Look at the Calendar

Every year, either in late December or very early January, I open EXCEL and call up my calendar template.  It’s one that I downloaded years ago that will create a 12 month calendar on a single sheet of paper for any year.  For example, I know that July 4, 1776 was on a Saturday.  One used to be able to determine particular days of the week by use of a perpetual calendar that consisted of tables where you would look up a certain date on a table to find the day of the week.  Now, all you have to do is enter the year and the spreadsheet automatically calculates an entire year calendar in about 1 gillionth of a second.

I’ve been creating these calendars, in one form or another, to hang up at my home office (and sometimes at my work office) for about as many years as I’ve had EXCEL (20 or more).  I’ve known how to work spreadsheets since before that, and learned on the old “SMART” system of word processing, spreadsheet, and database.  That system is, I think, still available, by the way.

Oh, back to the calendar!  Just as I have for many years, when January 1 rolled around this year, I created yet another calendar and taped it to the storage area above my home desk.  I didn’t think much of it then, but as I sit here now looking at it, I am reminded of times long ago when I wondered what the year 2000 would be like, and couldn’t fathom the year 2016.  I was just a boy then back in the ‘50s and early ‘60s, and dreams of futuristic space travel, time travel, personal aircraft, and meals in a pill were all the rage.

As I look back on those years, and compare what I was thinking might be with how it really is, I see that some things came true, some are nowhere to be found, and other things exist now that weren’t even conceived of back then.  Some things have stayed relatively constant over the years.  Other things have taken quantum leaps in technology.

I look at the calendar for 2016 and can hardly believe that I am really here.  It seems so far removed from 1958,, yet there is something there that ties the two together in a way that is indescribable.  For that matter, the year 2000 seems to be far, far away.

I know that I have at most about 18 to 20 years left, assuming good health and lack of stupid accidents.  I don’t yet know if I’ll have dementia or not.  I don’t yet know if I’ll have a heart attack or not.  Shoot, I don’t yet know if I’ll survive this day or not!

We live in so much uncertainty regarding the future that it’s a wonder that we can function at all.  We think we know what we’re going to do today and how we’re going to be able to retire tomorrow, and when we will see our grandkids next, but do we really know that stuff?  Or are we just making plans, hoping for the best?  Just as I couldn’t fathom the year 2016 back in 1958, even so I can not fathom what the next hours or days will bring.  At some point, I must rely on something bigger than I am to keep me on an even keel and not go nuts with worry, questions, and doubt.  At some point, I must find something solid I can hang my hat upon, and trust it to carry me through what I don’t know and can’t know.

I know that something should be the God of heaven and earth.  But is it?  Is it really?  Do I really put my trust and faith in Him, or do I put it in medications to control blood pressure, the fact that I was able to get out of bed this morning and carry out my usual routine, annual doctor visits, my inability to see day-to-day changes in the mirror, and an attitude of benign denial that time is moving ever so quickly to the end of that 18 to 20 years?  Where do I really put my trust as I look again at the 2016 calendar hanging on my desk?

No Surpirse

In reading a book written by Darryl Tippens today (“Pilgrim Heart…The Way of Jesus in Everyday Life”), I was drawn to the old hymn written by John Greenleaf Whittier in the later 1800’s.  It’s always been a favorite of mine.  I’ll give you the two verses that are most pertinent to my blog today.

Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways;
reclothe us in our rightful mind, in purer lives thy service find,
in deeper reverence, praise.

Drop thy still dews of quietness, till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress, and let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of thy peace.

Tippens was talking in the chapter I read about the Sabbath rest and how much it is needed even in our modern culture.  No, he’s not talking about some rigid following of rules regarding how far we can walk or whether we can bake bread or not.  He’s not even talking about Sunday as opposed to other days of the week.

He’s saying that we all need to take a break…to slow down…to contemplate, pray, meditate, and think.  Whether we do that in 10 minute increments during a busy day, or whether we take an entire day or afternoon, we need the rest and refreshment that comes from a Sabbath.

Most of us are defined by our work and by how productive we are at our work.  When we are introduced to someone for the first time, following their name we usually want to know their occupation or former occupation (if retired).  And if you’ve been out of work for any time at all, you know that you feel a little disjointed when meeting someone because you have no occupation to give.

We also are defined by our productivity.  Perhaps you were responsible for the building of a hospital, or you constructed something of importance.  Maybe you created a non-profit organization or you developed a working method of service to others.  You might be someone who has written a popular piece of music or you’ve been part of a renowned choir or orchestra.  Perhaps you have taught hundreds of 4^th grade students and have seen many of them go on to be a great success in life.  You may have developed a new procedure in heart surgery or created a new mode of transportation.  Whatever, the list is endless, and we are all defined by what we do and what we’ve done in life.

“But”, says Whittier, “Forgive our foolish ways.  Reclothe us in our rightful minds.  Take from our souls the strain and stress.  Let our ordered lives confess the beauty of Thy peace.”

