Well, awhile back we found ourselves without power. Can you imagine what that does to a techy? No Television. No Computer…which means no emails, no Facebook, no messaging; No air-conditioning. No lights. But, aha, I have my iPhone. And an oil lamb.
So here I am (picture this) after activating the hot spot on my iPhone so that I can send and receive emails and get internet – sitting here by the light of an oil lamp typing my devotional on my Mac. Kinda reminds you of Abe Lincoln doesn’t it?
That night we were being forced to slow down almost to a crawl, actually talk to each other (not over the noise of the TV), be quiet, retrospective, and think about quieter times. (The cat actually purrs???)
I know I was thinking that I will be glad when this intrusion into my techy world is over, but perhaps I will appreciate some quiet time – very quiet time at home talking about what test results will produce.
Trim your lamps and enjoy your PB & J by candlelight. We did.
Dear Lord, you know I do like my techy stuff. Oh, how difficult it would be for me to retro to 1900 with the oil lamps and no phones (I or Me or Wii). Thank you for this quiet time to reflect on the many blessings you are giving us, especially the blessing of Jesus. Amen.
Ever thought about high school and all the “stuff” that went on back then? This Saturday the Page High School class of 1964 will gather for their 55th reunion. WOW, where have all those years gone… so rapidly. Seems like only yesterday we were being welcomed to this new school by all the teachers and principal Luther Medlin. Everything was all dressed up for us nervous newbies. It was the beginning of a very special time which changed our lives… as we “matured” from sophomores to seniors.
Before long we settled into some sort of routine… meaning we could find our classes and get there on time. We started making new friends, hanging out with old ones and trying our best to fit into this new adventure. Things began to gel when we bought our first Page shirt, participated in the pep rallies, went to our first football game, the first basketball game and received our first grades… now we can do this high school stuff. But more than that we started building our identity as a Page Pirate. Remember the Beach Boys singing “Be True to Your School”? The pride in that identity only grew stronger as we moved through the years, made more friends, and enjoyed more and more being a student at Page High School. As juniors we could go off campus for lunch… making those mad dashes to What-A-Burger or McDonalds. Shirley got a pile of speeding tickets at lunch.
There were, to say the least, extracurricular activities. And I am not talking about sports, band, or other organized activities. I am talking about the cruise’n which took place at the the Boar and Castle and moved to the Hot Shoppes and back. Most of us liked to go there and hang out… trying to see a girl… or a guy… or be with our boy friend or girl friend. The pan rolls and butter steak sandwiches were their speciality to many. And who could forget the “Castle Sauce”. Keep a bottle in the fridge all the time. But most of all many were car people back in that day. Some had some very special cars, rods, sport cars, glasspack mufflers were the music of the cruise. So sad to know today that the Boar and Castle and the Hot Shoppes are no longer around. Nor is the old Guilford Dairy where we would get those wonderful banana splits, hot dogs and milkshakes.
For some of us our future wives or husbands were found at Page and/or the Hot Shoppes or the Boar and Castle. For others relations fell apart after graduation and people moved on to work or college. But some people remained in our lives to this day… very special best friends. Out of all the happenings in and around high school, relationships built and kept are the height of that adventure.
Now that we look back on those days, there is much we can’t remember. Shirley was reading through the notes in her annuals tonight and said she could not remember some of the stuff they were talking about. On our 50th reunion we remembered and honored those of our class who had passed on. Way to many. The 5 years since we have lost even more. Some of our graduating class have their names inscribed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, DC… many before they were even 21 years old. Very sad and so unnecessary.
Since our 50th reunion a group of ladies, we have named the “Page Ladies Lunch Bunch”, have gathered most every month to go out to eat lunch. It is a time of remembering the old days, but mostly it is a group of Page ladies who care about each other and meet to support one another through all the happenings of life. It helps us remember those days, to feel young again, and to join our life stories together. High school was about much more than education… it was about who we were and would become… who we cared about and who cared for us. It was about then and now… and what has gone on all the years in-between.
Each of us will come to this reunion with different memories and expectations. Hopefully it will be a time of good remembrances that will leave a smile on our face and a warm fuzzy in our heart. See you there.
GO PIRATES!!!
Grace and Peace Steve Martin & Shirley Bruce Martin
A special thanks to those who produced the graphics I am using.
Send this blog to as many of your Page friends as you can… so that more may take that little step to be present and enjoy the renewing of friends.
The image of God as a shepherd runs throughout scripture. What exactly does a shepherd do? It’s a job description that the ancient Israelites would have been familiar with, as would much of the world throughout history, when society was more agrarian. But in today’s world of agribusiness, when only a few farmers spend time on the land or with animals, we have become increasingly distant from this image.
