I am Jean Valjean

One word from him and I'd be back
Beneath the lash, upon the rack
Instead he offers me my freedom
I feel my shame inside me like a knife
He told me that I have a soul,
How does he know?
What spirit comes to move my life?
Is there another way to go?

I am reaching, but I fall
And the night is closing in
And I stare into the void
To the whirlpool of my sin
I'll escape now from the world
From the world of Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean is nothing now
Another story must begin!

(Lyrics from Who Am I? as sung by Jean Valjean.

From Les Mis

Written by Claude-Michel Schonenberg and Alain Boublil)

 

 

I was blessed by an opportunity to go see the movie/musical Les Mis this past weekend.  My sweet son was my date.  He actually was the one who convinced me to go.  Y'all I don't normally go to the movies.  (Because hello...$40 for 2 cokes and a popcorn is not my idea of a good time.) 

 

Usually I just wait for movies to get to On-Demand before I watch them.  But my son said I just had to go and see this movie.  He had seen it over the Christmas break and offered to go see it again if I'd go with him. 

 

Well...long story short (too late for that...sorry) we went.

 

And y'all.

 

Y'all.

 

Y'ALL.

 

I was quite simply...blown away.  It's been 4 days and I still haven't quite recovered.  How Hollywood managed to put out a movie that proclaimed the Gospel of Grace so wonderfully and beautifully without totally cutting the Lord out of the picture is nothing short of a true-blue miracle. 

 

True. Blue.

 

I'm telling you I practically floated out of that movie theater.  I had to because we had flooded the dang thing with tears.  Seriously...my son said it sounded like a symphony in there what with all the sobbing and sniffling and nose blowing.  And when the rest of the audience got into the act...well...I'll just leave it to your imagination.

 

The movie...it is a tear-jerker.  So take some Kleen-ex with you.  Don't be like yours truly and think "Oh I'm not gonna cry." 

 

Yes.  Yes you will.

 

The lady to the left of me said she would've shared but she could only find one measley kleenex and it had to last her the entire 2 and 1/2 hours.  I'm guessing she hasn't heard of our Lord's miracle of the fishes and the loaves but whatever.

 

The two sweet little girls sitting next to my son didn't speak English very well (bless 'em) and they spent the entire movie sobbing in Chinese.  I didn't know that was possible but it is.

 

So yeah.  Tears.  They will flow like a river. 

 

But they will be good tears...especially at the end and you smack yourself in the head and realize the full message of what Mr. Hugo (author of the novel Les Miserables which is what the musical is based upon) had to say.  Not that I did that.  I'm speaking hypothetically of course.

 

The whole thing is uplifting and glorious in ways that Hugh Jackman's shamefully absent (and sadly missed) sideburns have striven-to-be-but-never-quite-made-it in all those X-men movies.

 

It is what going to the movies should be.

 

So don't wait for On-Demand.  Shell out the bucks and go.  It's worth it.

 

But please, for the love of all you and yours hold dear...refrain from singing "I Dreamed A Dream" mournfully to yourself in the shower the next morning as you ready yourself for work.  You may find yourself in a puddle (ha...you see what I did there right?) shivering and sobbing in a fetal position on the floor when your husband starts pounding on the bathroom door complaining that he's late and he's gotta get ready too for Pete's sake.

 

But at least if it does happen you can reach up and grab some toilet paper for your nose.  If you've remembered to change the roll of course.

 

But again...that's just a hypothetical.


The Name

I was thinking the other day, while driving in my car, about the name of Jesus.  More specifically, I was thinking about the honor and the privilege that I have in being able to speak it with boldness and confidence.

I was thinking what a wonder it is that I'm allowed to breathe out the syllables of His name at all. 

I can't really explain it, but I bet if you got alone by yourself for a minute and closed your eyes and really concentrated on Jesus and Him alone for a few minutes...you'd begin to possibly understand the magnitude of what I'm speaking about here.

Jesus is awesome, and awe-inspiring...not to mention Holy.  To be in His presence is to not only be instantly filled with love and adoration, but also horror.  Horror at the sin that has now been made glaringly apparent in His light.

Imperfections that once seemed minor and inconsequential are now unmasked for what they truly are...pure, stinking, rotting death.  Separation, rebellion, disobedience.  Evil.

