It’s March. You may not be able to feel it now, but you can almost see Spring from here. Way off on the horizon, blasts of heat, daffodils, tree buds and green grass are waiting. Nasty old February is gone, April is in sight. If we can survive two or three more winter storms marching across the plains, the reward will be worth it.
Today, (Thursday) is another snow day. The weather forecasters gave us the hour the snow would start and the hour it would end. This time they undershot the volume of snow a bit, but they’re getting closer all the time. The difference between this one and the last snow storm is the wind. This time, when the snow stopped, the wind kept going. Now if we can just get through a Saturday night without a blizzard, we’ll be O.K..
March and Lent are about hope; hope for a future we can’t see, but we know is there. Most of us live into the future we’ve dreamed. When our future is darkened, it effects how we live now.
After Easter, the disciples scattered. Then something made them come back and gather together and become a group of folks who helped each other live as Jesus lived. It was so powerful, it overpowered their grief and made them return to the dangerous place where he’d been killed. Even though they yearned for him to still be there like he was before, they felt his presence when they served the poor, healed the sick, fed the hungry, clothed the naked. They found that when they did what he had done, he was there with them. Even though he had died, Jesus lived on through them.
At Easter, we remember and celebrate the hope that brought those disciples back. In Lent, we remember how we too are scattered. In Lent we help each other prepare for the spirit to bring us back and make Jesus alive to us once more. As we serve the poor, heal the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, the resurrected Christ lives in us and us in him. Easter is coming.
Grace & Peace.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Journeys 2-25-07
The snow has finally melted (Thursday). Now, after weeks of ice covered streets, we’ve got huge potholes all over the place. Any weakness in the pavement got expanded by the freezing and re-freezing of the ice. The street cracks are now street holes. What do you do with potholes in February?
We know winter is not done with us yet. Permanent fixes take several days of good weather to set. Temporary fixes take huge amounts of manpower, time and money for something that may only be useful for a day or so before the next snowcover happens. Is it worth it to mess with potholes in February? I say, if it saves just one compact car from going down into a pothole and not coming back up, the fix is worth it.
As of Ash Wednesday, we’ve entered the season of Lent. Lent is about temporary fixes. We work toward Easter, filling the potholes of our souls in order to get back in right relationship with God and each other. We may not have time or energy for a permanent fix right now, but in these forty days, we can let go of what needs to be let go of, take on what God wants to give us, and make our road drivable, for now. Later, when the threat of ice is gone, we can do what needs to be done to fix our soul for good. But for now, that hole is too dangerous to be left untended.
Is there some one that you need to say “I’m sorry,” to? Is there someone that you need to let go, - realizing that you cannot change them? Do you need to forgive yourself for something done long ago?
Lent is the time to try those temporary patches for the wounds of our souls. In prayer, invite God into our wounds. Ask God for whatever it takes to begin the healing. Working together with God, the mystery of healing and wholeness happens. Easter is coming!
Grace & Peace,
We know winter is not done with us yet. Permanent fixes take several days of good weather to set. Temporary fixes take huge amounts of manpower, time and money for something that may only be useful for a day or so before the next snowcover happens. Is it worth it to mess with potholes in February? I say, if it saves just one compact car from going down into a pothole and not coming back up, the fix is worth it.
As of Ash Wednesday, we’ve entered the season of Lent. Lent is about temporary fixes. We work toward Easter, filling the potholes of our souls in order to get back in right relationship with God and each other. We may not have time or energy for a permanent fix right now, but in these forty days, we can let go of what needs to be let go of, take on what God wants to give us, and make our road drivable, for now. Later, when the threat of ice is gone, we can do what needs to be done to fix our soul for good. But for now, that hole is too dangerous to be left untended.
Is there some one that you need to say “I’m sorry,” to? Is there someone that you need to let go, - realizing that you cannot change them? Do you need to forgive yourself for something done long ago?
Lent is the time to try those temporary patches for the wounds of our souls. In prayer, invite God into our wounds. Ask God for whatever it takes to begin the healing. Working together with God, the mystery of healing and wholeness happens. Easter is coming!
Grace & Peace,
Journeys 2-18-07
By the time you read this, we’re supposed to be thawed out. But today, (Thursday), is the coldest day of the year so far. Since the snow storm Monday night, we’ve been living in a freezer.
The frigid cold slows all human activity down. That ancient hibernation gene kicks in and this old bear just wants to curl up in the back of my cave and sleep. The cold seems to take the air out of my car’s tires. It makes everything sound different; from the scrunch of my footsteps, to the pop of the rifles at the military salute at the cemetery, to the metallic ring of the shell casings hitting the ground.
Just breathing is like breathing into a paper bag; it takes a little more effort. Car doors and windows freeze shut. If you didn’t know it before, you now have intimate knowledge of your vehicles’ anti-freeze rating. Animals living outside are in danger. Getting them inside any kind of shelter raises the temperature 10 degrees.
The icy sidewalks and streets only melt with chemical assistance. Then it re-freezes when you’re not looking. When it’s this cold all outside moisture gets crystallized and falls to the ground. So my mom used to put a huge pot of water on the stove and let it simmer all day, replenishing it when it got down low. Now I follow in her footsteps. Even with pots of water put back into the air, my skin still feels dry.
Living in this kind of cold takes extra effort. It drains you. You only go outside if you have to. Our only consolation in Nebraska is that the weather will change. Sooner or later, our weather always changes. So we can hope that the frigid week we just lived through may be winter’s last attack. We’ve survived the coldest cold of this year and lived to brag about it. Survival may be what Spring is all about.
Grace & Peace,
The frigid cold slows all human activity down. That ancient hibernation gene kicks in and this old bear just wants to curl up in the back of my cave and sleep. The cold seems to take the air out of my car’s tires. It makes everything sound different; from the scrunch of my footsteps, to the pop of the rifles at the military salute at the cemetery, to the metallic ring of the shell casings hitting the ground.
Just breathing is like breathing into a paper bag; it takes a little more effort. Car doors and windows freeze shut. If you didn’t know it before, you now have intimate knowledge of your vehicles’ anti-freeze rating. Animals living outside are in danger. Getting them inside any kind of shelter raises the temperature 10 degrees.
The icy sidewalks and streets only melt with chemical assistance. Then it re-freezes when you’re not looking. When it’s this cold all outside moisture gets crystallized and falls to the ground. So my mom used to put a huge pot of water on the stove and let it simmer all day, replenishing it when it got down low. Now I follow in her footsteps. Even with pots of water put back into the air, my skin still feels dry.
