How Many Times?

   A lot of the time I seem to live in the sameness of a day. I wake up at or near the same time, I take the same path on my walk, I read, I think, I write, I eat, I play and the list goes on. Looking back on it, it seems like more of the same.

   Even when I am reminded, as I read different Scriptures each morning, that the day I am living in has not even been lived in before, it still seems like a lot of routine stuff.

   I was thinking this morning about my weekend days. There were things on the schedule that I was not particularly looking forward to, but knew I had to live through them. As these events took place I realized that, not only were they not things to be dreaded, but they actually held great meaning for me, if only I took them in the right way. If I had looked at them correctly, they may have even been high points, but, instead, I resigned myself to just getting through. I was blessed anyway, but how much more if I had been looking for them.

   This particular day was still somewhat dark when I got up. When I walked out the sun was still well below the horizon, but the clouds up above were beginning to light up. I knew that the day would begin on God's timetable, and all I had to do was to walk in that new light.

   I knew that the light would be new, but I felt that I did not want to just live like the day was just another "same ole" day. I did not want to just acknowledge the newness of this day, but I wanted to live in the actuality of it. I did not want to just pay lip service to the idea, but grasp it and make it mine in reality.

   This is a new day. I have not lived in it before. How can I live in what it might bring. Not dread, not resignation, but in a sense of wonder, even awe. Knowing that God has allowed me to see this day, and there is a reason.

   I have been reminded of these things before and have even written about them, but I seem to go back and think they are just the routines of a normal life. How many times must my memory be jogged? I know these "new day" facts are true, so why can't I get it from my brain to my life?

   The morning is dark, the sun comes up, a new light shines. It is a NEW LIGHT, one that has not been seen before. This day has not been lived in before. Help me to see it that way.

AGAIN

Graduation and Duct Tape

   When our pastor came to lead our church some years back, Mayre and I volunteered on occasion to be the baby sitter for their children. Well, their oldest, Eli, graduated this morning from High School and, being invited, we went.

   It was a warm morning here on the Island, but thankfully, the ceremonies were on the short side. It was well planned, the speeches and awards were short in duration, and the surroundings outside were almost ideal (almost--we sat in the sunshine and it became a tad bit hot).

   The commencement speaker was the retiring president of our local college. In the course of her talk, she made the remark that, regardless of what she say, her words would not be remember for over 24 hours, if that long. Her remark got me to thinking of all the graduations we had attended over the past 60 years or so, beginning with our own in 1954 from high school and continuing through those of our kids, and now going on with our grand kids, and also including friends and family of friends. No telling how many graduation addresses we have heard, but as Mayre and I agreed on the way home, there was but one talk that we both remembered.

   I believe it was when Doug received his degree from Georgia Tech, or it might have been Dwayne as both did get advanced degrees from that august institution, and the commencement speaker was a professor from the Engineering Department. His speech was memorable because of its length, less than 10 minutes as I recall, and also as it related to its subject. He talked about engineering and the use of duct tape.

    As this professor reached the end of his presentation, he said something like "If you don't remember anything that I said this morning, at least remember one thing, Duct Tape". Then he sat down to some giggles but also to warm applause.

   Profound, maybe, but memorable, definitely.

A Couple of Leaves, A Sign?

   David writes in Psalm 86:

"Show me a sign of your favor,"

   I feel the same way on some days. Like yesterday, I woke fairly early and read some of the Scripture for that day, but had to leave that and get ready for some activities. I confess to not getting much out of the passage that I read, but went ahead and just moved through the day.

   Then I saw those words this morning, and I thought "that is what I need for the start of this day, a sign from God, one that says He cares and He is there". Then I thought, "are these thoughts right? Should I even think this or look for this". David prayed this way and he was a king and a man after God's own heart, and he needed something to hang on to. Perhaps some days, I do to.

   So, with these things running around in my mind, I went out the door for a walk, thinking that surely in the quiet, I would catch a glimpse of something, anything, that would confirm what I knew deep down was true. What did I see?

   A couple of leaves, recently detached from a tree, falling down in front of me as if to say, "look here at this".

   A big blue heron along side a pond, probably looking for breakfast.

