Belly Laughs

Have you ever considered your belly button? It's right in the middle of perfectly good--if not perfectly flat--stomach. It can't pick up a fork or cushion a fall. It can't detect ten-day old fish in the back of the fridge. It's a lint filter.

An anatomical lint filter.

Spiritually speaking, I know that we are all separate members of the same body. We are the Body of Christ. Some of us are heads. Some are hands. Others still are hearts.

I am a belly button- Calamity Jane is my patron saint.

I am mishap and mayhem, tornado and flood. I am a permanent member on any worst dressed list. One time, I even forgot to wear my skirt. The baby was cranky and I was running late for a meeting. I had a blouse, jacket, two blue shoes, the baby, diaper bag, burp rag, a briefcase, and a heavy polyester slip.

But, No skirt. Fortunately, I had an observant babysitter and a forgiving client. Calamity Jane rides again.

Grace is the pastor's wife. She is not a belly button. She's hands and head all spun together. She is efficient and capable, composed and elegant. Her creases stay creased. Her curls stay curly. She is serene and able. Effortless.

I didn't know her very well before last spring- before the garden party. Each year, our pastor asks volunteers to work around the church. Yuck. All the jobs are bad but worst is the victory garden. It was named for the World War II plan to defeat the Nazis with homegrown veggies. (I might be over simplifying.) Our church fought hunger by giving homegrown, organic vegetables to the poor. (Organic always means hand-to-hand combat with weeds and manure.) A great idea, but hard, dirty work. No thanks!

The day they posted the volunteer sign-up lists, I was (of course) late. All the relatively light-dirt jobs were gone, piano dusting, pew polishing, etc. The only chores left were fence painting, roof repair, and the victory garden. From experience, I knew fresh paint was too challenging for Calamity Jane and my presence on a rooftop was just asking for a medical emergency. I made the only possible choice- the victory garden.