And, He walks with me and . . .

At this time of year I am reminded of the passage Paul wrote to the Philippians. “I press on . . . ” Parents, grandparents and summer time babysitters are echoing those words every day. Or maybe the words were more like this; “Lord help me!”. For some, it’s been a long summer. Kids to take care of, children to take here, there and anywhere.
As with each summer, two things have happened with the wonderful care givers this time of year provides. They began the summer joining in with the children’s wonderful activities and then progressed to move time-consuming activities that didn’t take any energy on our part but wore out those darling little children. Time consuming walks in the park where you sat on the bench and the little ones put out lots of energy.
Just so you know, the end is in sight. This time next week, all that time will be again yours to discover. But face it, you will miss them. They will never be that age again. Their interests will change and when next year comes around, it will be a totally new experience for all of you. Wasn’t it fun? Ok, wasn’t it long? You will one day look back on this time with fondness. And yes, it’s all part of your life cycle. A wonderful part, an enjoyable part, a tiring part, but an unforgettable part all the same.
These few weeks are not part of history but part of memories. Just think of your wards and what they will remember about this past summer. I’m sure that it was not all good, but it was with you, when you could. And yes, there were no - thank you, without direct comments from the parent. The wonderful part of this is the beauty of it is never noticed at the time. For in those days and weeks, you have had the opportunity to teach your children, grandchildren many things the classroom doesn’t always convey. You taught them about life and walked with them on the journey side by side.
In this time you will have taught through examples the important life lessons you learned in your time. If all has gone well, there will have been times to go for that walk. Even time to chat and talk about when you were their age. Stories of summer vacations, school teachers you grew to hate, first kisses and friends you acquired long ago who have been your friend all these years.
A long time ago, I read this line. “Happiness in life is not a destination but a journey.” We are all on our own journey. A travel through time where we experience many turns, ups and downs, and life changing experiences we never wish on anyone. But we have all made it to today have we not? One day we will make that last day. We will walk the last step. Breathe the last breath. In the moment before our faith will be sight, our lives will flash before us and . . . and . . . and we will remember this past summer and be glad we made the time for it.
Enjoy the last few days of this summer of 2008. And don’t just take the children for a walk on your own. Wouldn’t be better to invite Jesus along with you? After all, isn’t He the friend you acquired long ago? And tell the children about Him, and you and your walk together with Him through all these wonderful years. We all need to walk with Jesus.
Something to think about.
Rob

You Can't Hide. . .

Do you remember the commercial on tv where the kid’s play hide and seek on the school playground? You know, the one where they were on the asphalt where there was nowhere to hide. Well, I have been thinking of it lately. This thought came about while I watched two young girls playing the same game.
I believe that everyone has at one time or another played that game. For most, it was when we were very young. We played it with children our own age. Others will have played it with our siblings. At those times, we had in our homes discovered that special place that no one knew about. The problem with those hiding places, they were so good, no one ever found us. So there we lay, wondering if they were coming. Then discovering to our chagrin that we had fallen asleep and an hour had passed and no one was looking for us.
It doesn’t take long for any of us to remember those certain hiding spots. But it also doesn’t take long to remember the outcome of hiding so well. It meant the game was over. And not only was it over but they didn’t tell anyone they couldn’t find us. No one came looking for us.
I distinctly remember one of those times. I counted to one hundred and started out looking and looking. Quickly moving from one room to the next. Being we had a small house there were not many rooms to look into. After checking all the rooms and not finding the one whose turn it was to hide I started all over again. This time I took my time. I searched under, over, in and behind. One room followed by another, by another, well, you get the idea. I believed they were nowhere to be found. I was stumped. Do you remember giving up? When we would give up, we would call out to the one hiding that we indeed give up. To our surprise and we each did it, they would appear as if from nowhere and we never did know where they had hidden.
The reason that I thought came as I read the words of Psalms 139. “Where can I hide from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” God knows where we are every second of every day of every week. He knows. We cannot hide from Him. There He is just standing back watching us do things we know we shouldn’t and He knows . . . But there is something more amazing than that. Are you ready for this? God can always be found. That one is in Jeremiah 29. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Did you notice something? There is a qualifier to find God. Just like when I slowed down and took my time to find the one that was hiding, I had to do it with all that is within me. The same is true when we seek God. We need, no, we must search for God, who lovingly knows where you are, and find Him.
Whatever you are searching for in your life, you can find it in Him. Whom are you searching for?
Something to think about.
Rob

I didn't know that!

I believe it was Plato who first coined the phrased. Not sure but sounds good to me. What he is supposed to have said is, “you don’t know what you don’t know.” For many of us, we would have to read that again and much slower . . . By then we will say it’s true and followed it by one of two lines, “Ya, so?” or “Don’t care.”
In either case we most likely will wander away from that statement thanking God for what we do know. And be assured, we know lots of things. Just ask a two year old what they have to go to get their way and they will tell you in great detail. Now move forward 10 years and you will most likely meet a person who knows it all and believes you have no idea.
Some professionals have difficulty with admitting they don’t know and even if they don’t know they will make up something just so they appear to know or sound intelligent. Now, realize that this is different then the people we call, “Know It Alls.” Most of these type of people, we avoid. Why do we avoid them? Probably because they make us look like we don’t know anything and that hurts. After all, we do know lots of things. In fact I would say that each one of us knows a lot about something, and something about most things. Well, we get by don’t we?
At some point we come to the realization that what we know is something we don’t really need to know. I don’t need to know how grass grows, or how a seed germinates. But I do need to know that God makes it work.
As you read this paper this morning, recognize those moments when you read something for the first time and say it to yourself, “I didn’t know that.” Go ahead, say it with me, “I didn’t know that.” At this exact point you will now know what you didn’t know.
By now you will be wondering what on earth I am talking about. Most Sunday mornings as I walk to Tim Horton’s to get Deborah a coffee I see so many people going about doing everything but going to church and meeting with God. They are consumed by what is on their agenda and don’t even give lip service to God and what He does for all of us. They do not even acknowledge He even exists. I wonder if God say, “You’re an atheist? Sorry I don’t believe in atheists.”
And I wonder, do they not know what they don’t know? My bible tells me, how can they know without a teacher. Maybe that is why we are here and just maybe, we can ask them about what they know and share what we know. And what we do know is:
But I know Whom I have believed,
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day.
Something to think about
Rob