Grandpa's Early Christmas

No church today. Too much snow and ice. Looking forward to peace and quiet on this the day the Lord has made. No such luck. Grandkids are coming over to open presents. Uncle Mike and Lauren also here. Ordered pizza for lunch. Pizza gets here 45 minutes before grandkids. In oven.
Grandkids show up with parents and pent-up energy. Consume three pizzas, four oranges, many grapes, and who knows what else. Open presents. Paper strung everywhere. Much hollering. Boy gets 600 piece Lego set. Am hoping he doesn’t open the plastic packages they come in. Presents being admired, opened, and fought over.
Grandpa goes out and shovels snow. Much quieter out there. Thinks about day the Lord has made. Comes in. Glasses fogged over. Can’t see. Grandchild number 3 asks for super glue. Grandpa hasn’t a clue why a 3 year old would want it, and dares not ask, but doesn’t, fortunately, have any anyway.
Legos are open and a fire truck is in the making on dining table. Drawing stuff, modeling clay stuff, and other stuff out on dining table. Grandbaby Hannah snarfs down applesauce and tapioca pudding. Clean up grandbaby and take out of high chair.
Grandpa gets next-to-last piece of pumpkin pie. Plan is to eat it by holding in hand and not using utensil. Grandbaby Hannah can smell it from ½ mile away and beats a path to Grandpa. Give Grandbaby Hannah last ½ of pie. Feeds first couple of bites with finger as there are no eating utensils handy. Grandbaby Hannah bites finger. Grandpa asks Grandma for spoon and something to wipe sore finger. Grandbaby Hannah smiles and gurgles as she wolfs down pie.
Grandpa surreptitiously gets last piece of pumpkin pie, hides in kitchen, and eats it quickly before odor gets to Grandbaby Hannah. Grandpa goes to basement to recuperate. Much stomping, moving of chairs, and other assorted noises coming from upstairs. Grandpa decides to write about adventure as noises and occasional yells and arguments waft downward. Grandpa wonders if neighbor would like to have snow shoveled…after all, this is the day the Lord has made.

Enjoy the Season

Today is December 17.  It is a week and a day until Christmas Day.  Now, I know and understand that Christmas has different meanings for different people and cultures.  And it has no meaning at all for many who inhabit this planet.  However, for many in our culture, Christmas is a time for giving, serving, and doing for others.  We take our cues for those actions and that attitude from several places, most notably from the life of the one whose birth we celebrate, Jesus, who is called the Christ of God.

I guess what I don’t understand about it all is the sense of frustration, harried-ness, and stress that seems to come with the season.  Although many go through the season with joy and gladness, usually those folks are the ones who, it seems, exhibit those attitudes all year.  It’s the rest of us who have our days and hours turned upside down with the sudden influx of parties, get-togethers, meals, errands, buying, traveling, and planning.  It’s the rest of us who seem to become a little discombobulated through the season and into the new year.

I’m not sure why that is unless it’s that we like, or at least there is a measure of comfort in, the ruts we are in and don’t like to be forced out of them and into another one for a few weeks.  I don’t think it has anything to do with the holiday itself, nor does it have to do with the celebration of the coming of the Christ.  No, I think it’s just a re-alignment of priorities which get us into a mood that is sometimes not very pleasant.

I’m not one to complain; I enjoy the season, the food and the fellowship; I especially am grateful for the coming of God in the flesh.  I don’t think I become frustrated or stressed out.  I’ve intentionally limited my shopping experiences during this time as well as my sense of “Gotta get this done.”  It seems to help me navigate the season with some external manifestations of joy and peace.  I don’t have to endure the comments from others more outwardly cheery than myself about being a Scrooge, and Eeyore, or questions about what may be wrong with me.

Nothing is wrong, at least in that arena.  I just don’t jump up and down with joy each time something good happens.

So, enjoy the time.  Enjoy the season.  Enjoy the goodness and mercy of God Almighty.  And understand that some of us are just a little more laid back, but enjoy those things just as much.

No Other Way

Yesterday was the sixty-eighth year that the Wichita Choral Society presented “The Messiah,” a work by G. F. Handel.  I sang in that group this year and last year, along with my sister.  Prior to that, I hadn’t sung that oratorio since high school days.  Although there were a couple of rougher spots in the mixture, all in all it was a good afternoon and a wonderful time of considering the words that were in the individual numbers.

Handel used words directly from the King James Version of the Bible for his lyrics.  He changed them very little, preferring to write the music to fit the words rather than the other way around.  The work tells of the prophetic announcements of the coming of the Messiah, His appearing incarnate and his life.  It works through his passion and finally his resurrection and the end time.

Although we didn’t do all of the parts, the presentation still lasted about two hours with a short intermission.  One of these days, I think I’d like to hear the entire oratorio and participate in its presentation.  I’d probably have to beef up, so to speak, because I’m drained at the end of the shortened performance, to say nothing of having another hour or more added to it.

