Hope against all hope

We have “hope against all hope” … we desire something to happen; we pray for it to happen; we cross our fingers that it will happen; we trust that by some miracle it will happen; but the facts just do not align themselves up so that our hearts would be encouraged. Our backs are against the wall, so to speak, we are facing the dragons and the whirlwind, trees are falling all around us, the water is rising … and yet, we hope.

Abraham hoped against all hope that he would be blessed with a child … preferably a male child … even when he was approaching 90-years old. God had spoken. God had promised. Abraham hoped. Read it for your self in Romans 8:14. Look at what Abraham had accomplished in his life. I have often wondered if the child Isaac had come much earlier in his life would Abraham have failed to become the individual that he became? Holding onto hope in the midst of what seems like a dead-end can only produce strength of character and a fortitude of commitment.

Hope is different than faith because faith is “forsaking all I trust him” approach to living. Hope is living within the context of faith that circumstances will be different within the context of our life. Hope is standing straight and staying strong in the face of unlikely odds. Hope grows from faith. Without faith there is no hope only luck, a chance, just being in the right place at the right time, coming into this life out of the right gene-pole, making friends of influence – the roll of the dice, the drawing to an inside straight, the shaky hold onto a thin line of possibility without any probability involved. Because of Abraham’s faith in the Almighty he held on to his hope against all hope … and was ultimately rewarded with a son. God is a God of promises kept. God honors faith and in so doing reassures us that hope will spring eternal.

What are the things, situations, life circumstances for which you are holding onto hope … against all hope?

It is important to remember in whom you believe, but it is also encouraging to remember those who believe in you. They are the encouragers, the cheerleaders, the ones standing along the path of the race providing water and nourishment as you run the race of life. They see you, much like God, not for what you are, but what you can be. They hold out hope for you even when you fail to hold out much hope for yourself. After all I’m too old, frail, limited, tired, exhausted … and still they hope … still they are in your corner cheering you ever onward. Because of their presence we can actually hold out a hope that just seems impossible, but hey, after all, all things are possible with God. Look at Abraham! Who would have thunk-it? It is truly a testimony of a realized promised … a fulfillment of a hope … hope against all hope!

Quote for today: Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all...As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength. ~G.K. Chesterton

Trying to relearn the joy of dancing in the rain

It is March. We usually do not have rain in March, at least not as much as we have gotten in the last couple of days … and there is more on the way. My plants and grass are happy because they like dancing in the rain. We often see rain as something to be tolerated, especially when it falls on our days off or weekend or when we have something special planned. “Rain, rain, go away, come again another day!” was a childhood chant said often during the days of summer. We had so much planned. It interfered with our life. Got in the way. Spoiled our fun. But the rain came anyway. It didn’t ask if it could come, it just came. Sometimes it came and stayed around for days on end. When will it stop? Will it ever stop? How much longer?

Life is filled with a lot of “rain stuff” … we cannot plan for it. It comes when we least expect it and stays longer than we desire. As the following story points out, we have to learn to dance in the rain. Good, bad and indifferent “rain stuff” comes our way. We wish it could be different, but it isn’t. We can cry about the lost opportunities. We can regret making certain decisions. We can complain. We can bitch. We can get angry. We can stand and shake our fist at the heavens. We can turn away and try to ignore it. But the “rain stuff” still comes and dampens our days. As the author of this story shares at the end, “Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.”

I’m trying to learn a new “dance” because it seems like it is raining more and more as the knees and hips hurt all the time, cannot do as much as I use to, get tired quickly, the stock market reduced our retirement funds, the housing market crashed and we have two houses, but we had great retirement plans – travel, travel, and travel some more … sometimes it is hard to learn a new dance, but when it is raining do any of us really have a choice? Oh, we can complain about the weather. People do all the time, but the rain still comes anyway. It would be great to capture the joy of Peanuts’ Snoopy as he dances regardless of who or what is happening around him!

And then you have Nehemiah (8:10) stating, “The Joy of the Lord is my strength” and the Psalmist (30:5) that shares, “Joy comes in the morning.” There are no rainbows unless the rain falls. I’m starting to look for the rainbows so as to experience the fullness of the Lord’s joy, but maybe it all begins by learning to dance in the rain. As the quote for today states, “Life has an expiration date!” So, dance while you can regardless … a fond childhood memory was playing in the rain – rain baseball, rain football, rain tag and rain hide-n-seek were really, really fun. Oh, how we would laugh, run, and have so much fun, but then we grew up and it wasn’t fun any longer. I can remember the warm baths after playing in the rain all afternoon. What a great feeling, but now … Oh, to relearn the joy of dancing and playing in the rain … especially the “rain stuff” that life throws at us each day!

