Too Late.

They told me I was too late. For some reason the stores have started to switch their sale days. It used to be that all the stores started their sales on Saturday. Well, not anymore. I showed up on Friday to get one of the weeks sale items and what do you know, there at the very bottom of the first page in small printing, that only a person with 20/20 vision could read, were those dreaded words, Sale Ends - Thursday.
So, like any red blooded Canadian would do, I walked away. HA! Not this time! I pleaded my case by saying, but you have always started your sales on Saturday. With that domineering stare she said, “Use to, but not anymore.” Then those hollow words came, “Sorry.” Ya, right you’re sorry. So I pushed it some more. Can’t you bend the rules just this one time? I knew it was futile when she looked out over the top of her glasses and stared me down. Then I did the Canadian thing, paid the full price and walked away.
It’s not a good feeling to realize you are too late for the sale, too late for a ticket to a concert, too late to get a good seat or any seat at all. Our lives are filled with these occurrences but if we really think about it, most of them are minor in the whole scheme of things. What’s a few more dollars?
Well, for those in the Drumbo area of Ontario, you are too late. It was my last official service as Pastor of Drumbo Baptist Church. I remember a number of years ago writing about not missing something until it’s gone. Well, sorry to say, I’m gone. Over the last eight years I have met many of you outside regular church functions. You took time to corner me and talk about one article or another you read in this weekly paper. You may have even said, “You know, I should come out one Sunday and here you speak.” Well, unfortunately, you are too late.
Also, this is my last column for the church as well. This one you are reading right now is number 381. Where did the time go? How did I ever get this far and write about so many things? I remember sitting down and writing that first article. It was just like the others found in the paper. We came to church, we sang, we prayed, we listened and we went home. People do want to know what is happening in our churches. But I felt lead to share just a few words. Just like you I felt a need to say something about our struggles in life and how we can call on each other and God to help us through. Not over or under, but through. And so we have journeyed together. And if you have been blessed, encouraged or changed by anything I wrote, feel free to drop me a line, .
It has been my prayer that your reading of this column changed you. As a better writer then I put it, “It is not my desire to bring you to the brook and make you drink but to make you thirsty.” So with this last article I change my hat. Now I will write as your friend.
You are not too late. It is not too late to get to know God or know Him better. It is not too late to recognize that He cares for you. And it is not too late to get close to Him. There is no expiry date printed on your get into heaven free card. I leave you with my life verse, “That I may know Him.” Do you know Him? Just close your eyes. He’s listening. “God, I hope I’m not too late, but I was wondering, why . . .”
Blessings Rob

An Empty Field

As most of you know, the Harvest Carnival was a great success. We had a wonderful outdoor service Sunday morning even with the cooler temperature. Suzie Sweetman, Johnny Frame and Darryl came and sang to God. What a great time! Did you miss it? Well, the tent is down and the barbeque is put away and the bleachers have disappeared.
So, if you are available to get over there today, all you will see is the empty fair ground with well-worn grass. You missed it.
There are many things we miss in life. Think back. I’m not talking about that commercial where the fellow keeps saying he misses things because he is cleaning his glasses and flings them in the garbage. He should clean them after the fact. Maybe he is just a little obsessive compulsive.
But there are things we miss in life. Every one of us can relate to a time, when we missed something because we had the date mixed up. I remember showing up for a party only to be greeted by an empty street. I called the house and casually asked, only to be told it was the day before. He never knew I was calling him from out front of his house.
My greatest fear is forgetting a wedding I am supposed to officiate at. Hasn’t happened yet and I pray it never will. We miss out on other things due to too many commitments. I’m committed, not to the Ontario Hospital, to this and that and the other thing. I have to say no to some things as I prioritize which activity is most important. After all we are not able to be in two places at once.
We miss appointments due to traffic or car trouble. Remember when cars were not as reliable as they are today, especially tires? When I worked at Ford, I had a problem with one particular car and one set of tires and rims. At 5:30 in the morning I became very proficient at changing a tire and could do it in five minutes.
We also miss many other things due to us not being in the right place at the right time. You’ve said it and so have I, “I wish I had been there.” That is the positive side and the negative is, “If I had been two seconds earlier . . . ” You finish the sentence.
I want to tell all of you, there is no wrong time or missing something. God in His wisdom places us in the right place at the right time to experience the right things for our benifit. It is where we can know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is in control and we know He cares for us. Weither it’s good or bad, God knows what we need and what is right for us. Because, ultimately life is a series of events that steer us closer to Him. Kind of like a car with no steering wheel. We think we are directing it but in actual fact God is doing the steering. He is moving us forward and moving us forward to Him.
The next time you miss getting in an accident or miss falling down stairs, repeat the line after me;
“If it wasn’t for the grace of God I would be . . . ”
And if it wasn’t for the grace of God we would not see heaven. My prayer is that none of us miss that journey.
Rob

God sees the . . .

There were so many things about Sunday that moved my heart. There was music, and there were people, food, prayers and singing. But nothing moved me more then knowing God is ever, always, with us. He was there then, just as He is with you now as you read this.
This coming Sunday, for those people who are afraid of the roof falling in if they enter the church building, we will be celebrating our worship of God in the Pavilion at 10 a.m.. We do this every year in conjunction with the Harvest Carnival. Come and join us for more of the same. At the same time we will be able to enjoy nature surrounding us.
Nature has a way of telling us many things. We observe and wonder why it is the way it is. Then we try to replicate it in our lives. You do it, I do it and the campers sure do it. A few months ago I enjoyed a visit with Stan Johnson in front of his kitchen sink. No, we were not talking while doing dishes. We were watching the birds at his feeders just outside his kitchen window. It is fascinating to each of us.
Birds are funny. You probably already knew that and didn’t need me to tell you. Early the next day, after my visit with Stan, I filled my bird feeder before going about my morning chores. It wasn’t long before I heard some birds screeching. Turning around I caught sight of a blue Jay scaring off all the small birds. He was hungry and he did not want to share.
Then came the sparrows after the jays’ departure. Now as plain as they appear, they are wonderful to see come to the feeder. The reason is, once they know where food is, they tell all their friends. They don’t care if the food is in the next block or right here in front of the old bald guy. They tell everyone.
Seagulls are similar but with a twist. They not only tell all their friends there is food but they scream to scare the others away so they get all the food themselves. Almost like, “see what I have. You can’t have any!”.
Then it hits me. Here we are in our churches, keeping God to ourselves. It’s past time for us to share what we found. After all, there is lots of God’s love to go around. A good number of years ago, there was an ad campaign, “I Found It.” In concept is was a good one. The problem was, all these little businesses used it for a jumping off campaigns of their own. For a few weeks we saw the ads and wondered what they found. Then the whole ad came into view. I found it! I found Jesus and you can find Him to.
I have to ask myself if we have found it and want to keep it all to ourselves like the Blue Jay or the seagull. God calls us “go” and tell the world. But for one reason or another we don’t. We have the greatest gift the world has ever received and it is too bad we want to keep it for ourselves. So you people who have Christ, what are you going to do with Him this week?
Think of the sparrow, going and telling all the others as you sing.
God sees the little sparrow fall it meets His tender view,
If God so loves the little birds, I know He loves (all of us) me too.
Rob