Living in this kind of cold takes extra effort. It drains you. You only go outside if you have to. Our only consolation in Nebraska is that the weather will change. Sooner or later, our weather always changes. So we can hope that the frigid week we just lived through may be winter’s last attack. We’ve survived the coldest cold of this year and lived to brag about it. Survival may be what Spring is all about.
Grace & Peace,
Journeys 2-11-07
This Wednesday is Valentine’s Day; a holiday for love. My experience is that love happens in steps; gradually, over time. There is this base of trust and respect that gets built up with experience. But the feelings of love wax and wane. Blood-sugar levels, hormone surges, (or lack of hormone surges), tiredness, rested-ness, children and grandchildren all effect the feelings of love between two people. One day for love!?! How do you show someone your affection without going too far, or coming up short?
In my early teenage years, Valentine’s Day was an excuse to get up the gumption to do something about that girl I’d been watching closely for three years. In adulthood, it became more difficult. If I was dating someone, the challenge of Valentine’s Day was to do enough, but not too much. If I was unattached the hard part was to let someone know I might be interested without scaring them off. Since my marriage, the difficult task has been to surprise without leaving a paper trail. Cindy keeps the checkbook in our house. And with all transactions traceable on-line or in the check-book, it’s hard to sneak up on her on Valentine’s Day.
May God help us express our love this Valentine’s Day. I do believe that when ever love happens God is a part of it. And my standard funeral sermon is that love is eternal. The gift of love goes on way after we leave this earth.
Grace & Peace,
In my early teenage years, Valentine’s Day was an excuse to get up the gumption to do something about that girl I’d been watching closely for three years. In adulthood, it became more difficult. If I was dating someone, the challenge of Valentine’s Day was to do enough, but not too much. If I was unattached the hard part was to let someone know I might be interested without scaring them off. Since my marriage, the difficult task has been to surprise without leaving a paper trail. Cindy keeps the checkbook in our house. And with all transactions traceable on-line or in the check-book, it’s hard to sneak up on her on Valentine’s Day.
May God help us express our love this Valentine’s Day. I do believe that when ever love happens God is a part of it. And my standard funeral sermon is that love is eternal. The gift of love goes on way after we leave this earth.
Grace & Peace,
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Journeys 2-4-07
There is this gap in the calendar between New Years Day and Valentines’ Day. And we fill that gap in our frigid existence with Super Bowl Sunday. It’s a reason to get together. It’s a reason to buy sub sandwiches from our church youth groups.
Even if you don’t follow pro football, you have to acknowledge the reality of a bunch of highly paid athletes with generally short careers. I will admit to getting caught up in the commercials that bid millions to expose a world wide audience to their product. Every year there’s at least one shocker that grabs your attention. The game itself should be a good one; the best offense verses the best defense.
I must confess to using the NFL as a sleep aid for my Sunday afternoon naps. My kids know that they can change the channel when the snoring starts up from the sofa. It’s a vicious cycle. They turn up the sound to hear their show, wake me up, turn it back to the NFL for a couple first downs then start the whole thing over again.
Most of my sports attention gets taken up by college athletics; Nebraska Football, Duke Basketball, and, keeping up with the kids I’ve had in confirmation competing in Beatrice High School sports.
This year I invite you to use the Super Bowl as an excuse for old fashioned fellowship. The dead of winter is a good time to invite family, friends and neighbors over to watch the game together. Let no one watch half-time alone. Next week, we’ll talk about who had the best commercials.
Grace & Peace,
Even if you don’t follow pro football, you have to acknowledge the reality of a bunch of highly paid athletes with generally short careers. I will admit to getting caught up in the commercials that bid millions to expose a world wide audience to their product. Every year there’s at least one shocker that grabs your attention. The game itself should be a good one; the best offense verses the best defense.
I must confess to using the NFL as a sleep aid for my Sunday afternoon naps. My kids know that they can change the channel when the snoring starts up from the sofa. It’s a vicious cycle. They turn up the sound to hear their show, wake me up, turn it back to the NFL for a couple first downs then start the whole thing over again.
Most of my sports attention gets taken up by college athletics; Nebraska Football, Duke Basketball, and, keeping up with the kids I’ve had in confirmation competing in Beatrice High School sports.
This year I invite you to use the Super Bowl as an excuse for old fashioned fellowship. The dead of winter is a good time to invite family, friends and neighbors over to watch the game together. Let no one watch half-time alone. Next week, we’ll talk about who had the best commercials.
Grace & Peace,
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Journeys 1-21-07
What you see is what you get.
I had my eyes checked the other day. It’s the annual thing I have to do in order to buy my two-week-throw-away contacts.
I’m not quite at the bi-focal stage, but I’m real close. They gave me the option of getting reading glasses or trying the “mono-eye” contacts; one contact in one eye for distance, one contact in the other eye for reading. They said it doesn’t work for everyone. And it’d take about a week to re-train my brain. But it would keep my vanity intact. There would not have to be any reading glasses in the pulpit just yet.
Cindy doubted that my brain could be re-trained. But I said, I’d give it a try. I’m just a few days into it, but it has been an amazing experience. Yea, I started out closing one eye a lot. But I’ve learned that turning my head one way or another can make the world come into focus. Each eye is learning to take over when the situation demands it.
I’m still in the middle of the learning curve, but every little success gives me hope. It also makes me feel a little better about this slippery slope called middle age. Just when I thought that all I had to look forward to was a long slow physical decline, my brain steps up to the plate and learns something new. Alleluia! Praise God! I’m not dead yet.
Grace & Peace,
I had my eyes checked the other day. It’s the annual thing I have to do in order to buy my two-week-throw-away contacts.
I’m not quite at the bi-focal stage, but I’m real close. They gave me the option of getting reading glasses or trying the “mono-eye” contacts; one contact in one eye for distance, one contact in the other eye for reading. They said it doesn’t work for everyone. And it’d take about a week to re-train my brain. But it would keep my vanity intact. There would not have to be any reading glasses in the pulpit just yet.
Cindy doubted that my brain could be re-trained. But I said, I’d give it a try. I’m just a few days into it, but it has been an amazing experience. Yea, I started out closing one eye a lot. But I’ve learned that turning my head one way or another can make the world come into focus. Each eye is learning to take over when the situation demands it.
