Spring Has Sprung

That was some winter we had!  Oh, you don’t remember it either? Maybe there is something to that “Global Warming” after all. (No, I am not really going there).

It does seem that we went directly from Fall to Spring.  I don’t know about you, but I did not pass “Go” or collect my $200.  And as things stand right now, I could have really used that $200 to go toward repairing my riding lawnmower. The mower is in the shop, but the incredibly inconsiderate grass/weed blend in my backyard just keeps right on growing without a care in the world.

So, I was forced to mow the backyard with my 21-year-old push mower.  That is not to be confused with my 21-year-old mower pusher, who is off at college and somehow thinks that getting his education is more important than keeping dear old Dad’s yard looking nice.

What normally takes about 20 minutes riding took 2 ½ hours pushing.  It also required three tanks of gas.  Not to mention what I put in the mower! 

I did some pondering during this little backyard adventure.  You aren’t surprised by that, I’m sure.  If you are one of my faithful readers, you know that pondering is what I do best (or at least what I do most).

My pondering led me to consider a couple of things for which I am thankful.  One is riding lawnmowers.  Thankfully, only that backyard is growing really fast.  If I had to do the whole 1.3 acres with the push mower, we could have some serious issues. 

I’m also thankful for a good workout.  I have to admit that I am not good about getting adequate exercise.  That 2 ½ hours of pushing and pulling and walking and sweating was the best workout I have had in awhile.  And I did it outside on a beautiful day.  Perhaps I’ll start the newest exercise craze: Body by Briggs and Stratton.  I can see it now.  Videos, late night infomercials, denim spandex leotards (oops, gotta delete that mental image).

I talk a lot about perspective in this blog from week to week.  Perspective is what keeps the reality before us that our lives matter to God.  It is really easy to focus on things like broken lawnmowers, inconveniences, challenges, and difficulties.  Perspective helps us to identify those things for which we can be thankful—even in the middle of the challenges.

Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

So, I have sprung forward into spring, I have an old push mower that works, and I am able to walk behind it. Life is good.

But my feelings won’t be hurt when I can once again do my pondering while riding.

I Have to Write!

Three more of my friends buried a parent this past week, but I don’t want Life Matters to be the weekly grief report, so I’m not going there this time.  If I stick with my foundational belief that our lives matter to God, I will sometimes write about how we process the difficult times in life.  I will also sometimes write about how we celebrate the joys in life, stumble through the curiosities of life, and laugh through the bloopers of life.  If our LIVES matter to God, that means that He cares about all of the above!

This week’s Life Matters is my 111^th edition of what started out as an email devotional to members of my church family sometime around 1997.  I should say that there are 111 that can still be found somewhere.  Sometimes you don’t think about how something is going to grow when you first start out and I didn’t keep those early ones.  But since March 9, 1998, I have kept them.  The first 58 can be found in an archive on my website (gerrylewisonline.com). The last 53 of them have appeared online in blog form.  The last 44 of them have appeared as a column in the Azle News.

My hope is that my words each week encourage you on the journey of life.  I love hearing from people who tell me they enjoy my column/blog.  I love it when people ask, “How’s Mrs. Sweetie?”  I know they’ve been reading.  It has been a sincere blessing to have a reason to write every week for almost a year now.

If I had been writing once a week for all those years, I would be over 600 editions by now, but when there was no deadline, no publisher or editor waiting for an email by Monday morning, life sometimes got in the way of writing about life.

You may be wondering where this rambling reminiscence is headed. Part of it is about a realization that I came to a few months ago: Writing is part of why God put me on this planet.  Encouraging, empowering, and (occasionally, hopefully) entertaining people with written words is part of my purpose for living.  When I am not regularly writing, I am less effective in other areas of life.

So, why do I need this weekly deadline to motivate me to do what is so central to my sense of purpose?  Because life happens.  Because the swelling tide of urgency sometimes crashes in until the really important things are swept out into the sea of good intentions.  (Ok, maybe that was a little over the top, but you get the metaphor). The weekly deadline is one of many forms of accountability that serve as anchors that hold me fast to my life’s mission.

There it is.  Accountability.  It is not a hindrance to freedom, but an anchor that keeps us from drifting into such trivialities that we lose our freedom to be the people we were created to be.  What keeps you connected to your life’s mission?  Who could help you by being your “editor”?  How do you want your life to be read?

Let’s keep writing a great story together.

Celebrity? You Have My Sympathy

I don’t know how many funerals occurred last week, but it is estimated that, worldwide, 156,000 people die every day.  Many of those happen in obscurity and have no memorial service of any kind.  Certainly very few memorial services are televised and watched by millions.  Is it unfair or unseemly that a celebrity’s death gets such attention while brave and honorable people die and are buried in near anonymity?

My answer is, "no". A celebrity’s death gets all the attention for one simple reason: a life lived in the spotlight of public consciousness.  The death is “newsworthy” precisely because the person lived a very public life.  And the more controversial the public life, the more newsworthy the death. Such media attention at the death of a celebrity does not in any way minimize or trivialize the lives and death of “real” people.

Who’s lives are more trivialized: those who have fans who love them because of their talent or those who have friends and family who love them because of who they are?

Two funerals happened last week that affected my life much more than the one on television.