Surely someone with such defilements would be completely reviled by The Holy One.  Someone who bitterly rages about having to forgive that certain someone over and over while blithely overlooking her own shortcomings and need for constant forgiveness...that type of hypocrisy would most certainly be shunned by The Eternal right?

Instead, we are granted the unspeakable grace of being allowed into His Presence at the merest whisper of His Name, and when the Light shines on all those imperfections, we are offered a trade. 

Our weakness for His strength. 

Our frailties and disease for His wholeness and healing.

Our utter depravity for His righteousness.

On and on the list goes.  His goodness knows no end and His kindness endures from generation to generation.

There is only one catch to this whole deal.

We must choose to trade.  We cannot knowingly hold onto evil with one hand and expect to touch His heart with the other.

We must choose.

I'm sure you've noticed the silence here at Mimi and Butterbean these past few months.  Perhaps someday I'll be able to share about it all, but at this time, part of my choosing means letting all of what has passed...go. 

And so...once again I breathe The Name of Names. 

It is at once a prayer and a praise, for things I'm letting go of, and the things I will receive in this ridiculously upside-down trade.

Pray with me?  Choose with me?

Let's let what has passed in the old year go its way.  And as we breathe in and out, uttering the Holiest of Holies, may we let the Light wash over us and fill us with joy and hope for the new year to come.

The Season Of Shut Yer Mouth

Well...y'all...Mimi has been going through a time.  A time.

*insert deep dramatic sigh here*

On a lighter note, I have discovered that I'm somewhat in love with Duck Dynasty.

Have you seen it yet?  Oh my word if not, then please do all you can do to clear your schedule and take a gander.  It's a hoot.  It's clean, funny, and for once, there's not a bunch of scantily-clad 40-ish women doing all they can to destroy one another's weave.

So.

As I type, a Duck Dynasty marathon is on and I've laughed more this evening than I have in a while.

Because...did I mention I've been going through a time?  To say I've been a bit concerned and a little on edge lately would unfortunately be an understatement.  And to make matters worse, the lesson for Mimi through all of this hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing has been to keep her mouth shut.

Which is not exactly something I'm familiar with, all bloggy evidence to the contrary.

And if I go a bit further here and be really brutally honest here...my real problem hasn't been my circumstances...my real problem has been me.

I still have a control issue.

The good news is...I am making strides and while I've suffered a lot of defeat...I've also had some small victories.

So yay God.  You're awesome and Holy and Wonderful and all that I need.  You're faithful when I'm faithless and have patiently endured my raging and tenderly calmed my fears.  I am Yours...I belong to You...do with me and mine as You see fit.

And oh...if You could somehow arrange a meeting between me and Phil and Miss Kay...that would help to heal a lot of wounds.  Because they own lots and lots of guns, Jesus...and I have a feeling Imma need one soon.

Just kidding.

Sort of.

One Year Later

Well...it's here.  The anniversary we didn't want to have. 

It's been one year since you left us.  Well...maybe I should correct that.  You left us a long time ago, but your body didn't give out until a year ago.

A lot has changed in this past year.  A lot has stayed the same.  I'm still married to your son.  I still love him and he still loves me (most times) and we still fight to stay together every day.

Your grandbabies are now adults mostly.  K will be 20 this year and C will be 18.  And your great-grandbaby...sweet Butterbean, will soon be a year old.  You never got to meet her in the flesh.  You left 6 weeks before she arrived.  6 measley weeks.

You would not believe how much she is K made over.  You would be in love with her and she would be in love with you.  I wish that the anticipation of her arrival had been enough to convince you to stay. 

I wish we would have been enough...your family.  I know losing your husband six months earlier was hard.  It was unbearable for all of us.  But seriously...you couldn't have fought a little harder?  Worked a little more to find a reason to live?

Butterbean has her mama's eyes.  And the exact same hair.  There are days when her Bops and I look at her and it takes our breath because she reminds us so strongly of K when she was that age.  She'll be walking in a few short weeks.  And not long after that we'll be celebrating her first birthday.

And we'll be thinking of you.  And wishing you were here.

I remember when K turned a year old and those first years as a mother.  Man, I was so insecure and so uptight about everything.  You and I definitely did not see eye to eye on a lot of things as far as she was concerned, but there was one thing I was never in doubt about.  I knew you loved her.

