If you have been reading the Wednesday entries of late, you know that 1. the past several have been devoted to past Mission Trips I have led, in anticipation of the one I will lead this summer to inner-city Cincinnati, and 2. there were six in a row, leading up to the one we look at today- the summer of 2004.
Monthly Archives: March 2010
10 Gallons of Paint in a 5-Gallon Bucket Revisited
A few months back, I wrote a piece about being so busy and not having enough time to get everything done. I referred to that scenario as “trying to get 10 gallons of paint in a 5-gallon bucket”. Well…here I go again!
The Crack of the Bat
Opening Day is ALMOST here! At 1:05PM on Monday, April 5th, the first pitch will be thrown out of the 2010 Major League Baseball season. The Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals represent the beginning of this season. Twelve more games will be played that day…and I will be in HOG HEAVEN! I won’t mention which team I root for because I don’t want to create enemies (OK…it’s the St. Louis Cardinals!), but the beginning of the baseball season is a special time for me.
The Passion of the Christ
ath. So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
What Constitutes a Hero?
When I was a kid, my heroes were easy to identify. As I have shared in other daily entries, I was a HUGE superhero fan. I read every comic book I could get my hands on. I played Superman and Batman all the time. I watched Dudley-Do-Right, Underdog, you name it. I LOVED the old black and white George Reeves Superman show on TV. And the Adam West/Burt Ward Batman TV show in the late 60’s…please…don’t EVEN get me started on that! And when they started making movies about them, well, I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven! (Again as I’ve shared, I STILL have a 12′ tall Superman statue that “stands guard” over my office!)
The Talking Heads
OK…let me just qualify today’s blog right up front! I realize that I run a fairly substantial chance of offending some of you with today’s entry. Please know that it is NOT my intention to be divisive or argumentative- I claim right on the home page of my website to NOT do that! And if today’s blog DOES offend, I ask your forgiveness. My intention is simply to point out something that I have noticed causes a fair amount of harm and seems to often run counter to the Christian principle of love your neighbor as yourself. So…here we go!
The Theology of Chili
Ok, I admit…I love chili. For the most part, there are two types of chili in my book…good…and better! We make regular chili, white chili, black bean chili, taco soup chili…you name it, we make it. And all that came into play last night at my church as our MISS10N Team sponsored the all-church Chili Cook-off 2010! Ten entries competed for the top prize…a plaque with their name on it and, more importantly, bragging rights for the next 12 months! And we had a GREAT variety of entries: Super Meaty/Beanie Chili, Bring It On Chili, The Works Taco Chili, Fire House Chili, Albuquerque Old Town Chili, Venison Chili, Turkey Chili, Sweet Chili Mac, Rich Vegetarian Chili and White Chicken Chili! And they were ALL great!
An American Badaxe
Will It Fit In My Schedule?
OK…yesterday, I gave you just a glimpse into my daily schedule, and hinted that A. there was MUCH more to it, and B. is was more than a bit OCD (Google it)! Well…here it is! On weekdays, I get up at 6:45AM. I “use the facilities” (More euphemisms for body functions!) and take the dog out. Then I come in and make my youngest son’s breakfast. (He gets up at 7AM.) Then I pour a cup of coffee (I got the coffee ready the night before and set the timer to have it ready when I get up) and pack my son’s lunch. (PBJ, chips, fruit, cookies, juice box- typical fare!) After that, I go downstairs and get dressed. Then, I go across the hall to the bathroom where I shave (left side of head, back, right side of head, left beard, right beard, mustache) and brush my teeth (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, back). Then I put all the cushions up on the chairs and couches in the living room (the dog will sleep on the furniture while we’re gone if I don’t) and shut all the bedroom doors (the dog will sleep on the beds if I don’t. Come to think of it…the dog dictates an AWFUL lot of this schedule…doesn’t she?! WHO actually runs this house?) Then I pull the car out of the garage and leave it running in the driveway…to warm up. At 7:50AM, we pile into the car. I drop my wife off at the high school (no…she is NOT a student! She works there!) Then I drop my son off at the grade school (yes, he IS a student there, he DOESN’T work there!) Then I go to work, arriving there at 8AM. (The town is rather…small…everything is relatively close together!) As so it begins! That is literally how my day begins 5 days a week. The deviation that occurs from one day to the next is normally too small to measure.
