Wednesday, October 1, 2025

A Gathering of Stones

We lived in a place where people stacked stones.
One upon another.
So they would not forget.
Because of the visual.  
A weight.


Burden.
Stones that speak.
Shout.
Or weep.
Or scream at...
           all of the days... or years gone by...As though they were still caught in the rear-view mirror.

To remember her, or him or these fleeting moments.
When friends, relatives or family experienced great sadness, 
or great joy.
And to live, also, even in the knowledge that whatever happened...
                                                                              there was still,  God.

My wife and I went quietly past some of these silent monuments one day.
We paused and read names.
Some were etched 
and some were scrawled in burnt ash.
I wondered of the hands that placed the stones.
Did they tremor in the process?
Did the person who bent their knee and placed them here
experience grace enough to lift their chin
and stand again?  
To go forward from that day.

Broken stones, 
to remember broken bones,
                           broken hearts.
                                Broken spirits.
But maybe also to remember hope.
                                        Resurrection.
New days after long nights.
                       Because...even after the night...there is still God.

And I believe that because, there is...still God,
                       today, there are living stones of remembrance who walk among us.

Saturday, August 23, 2025

Escape


Not long ago,
I was driving along the edge of a small town, 
              that's being stretched into something bigger.
Passing a series of strip malls and fast food chain restaurants.
It felt like I was looking at an adolescent; not sure what's supposed to come next.
Needing direction and understanding.
A diverse population growing along its borders.
With rough edges, moving into a whirlpool of
                                      abandoned houses, bikini coffee shops. 

                                                                     And people.

I know a young man who grew up 

                                     and into all of this.

He came to church...sporadically.

He was kind and thoughtful.

I loved him, wished to see him more.

We talked about that often.

It was mostly easy conversation.

Comfortable.

Hopeful.

He just seemed distracted, but not distanced.


One day, he found someone 

                         that he was talking about spending his life with.

They came and stood in front of me, his arm around her waist.

Beautiful smiles.

Looking at each other and then back to me.

His eyes, shining with a crystalline blue.

A joy in the both of their hearts that spilled all over their faces.

We talked about a time; maybe a couple weeks down the road,

When we would get together and 

              discuss what might be next for the two of them.

The date came and went.

My texts went unanswered.

Months later, they walked up to greet me after service.

Remarking how the message had spoken to them.

Same beautiful smiles.

We hugged.

Talked about getting together again.

But we never did.

And now he's gone.

In a tragic story; which doesn't feel like the main point of this.


I believe Jesus' arms were strong enough 

                                        to catch him, and keep him.

What I hate is the "in-between" of it all.

The struggle I know he felt.

He had to make choices.

Those choices bore consequence.

I know it.

The church doors were always open.

Many people had offered him sanctuary there,

                                      And even in their own hearts.


But today, I'm thinking about what shapes our choices. 

This young man felt he had to leave home at 15 years old.

He tried to navigate life, mostly on his own from that day forward.

The day to day of his experience, so young, had so many more obstacles than mine.

And....I wonder...

Just how hard it must be to escape the whirlpool of 

                               abandoned houses and bikini coffee shops.








Wednesday, August 6, 2025

A Home Coming

It will be 

like a coming home

All things will be coming home 

Everyone we've had to let go

To a place unknown

When we're fully grown

To a place we've never been

Still, it will feel like we're coming home


As the giant arm 

of an old ferris wheel 

slowly turning a full circle

'Til we step off this ride 

And find its all been made new again

As it was in the beginning

So it will be in the end

Our long walk, back to the garden


Eastern Gate swings wide
We'll be ushered inside
Our hurts fade to wholeness
Grief healed by joy
Tears are captured; gently, laid aside
While light floats softly
Into our darkened corners
Riding on a weightless wonder

The voice our heart knows
Though its never been heard
Speaks our name out loud
Amid the growing crowd
And faces aglow 
Because now we know
What once was veiled
Has become our home

We found our way home
And can it be?
WE FOUND OUR WAY HOME!







Friday, August 1, 2025

A Terrible Underestimation

I don't know that I completely understand how it all works.
Sometimes it feels like it doesn't.
I have to confess that at times I forget the power 
and also, the peace that is available.
And then someone reminds me.
Sometimes 
it is His Spirit,
A voice
who calls
but only softly.

Sometimes its another voice.
Who has faith more than I.
Standing on the place
Where flame and smoke took away.
But the promise still stands.
And he's sure in his sight
What had been
will be again.

Speak the words...he said
Standing there in the place where the fire began.
They will be heard
They will commence
Because there is power, I know it!...he said
And so I did.
We faced each other
Hand to hand,
Face to face
I lifted.
I called.
I pled.

And a month or so later I asked,
Has it made any difference?
He smiled and said, 
YES!
Of course! 
He has blessed!
And I thank you for coming
And for your words of request.
I knew it was needed
               
I knew He would listen...to you.

And I thought...It was only prayer.
                         What a terrible underestimation.




Wednesday, July 16, 2025

THE SIGHTLINE BETWEEN US

We were in a crowded food court a few months ago, 
and I was looking for our daughter because we were supposed meet her and our son-in-law there.  
As we located a table that the four of us could sit down to, and I was pulling out a chair, I saw our daughter walk into the area.  She was about 100 feet away from us on the other side of the room.
A smile swept over my face and I waived enthusiastically towards her.  
She acknowledged my waive.  
However, at that precise moment a man who I didn't know at all, walked into the sightline between us.  He smiled warmly and waived enthusiastically back to me.  
Then he realized he didn't know me. 

He looked quickly behind him to our daughter, and saw that it was her that I was trying to connect with and not him.   So he ducked his head a bit ashamedly, and moved away from my gaze as fast as he could.  