Probably in ways you didn't even think you could love.  I'm sure it took you by surprise.  I know you didn't want to be a grandmother at that time.  I know you were too young.

I know because I'm too young. 

But none of that mattered once the baby arrived.  All that mattered was her and making sure she was loved and spoiled in all the ways a granddaughter should be.  I'm sorry I ruined some of that for you by being so insecure and so worried about things that didn't matter.

I'm sorry I helped to make it into a competition for you.  I get it now.  I know what it's like to try to erase regret by trying to be Mimi Supreme.  I'm trying not to do that to K but it's very hard.  She doesn't have the benefit of hindsight like you and I do.  I keep trying to remember that, but I fail at it a lot.

I believe that you have finally found the peace that eluded you here on earth, because I believe in the mighty hand of our merciful and just God.  I know that you see and know now, all the things you couldn't see and know before.  And I'm glad.  I'm glad you can finally see all the love that we have had for you all these years.  I'm glad you can finally rest enough to let it in.

I just wanted to say that to you today.

And that even through all of the crap, and the what ifs, and the wishing it could have been otherwise...we still love you.

I still love you.

I wish you were here.  *sigh*

But you're not.

Anyway...happy anniversary.

And Sometimes...All You Can Do Is Grab A Bag Of Popcorn And Enjoy The Show

GEEZE-O-PETE!!! When did October get here?  What happened to September? Or July for that matter?

I suppose what I'm trying to say here is...well I don't know really what I'm trying to say.  I'm sure it was something nifty about time and Jim Croce and a bottle.  Or it could just have been about my lack of discipline and getting behind on stuff.

Something to that effect.

Anyhoo, I think when last we spoke I was tellin' y'all about my brush with the stripper pole.  Turns out, that was not to be the only time during vacay that I would almost come in contact with the exotic dance industry.  Oh no. 

After much back and forth with our friendly GPS lady and approximately 11 U-turns...we finally arrived at our destination (completely intact and only slightly worse for wear).  We were pleasantly surprised by the ocean view from our condo "balcony."  I put the word "balcony" in quotation marks because it was only about a foot wide.  Two people could fit out there, but your behind would definitely be smooshed up against the sliding glass door.

We snapped some quick pics of the kids faces as they got their first view and then we did what normal people do...we dropped our bags and hightailed it out to the beach.  Now, in order to get to the beach, we had to go down one floor to the lobby and walk past the pool and hot tub.  As we were walking I noticed some people out there that were a bit, well, out of the ordinary...but I just chalked it up to "Hey we're at Myrtle Beach" and tried to keep up with the kids as they ran pell mell to the ocean.

A while later we dragged the kids away from the ocean in order to feed them dinner.  We only accomplished this feat with promises of returning as soon as possible.  We got cleaned up and hopped back in the car (oh joy! rapture!) in search of grub. 

Now, I should remind y'all...I have never had to drive myself around Myrtle before.  I was therefore, immediately lost.  But we had our trusty GPS lady to guide us and what do you know...only 3 minor U-turns and one trip through the North Myrtle "red light" district later (see paragraph #4)  and we found a suh-weet little Mexican restaurant. 

We walked in and almost walked back out because someone had seriously doused the entire place in Pine-Sol.  It was nauseating.  We considered leaving but we were pretty much done with all the "being in the car" so we decided to stick it out.  PSA: Mexican food and "pine-fresh scent" do not go together well.

After dinner we headed back to the beach for one last dip before collapsing into our beds.  Keep in mind we had been up since 4:30 in the am.  Y'all we were tired.  Which might help you understand the whys and wherefores of what happened next.

My friend began working her "mom" magic and somehow managed to get the littles calmed down enough to drop off to sleep.  We had turned out the lights in the condo and were settling down ourselves when the people I had noticed earlier decided it was PARTY IN THE USA time.  Because spending their whole day doing shots at the pool-side Tiki bar hadn't been enough.  And lucky for us...our room was right over the pool/hot tub area.  So we got to hear every bit of slurred conversation and "friendly banter" happening between the guys and the gals.

One of whom started to get really upset.  Girlfriend and I peeked through the curtains and noticed that one of the party-goer guys was a little on the short side.  Someone had called him on it or asked him about it and I don't know what else was said but it must have been bad because next thing we know, homeboy is up out of the hot tub going "Come AT me BRO! Come AT me!"

