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When I get in one my poor-me moods, I recall a friend who died back in 2004.  Les was a decent, caring and wonderful man.  However, for the 15 years I’d known him, he had been battling MS.  Every year, month, week and day, it robbed him of a bit more of his life.  By the time he died, he was totally paralyzed.  Only his  mind still worked.  (Once, as I entered his room in the nursing home where he spent his final years, he desperately asked me to scratch an itch on his nose, since he couldn’t do it himself.)  Add to this the fact that his wife left him when he got sick and one of his two daughters turned her back on him, too.  

 

The thing about Les, though, is that he was always upbeat.  He was always cheerful, and every day he thanked the Good Lord for his many blessings.  Before his ability to speak finally was lost, he would always have a good story or joke to tell his visitors.  Plus, he knew how to ask questions to give them a chance to talk about themselves (and stay a little longer to keep him company.)  I once thanked Les for putting up with my lamentations when I went through a divorce.  He shrugged, laughed and said, “Like I could get up and walk out of the room!” 

 

My point:  If we believe in God (and for those of us who don’t, well, you’re just not paying attention, my friends), we believe — correction, we KNOW — He has plans for us … good and wondrous plans.  It’s not our problem or our business to figure them out or to get God to cough up some neato explanation.  Most of all, if we have troubles (oh, and who doesn’t?), moping and whining only gets us into a poor-me mindset. Instead, celebrate your blessings this day.  Oh, and thank you, Lord.  It is a gorgeous day.  – jri

 

“Immediately he spoke to them and

be afraid.’“

        –    Mark 6:50

 

 

I have some friends who are hurting beyond hurt right now — relationships in tatters, health in the tank, money woes to beat the band.  They can’t see beyond the mid-winter, midnight darkness and cannot imagine a coming time of renewal, regeneration and new life.  Can’t blame them; it’s hard to imagine.  BUT …

 

I have a yucca plant outside my front door.  Last February (remember, this is Frozen Tundra, Wisconsin), it was shriveled, dead, gone, covered in snow.  (I know, this is my second plant analogy this month, and me a brown-thumb failed master gardener!)  This morning, in mid-summer, I walked past it and was stopped dead in my tracks.  This plant is bursting with several dozen yellow-cream flowers … a riot of beauty and life.

 

My point:  It’s about hope … which is beyond our imagination or our logic.  If you are stuck in darkness, just wait.  Winter does not go on forever; night eventually bursts into dawn, a new day.  Hang tough and never give up.  God knows what He is doing, even if we don’t. — jri

 

“Who would have thought my shriveled heart

Could recover greenness?

        –    George Herbert

 

No pithy, self-absorbed spiritual meditation this morning.  Instead, a gentle suggestion to think about your local food pantry this weekend. 

 

It’s summer; people are busy at work or play.  But more people are in need of help than ever before due to the bad economy.  As a result, donations are down. 

 

Please consider:  (1)  Rooting through your cupboards for that canned whatever you will never eat, but that could be a feast for a hungry family; (2) donating a few bucks to your local Loaves & Fishes food program; and (3) picking up some extra dry goods on sale at the grocery this week and bringing them to church on Sunday.  If we all brought just one box of cereal or can of soup, the larders would be overflowing.  Just a suggestion.  Blessings. — jri

 

“The disciples, each according to his ability,

    –    Acts 11:29

 

When I was a kid, I always thought piety was a somber, unhappy affair.  God wanted us on our knees and mirthless, giving up stuff, fasting, suffering for … hmm … for what?  Never knew for sure. 

 

I just don’t see it that way anymore.  God gave us this rich, wondrous life, full of joy, opportunity, fellowship, laughter, love and, yes, every now and then, the desire for too much of a good thing.  (Fill in your own blank here.)

 

My point:  Sure, wrestle with your demons, and may you win.  But while fighting the good fight and slaying dragons, take the time to take in and play in the bounty that is everywhere around you.  God made a beautiful world.  Enjoy it.  — jri

 

“The negative idea of Unselfishness carries

important point.”

        –    C.S. Lewis

               (The Weight of Glory)

 

 

Guilty as charged!  I pray out of both sides of my mouth.  “Lord, whatever you want, that’s all I want.  Thy will be done.  Oh, but let me first slip in an amendment on page 547 of my petition … for that new Mercedes, two or three miracle healings and a pony for the grandchild.  Then we can get to the stuff you want.”

 

I tend to do that.  And then — and here’s the punch line on my spiritual joke — I tend to become obsessed (“When, Oh, Lord, when?”) and then discouraged and then angry.  (“Lord, you fraud, you!”)  I’m like a kid after too much sugar and not enough sleep, thrashing about — furious and exhausted – in his parent’s arms, not knowing really what I want, but wanting it now. 

 

My point:  Maybe we should skip our wish list — let it go, burn it — and instead leave it at, “Lord, I leave my needs in your hands, trusting that whatever you send my way to do, endure, or enjoy this day, that is quite sufficient, thank you.  — jri

 

has no more than he who has God alone.”