I’m not in any way, shape, or form a professional singer, or even a good one.  I can follow and read music, have a good ear, and can hold my own in a large group of like-ability folks.  I thoroughly enjoy doing this and hope I can continue for a number of years yet.

But even if for some reason this happens to be the last time I sing this or any song, I have lived a rich and full life with the woman I love and the family I have traveled through life with.  It has been a great ride, and although I’m looking forward to more of the same, should something happen that prevents more from happening, I know that as Handel wrote in his famous (and some may say inspired) work, the Lord God omnipotent reigns and sits on his throne.  And because of that I can say with the Apostle Peter, when he was asked by Jesus if he and the other apostles would leave Jesus along with the others, “Lord to whom shall we go?  You have the keys (words) to eternal life.”

There is no other.  There is no alternative.  There is no plan B.  There is no other way.

"I Can't Believe How Much This Hurts"

My niece just today took her beloved pet cat “Smokey” to the Kansas Humane Society to have him put down following a long life and relationship with her and her family.  She did today what many people find themselves having to do…make “that” decision on behalf of a member of the family who cannot make that decision for itself, and for which death does not come naturally.

She Facebooked about her experience.  One of her posts is as follows:  “Gave Smokey some Benadryl, and hopefully that will relax him as we prepare to leave in about an hour. I can't believe how much this hurts.”

She then, awhile later, posted this:  “It took less than 5 minutes.  Smokey is no longer in pain, he is playing freely in heaven.”

I recalled myself when we had to make that decision.  I thought about others that I know who made that decision.  I thought about people who would say, “It’s only an animal.”  And I thought about the pain and grief that I have felt with the loss of a beloved pet.  I thought about how much it hurts…more than one would ever imagine.  I then wrote on her  timeline the following as a response.

"I can't believe how much this hurts." I can believe it. Your mother and dad can believe it. Those of us who have lost beloved pets grieve just as if we had lost a human family member. No, they aren't human, but they've been an integral part of our lives for however many years it was, and it hurts to have that relationship severed.
It hurts even more to know that death itself came about because the devil lied to Eve and she believed it rather than trusting God. We can be angry with Eve...we can be angry with God...but ultimately we must be totally bent at the devil who is the ultimate cause of death, decay, and destruction.
Yet we also know that God is at work even now through Jesus Christ to redeem the creation, and provide not only us, but (I believe) Smoky, Lydia, Susie, Dynamite, KoKo, and all the rest of what He created and called "Good" so long ago with life that is not sullied with the stench of death and decay.
May God Himself comfort you with the comfort of His peace and love.

The Small Things

On Monday evening, I had an appointment to keep at 7pm in the Wichita downtown area.  I left the house at about 6:30 pm.  As I accelerated on the on-ramp of eastbound Kellogg at Maize Road on that Monday evening, I looked ahead on the road as I approached Kellogg and saw directly in front of me, right over the roadway, a huge yellow circle hanging in the sky just above the road and just above the horizon.

It took me a minute or so to figure out what that thing was that was hanging there amidst all of the lights of the city, but I finally decided it was the full moon (actually, I think it was a day or so past full, but it sure looked full to me).  I merged into traffic, reluctant to take my eyes off of the sight of an apparently larger moon hovering near the horizon.  I continued to look at it until Kellogg changed directions slightly at Tyler and the moon moved over to the left and got lost in the maze of buildings and lights.

It has been awhile since I have been so mesmerized by the moon, or by any celestial body, for that matter.  The transit of Venus across the sun came a few years ago, and that was cool to watch.  Eclipses are always good to see, and there is occasionally a comet that is visible to the eye.  (There is one in the sky now that is supposed to get brighter over the next few weeks.)  The breakup of comet Shoemaker-Levy and the crashing of the pieces into Jupiter was one of the highlights of sky-viewing…that event was captured by the Galileo spacecraft and by the Hubble and other terrestrial telescopes and measuring devices.

Sometimes it is the small things…a full moon just having risen from the horizon…that set our minds to thinking and considering where we are and why we are here.  We begin to, if only for a moment, sense the presence of a Creator and Sustainer.  And we are thankful for the moment in time that all too quickly passes, never to come again.

Something to Remember

Chorus 26 in the oratorio “The Messiah” by G. F. Handel is called “All We Like Sheep.”  It is a light-hearted, upbeat musical score that repeats the words, “All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way.”  This is taken from Isaiah 53:6 in the Old Testament.  The song, written in F Major, evokes images of playful sheep in a pasture joyfully frolicking in the meadow, kicking up their heels on a warm spring day.  They have no concerns, nor are they cognizant of anything that may be amiss.

Then at the end of the chorus, the mood darkens considerably as the key changes to F Minor.  The tempo slows to a largo if not grave tempo, and the latter part of this verse is used as the lyrics.  “And the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

This is the kind of music that, if you’ll let it, hits you right between the eyes and knocks you down for the count.  And if you understand that you and I are the sheep that Isaiah is talking about who go merrily on our way unconcerned for the iniquities (read that wickedness, evil, or sin) we are piling upon ourselves; and that God in his mercy has given all of those iniquities to His son to bear on our behalf, the verse suddenly becomes larger than life.