The Trashman Cometh
Monday is Trash Day- at least in MY neighborhood! And I am SUCH a creature of habit that I can tell you pretty much EXACTLY what my schedule was this morning. I got up, visited the…little pastor’s room (if you know what I mean!)…and take the dog out (we don’t have a fenced-in back yard, so she is on a leash). After she’s “done her business” (don’t you just LOVE all the euphemisms for such a simple task as going to the bathroom?!), I put her back in the house and go around the back of the house to get the trash that has already been taken out of the house. I drag it around the front to the curb, then go in and start “the routine”. Now, WHAT the routine IS isn’t relevant to this story, but it will probably show up in a later blog (like…tomorrow)!
Following God…on MY Terms
r pain and suffering, and everyone returned to their lives. But those kinds of things should cause us to take a deeper look at that anger, trying to understand why God would have the audacity to act outside of our predetermined framework.
Spring Has Sprung!
Ah…Spring! Today is the first day of Spring. I LOVE Spring. Every summer and every winter, I ask myself, “Why do you live in Illinois again?” But then Spring and Fall come…and I remember! It really is amazing. It seems as if one day it’s cold, and wet, and nasty….and then the very next day, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, things are starting to turn green, the air is warmer…it’s coming! Well…it is no longer coming…it’s HERE! I look out and I see the grass starting to do its thing. I see the tulips starting to shoot out of the ground. I see buds starting to pop out on tree branches. (Of course, I ALSO see the potholes “spring”-ing up, the sticks and small limbs all over the yard that need to be picked up, and all the other things that one has to do when Spring arrives…but that’s a whole DIFFERENT story!) The new life that shows up this time of year is refreshing, renewing, life-giving for me. (I sometimes wonder if I have a mild case of SAD- Seasonal Affective Disorder- I look SO forward to Spring!)
Do You Know the Way to San…Juan?
Every year, on March 19th (St. Joseph’s Day- dedicated to the Virgin Mary’s husband), an amazing thing happens- the cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) return to the Mission at San Juan Capistrano, in California. “Scout” swallows precede the rest by a few days- it seems their chief duty is to “clear the way” for the main flock. On March 19th, swarms of cliff swallows fill the sky as they arrive at their summer home. As the birds arrive, the village of San Juan Capistrano comes alive, with the bells of the old church ringing and people from all over the world cheering as they witness the miraculous return. A huge fiesta and parade follow. Once there, they begin rebuilding their nests that cling to the ruins of the old stone mission. (built in 1776, the roof collapsed during the earthquake of 1812 and was never fully rebuilt. It is the oldest building still in use in California.) After spending the summer there, On October 23, the cliff swallows leave (after circling the Mission one last time to say “goodbye”) and head to their winter home- 6,000 miles south in Goya, Corrientes, Argentina.
