Shades of Gray

Dean's Musings

 

   A phrase that has been over-used is “it’s a new day.”  The sentiment goes without saying:  we are living in an age unlike any in the past.   Here are some examples of how fast things

are changing:

¨ In 2000 people sent 12 billion emails a day. In 2010 we daily send 247 billion emails.

¨ There were 4 Reality Shows on TV in

2000. In 2010 we've got 320.

¨ We sent only 400,000 text messages in

2000.  This year we'll send 4.5 billion.

¨ We did 100 million Google Searches every day in 2000. Now we do 2 billion

daily Google Searches.

¨ There were 282,242 books published in 2000. Compare that to the 1,852,883

books we'll publish in 2010.

¨ We performed 0 iTunes downloads in 2000. There will be 10 billion iTune

downloads in the year 2010.

   The above factoids appeared recently on Rev. Mark Beeson’s blog.  It is a reminder that nothing seems to stay the same . . .

everything is in flux. 

   The reality, however, is that the core ingredients of life do not change.  The elements necessary to sustain life do not change; H20 is still two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen.  We need the light and

warmth from the Sun in order to exist.

   In order for our lives to be stable and meaningful, they must be built on a faith in One who is more that we can experience with the five senses.  Material objects cannot ultimately satisfy the longing of the soul. 

Only God can do that.

   The trappings of life may change . . . and change dramatically in a short period of time; but, the core of who and whose we are never does.  You can count on it.

 

Holding On

   Life in "the snowbelt" is taking its toll.  It is physically wearing as I try to keep the driveway shoveled (the parsonage in Logansport has a large driveway).  The extended cold and snow have run down my resistence . . . and I now have a bad cold--which fortunately, is getting better. 

   It is also emotionally wearing.  December was a colder month than normal.  I kept telling myself that since December had a lot of bitter cold days, then January and February would be milder--after all, isn't that the way it is supposed to work?  Such was simply "wishful thinking" on my part.  It seems as though there is no let-up.  We are in the midst of three days whose high temperatures will not exceed 15 degrees.  Tonight it is to dip down to -4 degrees. 

   The weather forcaster talked this morning about reaching the 50's next week.  It has been so cold for so long that I cannot quite remember how a 50 degree day feels.  It seems like almost too much to hope for, but I desperately long for it.  What will it look like to see the huge piles of snow begin to melt away?

   I have to admit that this is a fair analogy of many of our faith journeys.  Life throws one difficult event after another at us.  We keep waiting for a let-up so we can catch our breath . . . but, sometimes it seems as though the let-up is never going to come.  We get battered by one "storm" after another.  But, like the warmer temperatures predicted for next week, faith tells us that the best is yet to come . . . even though we can't quite imagine it.  "Hold on just a little bit longer, and it'll all be over."  That's what weire told . . . now to do it . . . to believe . . . to anticipate . . . to hope.

It Comes Around Again

   I am not an accomplished "blogger."  It is not hard to figure this out since the last time I posted anything is over two years ago.  Putting my thoughts on paper is not how I commonly function.  Life keeps moving on whether we want it to or not.  The death of a close relative has reminded me that family is precious . . . and that putting off until tomorrow may be too late.  I think about the conversations that Rebecca and I had about family and our remembrances of them.  Rebecca was able to fill in missing "pages" about older relatives that I never knew well.  Now Rebecca has died . . . and one more source of information to the past has slipped away.

   I find that my roots are ever more important to me.  I guess I wish that I had paid more attention to conversations among my parents and my aunts & uncles--particularly as they related to generations that I never met nor knew.  So much of family history is "oral tradition."  Dad took me to a cemetery and told me that one of my ancesters fought in the Revolutionary War and was buried in that cemetery.  I doubt that I could find the grave now--I'm not sure that Dad actually found it, but rather, pointed to the general location that he had been told about by his mother (it was one of my paternal grandmother's relatives).  My material grandfather took me to a small country cemetery to point out his relatives' graves so someone would "remember." 

   I hope that I am doing the same for my children . . . pointing out the "stepping stones" to the past--to their heritage.  I find my faith is the same sort of issue.  I value my roots in a small country church more and more.  I would like to think that my faith is more "enlightened" than what I initially picked up in that small church, and yet, I value the depth of the people's faith.  I value my roots.

Life's Good . . . isn't it?

   The weather's suddenly turned cold, windy, and dark.  It's time to get out my Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun", play that a few times, close my eyes, and imagine a bright sunny day.  Somehow, that doesn't make life any more cheery.  When the "dark" days arrive, I remind myself that life is choked full of both the bright/cheery and the dark/sad times.  I am not a believer in Yin & Yang . . . and yet "good" can only be defined if we have something with which to compare it.  And so we have these days.

   I reflect on life and realize how blessed I have been--blessed enough to survive the "dark" days and believe that the best is yet to come.  It is not what I don't have that holds me back . . . it is who I don't know (or at least, don't know well enough).  It is in relationships that direction, values, meaning, and happiness come together for my life.  I pledge myself to slow down just a bit so that I can appreciate and cherish the relationships I now have(the love of a wife and children)--and nurture new ones.

   A "dark" day . . . I don't think so.