I’m still in the middle of the learning curve, but every little success gives me hope. It also makes me feel a little better about this slippery slope called middle age. Just when I thought that all I had to look forward to was a long slow physical decline, my brain steps up to the plate and learns something new. Alleluia! Praise God! I’m not dead yet.
Grace & Peace,
Journeys 1-14-07
What good is a forecast? In Nebraska you learn to keep an eye on those five day forecasts of the weather for your area, ‘cause they’re always changing. As of this writing, its 40 degrees outside, but the forecast calls for a drastic change in the weather tonight and through the weekend. You can feel it when you go outside; the moisture, the gray clouds, the wind.
Forecasts have been known to be wrong. In fact, my experience has been that the snow storms that are most predicted tend not to happen. It’s the ones nobody saw coming that you have to watch out for. Only a Nebraskan would say that.
Precipitation and high temperatures in the teens are not something I look forward to. Add any wind and you’re talking real misery.
This year I have an additional fear of falling. After my car wreck in May, the picture of my x-rays on my Palm Pilot remind me how much I don’t want to slip and smack those 13 titanium screws in my hip and pelvis down onto the ice. I used to call the heels-first shuffle you have to do on ice “penguin walking.” Now, penguin walking is not enough. Every step is deliberate, strategic. That fragile feeling I had back when I was on crutches comes back. I don’t like that feeling.
It reminds me of a conversation I had with a couple ladies after church this summer. I was whining about the pain in my joints and muscles and one friend looked up at me and said, “Well, now, you know what it’s like to be 76.”
I thank God for forecasts; they help me to know how many layers of clothes I’ll need. I also ask you to pray for all those who get trapped inside when the snow and ice comes. Please, God, make that fragile feeling melt away soon.
Grace & Peace,
Forecasts have been known to be wrong. In fact, my experience has been that the snow storms that are most predicted tend not to happen. It’s the ones nobody saw coming that you have to watch out for. Only a Nebraskan would say that.
Precipitation and high temperatures in the teens are not something I look forward to. Add any wind and you’re talking real misery.
This year I have an additional fear of falling. After my car wreck in May, the picture of my x-rays on my Palm Pilot remind me how much I don’t want to slip and smack those 13 titanium screws in my hip and pelvis down onto the ice. I used to call the heels-first shuffle you have to do on ice “penguin walking.” Now, penguin walking is not enough. Every step is deliberate, strategic. That fragile feeling I had back when I was on crutches comes back. I don’t like that feeling.
It reminds me of a conversation I had with a couple ladies after church this summer. I was whining about the pain in my joints and muscles and one friend looked up at me and said, “Well, now, you know what it’s like to be 76.”
I thank God for forecasts; they help me to know how many layers of clothes I’ll need. I also ask you to pray for all those who get trapped inside when the snow and ice comes. Please, God, make that fragile feeling melt away soon.
Grace & Peace,
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Journeys 1-7-07
Journeys 1-7-07
Its got to happen some time. We can’t just keep going and going. At some point, the ongoing movement of time has got to stop to tuck the past away before looking to the future. On modern times, we call this break in the time-space continuum the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Modern media gives us, “the best of 2006” in as many forms as possible before we launch into 2007. This year the break was accentuated by the snowstorm that stopped most sane people from going anywhere on New Year’s Eve anyway.
The danger of stopping in the dead of winter (of course) is that its hard to get going again. You’re tired from scooping snow. The college football bowl games aren’t done yet. So it’s hard to squint toward the horizon of the New Year and think about the future.
What is there to look forward to in this new year? What do you expect to do in 2007? Of all your dreams, which ones will come true this year?
In this yearly transition time we call January, I invite you to try out an old religious concept called “Discernment.” Discernment is simply making an extra effort to listen. Listen for God’s direction for you in this new year. Take extra time to listen in prayer, or, through the reading of a different psalm every day or a chapter of a gospel. Put chunks of silence before and after the scriptures. Use all your senses to absorb from God how your gifts can be used to do what God wants this year.
What does God want you to do/be for your family this year? Who does God want you to serve? What hidden gift does God want you to pull out and use this year? What ancient sore in your soul does God want to help heal this year?
January is the time to ask these questions. We’ll spend the rest of the year listening for the answers.
Grace & Peace,
Its got to happen some time. We can’t just keep going and going. At some point, the ongoing movement of time has got to stop to tuck the past away before looking to the future. On modern times, we call this break in the time-space continuum the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Modern media gives us, “the best of 2006” in as many forms as possible before we launch into 2007. This year the break was accentuated by the snowstorm that stopped most sane people from going anywhere on New Year’s Eve anyway.
The danger of stopping in the dead of winter (of course) is that its hard to get going again. You’re tired from scooping snow. The college football bowl games aren’t done yet. So it’s hard to squint toward the horizon of the New Year and think about the future.
What is there to look forward to in this new year? What do you expect to do in 2007? Of all your dreams, which ones will come true this year?
In this yearly transition time we call January, I invite you to try out an old religious concept called “Discernment.” Discernment is simply making an extra effort to listen. Listen for God’s direction for you in this new year. Take extra time to listen in prayer, or, through the reading of a different psalm every day or a chapter of a gospel. Put chunks of silence before and after the scriptures. Use all your senses to absorb from God how your gifts can be used to do what God wants this year.
What does God want you to do/be for your family this year? Who does God want you to serve? What hidden gift does God want you to pull out and use this year? What ancient sore in your soul does God want to help heal this year?
January is the time to ask these questions. We’ll spend the rest of the year listening for the answers.
Grace & Peace,
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Journeys 11-26-06
Journeys 11-26-06
Only 29 days until Christmas! By now, the pies are all gone and all that’s left of the turkey is the dark meat. You can only re-heat the dressing so many times unless you really do like the blackened crusty stuff at the bottom of the pan. By now, most of those related have headed home. There is that old olfactory wisdom about fish and relatives after three days.
We are in the rarest of years. This year, there is this gap; a full week between Thanksgiving and the beginning of Advent. This also means that Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday. Even though the retail world now shifts directly from Halloween to Christmas with a just spattering of Thanksgiving, the church doesn’t begin its Advent countdown until the first Sunday in December. The church also has this distant memory that the season of Christmas starts Christmas Day and goes for 12 days until Epiphany.