Crazy Labels
I drove through McDonald’s the other day and was reminded of the signage that deals with the fact that the HOT coffee is HOT. Now, I personally don’t blame McDonald’s for feeling the need to plaster that information everywhere they can think of- if I had been sued by someone who didn’t realize that HOT coffee was HOT until they dumped it on themselves…I would be a bit gun-shy as well! But it got me to thinking about other advertising that seems a bit…obvious…redundant…goofy! Here are some examples:
The Have’s and Have-Not’s
Faith and Begorra
Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day (the Irish name for it is Lá Fhéile Pádraig). It’s an annual feast day celebrating Saint Patrick (387–493AD). The day is a national holiday of Ireland, a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland. In the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, it is widely celebrated as a public holiday. St. Patrick was born Maewyn Succat to wealthy parents during the 4th century in Britain. When he was 16, he was kidnapped and forced into slavery- working as a shepherd in County Mayo, Ireland. During that time he turned to God and became a Christian. One day he acted on a dream and escaped, traveling 200 miles back home to Britain. He then had another dream in which an angel told him to become a missionary and spread Christianity in Ireland. He spent the next fifteen years becoming a priest, choosing Patrick as his Christian name. In 432 AD he went back to Ireland as a priest and tried to convert the Irish to Christianity. He also created and taught at several schools there. He used a shamrock (3-leaf clover) to explain the Trinity to the Irish people. He died on March 17th, 461 AD. Soon after, Ireland decided to honor him…and St. Patrick’s Day was born.
My heritage is part Irish (my mom’s maiden name was Riley, anglicized from O’Riley when the came over from the old country). I have been noticing different groups suing large companies and organizations over the use of “mascots” that they deem derogatory to their heritage. With that in mind, I am currently drafting a lawsuit against Notre Dame University and General Mills, the makers of Lucky Charms cereal, claiming that their portrayal of leprechauns is derogatory to those of Irish descent. I figure they both have deep pockets! I am, of course, KIDDING about that- my tongue is planted firmly in my cheek! But my point is that we often do things for the wrong reasons…and St. Patrick’s Day is just such an example!
This is a day set aside to commemorate a great man who literally gave his life in service to God. And how do we recognize it? We dye the beer (and the river in some places- see The Fugitive with Harrison Ford) green, the bars have fabulous specials/parties planned, and many communities turn into drunken brawls disguised as St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. I find it sad that, on a day set aside to remember the great ministry of someone who was canonized for their efforts, we have to make our police forces work overtime because they know the violence will increase that day!
Now, I don’t mean to sound ancient, or like a prude, or both (and any other description that might be running through your head right now!)- I am NOT against drinking (although I personally choose not to) and I am NOT against partying and having a good time. But I feel we lose track of the “main thing” when we do things like this. It’s not really a day to remember St. Patrick…it’s an excuse to get hammered, do stupid things, throw up, and feel like (your choice of expletive here) the next morning. Just doesn’t make sense to me.
What will YOU do tomorrow (now that I’ve guilted you enough? LOL) for St. Patty’s Day? More importantly, will you keep the main thing the main thing tomorrow…and beyond? What IS the main thing…to you? I encourage you to make a relationship with God the main thing. A night of drunken revelry might be fun…for a few hours…but the fallout is rarely fun. A relationship with God last a WHOLE lot longer, and its rewards are MUCH more eternal!
Thanks for stopping by- have a blessed day! If you DO go out to “celebrate” tomorrow…please be careful! Make sure and stop by sometime tomorrow, and stick with Jesus!
The “Ides” Have It
Julius Caesar had declared himself dictator for life of Rome. On March 15th (Idus Martiae) in 44 B.C., he summoned the Senate to meet in the Theatre of Pompey to approve his kingship outside of Italy before he went off to war. A fortune-teller had warned him to be on his guard against “a great peril” on that day. As Caesar passed the seer on his way to the senate-house, he said: “The Ides of March has come” and the seer said back, “Aye, Caesar, but not gone.” As the Senate convened, Julius Caesar was attacked and stabbed to death by a group of senators who called themselves the Liberatores (“Liberators”) They justified their action on the grounds that they were preserving the Republic from Caesar’s tyrannical ambitions.
For Romans living before that event, “ides” was simply a common calendar term used to mark the appearance of the full moon. After Caesar’s death however, the phrase came to represent a specific day of abrupt change.