The Rain

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.

The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health.

He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.

He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?'

He smiled as he patted my hand and said,

'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.'

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, 'That is the kind of love I want in my life.'

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

'Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.'

Quote for today: We are all getting older. Tomorrow may be our turn. Enjoy life now -- it has an expiration date! ~Source unknown

Seeking God's purpose when you are in the middle of a pile of manure

I knew better before I said yes. And yet, there was something inside of me that would not let me say no. It wasn’t very pleasing to simply sit back and see what was happening among the homeowners. An old tape kept running in my mind: “If it is to be, it is up to me”… just ten little words with a powerful message … and the guilt that always came with those old tapes! If I did not like what was going on then I couldn’t leave it up to others to fix. Little did I know what I was getting myself involved in.

Whenever I move into a new community I always ask, “Okay, God, why have you planted me here?” It comes out of my strong theology that God has a purpose in everything that happens in and through our life. Things do not happen just by accident. There is purpose and order in God’s universe, which includes me. Oh, I made the decision to move to Bradenton and also made the decision to purchase this particular home in this particular subdivision … or did I?

If we are God’s servants, seeking to follow Christ as one of his disciples and, even as individuals with free will, can our decisions be made outside of his purpose for his universe and our lives? Boy, have I struggled with that issue most of my adult life. My conclusion has always been, we can never circumvent God’s purpose by our decisions. So here I sat, a homeowner in Garden Lake Estates … so, God, why am I here?

There was one personal promise that was fulfilled … not to jump feet first into a situation or organization. There was a two-year span between the time of moving into the subdivision and allowing my name to be placed on the ballot as a member of the board of directors … old tapes are hard to ignore for very long. So here I sit in the middle of a mess. Not only did I get elected to be a director, but the directors elected me to serve as vice-president – a little more responsibility than I really cared to carry. God, why am I here and why now and why this particular situation?

The problem is a chairperson (or a president in this particular situation) who is a strong willed, opinionated, micro-manager. In fact, she probably was the role model when organizational people wrote the manual for micro-managers. She is a loud and strong-willed. No one, so I am informed, has ever wanted to take her on.

As the president not only does she run the meetings, but offers up opinions on every issue, actively enters into each and every debate, makes her own motions and, when things are not going the way she desires them to go, refers to “the by-laws” as the golden standard as to why something can or cannot be done without referencing chapter-and-verse within the by-laws for support. No one has ever challenged her on this … until now!

Since she was one of the original homeowners no one has ever bothered to question her and her “by-laws” references. That is until now. If you know anything about me you could have guessed that I would not just let this roll off of me. What a mess, but I am in it now and confronting her, as gently as I can, about rulings that she has made, as well as some passing references to the by-laws. I am thankful for another director who has my back.

But, why in heavens name does the Lord have me in this mess? Maybe I needed another lesson in patience. Maybe I needed another lesson in tolerance. Maybe I needed another lesson is humility. Maybe I needed another lesson dealing with difficult people. I’m wondering, searching, praying for an answer.

The story that keeps running through my mind is the one of the little boy who prayed every night for a horse and would run out to the barn every morning before breakfast to see if God had answered his prayer during the night. Finally, one morning in the middle of the barn was a huge pile of manure. The little boy’s eyes got very wide and he jumped right into the middle of the manure and began to dig like crazy. When his father asked what he was doing the little boy exclaimed, “With this much manure there has to be a horse in here somewhere!”

Well, folks, I’m looking for my “horse” … an answer to my prayers as to why God has me where I am. Certainly it isn’t simply to dig in a pile of manure … at least I hope not!

Quote for today: When you're up to your neck in alligators, it's difficult to keep your mind on the fact that your primary objective is to drain the swamp. ~Source Unknown

A conversation remembered and a reflection on the importance of family

It was just a passing conversation in a grocery store checkout line, but it was a conversation that has stayed with me over the many years. Often I find myself reflecting on the simple words shared, words that took root in my spirit.

The day had started early. It usually did, but today was kind of busy. I needed to get to the church office early in order to have on the desk of the secretary the necessary information for Sunday’s bulletin. It was two days late. She was very patient. It helped that she was a “preacher’s wife” and understood the demands on a pastor’s time and energy.

There were two meetings and several phone calls concerning the proposed building program and capital funds campaign fast approaching. The phone calls were meant to put out some fires. The congregation was divided between a new sanctuary and more Sunday school rooms. Hopefully they would be short and pleasant phone calls.