Very few animals get to wander in green pastures these days. Instead they lead miserable short lives in factory farms. This image of God as a shepherd calls us back to a better way, a more beautiful life for the sheep and the shepherd.
I picture an Irish man with gray-flecked hair, wellington boots, a worn tweed jacket and a wool cap. He has a few sheep dogs running around his heels until given some subtle signal to run ahead. The sheep, from a distance, are white fluffy dots in a country landscape, little clouds in a sea of verdant green grass, the quaint local pub rising from the distance like an oasis. That’s the fantasy.
But get up close and sheep are a different matter. They are not white but usually dirty and soiled. Their coats are not soft and fluffy so much as tangled and matted. You wouldn’t want to snuggle with them. They smell. They make weird noises. Lambs are cute. Sheep not so much.
But if the shepherd is God, then you know who we are. The sheep. Lovely from a distance, but messy, smelly and a bit dim-witted when you get up close. And yet, God gets up close. God came to earth in human form, to once again be a shepherd who walks with us through all the valleys of life.
Dear Lord, we understand as a shepherd cares for his sheep, we are loved. Lord, help us love this earth and the creatures we share it with. Let us return to green pastures, in and through Jesus. Amen.
A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer heard the mule ‘braying’ – or – whatever mules do when they fall into wells.
After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened…and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
Initially, the old mule was hysterical!
But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, he should shake it off and step up!
This he did, blow after blow.
“Shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up!”
He repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows of dirt, or distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought “panic” and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up!
It wasn’t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of the well.
The dirt that seemed would bury him, actually blessed him. All because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. Shake it off and step up….
Did you ever watch the face of a little boy who just received socks for his birthday? How about the little boy who was recovering from cancer reported on the news the other night who got a parade of many people in town and a lot of yellow cars. It was a wonderful story.
I think that look was the look, which flashed across the face of Sister Virginia Muller when she received the baseball card. I mean, what is a nun going to do with a baseball card? Even worse, this baseball card wasn’t a new card; it wasn’t the rookie card of some famous player who is currently making billions and billions of dollars.
Nope, this was a very old card and it carried the name of a player of whom she had never heard. The name on the card was Honus Wagner.
For those of you who don’t know, Honus Wagner played in the early years of the 1900s. He was one of the greatest baseball players of all time. And there are only 60 of his cards in existence. This is why, when his card was auctioned off by Heritage Auction Galleries of Texas, it sold for $262,000.
That story, which was carried by the Associated Press, is a reminder that many of God’s gifts are like that card: unappreciated. For example, God’s Son came to us as a baby and was placed in an animal’s feeding trough. If you had looked at that child, would you have understood what He would do?
The final price for our salvation was paid on a skull-shaped hill outside the city walls of Jerusalem. Would you have guessed that cruel cross was God’s way of giving you forgiveness of sins, reconciliation and eternal life?
What other gifts has the Lord bestowed upon us, which were delivered in a simple and unassuming way? Each of us will answer the question differently, but each of us should have an answer.And that answer should make us give thanks.
Dear Lord, open my eyes so I may see the many blessings and bounties you so liberally give to me. Then, having seen, may I be thankful. This I ask in the name of your best and my most needed Gift. Amen.
The other morning, I was in Starbucks as I do on occasion. I made my order, gave them my card and moved “soup-Nazi-style,” to the end of the counter to wait for my decaf. Before me the barista saw this man in line and automatically started making his drink because she knew what he would order… what he likes… so she takes the initiative and made his drink without even asking him. The response from the man was more than simple appreciation. This was a person who felt as though someone – even a barista at Starbucks – knew him in some way. It probably changed his whole day.
One simple act – It hit me as I was watching this unfold that this is what life with God is like. We sit in line, waiting to get to the front so we can make our demands known. We impatiently wait for the line to shorten so we can say what we need to say, get what we need to get.
Once in the front of the line, before we can even finish our order, we see that what we were going to order is already made for us. Many times, what we get is way better than what we were going to order. God knew what we liked and already had it ready for us. He thought ahead and acted intentionally.
Piping hot. Fresh. Sweet. Made specifically for us. This is the goodness of God. David says: “I will see the goodness of God in the land of the living.” I can officially say that I saw the goodness of God the other day while waiting in line at Starbucks.
What about you? Seen God lately?
Dear Lord, help me to see You where ever I am and where ever I look… for as I see you in circumstances around me I am more apt to express your presence through my living. Amen.
Down in our neck of the woods, in the recent past, when asked what time the Duke football game started the response was “What time can you be here?” It is amazing to me – and Shirley has to keep reminding me – that we need to honor those Duke football players because they go out there every Saturday – with very little fan support – and play their hearts out.
