Mtr Mary Trainor

Oh, we ain't got a barrel of money
Maybe we're ragged and funny
But we'll travel along, singin' a song
Side by side*

Dear friend,

The Mirror Routine is sure to get a laugh from me. While the Marx Brothers were well known for this one-time comedy staple, it is Lucille Ball’s version with Harpo Marx that tickles my fancy most. (See below.)

What is the mirror routine? “When someone attempts to be a mirror image of another person by standing behind a glass pane, sometimes only an empty frame or a gap in a row of mirrors, copying their movements exactly.”**

For me, it’s a helpful metaphor for understanding how to be like Jesus in our interactions in this world. Move like he does. Imitate to such an extent I no longer have to think about which move to make—I just move as I have learned and witnessed. As I was formed.

Through all kinds of weather
What if the sky should fall
Just as long as we're together
It doesn't matter at all  …

This may seem an odd way to speak of my relationship to the Lord, or to Scripture, yet this is what comes to my mind today as I read the Gospel from Matthew.

People who tend to the needs of others are often the ones who have walked with Christ so closely their actions seem as one with his. They themselves don’t even see the difference any more. They are just doing what they have seen: Feed the hungry, visit the imprisoned, soothe the suffering.

Don't know what's comin' tomorrow
Maybe it's trouble and sorrow
But we'll travel the road, sharin' our load
Side by side

I’ve known people like this, who walk arm-in-arm—side by side—with God. I strive to be one. 

 Mtr Mary

*Side by Side. Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Maurice White / Wanda Vaughn / Wayne Vaughn
Made popular by Kay Starr

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