   The sun as it rose in the sky and filtered through the branches of a low bush.

   Two redbirds on a bird feeder, peacefully enjoying a meal together.

   A head cover for a putter that someone had lost playing yesterday.

   Then as I got home and came inside, a smoke detector went off for a second or two.

   Were any of these, or maybe all of them, a sign or signs of something that I needed? Were these small things tied together or just random? Did any of them matter or should they?

   I am probably no closer at this moment in putting all of this together, but at least it got me to thinking about signs, about my life, about how little things may matter, and that God put all of these things there this morning for me. I was alive and still thinking, maybe that was what God wanted to tell me. He alone gives me breath and life, and pondering even the unknown portions of these could be a sign.

   But I still don't know about those leaves. They just fell with no wind, right in front of me and "spoke", so much so that I picked them up and carried them home, where they sit looking at me right now. I'll have to think some more about all of this. Maybe God is not through with me yet, even on this score.

A Three-Legged Stool

   Something in my reading this morning led me to think about the verse in Micah that states:

   "He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?"
   I guess that I try to look for things in Holy Scripture that will give me an exact formula to right standing with God. Is there one capsule that, if I were to live that way, would be assurance that God would be pleased with my life?

   God has given me right standing in His sight from the moment that I accepted Jesus as my Savior and confessed that He is the only way to God. Even with this knowledge, I feel that I do not always live in such a way as to make my everyday life pleasing to God. I know that He must be disappointed (if that is a good way to put it) in some of the things that I do, think and feel.

   Micah tells the people of his day that God is not pleased with all of their outward shows of obedience, their sacrifices and offerings, He wants them to live to be a blessing to others and to follow after God with their whole heart and soul. And I think God still is looking for that today. Let the outward acts spring from a life of inward confidence toward God.

   Justice, Kindness and Humility

   The first two, Justice and Kindness, seem to be a way to live with others, but the third, Humility, is pointing to how we walk with God. The first two are good things to do, and if done in the right spirit and for the right purpose, can bless people around us, but if justice and kindness are just ways to gather accolades for our actions, then we miss the point entirely. We can't bring those good acts before Him and say "see what I have done for You" and expect His wholehearted approval.

   A three-legged stool cannot stand on just two of its legs. The third leg of humility, especially in the way that we approach God, is the key to the whole process. It is not a "see what I have done" but a "thank You Father for allowing me to be Your hands and feet to these others that you put in my path", and meaning it.

   Walking with God is a continual process and it seems that this leg of Humility is the key to a life lived in obedience to His precepts.

   But, Oh, is it hard to actually do....

Rosa and I Were Contemporaries

   Yesterday was Mother's Day, and I do not know whether this post has anything to do with that observance or not, but maybe by the time I finish writing it, the meaning may become clearer.

   After our early church service yesterday, I took the opportunity to get on my bike for a few miles of slow exercise. I decided to take my camera with me, just in case. As I rode out the bike path north, I saw an old abandoned house hidden back in some overgrown bushes. This triggered something in my mind, and I decided to look for more of these along the way, on some of the side roads, and photograph them on the way back home.

   As I continued to ride north, I noticed a road that I thought might be promising for this photography lesson and thought it could be my first exploratory street. I knew this was an older section, dating back to the 1700s and figured there might be something there, if I could spot it from the road. Not finding anything that I was looking for, I noticed that the gate to a cemetery, which had always been locked on all of my previous rides down this road, was open. It seemed to invite me to explore, even though it was private property. Every other entrance to this tract of land had "no trespassing" signs, but this one was devoid of these, so I entered cautiously, pedaling slowly down the dirt road.

   The cemetery was located maybe a quarter of a mile down this road and tucked back in a grove of moss covered live oak trees. It was empty except for the birds and squirrels and perfect for some photo exploring.

   I took a few shots, read a few tombstones, and then looked for some shots where the sunlight was right. Then I saw this:

   The light seemed right so I snapped and then looked at it more closely. Today, this mother's day of 2013, would have been this lady's 77th birthday. I thought that it was neat that I had noticed this, and then further realized that she had been born 10 days before me, back in 1936. We were contemporaries for a time, although neither of us knew that fact or knew each other. Knowing that this was an African-American cemetery let me know that our lives, although lived in the same time frame, would have, in all probability, been completely different.

