We're suffering from out-of-state pollen!

On Monday night one of the inmates walked into the room coughing. Actually, I think all of the girls were coughing. They've been coughing for months! But the first thing that that one particular girl said on this particular night after battling her bout was this, "We're suffering from out-of-state pollen."

"What?" I asked her.

She answered. "There is no way that Alabama can have this much pollen. It's too much for anybody. I think the wind is blowing pollen in from other states around us. There is no way that all of this pollen is just ours alone."

I loved it! I got so tickled. I laughed so hard.

I told her, "That's so awesome. I'm so gonna remember that. That's going to be my new statement about everything........." And it has been. I've been saying it constantly since.

We were discussing "generational sin." Of course, my answer to that (after her shared observation) was, "It's all out-of-state pollen! We have no room for a past generation's sin. Let's simple uninvite it back out of our lives! It was their sin... why allow them to influence it into our own and find ourselves in their same bondage?"

I was at my mom's on Thursday. She was talking to me about someone else complaining to her about another someone. I told her, "It's out of state pollen, mama! Tell her you've got enough pollen in your own world. You don't need anybody else's. She needs to keep her own pollen to herself. No more shared pollen from her house to yours!"

((*Smile!*))

Yesterday my husband (Tim) was telling me about a guy that called. The conversation between them had been depressing. He was overwrought with fear over the economy. So.. he begin worrying about the security of the job that he has. And with all of his worrying, he tried to get my husband into his bandwagon to worry with him and to worry about his. I told Tim, "Yep. Another wave of out-of-state pollen! Don't need it! Not interested! Refuse it! Refute it! Don't let it envade!"

Another friend was talking to me. She was mad at the whole world. [This person didn't do that. Another person did this. Another had the audacity to say...... This girl was supposed to come, but failed to. But he came... and can you believe he brought ___ with him! ] She had no control over anybody. It was killing her! My diagnosis (again!): Out-of-state pollen!!! She could have been happier, but nope. She was borrowing problems over things that she really didn't have to have problems over. She was breathing it. Allowing it to cloud her sinuses. Make her sick. Make her cough. Make her miserable.

My interest was piqued..... I found an interesting article. Here's what I found: "In a new study, University of Missouri researchers have found that flowers use specific pollen proteins to ''communicate'' whether they would accept or reject the pollen grains required for fertilisation. When pollen grains arrive, the pollen (the male part of the flower) ‘communicates’ with the pistil (the female part of the flower), where molecules take the place of words and allow the pollen to identify itself to the pistil." All this, and then, the pistil decides whether to accept (or reject!) the pollen grains that have come to invade after hearing (by their strange way of communicating) what they've had to say.

Hmmm.... yep! We have the option to accept or reject too! We have enough pollen in our own world.... without borrowing the pollen of another's worlds. When pollen comes, do the smart thing and send it forth on its way without allowing it to stay.... to cloud your thinking, make your head hurt, make you cough it out on others all around you.

Hopefully point made... and nuff said..... (even if said in such a silly way)!