I Have an Office?

Wow! I really do have an office. In fact, I have two offices. I have an upstairs office and a downstairs office. My upstairs office is large, comfortably furnished, and nicely decorated. My downstairs office is more like a study. It's not as nice as the upstairs office, but it has a private bathroom with a shower -- it's perfect for a quiet place to study or talk to some of my senior adults who have difficulty with the stairs. It's great to have two offices, but in the last 8 days, I think I have spent about two hours there. I just want to say that it's not because I'm goofing off. It's the same reason I haven't posted on here for a while. Our church family has been hit hard with grief in these last 8 days. I've preached at four funerals and attended two others. All six of these were somehow connected with our church family. So if you read this, please pray for these families who are grieving over the loss of their loved ones. But at the funeral I attended today, the pastor made a statement that really summed it all up. Here it is: "When Randy was born, he cried, but all around him people were smiling and laughing. On Saturday, when Randy died, everyone around him was crying, but Randy was smiling and laughing because he went home to be with Jesus." What an amazing thought.

Transformations

Have you ever watched one of these home improvement shows where they completely transform your house for $2000? Well, maybe they don't do your whole house, but you know what I'm talking about. My wife is hooked on these shows, and I must admit, there are times when I enjoy watching as well. Usually, those are the times when there are no good Chuck Norris, Stephen Segall, Sci-fi shows on that I like to watch. But it is amazing to me to watch how these "experts" can come in and on a minimal budget change a room so dramatically that the homeowners are overwhelmed with emotion. Who would have thought that a little paint and a few pieces of tile could make such a difference? Inevitably, when they do the big "reveal," the homeowners scream and cry and cover their faces with their hands while the show's hosts describe what they have done. Why, you may ask, am I writing about this? Because this time of year is the time of transformation. I am amazed at the way things are coming to life around me. The Bradford Pear trees in our front yard are amazingly beautiful with their white flowers and green leaves. The daffodils are amazing as their little flowers open wide. As you drive down the highway, you look into the fields and see newborn calves and horses walking around on wobbly legs. And this Sunday, we will celebrate the greatest transformational power in the world: the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. He died so that all who place their faith in Him might have life abundant and eternal. Through Him, our sins are forgiven, and our lives are changed forever. Happy Easter!

A New Day

It's over. The funeral, I mean. And the most I can say about it is that it was an adventure. A little bit of everything to entertain. There were, of course, the distant (and not so distant) relatives with their, "I remember when you were this big...." And the, "Oh, you look just like your dad." And, "You look just like your mom." And the really strange one, "You look like your dad from here up and your mom from here down." What? Then there were the stories that I just would rather not have heard -- and I won't ever put them in print! Tears flowed. Laughter echoed through the funeral home. There were lots of hugs and "I'm sorry for your loss." There were the ever-present, "She looks so good!" "It looks just like her." I know people mean well, but she didn't look good. She didn't look like herself. In fact, I'm already planning for the day that my body lies in that casket and someone comes up and says, "It looks just like him." I think I will sit up and smack them. God never intended for our lifeless bodies to look like us. It is just an empty shell. I personally believe that it is our soul that makes us who we are -- I think it even helps us look like us. Is that crazy? I don't think so. There is one more thought I would like to share with you concerning the funeral. At times like this, family is important. I have the greatest family in the world. They walked with me through these difficult days and made me laugh when I wanted to cry. And my church family -- they are the best. The cards, the food, the flowers they have sent were topped only by their prayers and their presence. Words cannot express how much I appreciated them. And so now it dawns, a new day full of the adventure called life. Don't you just love what God does for us everyday?

New Birth

Life is irony! As my mother, 71 years old, breathed her last breaths in the Intensive Care Unit, the sweet music signifying the birth of a child played over the hospital speaker system -- not once but twice. When we left the hospital in Kentucky, the ground was covered with five inches of snow. When we arrived home in Alabama, the trees in our front yard were budding and flowers were blooming. Life. Death. New life. A cycle that we are so familiar with. Why, then, does it surprise us when it happens? I think it's because we think death only happens to other people and their families. Or perhaps it has more to do with wishful thinking -- that God wouldn't allow such things to happen to us. Our wonderful Sunday School teacher, Mike Crow, was talking about 1 Corinthians 3 yesterday. As he was teaching, I was thinking about how our works are tried as if by fire, but it isn't just our works that are tried. The "fire" of life touches us all. We call them trials and tribulations, suffering and circumstances. And God allows all of it to happen to burn away/purge the sinful aspects of our lives. It's all a part of the "perfecting" process through which we become more like Jesus, the very thing we are predestined to be. More irony? It begins with life then death then new life. As Jesus told Nicodemus, physical birth won't do it. It is only when we die to self that we can accept His gift of new life. And it is that new life that gives me the peace I have in this moment. Peace because He walks with me through this dark valley. Peace because I know I will see my mother again one day. God is so good.

Life Support

I sit at my computer today pondering the concept of life and death. I feel uniquely qualified to do this because of my position as pastor, son, and friend. Let me explain. Over the 20+ years I have spent in ministry, I have stood by the bedsides of men and women taking their last breaths. I have stood at the pulpit and spoken words over many of these. I have offered hope and comfort to their families. But right now, I find myself on both the giving and receiving end of things. My 71 year old mother is in a hospital in Kentucky struggling for life hooked up to a ventilator and being fed through a tube. At the same time, the 20 something year old grandson of a church member is experiencing the same thing because of an automobile accident. Isn't it strange that whether one is 20 or 71 we still face the same issue of life and death? Some cry, "Unfair! Why should a 20 year old man in the prime of his life, by all accounts a 'good kid,' be faced with the possibility of death?" But I say, "Death is as much a part of life at 20 as it is at 70." In fact, when an infant is born, death looms large. The slightest mistake by a doctor, the wrong turn of the wheel by a parent, a bad decision by one of the almost 6 billion people on the planet, and death becomes a real possibility. So what on earth can we do? Trust the One who holds the keys of life and death, the One who holds all our tomorrows, the One who faced down death on a cross so that all who would look to Him, could have victory over death, the grave, and hell. His name is Jesus, and there is no other name that brings hope when death approaches.