And, then a quick sandwich for lunch and off to make many hospital calls. I believe there was five different hospitals stretched from Hudson all the way down to St. Petersburg … which meant a lot of stop-and-go driving along U.S. 19. It was going to be a long, long afternoon … and I was starting much later that I had hoped.

To make it worse, it was a hot summer day. Temperature in the high 90s and I was wearing the expected suit and tie. After all that is what preachers wore, especially if a hospital visits were on the agenda.

The day was wrapping up. I had one more stop to make before getting back home and out of my now wet suit. Margaret had asked me to stop by the store to pick up something that she needed for supper. And, so there I stood, with my one item in my hand. A lady stood in front of me with her two items and the conversation took place.

“Sir, if that is all you have, you can go ahead of me.”

“No, I’m okay, but thanks anyway.”

“You look important and seem to be in a hurry. Why don’t you just go on ahead?”
(She was correct about being in a hurry … even when I wasn’t I walked fast, drove fast and eat fast … always in a hurry to get to some place else.)

“No, that is quite alright. I need to slow down anyway after the day I have had. I’m kind of enjoying just standing here and doing nothing.”

“Do you have a family?”

“Yes, I do. A wife and two daughters.”

“Oh, my, you really do need to go ahead of me so you can get home to be with your family. I’m by myself now and all I have waiting for me is my cat.”

There was a long pause in our conversation and then she spoke again.

“Never be in such a hurry that you don’t have time for your family. Before too long those daughters are going to be gone living in another town. And, it is unfortunate, but your wife will pass away before you know it and you will be left alone with just a cat.”

“Were you married long?”

“54 years, but it wasn’t long enough. He passed away just three months ago. I really would have liked to have another day or two with him, but now it is just the cat … his cat.”

I went ahead of her, checked out, gave her a hug and promised that I would try to slow down and appreciate my family while they were still with me. I have slowed down, not sure if it is just old age or a conscious effort on my part. I don’t walk as fast I use to nor do I drive as fast as I use to … but I still eat too fast. And family? They are nearby and we get together often. There is a dog, lives with oldest daughter now. There won’t ever be a cat. But, I think of that sweet elderly lady in the Publix checkout lane who only had “just a cat” to go home to and try to appreciate everyday as a gift of grace with those who are most important.

Quote for today: Rudyard Kipling once wrote about families, "all of us are we--and everyone else is they." A family shares things like dreams, hopes, possessions, memories, smiles, frowns, and gladness...A family is a clan held together with the glue of love and the cement of mutual respect. A family is shelter from the storm, a friendly port when the waves of life become too wild. No person is ever alone who is a member of a family. ~Fingertip Facts.

David, dancing naked before the altar of God, might have gotten it right!

It was way back in the 80s when male preacher’s “normal” attire was a suit and tie … or, it was at least my every day attire. I was probably playing out some old mental tapes left over from another era, but they played out in my mind anyway … and even in the heat of summer, the suit went on if I was about the business of the church. God didn’t really care what I wore, but I had an image in the back of my mind as to what was proper and right.

To often, as well meaning people, we attempt to apply our standards to the behavior of others as when people shared with me that “children shouldn’t run in church” meaning that it was disrespectful of God. My response later became, “Well, I think that God is probably running and jumping with them simply because it is so much fun!” People didn’t understand.

These same well meaning folk also tried to apply their standards of what was proper by making comments about what others should wear or not wear in worship. The words always flew when acolytes would wear tennis shoes or shorts or jeans or flip-flops under their acolyte attire. My response ran something like this, “Well, when I come across the biblical instructions concerning the proper attire for acolytes I will mention it to the coordinator.” They just didn’t get it.

I was mentioning David in one of my sermons when I added an unplanned footnote … those were usually dangerous, but my filtering mind was always a little late in passing judgment on my mouth. Go figure! The unplanned footnote was actually a result of being confronted just before worship by one of those “well meaning folk” concerning the improper dress of some of our youth. She even suggested that if “they couldn’t dress better they should just stay home!” … and she was serious.

Well, the unplanned footnote went something like this; “Sometimes we get caught up in issues that are of little real concern to God such as ‘proper’ attire to be worn while attending worship. I wonder how we would react if someone followed King David’s practice of dancing naked before the altar or wearing an ephod which was probably only a little modesty apron?” I’m not sure what else I said, but I am sure that there was more. The dear soul, who had made such a big issue earlier of what people wore, took my hand after the service, gave me a kiss on the cheek (her normal expression of appreciation – she didn’t like people hugging her including her preacher) and said, “That was a great sermon.” She just didn’t get it … at least I don’t think she did.