This holiday season, as we pass the cranberry salad, carve the ham, and pile on the sweet potatoes, let us take a moment to recall this verse out of Isaiah and acknowledge and thank the One who has taken our burden of wickedness from us and placed it on His only Son.

This Week

Well, I’m sitting here needing to write in my “secular” blog, but not sure where to start.  The most recent news is that my elderly uncle who is in a nursing home and has dementia now has fallen and broken a hip.  He’s in surgery today and whatever happens, the outcome will not be good.  I’ve seen too many of these cases in the past to think otherwise.  We’re trying to get more information from my cousin (his daughter), but don’t have much more than that right now.

My wife and I have just recently pretty much recovered from three or four weeks of hacking, coughing, and blowing.  Although not anything life-threatening (at least for now), it has been an unpleasant time for us and we are glad it’s coming to an end.  Hopefully, this won’t be a harbinger of things to come this winter.

We had a great time in Branson last weekend.  The fall colors were vibrant and we enjoyed the company of friends and the show we saw.  And we enjoyed time wandering in downtown Branson and being able to buy some things at some of the shops.  We are blessed.

Plans are being made for the annual Plank Thanksgiving celebration.  This year it will have to be on the Sunday following the holiday, due to work and other plans.  This is always a great time, and we are looking forward to hosting it this year.

There are many, many people who I know are hurting, hungry, and cold right now.  My being in a heated office and comfortable house doesn’t make it any easier for them, and puts me at some considerable unease at times.  There is so much misery, and seemingly so little help available.

On the other hand, God’s creation, although flawed by the handiwork of mankind, is still a wondrous place that fills me with joy.  I marvel at the orb spiders who spin webs, the birds who migrate thousands of miles, and the universe I see through telescopes.  It’s an incredible place, this creation.  And I’m glad I’m part of it.

Just finished a book called “Scarred Faith” by Josh Ross.  I think this is the only book (other than the Bible) that I will read more than one time.  Although I’ve just finished it, it’s still on my desk and I’ll begin again next week.  The book speaks to me in huge volume.

Grandkids, nieces and nephews, and grand nieces and nephews are growing like weeds on both sides of the marriage.  It’s getting more difficult to keep up with the extended family.  One of these days, I will slip behind and never catch up again.  But that’s OK.  Hopefully, they’ll continue to catch Grandpa or Uncle Jay up on what’s going on and keep me in the loop.  Precious, precious family.

I have the privilege of officiating at the wedding of one of the grand nieces the end of this month.  I don’t do many weddings, and haven’t done one in awhile.  Thank you, Stephanie, for allowing me the honor of doing that.

That’s about it for this week.  God is good…all the time.

The Wisdom of Paying Attention

The day started out cool and cloudy.  Then a few spritzes of shower came through.  Now the sun is shining and things are warming up some.  There was just enough rain to clean off the leaves of the trees that are blossoming out in reds, yellows, and some browns.  The tomato vines are dead; but there are some green tomatoes on them that we can bring in and try to ripen.  Things have slowed considerably outdoors in the past couple of weeks, and the sun is setting ever more quickly and is delaying rising more each day.

Fall.  Autumn.  Whichever you call it, this season is full of conundrum and contrast.  The first part of the season is a flurry of ripening and production.  Tomatoes ripen at a fast pace.  Flowers start to go to seed (if they produce seeds).  Roses begin to bloom again.  Mums and other fall flowers begin to bloom.  Grass, it seems, takes off and grows…a lot.

Yet it is also the beginning of shut-down.  Leaves on trees begin to ever so slightly droop and change color at the edges.  Vines don’t spread much.  Plants that have already produced their fruit begin to look ragged and haggard.  It’s noticeably cooler now than it was just a couple of weeks ago.

It doesn’t take long to make the change.  A few cooler nights and a couple of frosts enhance any changes already in the making.  Even people who appreciate the colors and cooler temperatures are beginning to think about hunkering down for the long winter ahead.  Many of us begin, perhaps unconsciously, to bring on extra provisions.  We fill the freezer and canning jars.  We break out the sweaters and jackets.  We start wearing extra layers.  We check on things like hats and gloves, boots and shovels, de-icer and winter tires.

And so it goes (to borrow a phrase).  We can’t change anything about the onrush of fall and winter.  Oh, we may move to Florida for the winter, but we can’t change anything either here or there having to do with the weather or the environment.

I don’t know how many more times I’ll prepare for winter.  I do know that I’ve already prepared for winter many more times than I have yet to go.  But I also know that the One who created autumn, winter, the change of seasons, and all that go with it is the true Unchanging One…that however many more I have to prepare for, He will be there with me encouraging, strengthening, leading.  I’d be wise to pay attention to Him.