The reality of our culture is that the Christmas race started at 5 a.m. the morning after Thanksgiving. To finish the race you have to get the house decorated, the tree up, the presents bought and wrapped, and the family herded together for the 2-20 minute Christmas Day moment when the presents are unwrapped. Once the Christmas moment has been visually recorded, we then enter the season of returns, (the week between Christmas and New Years). After New Year’s Day and the 2-3 day spill over of the College Football Bowl Season, we return to regular time until Super Bowl Sunday which is now in February due to the need for greater Neilson ratings at that time of year.
My advice would be to take advantage of this extra week. Rest up. Take extra naps. Conserve electricity. Stay off ladders. Eat only what’s left over from Thanksgiving. Spend extra time in prayer and meditation. Resist all catalogs and commercials. We’ll call this week the season of “Race Preparation,” or, “Pre-Advent,” or maybe, “Christmas Prior.”
God be with us in this calm before the storm.
Grace & Peace,
Only 29 days until Christmas! By now, the pies are all gone and all that’s left of the turkey is the dark meat. You can only re-heat the dressing so many times unless you really do like the blackened crusty stuff at the bottom of the pan. By now, most of those related have headed home. There is that old olfactory wisdom about fish and relatives after three days.
We are in the rarest of years. This year, there is this gap; a full week between Thanksgiving and the beginning of Advent. This also means that Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday. Even though the retail world now shifts directly from Halloween to Christmas with a just spattering of Thanksgiving, the church doesn’t begin its Advent countdown until the first Sunday in December. The church also has this distant memory that the season of Christmas starts Christmas Day and goes for 12 days until Epiphany.
The reality of our culture is that the Christmas race started at 5 a.m. the morning after Thanksgiving. To finish the race you have to get the house decorated, the tree up, the presents bought and wrapped, and the family herded together for the 2-20 minute Christmas Day moment when the presents are unwrapped. Once the Christmas moment has been visually recorded, we then enter the season of returns, (the week between Christmas and New Years). After New Year’s Day and the 2-3 day spill over of the College Football Bowl Season, we return to regular time until Super Bowl Sunday which is now in February due to the need for greater Neilson ratings at that time of year.
My advice would be to take advantage of this extra week. Rest up. Take extra naps. Conserve electricity. Stay off ladders. Eat only what’s left over from Thanksgiving. Spend extra time in prayer and meditation. Resist all catalogs and commercials. We’ll call this week the season of “Race Preparation,” or, “Pre-Advent,” or maybe, “Christmas Prior.”
God be with us in this calm before the storm.
Grace & Peace,
Journeys 12-24-06
Journeys 12-24-06 Christmas Eve
“Are we there yet?”
“Almost, but not yet.”
I thought about those childhood car conversations as I remembered asking “How many days until Christmas?” - to our children during their time in worship a couple weeks ago. One brother answered with the exact number of days. The other brother sighed, rolled his eyes, threw up his arms and said, “A trillion.” I’d forgotten how two weeks can seem like forever to a four year old. Our children have been waiting forever for Christmas to come. Now, we’re almost there.
Our family has this running joke about time. In our cell phone age, there are the constant questions back and forth over the air ways, “Where are you? When will you be home?”
Here’s where the code comes in. My children have determined that when Mom and Dad say, “I’m just leaving.” That means 30 minutes. “I’m on my way” =’s twenty minutes. “I’m just pulling in.” =’s 15 minutes.
When we’re all in the car and somebody has to go to the bathroom, “We’re almost there.” – can mean anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes. That’s where we are today. “We’re almost there.” “Can you hold it?”
Lots of families get together to exchange gifts today. For many this whole weekend has been a rotation from one grandparent to another. My physical therapist has five family places to go to today and tomorrow. (You get to know somebody when you’ve worked with them three days a week, an hour each time, for the past six months!).
Today is still about anticipation, expectation, and waiting. Tomorrow, after the 2-20 minutes of unwrapping, the Christmas Moment will be over. My hope is that this annual exercise in expectation will once again strengthen our relationship with God. Stretching our waiting muscle reminds us how God works. God may not be on the same time schedule as us, but eventually, God keeps God’s promises. Today, we remember that when we ask, “God where are you?” – sometimes, God says, “I’m just pulling in.”
Grace & Peace,
“Are we there yet?”
“Almost, but not yet.”
I thought about those childhood car conversations as I remembered asking “How many days until Christmas?” - to our children during their time in worship a couple weeks ago. One brother answered with the exact number of days. The other brother sighed, rolled his eyes, threw up his arms and said, “A trillion.” I’d forgotten how two weeks can seem like forever to a four year old. Our children have been waiting forever for Christmas to come. Now, we’re almost there.
Our family has this running joke about time. In our cell phone age, there are the constant questions back and forth over the air ways, “Where are you? When will you be home?”
Here’s where the code comes in. My children have determined that when Mom and Dad say, “I’m just leaving.” That means 30 minutes. “I’m on my way” =’s twenty minutes. “I’m just pulling in.” =’s 15 minutes.
When we’re all in the car and somebody has to go to the bathroom, “We’re almost there.” – can mean anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes. That’s where we are today. “We’re almost there.” “Can you hold it?”
Lots of families get together to exchange gifts today. For many this whole weekend has been a rotation from one grandparent to another. My physical therapist has five family places to go to today and tomorrow. (You get to know somebody when you’ve worked with them three days a week, an hour each time, for the past six months!).
Today is still about anticipation, expectation, and waiting. Tomorrow, after the 2-20 minutes of unwrapping, the Christmas Moment will be over. My hope is that this annual exercise in expectation will once again strengthen our relationship with God. Stretching our waiting muscle reminds us how God works. God may not be on the same time schedule as us, but eventually, God keeps God’s promises. Today, we remember that when we ask, “God where are you?” – sometimes, God says, “I’m just pulling in.”
Grace & Peace,
Journeys 12-17-06
Journeys 12-17-06
The First Gift of Christmas.
Growing up, the first gift of Christmas was always in a brown paper bag. It would happen just seconds after finishing the children’s Christmas program at the Albion Methodist Church. We three kings would rush down the back stairs in our bath robes, crowns, and slippers, dump our gold, frankincense and myrrh on the Sunday School table and run to get in line. Our Sunday School teacher would be there with a big box full of little brown paper bags. Inside would be an orange, salted peanuts still in the shell, and hard candy.
