Love Alive

Early this month, I spent two days and six or seven hours in a workshop with Kathleen Norris. She is one of my favorite authors. Her non-fiction work contains reflections on religious themes. One of the many assignments Norris gave the class was to take a religious word and explain it using an experience of our life. In essence we were to take the "churchy" elements out and make our word definitions autobiographical story.

I chose two words. I used Baptism and Resurrection. With the birth of our second child immanent, I suppose my thoughts were reflecting on the birth of our son. Here is what I wrote.

Baptism & Resurrection
He was alive but not yet born. Alive because with technology we could see that he was a he. Baptism is the birth of a life already inspired – a breathless conception. Baptism is a form of birth or re-birth. Life conceived becomes life alive. I suppose that resurrection is also a form of re-immersion. Baptism births resurrection into a new life not bottled by death.

To see my son born was a moment of joy that made visible the consummation of my joy.

Blood.
Skin.
Fluid.
Love alive.
Love visible.
Love brand new.

Some day this baby boy will be baptized – a form of resurrecting his birth. Life becomes Death becomes Life. Some day his body will be raised. Resurrection is the glorified completion of his birth and re-birth. It is the full completion of his recreation – a divine glorification.