left on a trail in the park where I walk my dog every morning early.   I never see anyone on that trail, it's really steep.    The roses appear in all sorts of weather, snow, rain, heat, and cold.      Roses in the Snow Finally, I left a little notebook and a pencil in a zip lock with a note saying "Please tell me about the flowers".  Then I waited.  I got a "message in a bottle" from the flower person this New Year's morning.     "Here and along the path from here to the bridge, I spread Jamie's ashes.   A ceramic paw print is in a box around this area as well, unless it was found.   These roses honor my best friend.  That's the short version.  God Bless, Happy New Year" It was signed with a litt...