I never ate the hard candy much. It melted in your hands, not in your mouth. And after opening up all my peanuts and dumping the shells in the bag, it was hard picking the peanut residue off the peppermint candy. My hands would be salty from the peanuts while my finger nails were full of the white stuff from the underside of the orange peal. It was a labor intensive gift meant to be consumed with hot chocolate.
I don’t remember much of what I did in the Christmas play. What I remember is what it felt like. It felt like I was part of something big. The adults knew the story by heart and were trying to put it into our hearts. It meant a lot to them. And they would smile and clap and cheer us on when we came anywhere close to getting it right.
Those who see the Christmas program today will be a part of a shared multi-generational experience. Our kids are following in the footsteps of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Somewhere in all that the meaning of the Christmas story gets passed on. And we all remember what it feels like to be a part of something big. Maybe that feeling is the real first gift of Christmas. You can’t get your hands on it, but peanuts, oranges and brown paper bags bring it all back.
Grace & Peace,
The First Gift of Christmas.
Growing up, the first gift of Christmas was always in a brown paper bag. It would happen just seconds after finishing the children’s Christmas program at the Albion Methodist Church. We three kings would rush down the back stairs in our bath robes, crowns, and slippers, dump our gold, frankincense and myrrh on the Sunday School table and run to get in line. Our Sunday School teacher would be there with a big box full of little brown paper bags. Inside would be an orange, salted peanuts still in the shell, and hard candy.
I never ate the hard candy much. It melted in your hands, not in your mouth. And after opening up all my peanuts and dumping the shells in the bag, it was hard picking the peanut residue off the peppermint candy. My hands would be salty from the peanuts while my finger nails were full of the white stuff from the underside of the orange peal. It was a labor intensive gift meant to be consumed with hot chocolate.
I don’t remember much of what I did in the Christmas play. What I remember is what it felt like. It felt like I was part of something big. The adults knew the story by heart and were trying to put it into our hearts. It meant a lot to them. And they would smile and clap and cheer us on when we came anywhere close to getting it right.
Those who see the Christmas program today will be a part of a shared multi-generational experience. Our kids are following in the footsteps of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Somewhere in all that the meaning of the Christmas story gets passed on. And we all remember what it feels like to be a part of something big. Maybe that feeling is the real first gift of Christmas. You can’t get your hands on it, but peanuts, oranges and brown paper bags bring it all back.
Grace & Peace,
Journeys 12-10-06
Journeys 12-10-06
The List.
Only 15 days until Christmas! It still seems far away. If you haven’t made your Christmas list yet, you still have time, barely. I have grown up around list makers. My Mom makes Christmas lists. My Grandma made a Christmas list. I keep my “To Do,” list on my Palm Pilot.
Cindy has always been a Christmas list maker, especially the year Zack was born. Zack came into the world on Christmas Eve, 1990 at 3:30 p.m. at St. Francis Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. Imagine the intensity of the list of a pregnant nesting pastor mom in Advent! We were ready for Christmas two weeks early, just in case.
At this stage in the game, your list may still seem possible: get the lights up outside – check; tree up inside – check; boxes mailed to east coast – check; stamps bought for annual Christmas epistle – check. With 15 days until “the day,” our lists still calm the soul. You can’t forget Aunt Suzy, she’s on your list.
Next week, the list will reverse its energy. Instead of reducing anxiety, it will cause it. Because by then, the number of items on your list will be growing, not shrinking.
May God bless our lists this week. Thank God humanity was on God’s list 2000 years ago. This week, may we discern how God’s list and our lists coincide. Please God, help keep me off my wife’s list. And God, help me find my list. It was just here and now its gone!
Grace & Peace,
The List.
Only 15 days until Christmas! It still seems far away. If you haven’t made your Christmas list yet, you still have time, barely. I have grown up around list makers. My Mom makes Christmas lists. My Grandma made a Christmas list. I keep my “To Do,” list on my Palm Pilot.
Cindy has always been a Christmas list maker, especially the year Zack was born. Zack came into the world on Christmas Eve, 1990 at 3:30 p.m. at St. Francis Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina. Imagine the intensity of the list of a pregnant nesting pastor mom in Advent! We were ready for Christmas two weeks early, just in case.
At this stage in the game, your list may still seem possible: get the lights up outside – check; tree up inside – check; boxes mailed to east coast – check; stamps bought for annual Christmas epistle – check. With 15 days until “the day,” our lists still calm the soul. You can’t forget Aunt Suzy, she’s on your list.
Next week, the list will reverse its energy. Instead of reducing anxiety, it will cause it. Because by then, the number of items on your list will be growing, not shrinking.
May God bless our lists this week. Thank God humanity was on God’s list 2000 years ago. This week, may we discern how God’s list and our lists coincide. Please God, help keep me off my wife’s list. And God, help me find my list. It was just here and now its gone!
Grace & Peace,
Journeys 12-3-06
Journeys 12-3-06
This year the United Methodist Church will be offering a multi-media Advent Ad Campaign called, “Find Your Path This Christmas - at the United Methodist Church.” We thought it fit well with the “Life is a Journey of Faith” message that’s on the back of the bulletin each Sunday. We’ve incorporated it into our ad at the Beatrice Movie Theatres and in our Beatrice Daily Sun pre-Christmas ad. We’re hoping it may bring some of the 7,000 un-churched folks in Beatrice through our doors.
Today is the first Sunday in Advent. According to Wikopedia:
“Advent (from the Latin Adventus, sc. Redemptoris, "the coming of the Saviour") is a holy season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ. It is the beginning of the Christian year.
'Adventus' is literally the Latin word for "coming," and is the exact Latin equivalent for the Greek word parousia, commonly used in reference to the Second Coming. Thus the season of Advent serves as a dual reminder of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as the waiting that Christians today endure as they await the second coming of Jesus the Christ.
The theme of readings and teachings during advent is often to prepare for the Second Coming while commemorating the First Coming of Christ at Christmas. With the view of directing the thoughts of Christians to the first coming of Christ as Savior, and to his second coming as Judge, special lessons are prescribed for each of the four Sundays in Advent.
Advent in the Christian sense refers to the four weeks before Christmas. The four Sundays of advent are often traditionally celebrated with four candles with one to be lit each Sunday. Each candle has a specific meaning associated with different aspects of the Advent story. The first one almost always symbolizes expectant hope sometimes associated with prophecy. The others are Peace, Love, & Joy. The fourth is generally to be symbolic of Joy at the imminence of the coming of Christ.
