These last few days were complicated to say the least. School starts. Visits get made. Work happens. Computers refuse to cooperate. This is my story the last few days. I began using Google Chrome some time ago to write on the blog. You may or may not know this was because my usual network failed to assist me. We gained new computers in June here at the office. All was to be smooth sailing from this point forward. Funny how life seldom turns out how you expect. Google Chrome began refusing my requests for use. Frustration mounted. So today I tried the old fashioned approach which did indeed work! Now we will see how long this can last.
I learned long ago that life happens whether you plan for it or not. Far too many people are going around all intense trying to make life fit their plan. They remind me of the salmon trying to swim upstream only to end up eaten by a bear. Plans are good. They can be healthy for a measure of where we wish to go. A follower of Jesus needs to understand that plans always run secondary to the interruptions of God in life. I have no idea nor any evidence that this latest computer issue is divine or from the other side. But it happened. You try to figure out what is wrong while still moving forward. To just give up is never an answer.
My mind is not particularly fast these days. So it normally will take me awhile to come up with a new attempt at rearranging life. This time it took three days for me to find the simplest solution. I cannot say whether or not there is any deep spiritual truth in all of this. I do know that everything in our life as followers of Jesus should lead back to Him. Sometimes it may be computer failure. There are times schedules go off track for various reasons. Maybe some of it comes from feeling under the weather. Our list could go on for a long time. But whatever does end up on our list is cause to reflect back on our priority relationship. The question is not how do I get out of the mess in the fastest way possible. The real issue is what does God want to do now that I am in the mess. Answering that second question will make the troubles worth the effort.
Bro. Trey
Small towns are not know for their traffic jams. Those with only a blinking four way stop can really be immune to such issues. Not is the case in my town. Tomorrow will be the first day of many where cars will be backed up to get through our town. Most days we have a large number of oil tankers or big rigs with equipment passing by. You can get caught as shifts change out in the area. But it is tomorrow that adds even more vehicles to this mess. School begins bright and early for another year. Things could be just a tad hairy throughout the day.
Anyone trying to get to or past the primary school in the morning will just be out of luck. Words cannot describe the number of cars you will see parking or driving through the various lanes. it is not uncommon for parents to just park on the side of the highway to walk to the building. Also remember that the emotional state for some of the parents will not be on the good side. It may very well be that parents cry more tomorrow than the kids. I remember those days. There were never any tears for me but you could hear adults wailing all over the place. Being an older parent has some advantages.
My youngest is eager to go back to school. I asked him about staying home with me tomorrow but he was adamant that he would be in his classroom. We took his supplies a few weeks ago while he was working with his teacher. Just shopping for the pencils and such was a serious undertaking. He grabbed the list to make sure I did not miss a thing. He doesn't even do Christmas shopping with that urgency. Now he is sleeping in anticipation of the big day. We got him clean and shaved to make his appearance. It's been a long summer but now it is time for the routine. We spent most every day together over the last few months. It will be awfully quiet tomorrow morning around here. Part of me welcomes the calm but another side of me will miss the noise. He said it is okay should I miss him tomorrow. I didn't tell him there was no other choice.
Spending so much time with him makes missing him not an option. If we could only grasp that concept with God. A person once wondered aloud to me about their relationship with God. The problem was one where they felt distant from Him. My response was to tell them congratulations on that feeling. At least they knew enough of His presence to realize something was wrong. Maybe this was a time God was digging deep roots of faith. It also could be a place where some sin needed to be confessed for a fresh flow of grace. Knowing what it is like to be with God is a great help when it seems to change. The only thing worse than missing God is not know even know you miss Him.
Bro. Trey
Most authors write daily. Many of them work at a desk much like other people in jobs. You find some who have a goal to write so many pages daily. Other authors aim toward a length of time rather than a set amount of words. Inspiration is something which happens in the daily drudge of making an effort. Interviews with writers will surprise you as they may discard or set aside work that just isn't quite up to par. There may be a flash of creativity which needs more time to percolate into a well rounded idea. So they keep at it slaving away at a keyboard or with pen and paper. This is how books are born.
Every writer uses a peculiar approach grown from their experience or preference. We live in a day of computers but not all books you may read develop from this technology. One writer told me he used pencil and paper to put his ideas down. One of his mentors also utilized this discipline so it became part of his norm. Other writers talk about using plain old pens to compose on notebook paper. Some other editor reads through the hand writing to get the material in a formal fashion. You may still find a handful of writers using typewriters. Surely they protect that tool with serious effort. Then there is the modern writer who types on a computer keyboard while saving the work with multiple back ups. My point is that how writers go about the task may differ but the goal is still the same.
Not many people read this blog much any longer. The last few weeks also became a contest as to when any posting would occur. Showing up to write is a key to successful writing. Perhaps some read of my journey with illness only to wander away after my good reports. No doubt some waited for a new posting until they stopped. No one can blame them for that. But we keep trying to say things here just in case someone might wander by on a given day. Maybe they will locate something in all of the words that can help them along the way. One can at least hope it happens. Now that summer draws to a close and school begins next week it is time to again commit to regular blogging. Someone has to do it.
