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Tag Archives: Karen Molenaar Terrell
The Perfect Time
It’s a great time to be alive, ain’t it?
(This is the time you’ve been given to live –
if you don’t live now, when are you planning to do it?)
There’s never been a better time to love.
(This is the time you’ve been given to love –
if you don’t love now, when WILL you love?)
There’s never been a more perfect time to be you.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
Dang! This is really good!
Last week when I had my ridiculous scare with the health exam (see the post dated 10/4) I turned – as I often do when I’m ascared or troubled – to my Christian Science literature for inspiration, and… well… I ended up reading my own Madcap Christian Science triology. I hadn’t read these books for a really long time. In fact, I don’t think I’d ever read them one after the other before. There have been books I’ve written that, when I re-read them again later, I did not like so much – but last week when I finished reading the first book in the trilogy, Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist, I found myself saying out loud – with some surprise – “Dang! This is really good!”
I wrote the first book back in 2005, as a response to other books I’d read about being raised in Christian Science. I’ve never discounted other people’s experiences with Christian Science – but I felt impelled to share my own story – which seemed to be much different from the stories other people had shared. My experience being raised by a Christian Scientist mother wasn’t scary or gloomy or depressing. I wasn’t neglected. Sickness wasn’t ignored. My childhood was full of joy and light and love and happy adventures. My mountain-climbing father got me into the Great Outdoors, and my Christian Scientist mom introduced me to the healing power of Love. I was blessed, and my book was a means of expressing gratitude for those blessings.
The second book, The Madcap Christian Scientist’s Middle Book, was about my experience dealing with massive depression during My Year of Insanity. I included messages from my friends, David Allen and Kathi Petersen, that inspired me then, and inspired me again when I read them last week. As I read the book anew, I gave thanks once again for the wonderful community of friends and neighbors who helped me survive that year.
The final book in the trilogy, The Madcap Christian Scientist: All Things New, chronicles my adventures as I transitioned out of my work as a public school teacher into work teaching at a non-profit alternative high school. As I read it last week, I remembered, again, that year of change and all that I learned, and all the wonderful new students and colleagues I met.
It was cool to be able to go back to those books – to remember the things I’ve learned and the progress I’ve made – and then use all that to help me through the challenges of last week. When I wrote those books I was hoping that they might help others get through challenging times. It never occurred to me that someday they might help ME get through a challenging time. 🙂
I really needed that hug…
“At all times and under all circumstances, overcome evil with good.”
– Mary Baker Eddy
Stopped by the Mall this evening to spend some time at the memorial for the shooting victims. Went into the Macy’s afterwards. To my surprise, I was a little scared to go in there, but once I went through the doors it was alright. A sales lady approached me and asked me if she could help me. I asked her if I could give her a hug, and she graciously reached out to me and let me hug her…
I really needed that hug this evening…
Whatever the Outcome in November
“It matters not what be thy lot, so Love doth guide…”
– Mary Baker Eddy
Whatever the outcome
in November –
whoever gets elected –
let’s make a pact, shall we,
to continue in kindness
and in our own integrity
and in wisdom?
Let’s not let the outcome
of an election make us less
than what we are.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
Dazzling Days of Derring-Do
Remembering days when we played hide and seek
in the parking lot at Mount Rainier on summer nights –
my fellow park employees and I slithering
under trucks and dodging behind cars
and laughing so hard our bellies hurt.
Or we might go looking for bears on the trails
in the evenings – hoping we wouldn’t actually
find any, but enjoying the idea of it –
my friend, Dan, pulling me in front of him
for protection, as we encountered imaginary beasts.
We were young. The world was full of adventure
and laughter, and derring-do.
Forty years have brought changes –
marriage, motherhood, responsibilities.
My body seems more matronly than springy
these days. I will be entering my sixth decade
in a few weeks. I felt some trepidation about this.
Would I never have another adventure?
Were the dazzling days of derring-do done?
I went for a walk around the lake yesterday.
I wanted more. Walked from old town to the park.
I wanted more. Walked from the park to downtown,
and back again. Then Scott came home with an idea:
Let’s walk the trail to the beach when the sun sets.
I was all stretched out from nine miles of walking,
and ready for more. A walk in the evening cool.