I felt bad for him, 
because I've experienced the same sensation.  
It feels like you forced yourself into a conversation, 
and want to apologize for your interruption.  
You feel a bit foolish and weirdly, your self-worth can even take a hit.  
It washes over you in seconds and is usually forgotten quite soon,
but in that moment, 
at the very least, 
it feels very awkward.  

Mostly, this is a rare occurrence and is not representative of how we feel about who we are, but I think that for some, it can be a microcosm of how all of life is experienced.  I have felt seasons in my life were marked by this kind of feeling.  Moving from one school to another as a kid and having to figure out who might be part of a new friend circle was hard. Encountering moments where someone you thought would be a fit, but turns out to be un-trustworthy is painful.

Growing up, we do more to brace ourselves for this uncertainty and don't offer ourselves to others before we do some kind of unofficial "background check."  This can stretch into our college years and afterwards into the workplaces of our lives.  We learn to shield our hearts from overextending and keep our distance; sometimes a lot of distance.  Sometimes we stop risking relationships altogether.

As I write those words, I'm feeling saddened by them, and yet, I know them to be true.  I've talked with many adults who have told me that this is how they feel.  They have gone through divorce, lost their job, have had a family blow-up or just feel isolated for a variety of reasons.  
They feel like they could not be the object of anyone else's attention.  

God the Father is not like this. 
His son is not like this.  
His Spirit is not like this.
If we sense that He has locked eyes on us, it's because He has done just that.  
HE WASN'T LOOKING FOR SOMEONE ELSE...HE WAS LOOKING FOR US!  :)
AND if we initiated the connection, he's ready to meet us.  He said things like:

"Come to me, all who are weary..."
"I stand at the door and knock..."
"I will never leave you..."

All of this helps me understand that there is a love for me that's never fickle.  
It is consistently directed towards me. 
It doesn't flinch. 
 
There is a song that we sing today in church, and if you catch me when I'm singing it, and it looks like I'm pretty intense about it, its because  the lyrics resonate deeply in me and with the thoughts connected to those written here.  They say: 

"I sought the Lord, and he heard, and he answered...I sought the Lord! and he heard! and he answered!
That's why I trust him...THAT'S WHY I TRUST IN GOD MY SAVIOUR, THE ONE WHO WILL NEVER FAIL!"






Wednesday, July 9, 2025

The Iniquity Crush

Can't put it down
Won't let me go
Into a sleep
Or even rest
So, I roll over
One side, to the other
Then back again
And I wonder...

How would it feel 
to know each and every... 
To carry it all 
Upon your shoulders
Upon your heart
All the way 
Up the hill
To that freedom tree

The iniquity crush
Of mind, body and spirit
That was not on me
Because you went
Where I could never walk
You bore us all
For there were none
No, not one...

Without stain
Without pain
We've all fallen
And cannot rise
Apart from You
Alive in us
As you breathe life
Back into dust

Once more, "How?"
And not only for those
That steal my sleep
But for me
And once more, "Why?"
Is your heart so given
Is your promise so certain
For whosoever will

Perhaps, I will always wrestle in this peace you have bought... for even me.
















Monday, May 19, 2025

Calamity

There are some things that I thought were going to be big issues in life, which turned out to be, well not so much...

For instance: Piranhas, quicksand, The Bermuda Triangle, spontaneous human combustion.


I can remember as a child being significantly concerned about the random locations of quicksand I may run into, and once caught in that mire, what kinds of body movements could be detrimental to escaping such a calamitous situation.  I entered into most forested areas with these thoughts lightly pinging at the back of my mind.  After all, if it came into play on Gilligan's Island, Jonny Quest and Scooby Doo, let's face it, we should all be wary about quicksand no matter where we live.  
I thought, there would be giant signs warning us of these dangers, but I never saw any.  Which should have encouraged me to think that is was less of a problem, but it only reinforced the idea that they were well-hidden.  These death-inducing hazards were everywhere, but no one lived to tell of their whereabouts.

I'm now into my 60's and none of the "big four" listed above, have been a big problem. 

In fact, they have been no problem at all. (sigh of relief) 😊

This set me thinking about the things in life which HAVE been a problem.  
What I've realized is that there are some things I feel...And there are some things I know.
Letting go of what I feel 
                 in exchange for the truth that I know, or have discovered in Christ has been the
                                                                  great exercise of "growing up" in my life and I believe it always will be.  

Paul wrote this in Romans 7:15 (The Message) "What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise." 

What an incredibly honest assessment of his situation.  
No mincing of words. No effort to shade it in a way that sounds better.  
Straight-up vulnerability. 
He describes his own actions at times as something he......despises.  
How often do we hear that kind of truth?
So, I have put the fears I mentioned at the outset of this writing into a box of things labeled "lies".
Because when I'm trying to be as honest as I can about my failures as a father, husband, brother or friend I find myself identifying with the statement Paul made above.  AND this is my way of agreeing with him, by saying,

"The greatest problem or hindrance to my emotional/spiritual growth as a human has been...me."

This is not a statement of self-loathing, it's just pragmatism.
No one else and no other thing has waylaid me, kept me from my potential in a certain
moment like I have.  I'm not a victim of circumstance or upbringing.
When I have been less than I could have been or should have been, 
it has been because of my own choices.

There's a truth that lives and grows in me, through the work of the Holy Spirit.
When I listen to that truth and choose to follow, I grow.
I become...the more.
When I do not, 
I become...the lesser.
We can call it whatever we want.
Consecration.
Surrender.
Centered down.
Sanctified.
But, it follows closely to my corresponding choices.
As one who has been chosen, 
                          I am making a choice...to follow.
                                               I think it's the best way to stay out of the quicksand.  :)