"Don't nobody know my troubles but God."

Sunday afternoon, Sylvia and I attended a play/musical called "Black Pearl Sings" at the Watertower Theater in Addison.
This was probably their best play of a rich season of offerings. I was captivated by the 1930's Texas and New York City settings, and the themes of a musicologist capturing songs for future generations. "Black Pearl," a paroled Texas convict, is the singer who reaches back through time for songs of the African-American experience in the Americas and before. I was particularly captivated by an early song, "Don't nobody know my troubles but God." The soulful, blues tune accompanied by periodic stomping of the feet spoke volumes of the experience of oppression.
I am worried that we don't have such experiences any longer. I am not asking for oppression, but sometimes the relative success/excess we enjoy in 21st century America seems to drive persons further from God. One would perhaps think that blessings would drive one to seek the Blesser, but more often the reality seems to be that suffering drives one to seek the Comforter. I would pray that all life, bane and blessing and in between, would send us to the one God in charge of it all.

Clothing Exchange Event at First United

On Saturday, June 5, we did not celebrate the D-Day Landing of 1944 early, but the Clothing Landing at First United Lutheran Church in Dallas! The Clothing Exchange (check this out: http://www.theclothingexchange.com/) is an official Green Event, which encourages folks to pass on outgrown and no longer needed clothes to others AT NO CHARGE! At First United, a local community volunteer (Meredith) organized everything, as she has done this for years. We members of the church served cookies and lemonade and orange slices and good cheer to the overheated "shoppers." Persons come in with bags of unwanted clothing and get the same number of bags to fill from others' discards (which the volunteers have carefully categorized). What wonderful Stewardship, caring for resources responsibly, plus helping out the community. As Meredith pointed out, it is also a kind of "loaves and fishes" event because there are always many bags of left over clothing that go to shelters and other non-profits for their use. Thanks "The Clothing Exchange" for letting us host! Watch for a late-Summer/early-Fall Back-to-School event.