Now y'all...Mimi is all about people of all shapes, colors and sizes.  So please don't hate me for saying this...but the sight of that little man dripping wet and hopping (I kid you not...he was hopping) and screaming...well it was somewhat humorous.  It didn't help that we were slap-happy by that time either.

After the initial chuckle or two, when things didn't seem to be calming down, this was the point when Girlfriend started getting a little mad herself.  We were TRYING TO KEEP TWO KIDS COMATOSE UNTIL AT LEAST 6AM FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.  It was 11pm and the rules clearly stated (we knew because being the nerdy girls we are...we actually read them) that 11pm was quiet time.  Girlfriend wanted those peeps gone.  I just sat back (see blog title) to see what would happen.  Plus I didn't want to get in her way.  She was getting this strange twitch in her eye and mumbling something about sleep so...I just tried to survive.

Girlfriend marched to the phone...picked up the receiver and called the front desk.  Yes.  She TOLD ON THE PARTY-GOERS AND THE ANGRY LITTLE MAN.  It should be mentioned here (because my wordcount isn't NEARLY long enough and you haven't been completely bored to tears yet) that the front desk guy was all of 150 pounds soaking wet.  And his name was Richard.  Not Rick.  Not Ricky-Bobby.  Not Studly McStudmuffin.  Just Richard.

BUT...he WAS covered in tattoos so we were hoping there was enough toughness in him to get the job done.  We were especially worried that Richard might have to tangle with the ANGRY LITTLE MAN...so after Girlfriend hung up we did what normal, mature, grown-up Christian ladies would do.  We peeped through the curtain to watch the show.

Home-boy Richard was brilliant.  Those people argued and whined...but Richard the Night Manager got them out.  We were high-fiving him and giving him the thumbs up and telling him (from the safety of our second floor room and behind our curtains) that we had his back.  At this point, Richard turned and LOOKED UP AT US and gave us a thumbs up.  And that's when we realized the sliding glass door was OPEN and he had heard us.

Every. Word.

Mortification.  It's a definite buzz-kill.

Tune in next time for the story about the one-legged lady and Lt. Dan.  No, I am not kidding. 

The Cracker Barrel And The Stripper Pole

You know what two phrases are rarely heard together in a sentence?

"Stripper poles" and "Cracker Barrel."  But today, friends...prepare to be amazed as history is in the making where these two phrases are concerned.

Only in my world could they ever be together.  A fact for which I thank God for...truly.

Now, I love ye olde "CB" but I am in no way affiliated with that corporation, nor am I being paid to mention anything about them.

I just like to eat there.

And a few weeks ago, whilst on yon vacation...I decided to stop there.  To eat.  With my friend and her two littles.

The only problem with it was, we were in South Carolina and apparently, they do things a bit differently there.  In my neck of the woods, when you walk in to a CB, the dining hall is always to your left, and the general store is to your right.

Not so in South Carolina.  It's all backwards.  So after hitting the bathroom up and mentioning all the geographical oddities of this particular locale...we commenced to being seated and eating breakfast.  It should be mentioned here that Girlfriend's four year old has an appetite that is approximately the size of an ant.  She's a little stick figure with white blonde curls and gorgeous blue eyes that swallow her whole face. 

She is lethally adorable.

The one thing she does love to eat in any sort of measurable quantity is bacon.  Because...who doesn't?  Even if you don't eat it because of diet restrictions...you're still craving the salty, crispy goodness of porkfat.  Yum.  So...Princess Pea (as she shall henceforth be named) and I ordered ourselves a nice helping of bacon.

At which point Princess Pea says, "You wike bacon too?"  And I said, "Psshhhttt...yeah...I lurve bacon!"  And then she giggled and squirmed and put her hand up to her mouth to whisper to me, "You and me can be bacon buddies!" *snort giggle giggle snort*

To which I replied solemnly, "Yes.  Yes we can."  And so we are even to this day.

Now during this whole exchange, the eight-year-old was discussing with his mother what he would have and so on and so forth.  When the food came out...he took two bites and declared loudly to all within hearing range that "This is the best food I've ever had!!!"

Have I said to you that I love these kids???  I mean...they are foodie geniuses!

Eight-year-old declared and avowed his love for his meal again to our waitress, who then proceeded into the kitchen to tell the cook...and buddy boy got a huge thumbs up from our table.  And eight-year-old's day was made when the cook waved enthusiastically in response.