“A specific day of abrupt change”…Caesar’s specific day was not a good one. But others have experienced specific days of abrupt change and not only lived to tell about them but flourished because of them. Saul, on the road to Damascus, experienced Jesus in a powerful, overwhelming, life-changing way, and became Paul, arguably the greatest “spreader of the Word” ever. The road from Saul to Paul was not an easy one, and he suffered much in the years that followed. But he always held firm to his beliefs, his faith, his God. And in the end…he changed the world. Don’t believe me? Read the New Testament. Of its 27 books, he wrote 13 of them. One man, on a difficult journey, had a specific day of abrupt change and we still feel his positive impact 2,000 years later.
Maybe you won’t have a “lightning bolts on the Damascus road” event happen to you. But you can still have a specific day of abrupt change. You can look inside yourself, see the things that you KNOW God needs to change in you, and pray that He will. If you find yourself running into a lot of “idiots” every day, perhaps you need to reevaluate your own life. Maybe THEY aren’t the idiots after all! Are you judgmental? Argumentative? Angry? Selfish? Unkind? Unfriendly? Unwilling to concede that you might need to change? Turn to God. Ask Jesus Christ to come into your heart, set up shop there, and transform you. Pray that today is the specific day that God brings about abrupt change in you.
Thanks for stopping by and spending a few minutes with me today. I pray you have a blessed day. Please make sure and come back tomorrow and stick with Jesus!
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Worship In the Dark
Mark14:1-11– “Now the Passoverand the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chiefpriests and teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesusand kill him. “But not during the Feast,” they said, “or thepeople may riot.” While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in thehome of the man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came in with an alabaster jara very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured theperfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to oneanother, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more thana year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked herharshly. “Leaveher alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done abeautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can helpthem anytime you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could.She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell youthe truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she hasdone will also be told, in memory of her.”
My wife and I went to the movies and we were running a bit late, so I sent her on into the theater to get ourseats while I got the popcorn and soda. As I entered the theater, I realizedthey had already started showing previews and it was DARK. My eyesstill hadn’t adjusted, so I stumbled along in the dark, feeling my way along the wall. I came around the corner just as the screenlightened up. All at once my eyes adjusted and I couldsee…my wife standing literally six inches in front of me! I yelled…and jumped…spilling thepopcorn everywhere! Walking blindly in the dark is not a pretty thing!
So Jesusgoes to dinner at Simon the Leper’s house. Simon can’t actually be a leper-he wouldn’t be able to have this kind of social contact. He probably WAS aleper- but had been healed by Jesus. Into this dinner party comes a woman. TheGospel of John says she was Mary- Lazarus and Martha’s sister. So she isn’t justsomebody off the street that came to greet Jesus. She has sat at His feet and listenedto Him teach. She has seen Him perform miracles. She has seen her own brother raisedfrom the dead by Him. And so she comes in…withan alabaster jar full of perfume. Alabaster is a type of marble…a verybeautiful, very expensive marble. Inside this beautiful, expensive jar…is pure nard, avery expensive perfume. It was worth a year’s wages. And THIS is what she bringsto Jesus- a VERY expensive perfume in a VERY expensive jar. Usually, IF youopened it, you would do so carefully, sparingly putting a few drops on eachguest’s head as a sign of hospitality. But not Mary. She walks in, breaks thejar open, and pours the whole thing on Jesus. Extravagant…to say the least.This perfume, enough to provide for ten families for a month, is pouring downJesus’ hair, running down his beard, dripping onto his clothes and feet. Andwhat is the response of those gathered there, those who have come to celebrateJesus? They think it
s a colossal waste! These are GOOD people. They knowJesus. They’ve been listening to Him. They believe in what He’s taught…and yethere they are…indignant. “Haven’t You taught us how important it is to takecare of the poor? Haven’t You taught us about good stewardship, about how weshould use what we have? And then SHE does THIS? You gotta bekidding me?! What a waste!” They’re appalled- an opportunity to do SO muchgood…wasted.
