"laestadian, apostolic, gay, lgbtq, ex-oalc, ex-llc, llc, oalc, bunner" LEARNING TO LIVE FREE: God Speaks Through MacDuff

Sunday, May 07, 2006

God Speaks Through MacDuff

Yesterday to celebrate our wedding anniversary, my husband and I enjoyed coffee at our favorite cafe, dinner at our favorite pub, and opera by our favorite composer, Verdi. It was MacBeth, Shakespeare's tale of the Scottish king whose ambition was his fatal flaw. The sets, the direction, the music, the acting, the singing . . . all were collectively grand and spell-binding.

We've been going to the opera for almost 20 years since we met there (as volunteers), and as fond as we are of the art form, it is rare for any performance to excel in all those aspects -- let alone for three hours. And it is also rare (and a wonderful thing) to be in an audience that was universally moved, erupting with joy and applause right along with us.

Late in the opera when MacDuff, a tenor with a heart-piercingly fluid tone, is betrayed by MacBeth and discovers his wife and children slain, he enfolds his limp little girl in his arms and sings a song of grief like none I've ever heard. Tears sprang to my eyes.

I thought of those boys in Duluth and their families' suffering. My conscience stung: it was heartless of me to post criticism after that event. What if the heartbroken parents were to hear of it and suffer more? Whether something has validity or not is hardly the point. Where was my compassion?

I removed the post.

I beg pardon for any hurt, and pray that I will be more sensitive to the suffering of others.

Peace.

9 comments:

  1. LLLreader: I'm sure your apology will be well taken, but don't be too hard on yourself Dear Freeda. When I feel I have said something wrong, I try to go back and take a good look at what my INTENTION was when I spoke, or acted, or reacted. Your intention wasn't to hurt--we know you better then that. As parents, when we hear of the death of a child we react in fear, and your fear was evident. That pain--loss of a child is so overwhelming--we say "OH NO, WHY, WHY, HOW CAN THIS BE?" Then we look for a reason. The fear of losing our own child becomes more frightening when we hear of a tragedy like this one. We just want to change what happened and make it go away. Bless you Freeda, and bless those grieving families.

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  2. Like LLLreader says, your intention originally was good, but I am glad of your more recent decision. Solomon tells us there's a time and place for everything.

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  3. Thank you, LLLreader. I am touched by your generosity and grateful for this community.

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  4. I did not read your comments about the Duluth youth. However, I did hear about the accident and my heart goes out to the families.


    I pray the families that lost their children will feel the peace of God and will feel that they are surrounded by love.

    May we all pray for them.

    God's Peace!

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  5. Thanks, Ilmarinen . . . I can hear Peter, Paul and Mary:

    To everything - turn, turn, turn
    There is a season - turn, turn, turn
    And a time for every purpose under heaven

    A time to be born, a time to die
    A time to plant, a time to reap
    A time to kill, a time to heal
    A time to laugh, a time to weep

    To everything - turn, turn, turn
    There is a season - turn, turn, turn
    And a time for every purpose under heaven

    A time to build up, a time to break down
    A time to dance, a time to mourn
    A time to cast away stones
    A time to gather stones together

    To everything - turn, turn, turn
    There is a season - turn, turn, turn
    And a time for every purpose under heaven

    A time of war, a time of peace
    A time of love, a time of hate
    A time you may embrace
    A time to refrain from embracing

    To everything - turn, turn, turn
    There is a season - turn, turn, turn
    And a time for every purpose under heaven

    A time to gain, a time to lose
    A time to rend, a time to sew
    A time to love, a time to hate
    A time of peace, I swear it's not too late

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  6. Free,

    Thanks for taking it out. It showed that you can admit to yourself when something you did wasn't quite the right thing.

    One of your anonymous LLC/SRK posters

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  7. Dear Anonymous 12:53:

    My heart goes out to you. Yes, it is so difficult to hear criticism, especially from those who should love us and care for us. That includes church folk. I've been there.

    Once I allowed myself to see their comments as reflections on THEM rather than on ME, I was able to let go of some of the hurt and anger. I hope that you will be able to get to that place, inside or outside the church.

    You are in my thoughts....

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  8. Free,
    Thanks for taking it out.
    Peace.

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  9. Many Trails Home5/18/2006 05:14:00 PM

    Did you hear that there were a total of 8 boys on that camping trip? Three were left on the island for a second run, one a brother of one of the drowned. They were retrieved by the sheriff. The man that saved the 2 said the flimsy aluminum boat should have held no more than 2 people.
    Four of the 5 were offspring of my cousins. The conclusion of the community seems to be that it was a bunch of teens exercising no common sense.
    I got this info from my mom, who said that, when my brothers were young, they were ridiculed by our fisherman uncle for wearing life jackets - the only flotation device acceptable for a "manly man" (my designation) was a floating seat cushion. Teens aren't the only ones who often do not exercise caution and common sense. MTH

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