The color scheme and order of symbolic associations for the candles is largely arbitrary but several traditions have adopted them for the meaning they carry. For Catholics and Protestants alike, the color of the first, second and fourth candles are purple (or blue), but the third is often rose-colored, to joyfully represent Gaudete Sunday with a less somber liturgy. A fifth, white or gold, candle -- called a "Christ Candle" -- is often lit in the center on Christmas Day or used to replace the wreath altogether.
In Western Christianity, Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. The earliest Advent can begin is November 27 and the latest is December 3. From the 8th century the season was kept as a period of fasting as strict as that of Lent but in the Protestant churches this rule was relaxed, with the Roman Catholic Church doing likewise later, but still keeping Advent as a season of penitence. In addition to fasting, dancing and similar festivities were forbidden, and to the present day, in accordance with the symbolism of liturgical colors, purple vestments are worn at the church services, although in recent years blue has gained favor, an apparent revival of the Sarum Rite, which dates from medieval England.”
That’s probably more than you ever wanted to know about Advent.
Grace & Peace,
This year the United Methodist Church will be offering a multi-media Advent Ad Campaign called, “Find Your Path This Christmas - at the United Methodist Church.” We thought it fit well with the “Life is a Journey of Faith” message that’s on the back of the bulletin each Sunday. We’ve incorporated it into our ad at the Beatrice Movie Theatres and in our Beatrice Daily Sun pre-Christmas ad. We’re hoping it may bring some of the 7,000 un-churched folks in Beatrice through our doors.
Today is the first Sunday in Advent. According to Wikopedia:
“Advent (from the Latin Adventus, sc. Redemptoris, "the coming of the Saviour") is a holy season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ. It is the beginning of the Christian year.
'Adventus' is literally the Latin word for "coming," and is the exact Latin equivalent for the Greek word parousia, commonly used in reference to the Second Coming. Thus the season of Advent serves as a dual reminder of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as the waiting that Christians today endure as they await the second coming of Jesus the Christ.
The theme of readings and teachings during advent is often to prepare for the Second Coming while commemorating the First Coming of Christ at Christmas. With the view of directing the thoughts of Christians to the first coming of Christ as Savior, and to his second coming as Judge, special lessons are prescribed for each of the four Sundays in Advent.
Advent in the Christian sense refers to the four weeks before Christmas. The four Sundays of advent are often traditionally celebrated with four candles with one to be lit each Sunday. Each candle has a specific meaning associated with different aspects of the Advent story. The first one almost always symbolizes expectant hope sometimes associated with prophecy. The others are Peace, Love, & Joy. The fourth is generally to be symbolic of Joy at the imminence of the coming of Christ.
The color scheme and order of symbolic associations for the candles is largely arbitrary but several traditions have adopted them for the meaning they carry. For Catholics and Protestants alike, the color of the first, second and fourth candles are purple (or blue), but the third is often rose-colored, to joyfully represent Gaudete Sunday with a less somber liturgy. A fifth, white or gold, candle -- called a "Christ Candle" -- is often lit in the center on Christmas Day or used to replace the wreath altogether.
In Western Christianity, Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. The earliest Advent can begin is November 27 and the latest is December 3. From the 8th century the season was kept as a period of fasting as strict as that of Lent but in the Protestant churches this rule was relaxed, with the Roman Catholic Church doing likewise later, but still keeping Advent as a season of penitence. In addition to fasting, dancing and similar festivities were forbidden, and to the present day, in accordance with the symbolism of liturgical colors, purple vestments are worn at the church services, although in recent years blue has gained favor, an apparent revival of the Sarum Rite, which dates from medieval England.”
That’s probably more than you ever wanted to know about Advent.
Grace & Peace,
Journeys 11-19-06
Journeys 11-19-06
Kids Kamp was winding down this past Wednesday as the kids and leaders gathered in a circle, held hands and Terri Goldsmith said, “O.K., Thanksgiving is coming up so lets say something we’re thankful for before we close with prayer.”
The kids rolled their eyes and giggled and one by one said things like, “my dog, my horse, my family, kids kamp, my mom, and food.” The adult helpers leaned more toward, “My family, my children and the gift of life.”
It made me think about my gratitude list this year compared to last year. See a part of me has just one item on my 2007 Thanksgiving list, “I’m thankful to be alive (not dead).” But seeing the end, (much closer than I ever want to see it again) has also made me relish things I’d taken for granted for most of my life.
Not being able to get in a shower for about six weeks there has made me adore my shower bench, warm steaming water poured from above, and feeling clean. Not being able to put weight on my left leg for 10 weeks has made me cherish one heal to toe, non-assisted, weight bearing step forward. If fact, now, just getting myself anywhere from point A to point B, nobody noticing, without it being a group project is deeply satisfying. 12 weeks of having to sleep on my back after 46.8 years of sleeping on my side makes me groan with pleasure now when I shut the light off, put the specially designed pillow between my legs, roll onto my side and close my eyes. If fact, getting my nights and days mixed up there when I went off my pain medication has made me thankful for sleep at any time, but especially between the hours of midnight and six a.m..
When you’re in a car crash, have major surgery, get that cancer diagnosis, lose a loved one, its like the puzzle of your life gets turned over and dumped on the floor. Then life after the disruption is about attempting to put the pieces of that puzzle back together again. My experience has been that it’s the caring of others that’s helped me live here while I try and fit the pieces of my puzzle together again. This Thanksgiving, I thank God for all your prayers, words of encouragement, hugs, handshakes, pats on the arm, cards, books, more cards, food, movies, gift cards, e-mails, and phone calls. I am so blessed. That turkey is gonna’ taste really good this year.
Grace & Peace,
Kids Kamp was winding down this past Wednesday as the kids and leaders gathered in a circle, held hands and Terri Goldsmith said, “O.K., Thanksgiving is coming up so lets say something we’re thankful for before we close with prayer.”
The kids rolled their eyes and giggled and one by one said things like, “my dog, my horse, my family, kids kamp, my mom, and food.” The adult helpers leaned more toward, “My family, my children and the gift of life.”
It made me think about my gratitude list this year compared to last year. See a part of me has just one item on my 2007 Thanksgiving list, “I’m thankful to be alive (not dead).” But seeing the end, (much closer than I ever want to see it again) has also made me relish things I’d taken for granted for most of my life.