Most of life is simply about showing up with a good attitude willing to do what is needed. It may not always be about talent. Just being faithful goes a long way in shaping a life. Doing what you can with what God gives you is huge. Those that He calls "good and faithful" are the ones who understand being consistent. It may not be a matter of how talented you believe you are but about just allowing God to work through you. Such is the secret of being faithful.
Bro. Trey
Getting a daughter ready to return to college is somewhat simpler even if it is no easier the second time around. Last week was the time for taking her stuff back to Waco so she could move in again. We loaded it all back into the truck again to make our way west. Now she is starting classes tomorrow. Routine will become the norm again soon. Life falls back into a sense of normalcy. Maybe normal is not all it's cracked up to be though. Change is hard even for those who say they like it. We take it as a good sign she is doing well in school. Perhaps it does mean we did something right.
Even the weather seems to be changing. Now this does not mean we will not have heat for sometime longer. But there does seem to be a realization that fall cannot be held back forever. You could notice it on Saturday. Rain fell which was a pleasant occasion. When you looked at the clouds they just did not seem the same as the usual summer pattern. We will again complain next summer about the heat. It's what we do. Someone will mention on a wintry day that they are longing for summer. I hope not to get overly perturbed at that comment. Could it be that part of human nature means just never being content? I think so.
God involves Himself in our life to change us. That is the whole reason for the gospel. It is good news that no condition is so far gone that it is beyond change. No amount of sin is beyond the grasp of grace to alter. No point of bad decisions can limit the possible blessing of God that comes by faith. No point of our life is past the miraculous intervention of God for His glory. We see time as strictly linear from one point to another. God sees time in ways we cannot imagine. It will never limit nor hinder what He can do with us. We keep moving forward with the opportunity to build a life with His presence. That truth will never change.
Bro. Trey
Writing a weekly column may be the way to go. Pulling together my thoughts one time per week saves my brain cells which I do need. You can expect this week will also be short on writing. My daughter heads back to college on Thursday so there are a few loose ends to tie up still. We will try to get at least one more post up over the next few days. Summer is normally the season to relax and regroup for the year. The last few weeks wound up being far more hectic that anticipated. Life, death and all in between are conspiring to keep me away from sharing any creative thought. I really believe that I met myself coming and going this past week. That may not sound like much but just know that it does make for a complicated experience.
One of my favorite people was laid to rest this past week. His was a full life that ended in his 93rd year. I got to visit him a few days prior to his death. We had a good visit or at least it was in my mind. Finding the words to say at a service like that is both easy yet difficult. You hope your life writes its own eulogy over the years. That means you live well not just long. Words of comfort are evident yet you still realize there may not be words that can convey a man's journey. Time just simply does not allow for you to touch on each avenue of his existence. Any attempt at being eloquent honestly pales in comparison with the life modeled by such a person. So you pray much while depending on God to say something through you to weave every thread of their story together.
I also got away today for the retirement party for my friend at the church where I grew up. Just sneaking away was good. Getting to see old friends was even better. The auditorium of my youth is now a large fellowship hall. Funny how that building seemed so big when I was young. Some of my friends either moved back over the years or never left in the first place. Count me as one who enjoys the visits but has no need to reside there. What is past remains but time marches on for us all. Just having a few hours to hug, talk, laugh and catch up works for me. Some of those people mean the world to me in terms of the person I am now. My life is better because of them and also for my short return to home.
My one hope is for some rain from the forecasts this week. I would do a rain dance if it wouldn't scare precipitation away. Sure would be good if it rained more than I got around to writing here. It may even be better for us in the long run.
Bro. Trey
You begin your day by going to church to talk about God. The days of preparation lead up to expounding some new dynamic or discovery to the throng. All of your study points to a message that you know will bring the crowd into a holy swoon. Tension is a bit high while moving through the service to that moment of great enlightenment. Every moment of reading, writing and thinking bring you to the edge of sharing your knowledge. Then it ends before you know it. Days of gathering your information come to an abrupt halt. You look for the swoon but sometimes it must be invisible. Reality begins to set in emotionally and mentally. It is time to rejoin the normal ebb and flow of life. At the end of your day you find yourself putting in a new toilet seat. God once again finds a way to remind you of what it means to be human.
Humility is not something most of us struggle with. We tend not to think much on it. Maybe it is pride that is the single most destructive force in humanity. It moves us to believe we can think or act without God's guidance. So we make choices outside of His will that range from simply dumb to truly tragic. Even when our grand schemes fail we still deal with pride by not wanting to admit we were wrong. It's usually the fault of another person. We honestly may believe we can do it on our own if not for another person interfering. Arrogance moves us to think far too highly of our life. We know the world would be a better place if it just listened to me. What makes it worse is our collecting people around us to help keep the shine on our pride. They circle our wagons so any weakness cannot be detected by others. Our final result is living isolated from real growth or maturity.
Maybe that is why God tries to nudge us off our pedestal from time to time. It may not be quite so elaborate as changing toilet seats. But you can be sure He wants more for you than being self serving. People in scripture did know the great highs of following through with God. They also often went through the lows of personal failure. Ever notice how often pride got in the way of their being God's person? I believe this sin blinds us from so much of His reality. We just do not see life as it truly is. Our perception of God's presence goes askew. Man's struggle with pride began many years ago. It continues in our day. If you don't realize that then perhaps it is already winning the battle?
Bro. Trey