And in the middle of their “whine andcheese” party, Jesus says, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Back off! Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her?She’s done a beautiful thing for me. The poor will always be with you, butyou will not always have Me. She poured perfume on my body to prepare for myburial. And I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughoutthe world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” Well, this catches them completely offguard. “He took HER side?! Did we miss something?” Something profound hashappened, and they just CAN’T wrap their heads around it. It’s dangerous totry and get inside somebody’s head- to try and figure out their motives. But wehave to ask the question, “Why did Mary do what she did?” What would make youwalk into a banquet, take a year’s wages, and pour it over the head of theguest of honor?
Maybe itwas gratitude- “Thank you Jesus, for who You are andwhat You’ve done, especially for my family. This perfume isn’t wasted because You’vetaught us what it means to know God.” So maybe it was gratitude.
Maybe itwas faith- “Jesus, I believe you ARE theMessiah, the anointed one…and now I’ll show you…and everyone else…through thisanointing that You ARE the one anointed by God to be Savior of the world. Thisperfume isn’t wasted.” Maybe it was faith.
Maybe itwas sorrow– “Jesus, I believe You when You sayYou’re going to die. I don’t understand it, I HATE the thought of it, and I’ddo ANYTHING possible to stop it…but I believe You. And so, if it must be, I’mat least going to make sure Your body is anointed for burial. I want to honorYou…and this is the best thing I can think of.” Maybe it was sorrow.
The world is going to reject God’slove…and it will all fall on Jesus’ shoulders. And this woman is the only onewho seems to see that. She sees it, but she doesn’t understand it. It doesn’t make sense.She doesn’t have all the answers. But despite the uncertainty, despite theunknown, she believes in Jesus. She believes what He says, and so…she does whatshe can, what she must. She honors Jesus in the darkness of her confusion. Despite all her questions…she offers him heropen devotion.
Where areYOU in this story? Maybe you’re seated at the table, recliningwith the others gathered there. Maybe you’re standing in the crowd gatheredaround the table. Maybe you see the woman come in. The room is not well-lit andyou can’t make out everything clearly, but you hear the crack of the bottle asthe smell of perfume wafts through the room. Are you like the people asking, “Whois this Jesus that somebody would do such a thing?” Are you surprised by theaction, clueless as to why it happened, wanting to know more? Are you like the disciples? They’ve heardthe same things this woman has heard…and more, and yet they are more…restrained…intheir response. Are you like them? Maybe you still expect life to be exactly likeYOU planned it…and you expect Jesus to be exactly like YOU want Him to be. Maybeyou’re ready to serve Jesus, but you’re holding something back until youunderstand everything better…or until He does things your way. Or maybe thereare STILL some things that Jesus said…that you don’t really believe. Or…are you like the woman? You don’thave all the answers yet. In fact, you’re carrying around some pretty bigquestions, but one thing is clear- Jesus is your Lord and Savior, and so evenWITH the confusion, even WITH the questions, even IF Jesus isn’t doing exactly whatyou expect Him to do…you’re still willing to offer yourself fully to Him,without reservation.
Jesus’ response to the woman wasthat she had done a beautiful thing. And the sacrifices we make, even when wedon’t have all the answers, perhaps BECAUSE we don’t have all the answers, arestill beautiful in His eyes. I asked youwere you are in this story. The good news is that, wherever you found yourself,Jesus knows where that is, and He’s ready to meet you where you are. And whereverthat is, He wants to make Himself known to you in a deeper way, to draw you deeperinto a sense of worship.
Spring Forward
Tonight (technically EARLY tomorrow morning, but who actually gets up at 2AM to reset their clocks?), we “Spring Forward”- that is, we turn our clocks ahead one hour. Did you know that ancient civilizations adjusted their daily schedules to fit the amount of sunlight available? They often divided the “daylight” part of the day into twelve equal hours…regardless of how long the daylight was! Roman water clocks had different scales for different months of the year- at the winter solstice, the 3rd hour after sunrise started at 09:02 and lasted 44 minutes. At the summer solstice, it started at 06:58 and lasted 75 minutes! Over time, equal-length hours became the norm.