Not being able to get in a shower for about six weeks there has made me adore my shower bench, warm steaming water poured from above, and feeling clean. Not being able to put weight on my left leg for 10 weeks has made me cherish one heal to toe, non-assisted, weight bearing step forward. If fact, now, just getting myself anywhere from point A to point B, nobody noticing, without it being a group project is deeply satisfying. 12 weeks of having to sleep on my back after 46.8 years of sleeping on my side makes me groan with pleasure now when I shut the light off, put the specially designed pillow between my legs, roll onto my side and close my eyes. If fact, getting my nights and days mixed up there when I went off my pain medication has made me thankful for sleep at any time, but especially between the hours of midnight and six a.m..
When you’re in a car crash, have major surgery, get that cancer diagnosis, lose a loved one, its like the puzzle of your life gets turned over and dumped on the floor. Then life after the disruption is about attempting to put the pieces of that puzzle back together again. My experience has been that it’s the caring of others that’s helped me live here while I try and fit the pieces of my puzzle together again. This Thanksgiving, I thank God for all your prayers, words of encouragement, hugs, handshakes, pats on the arm, cards, books, more cards, food, movies, gift cards, e-mails, and phone calls. I am so blessed. That turkey is gonna’ taste really good this year.
Grace & Peace,
Journeys 11-12-06
Journeys 11-12-06
“I’m Kelly Karges and I approve this message.”
No matter who it was these past few weeks, if I heard those words I’d change the channel. If the next station was more of the same, I’d just mute it and walk away. I got so overwhelmed with the constant barrage of political ads that I stopped listening. Why is it easier to get elected if you can make people mad at your opponent? Do people really vote more against someone than for them?
I’ve got to admit, when I heard how much money had gone into our Nebraska Senate campaign I thought of how many poor people could be helped with those millions.
Our oldest, (Katie), turned 18 in October. So this was her first experience of voting. She read everything she could get her hands on and filled us in on what the latest internet buzz was. When she voted, she was amazed at how “basic” it was. After all the hype and rhetoric, when you stand there and look at the ballot in black in white, it’s really pretty simple; yes or no, him or her. Try and color within the circle. In local elections one vote can be the determining factor.
My parents are of different political parties. Over time, I’ve forgotten which is which. So now, I’m afraid to ask. The rule in my home of origin was that you didn’t have to tell anyone how you voted. It was a private matter.
Cindy and I are of the same political persuasion. So dinnertime can be about who we’re going to vote for and what that constitutional amendment is really about.
To be honest, I’m just glad the whole thing is over. Decisions and choices are hard enough on a personal level, let alone on a city, state or national basis. And although our system is far from perfect, I do thank God for the right to vote in a free democratic society. Many have worked and sacrificed to give me that right. Now, may God give us the strength and patience to fix the inequities in our present political process so that the poorest and the wealthiest eventually can have an equal say in who is in power.
Grace & Peace,
“I’m Kelly Karges and I approve this message.”
No matter who it was these past few weeks, if I heard those words I’d change the channel. If the next station was more of the same, I’d just mute it and walk away. I got so overwhelmed with the constant barrage of political ads that I stopped listening. Why is it easier to get elected if you can make people mad at your opponent? Do people really vote more against someone than for them?
I’ve got to admit, when I heard how much money had gone into our Nebraska Senate campaign I thought of how many poor people could be helped with those millions.
Our oldest, (Katie), turned 18 in October. So this was her first experience of voting. She read everything she could get her hands on and filled us in on what the latest internet buzz was. When she voted, she was amazed at how “basic” it was. After all the hype and rhetoric, when you stand there and look at the ballot in black in white, it’s really pretty simple; yes or no, him or her. Try and color within the circle. In local elections one vote can be the determining factor.
My parents are of different political parties. Over time, I’ve forgotten which is which. So now, I’m afraid to ask. The rule in my home of origin was that you didn’t have to tell anyone how you voted. It was a private matter.
Cindy and I are of the same political persuasion. So dinnertime can be about who we’re going to vote for and what that constitutional amendment is really about.
To be honest, I’m just glad the whole thing is over. Decisions and choices are hard enough on a personal level, let alone on a city, state or national basis. And although our system is far from perfect, I do thank God for the right to vote in a free democratic society. Many have worked and sacrificed to give me that right. Now, may God give us the strength and patience to fix the inequities in our present political process so that the poorest and the wealthiest eventually can have an equal say in who is in power.
Grace & Peace,
Journeys 11-5-06
Journeys 11-05-06
The leaves are coming down; great drifts of tree debris. On calm days the leaves come down like salt out of a salt shaker, forming a 3-D shadow of their tree on the ground. Windy days throw the leaves across town, cross-pollinating the waste of oak and elm, birch and cotton-wood. This year the un-harvested corn is a natural leaf-fence catching them like a net. With half the leaves up and half the leaves down, it still feels like fall is wrapping its arms around us in a cozy sweater.
At Halloween we crossed over. All the trees got a wake-up call, and their leaves started checking out like it’s the end of some huge foliage convention. Each leaf knowing that tomorrow its got to be some place else.
These next few weeks are a test of our tolerance for clutter. Some have that urge to “clean” while others prefer to leave the ground “A-nat-ur-‘al.” At the parsonage, our front yard is at the vortex of a great north wind funnel known as The Lincoln School Field. Any northerly wind over five miles an hour gifts our front yard leaves to the neighbors. Our back yard is dominated by two monstrous pin-oaks. They prefer to let go of their leaves from mid-winter to early spring. So their collection is a wet, snowy kind of thing.
Yard-care prepares now to go into hibernation. Before we know it, the angst of outward appearance and homeowner self-esteem will be transferred to keeping the sidewalks cleared of snow.
May God bless the blisters and splinters that define our relationship to that old rake. And may God find a way to reduce the constant calm day droning of the leaf blowers and the lawn mowers jacked up to vacuum the grass.
Grace & Peace,
The leaves are coming down; great drifts of tree debris. On calm days the leaves come down like salt out of a salt shaker, forming a 3-D shadow of their tree on the ground. Windy days throw the leaves across town, cross-pollinating the waste of oak and elm, birch and cotton-wood. This year the un-harvested corn is a natural leaf-fence catching them like a net. With half the leaves up and half the leaves down, it still feels like fall is wrapping its arms around us in a cozy sweater.
At Halloween we crossed over. All the trees got a wake-up call, and their leaves started checking out like it’s the end of some huge foliage convention. Each leaf knowing that tomorrow its got to be some place else.