How incredibly awesome are these words!  I can feel the stress melting away just repeating these lines in my head…and I love to sing them aloud!  I’m beginning to know the beauty of the peace of God in letting up, letting go, and quieting down.  I’m finding times and ways to have a Sabbath during the days and during the evenings.  And I am becoming more calm and serene as a result.  Things that seem to delay me in life don’t seem to bother me as much as before.  People that get in the way don’t seem to evoke the kind of emotions that used to come over me.

I have a long way to go.  I still treat driving in traffic as a game of “Who can be first?” more often than I would like.  I still get perturbed in the checkout line when the lady gets out her checkbook (yes they still have those things) and begins writing AFTER all has been checked.  And I still consider myself defined by my vocation and not by who I am and by Whose I am.  As I said, I have a long way to go.

But with time and the grace of God, I will get there.  There will come a time when I will have no choice but to be quiet, to wait, and to slow down.  I don’t want that to come as a shock and surprise.

The Most Remarkable of Ways

I just finished reading a book by Laura Lapins Willis called “Finding God in a Bag of Groceries.”  The book, recently written, is a collection of short stories which tell of experiences that Ms. Willis had while the director of a food pantry in rural Tennessee.  More than what we might think of in an urban setting, this pantry was a central point in the lives of many of those who lived in the rural Appalachian community.  In addition to food help, the pantry helped with things such as rent, utilities, fuel, and other necessities of life.

During her ten year tenure there, Ms. Willis became a friend, confidant, spiritual guide, and virtual family member to many in the community.  She truly rejoiced with those who rejoice and wept with those who weep.  And during her tenure there, she learned that God shows up in some of the most unexpected places, providing the comfort, peace, and love that is so desperately needed by us all.

Her closing comments in the book are telling.  “There are many stories I didn’t write about, stories without endings and stories that are too complicated to explain.  Isn’t that the way life often is?  Without and ending, complicated, and hard to explain.

But when we listen, through silence and through service, God puts the next step in front of us.  We don’t have to figure out the future.  We don’t’ have to fix anyone’s life, even our own.

Instead, we will pray, listen, give, and receive with beloved hands.  We will look for God in the simple and the surprising and remember that God will come to us, too, in the most remarkable ways.  Even in a bag of groceries.”

Ms. Willis has figured out something that most of us, even us Christians, have yet to discern; that our normal way of living…planning, scheming, doing, finagling, and agonizing…we don’t have to live that way.  We don’t have to have our lives planned out to the nth degree.  We don’t have to see what lies ahead.  We don’t even have to try to fix our own selves (as if we could do that anyway).

We do need to wait on God.  We do need to listen.  We do need to pray.  We do need to be open to the voice of God (in whatever form) as He shepherds, nudges, guides, cajoles, and loves us toward the Eternity He has prepared for us.  And we do need to know that He comes to us, indeed, in some of the most remarkable of ways.

The Passing of Time

“I blinked, and spring break and ‘spring forward’ was here.”  I haven’t really said this aloud, but have been thinking it for the last few days.  Spring break for the public schools around here starts this weekend, and the spring forward for Daylight Saving Time happens at 2am this coming Sunday morning.

It’s also been warmer than normal the past few weeks, which has prompted the swelling of buds, the leafing out of the early shrubs and trees, and the popping up of tulips and other early flowers.  I’ve even seen a few insects flying around in the evening around our front porch light (I wonder how they got there this soon?).

Kids are playing outside in the yards and streets.  People are using the walking paths in the park.  Birds are more active now.  And that itch to get outside and get some yard work done is becoming stronger each day.

I am amazed at the rapid passing of time.  When I was a youngster, I remember thinking that the summer days would never end.  There were endless things to do outside; innumerable places to explore, and as far as work was concerned, the field work, it seemed, went on and on.  I couldn’t wait for school to end.  And I couldn’t wait for it to start again in September.

Now, it seems that September runs squarely into April, and April runs squarely into December.  Wasn’t it only a few weeks ago that we were celebrating Thanksgiving with the family?  And wasn’t it but a year or so ago when we moved into our home by the park?  Oh, and you’re telling me that my older brother is now 76 years old??  Whatever happened to his 40s and 50s?

In just a few years, our older son will hit 40.  Shoot, I remember my 40^th birthday very well…it was only a couple of years ago, wasn’t it?  And the grandkids are going to hit their teen years before long.  I thought they were still in diapers!

I know I’ve written about this before.  But I continue to be amazed at the swift passage of the days and weeks.  I wonder if I’ve made the best use of the time I’ve been given.  I wonder if there are things I’d like to do or need to do that I’d better get busy doing, or it will soon be too late.  I long to take the time to slow down and “smell the roses” along the way.  And I’d like to be able to impart the wisdom of slowing down and enjoying the moment to those who are always hurrying…always rushing…always occupied.

More and more I understand what James said in the New Testament.  “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog--it's here a little while, then it's gone.”  That’s true, of course.  But it’s also true that each one of us is uniquely loved and cherished by the God who made us.  The time is rapidly coming when we will place ourselves at His mercy and claim the promises He has made to us.  Others will take our places in life and in the creation.  And the cycle continues.