When asked by media about the week’s upcoming opponent, the coach typically says something like, “It’s not about them, it’s about us. It’s about us playing our game. We have to stay focused on our own work. We just need to play the way we’re capable of playing and the rest will take care of itself. Our focus is really ourselves.”
When Paul wrote to the young pastor, Timothy, he urged something similar. “Tend to yourself,” Paul advised, “and to your teaching.” Paul was definitely not urging that Timothy coddle himself or be self-absorbed. He was saying, “Mind your calling and work, do those faithfully and well. That’s the first order of business.”
In some ways, it’s odd advice, whether for a football team or for Christians and church leaders. We want to pay attention to others, whether to an opposing team or the many needs of other people. We imagine that being Christian means being concerned only about others and their needs. And at other times we pay far too much attention to how or what other people are doing, to their advancement or income, especially when they appear to us to be doing better than we are!
More important, as Paul tells Timothy, is to focus on your own particular work, your own particular calling. “Tend to yourself,” be responsible for yourself and the service to which God has called you. Pastors tend to your work as leaders and teachers of the faith. Do your own work and leave the rest to God.
Lord, when I become scattered, preoccupied with other things, call me back to your calling for me, your purpose for me. Help me to “tend to myself” in the right way. Amen.
Perhaps you’ve heard the story about the man whose brother-in-law believed himself to be a chicken. The man finally got fed up with his brother-in-law’s scratching, clucking, and pecking – not to mention the nest-building in every corner of the house.
The man went to see a psychiatrist to explain the problem. The doctor said, “Sounds like a simple neurosis. Bring him in, I’m sure we can cure him.”
“Oh no, Doc,” said the man, “we can’t do that. We need the eggs.”
When Jesus came upon a man who had been sitting beside a healing pool for thirty-eight years without ever getting in the water, he asked, “Do you want to be healed?”
The truth is that in churches (but not only there) we sometimes get a lot of eggs from people who are suffering in basic ways, i.e. deep down they don’t experience themselves as worthy of God’s love and grace. Often those who suffer such wounds deal with their pain by over-functioning – constantly doing for others, taking on every job, or taking responsibility for other people who aren’t being responsible for themselves. We in the church may even encourage this. We’ve gotten used to the eggs.
But here’s the really shocking thing in this story: Jesus asked if the man who had sat there for so long wanted to be healed, but he didn’t wait for an answer. He just ordered the man to get up and walk. Jesus took away the eggs.
So, watch out, because so far as I can tell Jesus is very likely to bust in on our little arrangements and take away the eggs. Jesus is intent on taking from us all the ways we’ve learned to keep true life and real healing at bay.
Come Holy Spirit, break us open and make us new, in and through Jesus. Amen.
These days, there is a certain tyranny that accompanies utmost efficiency and accountability. When every single seat on every single flight is booked, those on standby are always left stranded. I was very fortunate back in the 60’s traveling from Greensboro to California and back, there was always that one seat in all those airports. When every slice of bread is sold to those who can buy it, those who can’t afford it are left wanting. When every minute of the day is planned and prescribed, there is no time for unexpected interventions of the Holy Spirit.
Have you ever decided to attend an event at the very last minute, but it was so well-planned and executed that when you arrived there was not an empty seat to be found? Then, suddenly, you spot just one. You rush over and timidly ask the person seated next to it, “Is anyone sitting here?” The person smiles and says: “Yes, someone is sitting there. You are.” And if the person is extra kind, she might add, “We reserved this seat just for you.”
In our busy lives, how well are we planning to accommodate those who just arrived in our midst; those, who for countless reasons didn’t feel welcomed until very recently; or those whose names were for so long either omitted or deleted from the invitation list; or those who got lost and just got in.
In the book of Leviticus, God’s call for holiness among God’s people was a call for compassion to strangers and generosity to the poor. So important was this principle of holiness that God did not leave it up to individuals to come up with their own notions of what compassion and generosity in society meant. God’s instructions were clear: generosity and compassion were to be built into the system of reaping and harvesting. Grapes and grain were to be intentionally left behind, and that which was left behind was not considered waste or entitlement. It was really a divine reservation for the poor and the unexpected stranger.
How prepared are we today to accommodate the strangers, the poor, and those in desperate need whom God sends along our paths? Someone is standing and looking for a seat. Is there room near you? I hope we find real holiness, real compassion for the people of the Bahamas.
Dear God, we thank you for not leaving generosity and compassion up to chance. Thank you for reserving a place for all of us who missed the first invitation by circumstance or neglect, for those of us who have just arrived. In and through Jesus you have made a seat for us all. Help us to do the same. Amen.
The Journey 