A Describing Word, An Adjective - "Ruthian"

For sixteen years I had the privilege to serve as Ruth's "Preacher". Preacher is what she called me. I never really liked it, in fact, for a time I was a bit insulted to be described by a twenty minute oration held once a week that I never felt I was very good at. But that all changed for me when several years ago I heard my mother refer to her minister as the "Preacher". It was then that red-faced I realized that Ruth's term was indeed from her heart.

Ruth earned my respect. I admired her for many things, restraint requires me to remain mute on several, however allow me to mention three:

Physical Pain - I wouldn't last a day with the pain Ruth had every single day, and neither would you. The first thing I learned about Ruth was that she had been injured when a car smashed her against another car. Since I have known her there have been a series of ER visits, Hospital stays and surgeries and finally, cancer. But she also struggled with arthritis. You could see the pain in her eyes but never in her disposition. She would not volunteer a complaint, but if you asked her she would tell you how she was feeling. Her joints, her limbs, her back and her neck (I said I wouldn't mention the pain in her backside!). My favorite memory of Ruth is from Sunday school. She would always offer a Bible answer whether it was the one the teacher was looking for or not. We were discussing paradise and Ruth said to the class "My son said 'Mom don't you want to go to Hawaii some day?' and I said, 'Why would I want to go to Hawaii, I am going to Heaven'". Pain followed Ruth everywhere in this life, she looked forward to a land where the pain would cease. Heaven was a real place to her. She taught me that.

Emotional Pain - She taught me that life hurts sometimes. That it isn't always fair. As a lead into our evenings discussion, I asked our small group what their favorite food was. Ruth said (I am pretty confident I got this right) corn, tomatoes, broccoli and some other vegetables. I thought what a shame! This lady needs to have some KC BBQ! But what she said next really floored me, "But I can't have them because they make my arthritis flare-up." What? Your favorite food, that you can't eat because it makes you hurt all over, is vegetables? Ruth was such a sweet and humble lady. From my vantage point, she deserved better. Seldom got it. But what she had was fruit of the Spirit. Things that really satisfy that few of us ever really discover. Life isn't fair, that is why we need to stop seeking life from this world and start seeking the Way, the Truth and the Life. Like Ruth did.

Church Pain - How many know there is Church pain? Ruth longed for things a certain way but showed incredible grace in how things were. Ruth loved conventions, conferences, camp dinners, fellowship dinners, retreats, ladies meetings, prayer meetings even Sunday evening church! You could see the joy on her face during these times. I knew what she loved most, but she never let that disrupt her acceptance of things as they were. Here is a silly but true example. When I would wear a suit and tie, without fail, Ruth would say "You look nice today" and each time I would respond "Do I normally look like a slob?" And she would just laugh her laugh. It is not that I looked bad not wearing a suit and tie, it was just that she liked it better! I liked that about her. She taught me that things change and it is okay to like things a certain way, not apologize for it, but also not allow your attitude to get in the way of glorifying God. Some of us haven't learned how to properly manage our low threshold of church pain.

This tribute is more for me than you. I miss her. See made a difference in my life.

Anointed At Comstock

Six days after Memorial Day Gene and Gayleen Beavers arrived at Comstock, where they lived and ministered for 23 years. Here a dinner was given in their honor. Many served while many others were instructed to simply enjoy the sweet fellowship of the hour. In attendance were those eternally indebted to the selflessness of the couple. Baptisms, births, funerals, tragedy, graduations, ball games, encouragements, challenges, car rides... tolerating small faith, lagging growth, majoring in minors and stubborn hearts... all in the name of Christ's love. And it was genuine.

Erik best summarized the moment as he painted a picture of our coming before God at communion, all of our junk in tow yet received by the face of one who's joy is fully found in our desire to make things right. Who can deny the room filled with the recipients of God's (Gene's) grace?

I suppose we could have taken all the time, effort and money that was used to honor our dear friends and given it to the poor instead. But that wouldn't have made a dent in the poverty stricken citizens of our community compared to the room filled with aroma of the offering poured over the feet (how beautiful indeed) of those who brought the gospel to the same community.

How appropriate that we thank and honor the living. Especially those who have selflessly served us. Let the dead bury the dead. Those who have been given life know better. Lazarus did, do you?

Take A Leap

A Day In the Life - So I have an office calendar that listed Thursday February 16th as Ash Wednesday. Recognize I don't follow this religious observance, but I actually talked myself into assuming the start of Lent being on Thursday this year had something to do with Leap Year. I even wished, someone (who is Catholic) on that day, a Happy (or sad...whatever we are supposed to be on that day) Ash Wednesday. The person looked at me a little strange but didn't correct me or question me. But come to think of it, they did look a little perplexed.
Coffee & Donuts - It wasn't until I went to Meijer the next Monday (the day before Fat Tuesday) that I realized I (and my calendar) was off. Yet I didn't stop to consider why I was wrong about it any more than I had stopped to think why Ash Wednesday would be on a Thursday (I mean was Easter going to be on a Monday?). I just accepted it as being wrong. Right or wrong...I am used to being one or the other.
Kruger Industrial Smoothing - "I'm not too worried about it." Evidently he was after all. Daniel von Bargen attempted suicide last week. Right or wrong does add up after a while. We act like it doesn't matter or we hope it won't, but our decisions take their toll. It must be hard to attempt suicide, a lot of things to consider... many people succeed at it. Also, many people fail at killing themselves. That's gotta be hard to live with. Or maybe the second chance is worth the failure.
Whitewater Can Be Treacherous - I recommend watching the new PBS.com film on William Jefferson Clinton. Very interesting. Dee Dee Myers says that Clinton believed in second chances. He believed that a person should receive as many as they were willing to attempt. Better theology than politics. Yet Clinton took advantage of every one he received. Where is he now? My guess, like the rest of us, he is working one of them out.
An Extra Day - You woke up today like every other day. Step wisely. Your choices matter. Act like it but more importantly, live like it.