In today’s church it seems anything goes. Pastors wear robes, suits, shirt and ties, jeans, shorts, flip-flops, cut-offs, baseball hats, cowboy hats, etc. you name it and it can be found in the pulpit of our churches and that goes as well for those who are sitting in the pews … if the church still has pews. Things have changed. Some say it is for the good while others groan at “losing” the traditions of the past. I have mixed emotions.

I have to admit that I feel different when I put on a suit and tie. I don’t do it very often, but when I do it makes me different inside. But that is just me. Maybe if I “dressed up” more I would feel different about what is taking place within today’s church.

If Lent is about seeking God’s forgiveness through penitence and acts of contrition then I should be seeking God’s mercy upon on my soul for passing judgment on others over trivial matters, as well as being flippant about their concerns. This “Lent stuff” is not easy – too demanding, too personal, too revealing of my inner being – but, how else can we grow in our spiritual walk which should include the presence and feelings of others as they stand before the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Peter, Paul, John, and Jesus. We stand before the God Almighty naked because he sees us for who we really are and join in the dance of joy of grace … maybe, David had really gotten it right!

Quote for today: To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. ~e.e. cummings

A shared word on mystery by Jim Harnish

Today, I share a portion of FAITH MATTERS by The Rev. Dr. Jim Harnish, senior pastor of Hyde Park United Methodist Church, Tampa, Florida. Jim writes his congregation every week via the internet posting of FAITH MATTERS. I have always found his insights into the Christian journey helpful in my journey. I hope that this offering does the same for you.

The Day that Changed the World

There are days within the lifetimes of the people who read this message that stand out as days that shifted the gears of history.

Dec. 7, 1941: “The day that will live in infamy.”
Aug. 28, 1963: The day Dr. King said, “I have a dream … ”
Nov. 22, 1963: The day JFK was shot.
Jan. 28, 1986: The day the Challenger exploded.
Sept. 11, 2001: The day with no other name than “9.11.”

As important as those days are, there is only one day in human history that really changed everything; one day that has the power to change the way we think, act and live; one day that holds the promise of changing the kingdoms of this world into the Kingdom of God; one day that really did change the world.

Entering the Mystery

On Sunday, I used the word “mystery” to describe what happens when we break the bread and share the cup around the table of our Lord. It’s something that is beyond our explanation but not beyond our experience.

In his powerful book, “Cross-Shattered Christ,” Stanley Hauerwas acknowledged that “mystery” is not a word theologians often use because it “invites the assumption that what we believe is not believable … that what we believe defies reason and common sense.” He goes on to say that what we Christians believe does defy reason and common sense, but that it is still “the most reasonable and common sense account we can have of the way things are.” (p.14)

Hauerwas wrote that the word “mystery” does not “name a puzzle that cannot be solved … Rather, ‘mystery’ names that which we know, but the more we know, the more we are forced to rethink everything we think we know.” (p. 15)

That’s the mystery we enter as we tell the story of the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord. The more deeply we move into the story, the more the story challenges us to rethink the way we think, act and live. Like so many of Jesus’ parables in Matthew’s gospel, this story is meant to shock and surprise us until we begin to see our lives and our world in a radically different way.

Charles Wesley never got over the mystery of it. Here’s the way he described it in one of his many hymns on the passion of Christ.

O Love divine, what hast thou done!
The immortal God hath died for me!
The Father’s co-eternal Son
Bore all my sins upon the tree.
Th’ immortal God for me hath died:
My Lord, my Love, is crucified!

My prayer is that as we enter into the mystery of the cross, we will be forced to “rethink everything we think we know until we know” the love of God that really can change the world.

Quote for today: The figure of the Crucified invalidates all thought which takes success for its standard. ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Rules to live by

We all need rules to live by or at least I do. The Golden Rule is the high-water mark for rules to live by. I find myself “testing” my behavior by it all the time. Sometimes I am successful and sometimes I am not. It works like a keel on a sailboat in that it keeps me on course. In short, I just find it easier to manage my day and my relationships if I know the ground rules.

Here are some other “rules to live by” written by an unknown author. I wish there was a “rule” that required people to put their names on the material that they create. It doesn’t change the effectiveness of what they wrote, but it would be nice to give them credit every now and again.

1 Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue!

2 Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

3 Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

4 Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.

5 If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague

6 If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it..

7 It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

8 Never buy a car you can't push.

9 Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

10 Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

11 Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

12 The second mouse gets the cheese.

13 When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

14 Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

15 You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

16 Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.

17 We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

18 A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Quote for today: I can tell you this: It’s passion, not pedigree, that can and will win in the end. Free yourself from comparison. Just because someone fancy sneakers doesn’t mean they can run faster. ~Jon Bon Jovi