{"id":7803,"date":"2018-03-02T08:02:41","date_gmt":"2018-03-02T14:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=7803"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:42:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:42:50","slug":"love-in-the-midst-of-the-mess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2018\/03\/02\/love-in-the-midst-of-the-mess\/","title":{"rendered":"Love in the midst of the mess"},"content":{"rendered":"

You are dreading another meal of ramen noodles and canned vegetables, but you know that’s all that’s left in the cupboard, that it’s the best you can offer your son tonight.<\/p>\n

You’re thinking about this as you enter the dimly lit child care center to pick him up, with hunger pulling on your stomach, only to see him sitting on a grimy, stained rug. He gazes upward, engrossed in a cartoon, his face stone-still like an icy zombie. You remember that you once asked if the TV was safe \u2014 it still looks as if the smallest bump to the cart could make the heavy machine plummet down and crush a child \u2014 but the one time you tried to ask about it, you felt like a nuisance, so you never brought it up again.<\/p>\n

Before you gather your son into your arms, you notice a child care worker with thinning hair scolding a girl; the girl stares at the dusty floor as tears roll down her cheeks. The scene tightens your throat with discomfort, awkwardness; you ignore this and scoop your son into your loving arms instead.<\/p>\n

You don’t like this place; you have a feeling that…<\/p>\n

[This is the beginning of my latest column for the online newspaper,\u00a0<\/em>Global Sisters Report<\/a>. Continue reading\u00a0here<\/a>.]<\/em><\/p>\n

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Feeding Time at Art Beast Child Development Center Photo Credit: \u00a9Ellen Friedlander<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Bubbles at Art Beast Child Development Center Photo Credit: \u00a9Ellen Friedlander<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You are dreading another meal of ramen noodles and canned vegetables, but you know that’s all that’s left in the cupboard, that it’s the best you can offer your son tonight. You’re thinking about this as you enter the dimly lit child care center to pick him up, with hunger pulling on your stomach, only...","protected":false},"author":4071079,"featured_media":7814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[115341],"tags":[75672,1343,305801,698755374,69712,27291,3785,5309,9379,13443,34941365,14467,30351,2282,5352401,1904,52313648,18954],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-7803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-equity-and-justice-equity-and-justice","tag-child-care","tag-children","tag-classism","tag-community","tag-homelessness","tag-injustice","tag-love","tag-parenting","tag-poverty","tag-racism","tag-relationship-2","tag-sacramento","tag-service","tag-social-justice","tag-social-sin","tag-true-stories","tag-waking-the-village","tag-youth","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/feeding-time-c2a9ellen-friedlander.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"
Love in the midst of the mess<\/a><\/blockquote>