My thoughts want to break out in praise.  I can think of no better than, “Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!  Praise Him all creatures here below!  Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts!  Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!  AMEN

Principles From the Past

I am reading with interest a book called, Just Who Does God Think He Is? By Charles P. Hooten.  The book goes into some depth regarding God declaring his person and his purpose.  It talks about God declaring his deity, his character, his emotions.  It’s an interesting, but in-depth read.

One of the chapters talks about the holiness of God and the necessity of his people to also be holy.  One of the points in that discussion is that a holy person will, like God, receive an alien into the community with the grace of God.  The point is made that in the days of Israel in the Old Testament, God gave specific instructions to Israel to accept the alien and sojourner into the Israeli flock.  The specific text is found in Leviticus 19:34.  “The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself.”  Leviticus 24 says that there is one standard in keeping the Law for both the stranger (alien) as well as the Israelite.

We can learn a lot for our modern day issues such as illegal immigration from the principles found in the Bible.  Yes, the passages we are talking about are from the Old Testament.  But remember that even though we are no longer under the Law, the principles that are inherent in the text may well apply to us today just as they applied to God’s people then.  Because, you see, God doesn’t change.  What he thought then he thinks now.  How he wanted his people to live and act then is how he wants his people to live and act now.  The specifics of the rules may change; the principles do not.

So, what can we learn from the way God told his people Israel to treat the stranger and alien?  First, we are to love them as we love ourselves.  Second, the alien is to assimilate into the culture and abide by the societal expectations of the native.  That’s what it means when it says that the standard is the same for both the native and the stranger.

We know that any foreigner who wished to be a part of the Israelite nation and align himself with Israel was obligated to reject any prior idolatrous ways and take on the requirements of Israel’s covenant with God. A key part of that covenant was circumcision, the sign of God’s covenant with Israel.

Now, I’m not advocating circumcision for all aliens who hit the shores of the United States.  Remember, I said the PRINCIPLE holds…not necessarily the rules.  So where does it leave us when we look at the principles that come from this passage of sacred text?

The principle is, it seems to me, that whoever comes to be part of this (or any) nation, must first be loved by the natives.  Second, the alien should do all he can to assimilate himself into the fabric of the society.  Legal status seems to be the prime mover here.  Closely following that might well be productivity and participation in the community, with the eventual goal of naturalization.

Conversely, the native society must not make the process so onerous that it is impossible or virtually impossible to assimilate and become part of the fabric of the community.  Sensible laws and regulations seem to be co-existent along with the obligation of the foreigner.

I know this is just my opinion, and the opinion of the author of the above-mentioned book.  But the opinion is worth pondering, even as we look even more fully into the words of God to extract principles for living today.  And for the Christian, my presumption is that the admonition to love the foreigner as one loves oneself is not optional.  Both the Old and New Testaments, and even Jesus Himself have been very clear on our obligation to love one another.  I think that if we even do that as God asks, the rest will follow rather readily and quickly.

I Can't Wait!

I went to Botanica today right after lunch.  Now, that hasn’t been my usual haunt, but for Christmas, I bought the wife and myself membership in Botanica, which among other things permits free access to the gardens for all but special occasions.  Today I was in sort of a pensive mood after lunch and decided to go to the gardens.

The early bulb flowers were just coming out of the ground, for the most part.  Some of the jonquils were beginning to bloom, but it will be another few weeks before the rest of them and the tulips are in bloom.  The rest of the garden was still in dormancy, and the various streams and waterfalls that are in the gardens haven’t been cleaned and activated yet this year.  There was an area of pansies that had been planted recently, which gave a lot of color to that part of the garden, and there were a few species of birds and the occasional squirrel as well.

Of course, this time of year there aren’t many visitors to the garden.  There were some volunteers and workers doing this or that to clean up or fix up, but otherwise, I think I was about it.  I found a walk toward the south end of the garden that I knew was fairly out of the way, and enjoyed the quiet and time to think.

In this same area was a small garden area with a waterfall that hadn’t been started up yet, a bench to rest, and a bird feeder.  It was also in a kind of depression, so was sheltered from the wind and some of the noise of some construction going on outside the garden and down the street.  I stayed there for probably 30 minutes or so, just soaking in the area.

I know I will come back here many times over the coming months.  Much of that time, I will come back during the day and find a place to just sit (or stand) and watch and listen.  Later this spring, the butterfly house will be active with lots of butterflies inside.  I’ll probably go in there too.  And the rose garden will come to life shortly, with thousands of roses on many, many bushes of all kinds, colors, and sizes.  There is also an outdoor butterfly garden, with species of plants in it that naturally attract butterflies, I presume.  I look forward to seeing what all is in there during the full bloom of spring and summer.

This garden is in the middle of urban Wichita, along the Arkansas River, about 5 minutes from the middle of downtown Wichita.  It is an oasis of sanity and reflection in a world that all too often is running headlong over the lemming cliff.  My gift to my wife and myself promises to bring much more return than the small amount of money it cost.  I can’t wait!