..."withdrawal..."

So the minutes of sunshine in Indiana are infinitesimal.... except for July when the sun shines, the humidity soars & the yard dies.... going into sunshine overloard...

Winter is a monochromatic scape of snow, snow & more snow....

Spring transitions into fog, drizzle & rain, & more rain, & more rain..... good for the corn being planted into the earth... not so good for me... my body, mind and soul crave sunshine.... a vitamin D deficiency is sure to be diagnosed...

My sister-in-law has a new business... Indulge Sun-less Tan.... if we lived closer, I'd be an addict...
http://www.indulgetan.com/
She trained with the company in Beverly Hills... her little tanning machine is like a suitcase.... the handle pulls out of the top & she pulls it along... delivering women (& men too, she doesn't discriminate) golden happiness....

the picture at the right was taken on New Year's Eve... my golden hue, compliments of our
sister-in-law... I teased her that her company slogan should be..."Your hotness, My tan... indulge custom tan"...

When we are in Kansas City she 'tans' me for free.... she can practice on my unusual skin...

I'm a bit of a freak of nature... I have vitaligo, a skin condition with splotches of white-ness... no pigment found in them.... I developed this when I was five... after lots of skin 'scraping' our family Dr. diagnosed it, leaving little treatment... I learned to live life being spotted... I don't really notice it... it's when I am around someone new.... a new class of 6th graders when I was a teacher... a group of kindergarten Sunday school-ers.... who asks, "What's up with your skin?" .... (insert smile).... it doesn't bother me.... I simply explain that when I was five, the Lord decided to make me spotted....

Once my own son replied, "like a giraffe," .... yes, like a giraffe...

With the forecast showing 'drips' all week.... and no sunshine on the horizon..... I'm in withdrawal.... I need a little vain hint of color... even if it is sunless.... my soul needs a vitamin D infusion.....

This has me thinking about another type of sun..... the "Son"...

"Believe in the Son and the truth shall set you free!" John 8 (paraphrased by me) 


... another verse from my personal Bible mandate... I tell my husband if I ever do get a tattoo, that is going across my lower back... with a 'funky' sun in the middle...

Jesus told his follower about this 'freedom' & it confused them .... not understanding what 'being set free' could feel like... after a lifetime of Roman oppression....


 John 8 - "31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
 33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”


 34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. ”


The freedom Jesus is describing is spiritual freedom... friends I can tell you it is amazing... the grass is greener... the sky is bluer.... the magesty of the Lord is all around.... flowers blooming... birds singing... frogs croaking... all living the life the Lord intended for 'them' as his creation... they are just being... being the flower, bird or amphibian the Lord created them to be....

Humans are a different creation... we are sinful by nature... we resist 'being' .... and spend most of our lives 'doing'..... being the best at our profession... filling our lives with sporting activities and hobbies... we have not mastered the craft of being, like the rest of nature surrounding us....

In his book The Gift of Being Yourself, David Benner discusses the idea of ..."Living the Truth of Our Uniqueness."  Benner explains, "God meets us in our individuality because God wants to  fulfill that individuality.1"

In living the "truth of our uniqueness" .... and being in the word of God... the Truth (Jesus' Gospel)
will set us free....

So for the time being, I think I need to invest in a seasonal light... to charge my hypothalamus, giving it the vitamin D it craves... finding a good spray tan place in Indiana to give me my vain "hotness" in the form of faux color.... then the signs of withdrawal shall fade away....

I believe in the Son... I am set free by His Truth... that really should be all I need...

1 David Benner, The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self-Discovery (Downers Grove, IL.: Inter Varsity Press, 2004)