Vacation

I will be on vacation and expect the sun to be so blinding that I won't be able to blog. I will see you in a week hopefully tan and rested.

The Journey Home

I just finished a funeral for a wonderful lady and friend. She had been fighting cancer and finally her body could fight no longer. In Lord of the Rings there is a scene where one of the 9 members of the fellowship of the ring dies. They put Borimir in a little boat and send him drifting down stream. In some ways I feel like that although I feel like we put someone in the water drifting toward the other shore. When they get there they bound out of the boat full of life and love into a country we only see in our very best dreams. That is the way I was feeling about Lee when I went to my office to check my email right after the funeral service. One of the emails informed me that my friend Phil Allen had passed away in his sleep the night before. Phil was not battling cancer or anything else it seemed so it was a shock. Five weeks ago he had buried Euretta, his beloved wife. He had nursed and served her through her battle with cancer until her body finally gave up. So, five weeks before he had placed her in the little boat heading for the other shore. I have seen Phil several times in weeks since. He has had a longing in his eyes. It was a longing not for what had been but a longing for what was coming. He didn't so much want Euretta back with him as he wanted to go to where she was. Some will say he died of a broken heart. I think not. I think he died because of this longing to go home. And last Saturday morning, in his sleep, he crawled into a boat and woke up on the distant shore. I can hear Phil's laugh and see his eyes dancing as he tries to take it all in. In a week, I have seen two friends head across to the place my soul longs for. It has increased my longing. Some day I will make the voyage and when I do please know it is a journey that will take me home. I wasn't made for this side of the shore and neither were you. When I read the email about Phil, I said aloud,"Good for you Phil. Now, you are home." While I miss them I am glad my friends are finally home.

Careful What You Pray For

We have all heard the phrase,"Be careful what you wish for". It is a warning that we don't always see all the angles and there could be surprises hidden even in the grandest dream come true. I think we should probably be careful what we pray for. I have been a part of discussions where the leader says,"There are no wrong answers. There are no bad ideas so just speak what is on your mind." I always think that is silly. There are always bad ideas and there are always wrong answers as anyone in that kind of meeting can attest to. The same is true of prayer. There are bad prayers. I have seen people desperate for God to intervene in a situation. They bargain, they claim promises, they recite scripture, and yet the answer turns out to be what they don't want. And they are devastated. I used to think an idol was something like a totem pole or a carved figure in a distant and primitive land. But an idol is anything that is more important to me than God at any given time. It is anything I place my personal value in, anything that gives my life real worth. Idols are not usually bad things. They are very good things that have become ultimate things. An idol can be a sick child, a parent, a loved one, a job, a house, a reputation or anything else that is important to you. I have watched people pray to the true God to save their favorite idol. I am not saying there are not good prayers of quiet desperation out there. But I have seen people pray and then curse God when he does not save what they want saved. They may not actually curse him but they are so mad and disappointed it takes them a long time to recover. I have since been more careful with my prayers. I want to make sure I am not asking God to preserve something I have made an idol. If I am not careful I will use God to turn a god into God. Do you follow? So, today, be careful what you wish for but be even more careful what you pray for.

Four Generations

Two years ago Karen and I decided to add an in-law suite onto our house and my parents moved up from Florida. Now they live right on the other side of a french door. They refer to themselves as "Frank and Marie", as in the television show, "Everybody Loves Raymond." They really aren't like that and it has been wonderful having them so close. Karen is finishing up her graduate degree at Kent State and on the nights she has class I slip over to my mom's for dinner. Whenever my mom runs out of an ingredient she sneaks over and raids our pantry. They call our house "the store" and I call their house "the restaurant". It works out famously. This past month was the last month on the lease of our daughter and son-in-law's apartment. They are not sure where their job might take them so they have moved in along with our grandson Liam. Rachel and Will have put a bunch of stuff in storage and moved into Rach's old room. So far, it is a blast. We now have four generations under the same roof. Who would have ever thought? At least some of this has been driven by the economic downturn. It has impacted my parents and their savings, and my children and their ability to find a job. Karen and I are in the middle. At this moment we have less and more than we had a year ago. We have less money and more people in our house. I have seen people who have all kinds of stuff and no loving relationships. Right now I feel very wealthy. Everything I hold dear is right here in my house and I just wanted to go on record that I am very thankful.