        –    C.S. Lewis

               (The Weight of Glory)

 

Comedy scene:  Laurel and Hardy are trying to break into a house by climbing through a window.  They fumble, stumble and tumble all over each other repeatedly.  Finally, fat man Oliver Hardy makes it into the house … only to find Stan Laurel waiting for him inside.  In response to the obvious question, Laurel grins his huge. hapless, big-U grin and says, “Well, the front door was open, so I just walked in.” 

 

Well, I have had a boatload of troubles over the last few weeks — some huge and mean like elephants with belly aches; others annoying like a swarm of gnats.  I fretted and fumbled, dug in my heels, worked harder, worked smarter, schemed, plotted, etc.  And I prayed to beat the band — talking to God, pleading with God, yelling at God, telling God to go away, offering deals to God.  (I even considered offering him my first-born, but Jonny’s wife might have had a few objections to that … at least most days.)

 

And then, these huge, insurmountable problems … well, they just dissolved.  No, they didn’t actually go away; my problems are still there.  But they’re not problems anymore.  They’re no big woof.  I think God kind of sat back, cleaning his nails, maybe whistling a happy tune, and when I finally shut up (yes, it happens, though not often), He nudged me around to the unlocked front door of his gentle power and quiet might and suggested, “Have you tried this?” 

 

My point:  I awoke this morning with a joyful laugh and concerns that had melted away.  What more can I say except, “Well, Lord, that’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me out of.” — jri

 

“May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble,

            –    Psalm 20:1-4

 

 

 

Alex is about nine feet tall.  Crammed in a dark corner and dying when I got him perhaps six or seven months ago, Alex (who, by the way, is a corn plant) looked pretty hopeless — a goner, for sure — when I put him in my sky-lighted, high-ceilinged sun room.   And for months, he showed little other than ebbing life.  Still, I watered him, fertilized him, transplanted him into a bigger pot and set him upright when, on occasion, he would keel over.  Finally, just weeks ago, Alex stirred to life — first an inkling that the death rate was slowing, then a possible, tentative sign of new growth. 

 

Then, the other day, I walked by and whoa!  Look up!  Look up!  At the top if his nine feet (now pushing ten), Alex was sprouting new, healthy, richly green and vibrant leaves like crazy.  Healthy as a horse!  And the thought flashed into my head, an imaginary dialogue with Christ: “If I can bring a dead person back to life, I can surely make a plant whole … and take care of any piddling problems you may have.”  For an instant, the world made sense. 

 

My point:  God’s promise is not about odds and scientific calculations.  It is about faith, about carrying on with what we know is right, even (and especially) when everything looks pretty hopeless.  When times look bad, muddle through, hang tough, never give up hope, and keep on praying.  It will all make sense eventually.  — jri

 

“Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

        –    Jesus Christ

              (addressing Jairus, the synagogue

               ruler, whose daughter had died)

 

When going to new destinations, I plug in my GPS navigator system.  It tells me (sometimes yells at me) where to go.  When I follow it faithfully, I usually get to my destination.  Were the road to heaven that easy — just plug in the destination and follow the route the device lays out for you. 

 

Yes, as quasi-believers and doubting followers, we have an instruction manual in the Bible.  But the specific road maps are nowhere to be found.  And that’s fine.  The fact is that no mortal knows the way, knows the future, has a step-by-step map that leads to the front door of the gates of heaven.  Oh, we study the statistics, map out a best-odds strategy … and then roll the dice.  Doesn’t matter. God takes us where He chooses … when He chooses. 

 

The point:  We’re not in charge.  Never were.  Never will be.  So, just settle back in your seats, keep your hands inside the vehicle, strap yourself in … and enjoy the trip.  From what I’ve seen of it so far, it’s exhilarating, scary, beautiful, demanding, sometimes joyful, sometimes disappointing, but worth the price of the ticket.  – jri

 

“By faith, Abraham, when called to

        –    St. Paul

               (Hebrews 11:8)

 

When I was 17, I set out from New York, spurred on by rumors that there was life west of the New Jersey Palisades.  Today, exactly 500 days from my 60th birthday (yes, I do find such weird things fascinating), I confess that I never looked back.  At about the same time, I began pondering a two-part question about God:  (A) Is there a God?  (B) If so, does he (or she or whatever) really give a rat’s backside about us?  

 

As for what I’ve found, well, I’m still looking for life in the Midwest (only kidding).  But as for God, not only have I found Him with both hands (and keep finding Him), but He’s soooooooo much more than I had imagined, let alone hoped.  Sure, there have been times when I’ve been torn between quitting altogether and picking up a two-by-four to share some let’s-see-if-you-like-how-it-feels payback with this sometimes vexing God I’ve found.  Still, what I’ve discovered is well worth the pain.  So, I keep seeking Him, finding Him, discovering Him, recognizing Him in what has been an honest, open, often skeptical, 40-year plus journey … and counting.

 

My point:  Faith is a lifelong journey of discovery, and I cannot think of one that’s more important.  Enjoy the trip, and celebrate the journey. — jri

 

“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling

        –    C. S. Lewis

               ”The Weight of Glory”