Darkening trail, lovely roots and rocks to climb
smell of fir and cedar and briny bay
and the sunset – brilliant reds and golds
and blue filling my eyes in the west as the full
moon rises in the east, shimmering silver on the sea.
Crashing waves, sparkling light from sun and moon,
peace and perspective from the stars dotting the above.
And then flashlights come out of our pockets
and we find our way back through the woods,
rocks and roots, joking about what we’d do
if big eyes glowed towards us at eye level down the trail –
and we’re laughing and brave and young again.
The adventures haven’t ended.
There are still dazzling days of derring-do.
– Karen Molenaaar Terrell
Sunset from Clayton Beach
Moonlight over Clayton Beach
A Rainbow of Book Covers
Just published my latest book, Finding the Rainbows: Lessons from Dad and Mom. It shares some of the adventures my mom (88) and dad (98) have had in the last year – moving out of their home of 48 years, and into a new chapter of their lives. My parents rock! They are brave, and kind, and are expert at adjusting to the ups and downs of Life.
On another note: A year or two ago I mentioned to friends that it would be pretty cool if I could make a kind of rainbow of all my book covers. Check it out! 🙂
Making the World a Better Place
About once a week I walk into town to buy a hummus roasted veggie sandwich and to see my friend, Frank, who works at the sandwich place. Frank is gay. We’ve never talked about his gayness or my not-gayness or anyone’s whatever-ness in conversation – I mean – it’s not like people usually approach a new friend, shake hands, and introduce themselves by their labels – “Hi, I’m Karen and I’m a progressive bleeding heart liberal heterosexual female Christian Scientist of mostly European ancestry (although there might be some Basque Reptile alien in there, too) – and how about you? What are your labels?” – but, yeah, Frank is gay.
This week when Frank asked me how I was, I gave the usual, “I’m good. And how about you?” And he gave the usual, “I’m good.” But this time something made me stop and really look at Frank. And I asked, “Frank, how are you really?” Frank said it had been a rough week.
He said he’d been in a bar earlier in the week, and he’d heard people at the next table over saying – in deliberately loud voices so Frank could hear – “Yeah. Those people in Florida deserved it.” Frank had tried to remain civil to them – he and the bar-tender had had their own conversation – loud enough to be heard – about the terribleness of the tragedy. And the people at the next table spewed out some more hatred. And Frank wondered about them: Hadn’t they ever been targeted for being different in some way? Didn’t they know what that felt like?
I started tearing up. “Frank, where does that hate come from? I don’t understand it.” Frank shook his head sadly, and said he thought it came from ignorance – from people being afraid of what they don’t know. He said he leaves those people in the hands of the Lord – and he didn’t mean that in a vengeful way – but in a “God will help them” way.
I told Frank that I was with him. I told him that he wasn’t alone. And he thanked me and gave me a hug.
Later on I was thinking about what Frank had said – his wondering if those people had ever been targeted for being different – and it made me remember a time, years ago, when I’d been watching a local “town meeting” on television and I’d heard someone say that “All Christian Scientists should be lined up against a wall and shot.” It had been strange and disturbing to hear someone who didn’t know me wish me dead. It stuck with me. I learned something from that.
Anyone could become a target – hatred is a form of insanity, really, and it doesn’t have to make sense – maybe tomorrow it will be stubby people, or extra tall people, or people with green eyes, or left-handed people, who will become the targets.
I think when we take the time to get to know each other – to try to understand each other without judgment or condemnation – to listen to each other – when we take the time to get rid of our own ignorance – we are doing a lot to make the world a better place. It’s been said so many times, but I think it’s true: Love really IS the answer.
The Best Prayer of All
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How cool is this?!
Well, HERE is a cool thing – and I know my fellow writers will appreciate the full coolness of this: I just brought one of my books, Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist, up on Kindle and discovered that people have been highlighting some of the passages in there! I know, right?! How cool is that?! And yes, my readers are obviously people of great good judgment and perspicacity. 🙂
Ahem. Okay, so there aren’t, like, scores and scores of passages highlighted or anything. I mean. Well, there are three. But three is more than two, right? And two is more than one. So. Yeah.
Anyway. Here they are:
From the chapter about our Christmas Dog –
from Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist
From the “Car Stories” chapter –
From Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist
And from the chapter titled “Mental Malpractice” –
From Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist
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Okay. There you go. Thank you so much for letting me share this milestone with you!
Carry on then… 🙂
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 