 One was the 30 year old son of long time friends.  In fact, this young man’s father officiated the ceremony where Mrs. Sweetie became my Mrs. I have not seen the young man in years and did not get news of his death in time to attend the service.  But my grief was real because people I love were saying goodbye to the son they love and their lives matter to God and to me.  It caused me to want to make the most of every moment I have with my own grown up kids, to pray for them more diligently, and to send more of those “I love you” text messages that seem to be our most efficient means of communication.

The other was my son-in-law’s father, who died suddenly of a heart attack at age 57.  He lived in Iran and the last time he was in the U.S. was 14 months ago to attend the wedding that brought us into an extended family. The first time I met him was four days before the wedding.  The last time I spoke to him was a month later when he called me from the airport to thank me for all I had done for his son.  We talked about how we looked forward to his next visit.  Our worlds and our worldview were very different, but the love we have for our children brought us together as friends.

We gathered over the weekend with our “Persian family” who were unable to go to Iran to say goodbye to the father, brother, uncle they loved. It caused some of the same emotions and desires for me because their lives matter to God and to me. I will pray more diligently to make the most of every opportunity to demonstrate the ultimate reality that gives me hope (1 Peter 3:15).

I wonder how many people felt that way after watching the celebrity’s funeral.  My point exactly.

Maybe It is "That Much"

Who pays attention to weather forecasts anyway? Mrs Sweetie does, but sometimes she has a lapse in judgment and allows less clear heads to prevail. Famous last words: "It will be okay, honey. One to three inches is not that much."

This explains why I wrote this from a hotel room in Amarillo instead of my writing chair in my living room.  Just in case you ever wonder, two inches of snow with single digit wind chills on interstate highway overpasses qualifies as "that much".

The local television weather lady actually said, "If you are out driving around right now, number one, you can't hear this. Number two, it's not good!" I am publicly acknowledging that she was correct. As was Mrs Sweetie when she suggested that continuing to travel might not be our best choice.

In reflecting on this little adventure, my mind goes in several different directions. You are not surprised, are you? I am first of all grateful that all our kids made it home safely. We were on the way to have lunch together when we decided that those who were close to home should go there and those who were not should find a stopping place. It is a whole different ball game when your offspring are out in the yuckiness, even when they are grown-ups.

I am also grateful for an available hotel room to hunker down for the storm. We might have made it home, but we also might have been spending the night in the truck. It might have made for an entertaining blog, but I am really not that interested in entertaining you. Sorry.

Perspective is something else that inspires my gratitude. Everything at home and work was still there when we got home. None of it was important enough to play slip and slide on I40. I think a part of maturity is learning what is worth stressing over and what is not.

I also have to say that I am really happy for the traveling partner God gave me for the sometimes pleasant and sometimes treacherous highways of life. She thought I was nuts to drive in the snow, but she trusted me to do the right thing. That fact alone makes me want to do the right thing even more. I want our journey together to be an expression of my love for her.

And because I know that our lives matter to God, I want our journey together to be an expression of our love for Him. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path."

He cares more about us than we care about ourselves and He knows all the best roads. Even when they are covered with "that much".

Hello, Texas!

We had some friends in from Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago. We got acquainted with them through a partnership between HarvestBaptist Association (my employer) and Bay Lakes Baptist Association, a similar network of churches in northeast Wisconsin.  They play a little football in one of the small villages in their area. 

Of course, their team had precisely the same involvement in this year’s Super Bowl as my Cowboys had. I am trying to figure out how to mention that to them without hurting the partnership.  Having been up close and personal with Packers fans for the past three years … that may take a little more pondering.

I have made five trips to Wisconsin in the past three years and have been the beneficiary of some great “cheesehead” hospitality. Of course, the tour of Lambeau field and various cheese factories is compulsory. Brats and burgers have been consumed by the pound.  Friday night fish fries at “supper clubs” are a unique experience.  Fleet Farm is a really cool store that is like a Super Walmart (without the groceries), Academy, and Tractor Supply all rolled into one.

So, what do you do to return the hospitality when they come to Texas?  Mexican food!  I told them that I did not recall seeing much of that when I have been there.  Their reply?  “We have Taco Bell.”  Seriously?  Taco Bell?  Taco Bell is to Mexican food what Velveeta is to aged Wisconsin cheddar! 

Well, we took care of that problem!  Now they know what it is like to fill up on chips and salsa before a big plate of enchiladas arrives.  They know the bliss of a full belly and the accompanying heartburn that hurts so good.  Hello, Texas!

We did have a great visit, but the best part wasn’t the food or the sightseeing.  The best part was the conversation on the way … the laughter at the table … the prayer requests shared … the prayers offered. 

You see, life is not about experiences.  Life is about relationships.  Experiences get their meaning from those with whom we share them.  Mexican food is just food I like when I eat it by myself.  Taco Bell even has meaning when it is shared with a friend.

The first book of the Bible records God saying, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18).  That wasn’t a one-time truth that God solved by creating a woman to go with the man.  That was an eternal principle.  God created us with an innate need to share our lives with others.  The New Testament is filled with “one another” messages.  Encourage one another.  Forgive one another. Accept one another.  Honor one another.  Live in harmony with one another. Instruct one another.  Serve one another.

You get the point.

I’m not sure when my next trip to Wisconsin will be.  Nor am I sure when my friends will come back to Texas.  There is one thing I am sure about.  When we get together, the food and the sights will be periphery.  The conversation, laughter, tears, prayers, and encouragement will be the main thing. One way our lives matter to God is the way our lives matter to each other.

I always suspected there was a spiritual quality to Mexican food.