Many people attribute the “invention” of DST to Benjamin Franklin. During his time as an American envoy to France, Franklin, author of the proverb, “Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”, anonymously published a letter suggesting that Parisians economize on candles by rising earlier to use morning sunlight. This 1784 satire proposed taxing shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells and firing cannons at sunrise. But Franklin did NOT propose DST; like ancient Rome, 18th-century Europe didn’t keep such precise schedules. But as the use of rail transportation grew and as communication networks became more sophisticated, a greater standardization of time became necessary.
Actually, Modern DST was first proposed in 1895 by New Zealand entomologist George Vernon Hudson, whose shift-work job both gave him leisure time to collect insects AND made him aware of the value of “after-hours daylight”. That year, he presented a paper to the Wellington Philosophical Society proposing a two-hour daylight-saving shift, with a follow-up paper being presented in 1898. Many incorrectly credit DST to English builder/outdoorsman William Willett, who seems to have independently conceived DST in 1905 during a pre-breakfast ride through the countryside. He noticed how many Londoners slept through a large part of the summer morning. An avid golfer, he also hated having to cut his rounds short at sunset. His solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. He unsuccessfully lobbied the UK to adopt DST until he died in 1915. Germany and its occupied zones were actually the first European countries to use it, starting on April 30, 1916, as a way to conserve coal during wartime. Britain and many other European countries soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the next year; and the United States adopted it in 1918.
I must confess…I find the whole DST thing rather…funny. Growing up out in the country, surrounded by farmers, it simply wasn’t an issue. You went to work when the sun came up, and you quite work when the sun went down- it was THAT easy! It didn’t matter what the clock said; it only mattered whether you could see or not!! Now don’t get me wrong…I LOVE “fall back”! (As a preacher, I would be DELIGHTED if we fell back EVERY Saturday night! Then, roughly once a month, we could simply eliminate a day…I vote Monday…to make up for it!) Yep…LOVE “fall back”! BUT…HATE “spring forward”! I feel gypped every year when I loose that hour. I WANT that hour. I NEED that hour! But no…they take it away from us every year!! (I’m sorry…I lost it for just a moment…but I’m back now!)
Boy George said, “The time is precious, I know.” Dr. Frankenfurter said, “Time is fleeting.” Pink Floyd said, “Time keeps flowing like a river to the sea.” Steve Miller said, “Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ into the future.” Mick Jagger said, “Time is on my side.” Styx said, “Too much time on my hands.” The Guess Who said, “I got, got, got no time.” Billy Joel said, This is the time.” And Chicago asked, “Does anybody really know what time it is?” In the end, it’s about us trying to govern the passage of time…a
concept that is ludicrous on the face of it. We try SO hard to control the things we cannot…and often ignore the things we CAN! Do you feel that time is passing you by, or that it is passing too quickly? Here’s the reality…you can’t do anything about that. Time is…what time is. It just…passes. The key is what you DO with the time.
Time is TOO precious to waste it. Do you find yourself saying things like, “I’ll do that later” or “I’ve got all the time in the world” or do you quote Scarlett O’Hara- “Tomorrow is another day”? We DON’T know how much time we have…so we should make the most of it. Have a relationship you have neglected? Fix it. Have things undone around the house, at work? Do them. Been putting off pursuing a relationship with God until the kids are out of the house, or the weather turns warm, or the weather turns cold, or you retire, or…or…or…! You could “or” yourself to death…and never get anywhere. You were made for such a time…as THIS! Don’t wait…live! Grab life by the horns and live it! You will be richly rewarded in ways that matter…in ways that are eternal!
Thanks for stopping by- have a blessed day! Please make sure and come back tomorrow, and stick with Jesus!