And then we all rolled out to the car...having eaten so much bacon and such that we could no longer walk.

I tipped the waitress with some "ones" from my "stripper stash."

Oh wait...I forgot to tell you about that part.

Prior to the culinary episode at CB...we had stopped at a gas station.  I walked into the store to pay because all I had on me was cash.  Large bills.  It was a bit early in the day and the cashier only had ones, so she asked me if it would be ok if my change was a bunch of...well....one dollar bills.  I said, "Sure."

To which she replied, "Just tell everybody you got them at the stripper pole last night."

To which I said, "Alrighty then."

And then I thanked her for thinking I had the flexibility and dexterity to be able to work a pole.

At my age...you've got to take the compliments where you can get them people.

So Lord...today please bless the Cracker Barrel people who have to serve copious amounts of bacon to weary travelers who can only tip them with cash that may or may not have been earned at a stripper pole.  And bless the gas station attendants who have the optimism to believe someone whose physical shape largely resembles that of a bowling ball...would seem desirable enough to have warranted that many dollar bills.

Amen.

Tune in next time folks when Mimi throws together the phrases, "Angry Midget" and "Hot Tub."

Driving In The Car With Kids...A Guide

So I promised a second part to the whole vacay story.   So this week, in not-so-Paul-Harvey-esque fashion, I promise to relay the "rest of the story."

But first...a list.  Consider it a guide of sorts.

You're welcome.

1.  If you're planning on driving a car with a friend and two kids in the backseat for a significant distance, make sure you wait until the last minute to pack so that you won't go to bed until 3 hours before you're supposed to leave.  And then as you slide into the driver's seat...tell your friend that you didn't get any sleep.  This is to build up her confidence that she and her offspring will survive the drive.

2.  Make sure that your route is filled with as many mountainous roads and switchback turns as possible.  This will ensure that your friend at least will stay awake even if you can't.  Also, if you're gonna go off the side of the mountain...then at least one of you should get the "full effect."

3.  Don't be afraid of eighteen-wheelers.  Get as close to them as you can. If you can coast in their blind-spot, so much the better!  This will give your friend an opportunity to get closer to Jesus, as she will certainly call out His name several times.

4.  Take the time to plan a vacation at a destination you've never actually had to drive to before.  This will give your lazy GPS lady a workout and goodness knows she needs one.   It will also give your friend something other than the door-handle to clutch as you go barrelling around those switchback curves.

5.  Get friendly with your gas pedal.  This is because your lazy, good-for-nothing, cheap, worthless GPS lady will give you wrong directions...and you'll want to be able to show off your donut skillz while performing numerous "legal" u-turns in traffic.

6.  Be observant.  You want to make sure to point out those stop signs and various shrubbery to the kids because they might not have noticed them the first 8 times you passed them.

7.  Don't forget to call your husband en route to let him know that your tires feel funny and your engine light just came on.  Do this in front of your friend...that way you kill two birds with one stone and can possibly spark a revival, as this will up the amount of spirit-filled prayer that your friend is now doing non-stop; not to mention all the "special" language now being uttered by your husband (who is hundreds of miles away).  Remember, where two or more are gathered together....

8.  When filling up your tank in a strange city, go to the one with bars on all the windows and a parking lot filled with "hooptys" bouncing lots of bass and gangsta rap.  This will help the two youngsters in the backseat get the full message behind Elvis' classic hit "In The Ghetto."  Because vacations don't always have to be filled with fun and sun.  They can be educational too.

9.  Take only cash with you.  That way, when you're in above-mentioned gas station, you can flash it to any and all passers-by as you go in to pay.  But make sure you take your car keys with you into the station, as your friend may by now be slightly over-reacting and won't unlock the car door without a certain amount of "encouragement."

10.  Buy candy for the kids to gobble up in the back seat.  This move cannot be overstated as it will improve the chance for a full sugar melt-down right as you're pulling into your destination and are getting ready to unload the car.  Your friend will appreciate the fact that her kids have demonstrated their vocal abilities to the entire establishment, because who doesn't love a "grand entrance?"

So...that's it.  My guide to traveling by car with other people.  And kids.  I have no copyright on this guide, so feel free to tweak it with your own special variations and make it "yours."

Also, no children or friends were harmed in the making of this guide.  At least...not physically.