   Then came the questions: What was her life? Why did she die at 42? How had she lived and what had she done in that life span? Would she have celebrated this day as a mother? Were her relatives still living in the area?

   Then I thought, "why did God take her at age 42, back in 1978, and leave me here?" Why was I led to her gravesite this morning, and could there be a significance to this discovery?

   I'll have to ponder this for awhile, but it made this a special day for me, and I'm not even a mother.

   Makes me look forward to see what Father's Day might bring.

3 Ladies

   On this Mother's Day of 2013, as I think of Mothers in general and those in my life as well, I have much to be thankful for.

   My mother, who passed away in 1995, was a great Mom who raised her 3 boys well, and who set an example for mothers everywhere.

   My wife, who is the mother of our 3 children, has been at my side for almost 55 years, and who has poured her life into her kids, grand kids and, most of all, her appreciative husband.

   But while we are thinking in terms of the number 3, I want to pay tribute this morning to 3 ladies who have affected our family life in a very positive way. I am thinking of the 3 mothers that raise our grand children.

   Our daughter Donna and our daughters-in-law, Karen and Dawn.

   They have all raised good children, the oldest of which will be a junior in college this fall, and instilled in them a value system that will affect all they touch in the future. I know there have been challenges, but they have been there for their kids and have taken the time to support them in all that they do. Most of all they have loved them for who they are.

   Have they raised 7 perfect kids? Hardly, and they know it as well as I, but they have modeled parenthood for them, and that one fact alone will help carry them on into the next generation.

   Thank you ladies, for all you do to make our family tree worth celebrating today.

   Thank You God for giving them to all the rest of us.

What About Those Others?

   My life was filled with golf yesterday. When you leave the condo at 7:20 in the morning, drive to the course, play 18 holes, have a snack for lunch and then drive home, you have consumed close to 5 hours. Then if you turn on the TV later in the afternoon and watch the Player's Championship for another couple of hours, golf has been your day, almost your complete day.

   This morning my thoughts turned again toward that golf tournament, but in a little different vein. I looked at the leaderboard to see who had made the cut and who had failed. I noted that there were 60+ golfers, good golfers, who had not played well enough to land above the cut line. I thought about those men, who had played for a couple of days, but who would not be on the course on Saturday or Sunday.
What did they do when they got up this morning?

   We know most of the names of the leading players from the first two days:

1

5

Sergio Garcia

-11

2:40pm

color

info

68

65

133

2

1

Tiger Woods

-10

2:40pm

color

info

67

67

134

T3

49

Kevin Chappell

-9

2:30pm

color

info

69

66

135

T3

24

Lee Westwood

-9

2:30pm

color

info

69

66

135

   But how about the stories of the ones at the bottom?

CUT

36

Derek Ernst

color

74

81

155

CUT

123

Tommy Gainey

color

75

80

155

CUT

67

John Rollins

color

77

79

156

CUT

131

Greg Owen

color

76

82

158

   How do these guys feel about the first two days?

   I have worked our local PGA event here on the Island for the past three years and have walked around with several professional golfers whose identities are not household names. I have watched their games and their attitudes and demeanor and their ball-striking ability, and I know these guys are good, real good. I notice that the man who won the tournament here last October, Tommy Gainey, was among those who did not do that well over these past few days down in Florida.

   We tend to look at the headlines and see who is doing well at any given time. We know the names of those who win and who get the big bucks. But what of the others?

   Does God care about who wins and who does not at these tournaments? I'm sure that it all figures into the big picture somewhere, but I do know that He cares for each one of those men on that leaderboard and all those who strive to have their names on that someday, no matter what the order of their finish.

   I can only hope that those who did not make the cut in this particular tournament will get up this morning, pick up their Bibles, read and pray and ask God what is next for them, even in this day. There can be a multitude of possible answers to this prayer, for me as well as for them, and the answer does not have to revolve around golf. Our identity is more than a game, it consists more of who God has called us to be.

   And that is the good news for everyone, even those guys who got cut yesterday.

   Embrace it.