New Year/ New You

"You take money way too seriously." Isn't that what Jesus was saying to the Rich Ruler? Money isn't bad. The ability to make money isn't bad. Being wealthy isn't bad, in fact, much good (Kingdom good) can come from wealth. It wasn't about the money it was about the man's blind spot. Unfortunately, for the man it was all about the money.

"Only God alone is good." I never understood why we are hard on this man for not following Jesus. We assume that he didn't follow because "he was sad because he was a man of great wealth". But whose to say he didn't follow? Churches are full of those who have done very little about the blind spots that Jesus has revealed. Besides only God is perfect.

"All these I have kept since I was a boy." Isn't it funny how we justify our faithfulness as we fight the conviction of the Holy Spirit? This man was carried away by finances. He could tithe half his income and Jesus would still whisper "You still trust your wealth more than me". Of course his church leadership would applaud his faithfulness. But Jesus knows the heart. He knows your heart.

"You still lack one thing" He was pretty good to only lack one thing. Most of Christ's followers lack multiple things. What do you lack? Jesus will probably tell you this way: "You take _______ way too seriously".

Thankful

Family - So many are faced with difficult times. The support and encouragement of those closest to you make the difference. I am thankful that I have those. Love is unconditional. Service is sacrificial. Strength is shared.
Friends - So many are faced with self doubt. The trust and respect of those around you make the difference. I am thankful that I have those who believe in me, follow me and work alongside me even as I struggle to believe in myself.
Faith - So many are faced with uncertainty. What does the future hold? Don't know but "it is well with my soul" which makes all the difference to me.

Ethics, Morality and Brotherly Love

Tea Pot - Is there anything wrong with this story? "I love garage sales. One time, my wife asked me to get her a tea pot. I arrived early before the garage sale opened, and was asked if I was looking for anything in particular. I said I needed a tea pot, the lady said "Sorry I don't have any...oh, wait, I do have one downstairs that was my Grandmother's I'll get it." She came back and handed me a tea pot that I recognized as a valuable antique, I asked how much she wanted for it, she said "$5.00" and I quickly said "I'll take it". Quickly gave her the money and left with my treasure."
It Was A Steal - Anything wrong with that story? Turns out the tea pot was a limited edition of a famous maker that was worth $300. Pretty nice little buy. Some might even call it a steal. I would. I realize situational ethics can be murky. I'm sure I do things that others would question as right. But if it is stealing, then it is a moral issue. And if the lady was a Christian, then that is a Love issue, isn't it? No? Than what is it, good business?
Illustration - On another level something is wrong with this story because I heard it told introducing a sermon on the parable of the hidden treasure. The speaker was conveying the joy the worker had in selling everything he had in order to purchase the field. Wow. I was intending only to listen to the beginning of this message, but once he told this story I had to listen to the whole 40 minutes hoping he would confess and somehow explain how he returned it, but no such luck. I guess he thought it was okay.
Screw Your Neighbour - Since when is it okay to take advantage of the naive for our own gain? Does God provide for us as we manipulate the good will of others? We used to play a card game where the goal was to hurt the person on your left and right. Uno is a game where you can do the same with anyone in the game. Not really a Biblical idea.
Serve - We may disagree on the specifics here but we agree that serving others is the best choice. After all, the "life that truly is life" is what we really want to take hold of.

Leather Face

Trickle-Down Economics - Last night was the first time in thirty years I played a baseball or softball game with a different glove. I was fifteen and Ronald Reagan was President (and George Brett was King) the last time a tried a different glove. It was strange and uncomfortable to say the least. I was playing first base and the thought of my "broken" in glove not collapsing around the ball was a little uneasy. I missed two ground balls that old faithful would have easily swallowed whole. It is not a stretch to say my glove made me look & play better than I am.

By A Thread - To make matters worse, the glove broke during warm-ups. For well over a year I knew the glove could go any time. One more grounder, one more throw, one more line drive. The webbing of the glove was being held by a single/tattered leather thread. Why would I have thought the timing would ever be good? Why wouldn't I just go get it fixed before it broke? Why would I wait for the inevitable to happen, why wouldn't I save the pain? Why...you ask. Because that's what I do.

Leather Cobbler - My friend told me about a shoe repair shop that advertises glove repair. It will be fixed. I could buy another one (or use one of the six or so I have laying around my garage/basement) but I don't have the time to properly break-in a new one. Besides, the memories are worth more wearing it than any skill or joy I find in using it. So my Rawlings-wing tip-fastback-edgeUbated heel-brooks robinson-xfcb17-cbl09 will survive this. It's the least I can do after thirty years of faithful service.