These next few weeks are a test of our tolerance for clutter. Some have that urge to “clean” while others prefer to leave the ground “A-nat-ur-‘al.” At the parsonage, our front yard is at the vortex of a great north wind funnel known as The Lincoln School Field. Any northerly wind over five miles an hour gifts our front yard leaves to the neighbors. Our back yard is dominated by two monstrous pin-oaks. They prefer to let go of their leaves from mid-winter to early spring. So their collection is a wet, snowy kind of thing.
Yard-care prepares now to go into hibernation. Before we know it, the angst of outward appearance and homeowner self-esteem will be transferred to keeping the sidewalks cleared of snow.
May God bless the blisters and splinters that define our relationship to that old rake. And may God find a way to reduce the constant calm day droning of the leaf blowers and the lawn mowers jacked up to vacuum the grass.
Grace & Peace,
Journeys 10-29-06
Journeys 10-29-06
Today is Consecration Sunday. Our Stewardship Campaign concludes with a special guest preacher, Rev. Nita Hinds, from our Conference offices in Lincoln, and, a brunch after each worship service. Today, we begin to give folks an opportunity to fill out commitment cards, stating our financial commitment to our church’s ministry in 2007.
The emphasis of this year’s campaign is that our giving deepens our relationship with God. When we give of our prayers, presence, gifts and service, we’re doing so because we’ve felt touched by God and want to reciprocate. God has transformed us, healed us, let us know we’re not alone, or brought us through a difficult self-examination to regret, repentance and forgiveness.
As in all friendships, God has made a move toward us, and we want to make a move toward God. So we give ourselves to God, to the work of God, to things that we think will make God happy. We give back not ‘tit for ‘tat, but as a sign of our seriousness about the relationship; out of our need to grow into a deeper relationship.
I’ve not met anyone yet who knows the limits of a relationship with God. Like a great friendship, the more you get into it, the deeper you want to go. And the relationship changes you. Over time you become more Godlike, bearing the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control). It is a growth process that never stops.
Today, we celebrate what we do in response to the love of God; our giving.
Today, we show our appreciation for all that is done in gratitude for God’s grace in our lives.
Today, we stand together to say that we want to grow closer to God. And I believe God has let us know that the way we do that is by giving ourselves away, in service to each other, and, in serving the least and the lost of our world.
Grace & Peace,
Today is Consecration Sunday. Our Stewardship Campaign concludes with a special guest preacher, Rev. Nita Hinds, from our Conference offices in Lincoln, and, a brunch after each worship service. Today, we begin to give folks an opportunity to fill out commitment cards, stating our financial commitment to our church’s ministry in 2007.
The emphasis of this year’s campaign is that our giving deepens our relationship with God. When we give of our prayers, presence, gifts and service, we’re doing so because we’ve felt touched by God and want to reciprocate. God has transformed us, healed us, let us know we’re not alone, or brought us through a difficult self-examination to regret, repentance and forgiveness.
As in all friendships, God has made a move toward us, and we want to make a move toward God. So we give ourselves to God, to the work of God, to things that we think will make God happy. We give back not ‘tit for ‘tat, but as a sign of our seriousness about the relationship; out of our need to grow into a deeper relationship.
I’ve not met anyone yet who knows the limits of a relationship with God. Like a great friendship, the more you get into it, the deeper you want to go. And the relationship changes you. Over time you become more Godlike, bearing the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control). It is a growth process that never stops.
Today, we celebrate what we do in response to the love of God; our giving.
Today, we show our appreciation for all that is done in gratitude for God’s grace in our lives.
Today, we stand together to say that we want to grow closer to God. And I believe God has let us know that the way we do that is by giving ourselves away, in service to each other, and, in serving the least and the lost of our world.
Grace & Peace,
Journeys 10-22-06
Journeys 10-22-06
We’re beginning to ease into winter. There are places in western Nebraska that have already had snow. The other day, our high for the day was 40 degrees. We started the day with fog and cold. Then the winds dragged down the leaves that were too saturated and too brittle to hang on. Now there are naked trees next to the full ones that refuse to give in to the change in seasons. The wind won’t let them argue long. It’s a losing battle.
In my mind, I’m getting ready for snow. I’ve got to move my snow shovels from the shed out back to the garage. I’ve got to get my gas containers filled and mixed for the snow blower. I’ve got to teach Zack how to run the snow blower. Is that bag if de-icer any good, or do I have to get a new one?
October snow storms are sloppy, premature winter. But they equalize the turning of the trees. All leaf color ‘morfs to brownish-grey. And the trees seem to scream, “Just get it over with,” as the massive stripping of the leaves begins.
My kids can’t wait for snow. They thrive on change. I just try and survive it.
Change isolates my soul; tricks my mind in to thinking I’m the only one forced to deal with this. But my experience is that God is with me through the change. God lets me know in subtle ways that I am not alone in this. Friends step forward who have gone through the same thing. People say they’re keeping me in their prayers. Survival becomes a group project.
So, yea! Let winter happen. With God’s help, we’ll be o.k.
Grace & Peace,
We’re beginning to ease into winter. There are places in western Nebraska that have already had snow. The other day, our high for the day was 40 degrees. We started the day with fog and cold. Then the winds dragged down the leaves that were too saturated and too brittle to hang on. Now there are naked trees next to the full ones that refuse to give in to the change in seasons. The wind won’t let them argue long. It’s a losing battle.
In my mind, I’m getting ready for snow. I’ve got to move my snow shovels from the shed out back to the garage. I’ve got to get my gas containers filled and mixed for the snow blower. I’ve got to teach Zack how to run the snow blower. Is that bag if de-icer any good, or do I have to get a new one?
October snow storms are sloppy, premature winter. But they equalize the turning of the trees. All leaf color ‘morfs to brownish-grey. And the trees seem to scream, “Just get it over with,” as the massive stripping of the leaves begins.
My kids can’t wait for snow. They thrive on change. I just try and survive it.
Change isolates my soul; tricks my mind in to thinking I’m the only one forced to deal with this. But my experience is that God is with me through the change. God lets me know in subtle ways that I am not alone in this. Friends step forward who have gone through the same thing. People say they’re keeping me in their prayers. Survival becomes a group project.
So, yea! Let winter happen. With God’s help, we’ll be o.k.
Grace & Peace,
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