Patchy Dense Fog
We have had a decent amount of fog lately. Overnight and into the morning, it has been rather hard to see clearly. I don’t know about you, but my instinct when I can’t see as well as I would like while driving at night is to…turn the brights on…and well all know THAT doesn’t help!! A few nights ago, my nine-year old and I left the local High School parking lot (I had Jazz Band rehearsal) to drive home. (I live VERY close to the High School!) As we walked out to the car and then drove off the parking lot, it was SO foggy that you simply couldn’t see more than a few dozen feet in front of you. I decided to use that as a teaching moment for my son about why you don’t turn your brights on in the fog. As I turned to corner from one street to the next, I explained what I was going to do…then did it. His reply? “Looks better to me!” And it did! In relatively short order, we had gone from SOLID fog to NO fog! As I pulled on to our street, with literally NO fog around me or ahead of me, I looked back at the High School campus. It was as if a small patch of dense fog had settled right on the High School…and nowhere else! It was rather…creepy! (Made me think of a John Carpenter movie!)
When I was a kid, I had to walk 1/2 mile from home to the bus stop every day. (No…this ISN’T one of those “back in my day” stories! Although I DID have to walk uphill BOTH ways with cardboard for shoes through the blinding snow even in July!) I grew up out in the country, so there weren’t houses close by- the nearest neighbor was 1/4 mile away. On really foggy days, as I walked, an unsettling thing would happen- our house would quickly disappear from sight, while no other houses were yet visible. The overall effect was that the world had disappeared and I was the only one left! (It was always very comforting when the neighbor’s house came into view!)
Weather “people” (is that the politically correct term?) never met a weather catchphrase they didn’t like. When I used to live in the St. Louis area, weatherman Dave Murray loved to talk about “peekaboo sunshine”. One day, one of the radio drive-time DJ’s he was interacting with pointed out that Peekaboo Sunshine sounded less like a weather condition and more like an exotic dancer! Also, according to weather professionals, storms like to follow major interstates (“along a corridor following I-74…”). My question is this- how does the storm know where the interstate is? Do they follow it, like we do, because it makes for faster travel? Another term they love is “patchy dense fog”. I believe what I experienced the other night at the High School would qualify as patchy dense fog (there was certainly NO peekaboo sunshine)! We often experience patchy dense fog as we drive. I think we also experience it in our spiritual lives as well.
There are times when our spiritual journey seems to be hammering on all cylinders- we feel good, we feel, strong, we feel…”right”…with God. Then there are other times when we don’t feel that so much- we are trying to make our way through patchy dense spiritual fog. You know what I mean- nothing feels right, nothing goes right, the world just seems to be against you…like that! And when that happens, if we are not careful, is when we tend to feel the farthest away from God. It’s when the fog that keeps us from seeing His plan for us clearly is at its most dense. What do we need to remember at times like that? We need to remember that, along with being dense, that spiritual fog is…patchy! We may be right smack in the middle of it, but the reality is that we don’t have to be in it forever. We can look for the edge of the “patch”, move toward, and get out of the worst of it. But often…we don’t. Often, when the fog descends, we hunker down, pull the wagons in a circle…and wait it out. The problem is, it may take a while if we aren’t actively trying to get beyond it.
The truth of the matter is this- we are going to have those fog-shrouded times. We cannot avoid them. And we cannot shorten them either. They are what they are. But while we cannot shorten them…we CAN lengthen them! You might be saying, “Why would I do THAT?” But the reality is that we ALL do it sometimes. Here’s my encouragement to you- when you feel that fog closing in around you, be aware of it…and be proactive. Increase your prayer time. Look for the positive in the situation. Make sure your glass is half full…NOT half empty. If you do that, you WILL come out of that fog sooner. Also, see that time as a time of growth. Figure out what you can learn from the difficult times…and do it. I fully believe that God doesn’t simply go around throwing roadblocks in our paths so that we will “learn something”- many things happen because we live in a fallen world. But I am also convinced that God finds the good in a bad situation…and encourages us to see it too!
Thanks for stopping by…have a blessed day. Please make sure and stop by again tomorrow, and stick with with Jesus!