Five Minute Friday: Catch…

Ooooh, a really off-center prompt from the Mama this week. Don’t have a clue where to go with it. Hmmmm….just write – that’s the idea. Just put it down there – no edits, no second thoughts. Just write. Five minutes is the limit – join Lisa Jo over at the Gypsy Mama and see where five minutes will take you today:
 

 Sadly, this is the only illustration I could find for any of the phrases that jumped to mind at the prompt ‘catch.’ #3 below.

GO:

1.  “Catch me if you can!”

2.  “I feel like I’m constantly playing catch-up.”

3.  “Did you catch what she said?”

4.  “Can I catch that (meaning is it infectious or not)?”

5.  “What’s the catch-of-the-day?”

6.  “Wanna play catch?”

7.  “She had a catch in her voice.”

1.  There have been too many days in my life when I’ve played the game from that first quote – running too fast, in too many different directions, running away from my thoughts by filling my hands with work to do.

2.  There have also been too many days when I’ve felt hopelessly behind the 8-ball, wondering if I will ever make headway – in learning a new skill or in clearing a stack of un-filed paperwork, or in making sense of what’s happening in the life of someone I love. 

3.  And, of course, as I get older – there is a little bit more of that third question. Gotta work a little bit harder to pick up every nuance in a multi-sided conversation. 

4.  Probably haven’t spent enough time worrying about catching bugs of different kinds – I am not a neat freak, seldom use hand sanitizer, will pick up a morsel of food off a restaurant table top. Nope, I don’t worry too much about that kind of catching. 

5.  But I LOVE seafood and ask that 4th question a lot when dining out. Love me some salmon or sea bass or scampi. Oh yeah. 

6.  And I NEVER play catch – can’t catch a ball of almost any size to save my life. A source of huge embarrassment growing up, but not so much any more. I seem to be more at piece with my klutziness these days. 

7.  But that last one – well, that’s something I’ve become quite skilled at picking up. That catch in the voice when someone is nearing a tender topic, when something of great import is about to be shared, when the past weight of some great sadness bears heavily in the moment. That skill comes with time, with intent, with experience. 

But there are wonderful catches in voices, too – times when joy overflows and needs to be shared. That’s my very favorite kind of catching – and I ask God for ears to hear both kinds of vocal catches, to pay attention to what is being shared. I ask God to fill the space between me and the other person, guiding me into careful words, caring presence and loving attention. That’s a kind of catch that does get better with practice.


STOP


Went long tonight. Sorry about that. About double time, I think. (numbers & photo added afterwards)

  

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Comments

  1. Your post makes me feel right at home 🙂 as if you wrote what I couldn´t!
    Thank you!

  2. Oh Diana, I think it is so funny that we spent that whole weekend at Laity Lodge without making the connection that we are both parts of the Five Minute Friday group – and the Soli Deo Gloria group as well. There was so much going on that it was just hard to “catch” it all! Hopefully we can try to “catch up” with each other next year!

  3. Hi,
    Stopping by from Gypsy Mama and I really LOVED your post! I liked everything about it: the photo (totally worth the effort), the cliches, and your background explanation for each. I so empathized with every. one. of them. I’m glad you don’t play catch, either (isn’t that commonality we find great??)- and I am grateful that you do find that “catch in the voice” – so much more important!
    Looking forward to coming back!

  4. What a great post. Love thinking about the ‘catch’ in a voice,… that is a subtle catch sometimes, and can be easily missed when we are in a hurry…

    Blessings, friend!

  5. Then there’s catching the perfect photo, and catching my stockings on rough furniture — a word with so many meanings, and you’ve captured the best ones in your five minutes. 🙂

  6. This is an awesome post. I love the way you took what I found to be, frankly, an odd prompt and made something fun from it.
    JNCL
    The Beauty of Eclecticism

  7. Wow! I love that you came up with so many uses for “catch”! Creative.

    Plus, I am really digging your intro in the header as well as header pic…gorgeous! You see fun…I like that!