Country Roads

I drove back down the tiny country road, trying to avoid the pot holes in my shiny diesel truck. I could not get the thoughts of the old frame house in desperate need of repair, the tired little car parked in the yard and the weathered old man in a wheelchair out of my head. He and I had worked together on an assortment of different jobs. In spite of his bad knees, bad feet and obvious pain, his spirits were always good. My mission was to deliver some reading material I thought he might enjoy during his confinement. But no one was at home so I left it in the mailbox.

The mental picture of his situation, his exceedingly modest abode and that sad little faded vehicle gave me a feeling of being blessed beyond belief. It was difficult to keep my eyes from tearing up. But then…with a sigh…I thought maybe I was being judgmental. Maybe I was judging someone by their worldly possessions or lack there of.

The old man, actually one month my junior, is probably further down the road to our ultimate goal than I. Didn’t Christ say something about it being more difficult for a rich man to enter heaven? Perhaps through the old man’s suffering he is closer to God than I. I … by comparison…live in the lap of luxury.

Perhaps it is not a tear of pity I need to shed but rather that I should covet what he has.

Thank you, Lord, for all the riches you have blessed me with.
Please, Jesus, help me not waste those resources on foolishness.
Please guide me, Lord Jesus, and help me use those assets to point others toward You.
Amen

Fathers and Sons

I thought of my father. I thought of my son. I thought of my father’s son. I always felt like my father never accepted me for who I was, that awful feeling of not being good enough…perhaps that feeling stemmed from the results of my behavior, behavior that always put me on the wrong end of his belt. Now I’m older, older than he ever was and I still find myself trying to gain his approval, get his acceptance and please him. His passing has been over forty years ago and I am still looking for that affirmation. I think of my son and his mistakes. I want him to know that I do accept him; I do love him in spite of whatever he has done or whatever he will do. It is only now I understand my father’s words: “This hurts me more than you.”


Thank you, Father God, for letting your Son show me “The Way.”
Thank you, Jesus, for taking that terribly undeserved beating.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for helping me understand how love works.
Amen
P.S. Tell Dad “Hi...and I love him”

Above All

I drove from house to house though the empty Sunday morning streets in my ten year old car with faded paint, wearing my thirty year old suit (with low miles). I could not help but think “it’s just not right”. There should be more fanfare, perhaps seven white horses pulling a gold clad chariot with crowds that lined the streets and sing “Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.” But no…it’s just me…taking my Lord and Savior to the homebound in silence.

My feelings vacillate between total unworthiness and a major league case of goose bumps…to think that He has chosen me, me just a little jackass to give him a ride. I can only hope the ride in a clean white shirt pocket next to hopefully a clean and contrite heart will be adequate.

In my head I can hear the voice of Randy Travis singing.

“Above all powers /Above all kings
Above all nations /and all created things
Above all wisdom /and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms /Above all thrones
Above all wonders /this world has ever known
Above all wealth/ and treasures of the earth
There is no way to measure what you’re worth

Crucified and laid behind a stone
You lived to die / rejected and alone
Like a rose/ trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me
Above all”

I Got a Gun

Well I did it! I finally bought a gun and did not even ask my wife’s permission. It must be a man thing. How exciting, I loaded a clip into the magazine, took aim and pulled the trigger. It was astounding, the recoil, the deafening noise, the unbelievable feeling of testosterone coursing throughout my entire body. The shear power and explosive forces that pierced three inches of solid wood was indescribable. I squeezed off a few more bursts with remarkable precision. I couldn’t stop until the magazine was empty. I’ve never felt so proud; I stepped back and surveyed the situation. Each and every projectile hit the bull’s-eye with amazing accuracy.
.
Frame nailers are the greatest. Tim “the tool man” Taylor would be green with envy. My new nail gun is soooooo cool. I nailed every board exactly where I wanted it.

Well, its time to role up the air hose and put away the air compressor. Tomorrow will be a good day to finish the fascia and the soffits.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for a wonderful day.
Thanks for a house with a roof that does not leak.
And thanks for the new Hardie-board siding and trim.
Please watch over me so I don’t shoot myself in the foot.

Amen

It’s Possible?

“It ain’t the parts of the bible I can’t understand that bothers me…it’s the parts I do understand”
-Samuel Clements better know as Mark Twain-

Today’s reading (Mark 10: 17-30) is a passage I…do….understand.

I say that because, I am the man who observed all these things. I didn’t shoot anyone, I didn’t cheat on my wife, I didn’t rob a banks, I didn’t gossip, I tried to honor my parents. I considered myself good person. But like the man in the gospel my lust for material possessions was my god.

The bible doesn’t tell us how his story ended…but I can tell you what happened to me.

My pursuit of material things kept me separated from God. My pursuit of material stuff was like digging a deep dark metaphorical hole. A hole I dug for 42 years.
God patiently watched and waited…until the day I wanted out…but by then the hole was so deep and I could not get out.
In the pit of my despair, when I thought I had exhausted all my options for escape, God sent a messenger. It was just a guy from down the street wearing a short sleeve white shirt and khaki pants. He suggested that I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

In desperation I cried out to Jesus. I let Him in to my heart, for the first time in my life,
and HE began to warm that cool dark place.

I am happy to say that today I am a recovering sinner and have been for 21 years, 11 month and 17 days.
My addiction…to material possessions…no longer holds me hostage. While it is true:
Some days I take 12 steps forward and 11 backward …. I am making progress.

So, may I suggest that if you are stuck in a rut or in a deep dark hole…remember:
“For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
With God, all things ARE possible.

The Summer of 65

I opened my inbox and my heart skipped a beat when I read the name Rae Chell Xxxxxxxx. It was as if I had been catapulted back in time, back into the past. She asked if I was the boy who was from that far-a-way town, in that far-a-way time, back in the early 60’s with a brother named John. The town, the time and sibling were all a match. But her last name was not the same. Oh! I thought. That’s right. Girls change last names.

All these fond memories came flooding back from the past, of a dear sweet girl who was compassionate and caring during a difficult time. It was the summer of 1965. That fateful summer my parents and younger sister were lost in the Utah Mountains where their plane went down. It was a stressful time as I look back on it…even though, at that time, I thought I was bullet proof. The two months of waiting and wondering for the plane to be found was some sort of strange limbo of not knowing what to do. The
Summer of 65 was a time that is not very comfortable to look back on…although it is never too far from my subconscious. All-in-all it was a sad thing but not necessarily a bad thing. It definitely forced me to do some growing up…something my parents had tried to do…in vain.

As I remember, Rae Chell was a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy situation. She was a warm loving soul that gave some meaning to life and a reason to carry on. I was busy at the end of that summer closing a house, taking a younger brother to college in Missouri, and putting family affairs in order. Then I headed back to college in Lubbock. Apparently I lost Rae Chell in the shuffle. A part of me looks back wondering what could have been, wondering what unattended or unintended fires were left burning. But yet another part of me knows that God has given me what I needed when I needed it. I have no regrets but only thanks and praise for a loving God who has blessed me beyond belief, a God who sent angels to care for me, a God that stood by me through thick and thin.

Rae Chell was and is one of those angels, an angel that deserves nothing but the best. My best wishes, thanks and prayers go out to her and her family wherever she is.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for all of your blessin’s
For the angels you send, that teach me the lessons

But just one request, I have for today
An appeal for a friend, for this I pray

I’m sure it would be, so totally swell
For You to bless, my dear Rae Chell

Amen