Observations 16

My occasional blog series "Observations" was created to be an outlet to share a variety of topics that pop into my field of view as a result of a condition that many bloggers are afflicted with known as "blogger's eyes". In this state we view the world on the constant look-out for topics on which to write about. Today's blog came about from random odds 'n ends of things that I have noticed over the past few weeks.

• There is a local bagel shop that my daughter likes. Most times that we go there we come away without making a purchase because they are out of bagels. I wonder if we are the only ones who they are not making sales to.
  
• A friend of mine told me a funny anecdote. He went to the drugstore to buy a pair of reading glasses but could not find the price on the tag. He took it up to the front where the clerk pointed to it as plain as day. He told me that this was one of those chicken and egg kind of situations.
  
• College football coaches who make strong statements that they have the best job in the world and would never, ever resign their current positions are, most likely, full-blown hypocrites and liars. They are usually actively interviewing for other jobs and most who hold such "press conferences" are more likely than not to be in a new job before their next season starts.
  
• Some dude came into my office with horrendous B.O.. Even 15 minutes after he had left, his stench lingered thick. I am not sure what I ever did to him to be subjected to that torture.
  
• When someone cuts you off just before a stoplight so that they are the last one who can make it through, this is the vehicular equivalent of a kick in the slats.
  

Ditch

The other day we had a snow storm in my area. Starting at about 3:00 p.m. the skies just completely opened up. Everything was covered in about an inch of snow within an hour and that marked the beginning of rush hour. Heavy snow fall continued for the next three to four hours. In a part of the country that does not receive all that much snow, the available resources and equipment to plow and treat the roadways is fairly minimal. In such times, motorists have to rely on their driving skills, their patience, and their instincts.

My drive from work to home takes about 10 to 15 minutes on a normal day. However, as I got into my car at 5:00 p.m. and started home, I could tell that it would be slow going. After 30 minutes of crawling along at about 5 m.p.h. with half of my trip not yet behind me, I started to lose my patience. I couldn't believe how slowly the other drivers were inching along. Perhaps because I lived in the snow belt in Ohio for nearly 10 years and have had quite a bit of experience with driving in inclement weather, I felt like I had a right to grumble. However, just moments later I was forced to zip my lip and sober up a bit. A pickup truck that was coming off a highway off-ramp just about 100 yards in front of me lost control and spun in a full circle across the road. Then half a mile down the road a big SUV nearly ended up in the ditch two car lengths in front of me. That caused me to realize that folks were doing their best in pretty nasty conditions and I am sure were more than a bit nervous and frightened as they made their way home. It could have been me losing control of my vehicle just as easily as they did.

The final slap to my face was the report I heard after the storm. In that rush hour there were nearly five hundred accidents reported. Folks colliding with other cars, losing control and driving off the road, overturning their vehicles. There were many who were seriously injured and will bear the scars of that commute for the rest of their lives. I think that I have finally learned my lesson and will show more grace and patience with other drivers in the future.

Trampoline

Recently I wrote a post regarding the marks of a Christian life entitled Definitive Proof. In it I simply asked folks to play a kind of Gedanken thought experiment, where I asked them to consider how their lives would be different if definitive proof was uncovered that God did not exist. The point was to try to understand how their belief in God affects how they live. I got a number of responses, both online and offline. Yet none of the folks who responded could answer the question from the point of view that I had asked. They were either too stubborn, too rigid, or too scared to (in the words of Rob Bell from Velvet Elvis) jump. His point was that if we consider Christianity as a trampoline, we should not be afraid to jump on it, to test it out and put its claims to the test. Only by jumping can we make our faith our own. Only by jumping can we hope to answer the tough questions put to us. Only by jumping will we be armed to become Christian soldiers. Only by jumping will we be able to lead new folks to know Jesus.

If folks are unwilling to consider even in a thought experiment how their lives would be different if God were unequivocally shown not to exist, I would maintain that they are afraid to jump. I would further add that if their faith cannot stand up to humble and honest questions, then they cannot claim full ownership of their beliefs and they are quite likely blind to the tricks of the enemy, and even the reasonable questions of folks who do not know God and are curious. What do you think? Are you afraid to jump?

Yellow Straw

When my daughter was younger she used to help me in the kitchen as I made our lunches on the weekend. She was in charge of pouring our drinks, and always finished her task by inserting a straw into each glass. Taking from our favorite colors, she would give herself a blue straw and me a green straw. As she grew older, she left the lunch making and the drink pouring to me. When I would serve the food and bring out our drinks, she would always make a production out of swapping out my straw with a green one if I used a different color. Sometimes I would even put a different color straw in my glass just to start the game.

Over a few years, I came to subconsciously view this as a sort of test of my daughter's devotion and attention. I would put a yellow straw in my drink and hope that she would notice and change it out. It was a way that she told me that I was important to her. A few years ago I started to use a yellow straw in my drink. Since I made this switch, she has not noticed it.

I know that she is too old to play at such children's games, especially when she does not even remember the game or know that the game is being played. I know that she loves me with all of her heart. I know, but just once more, I would love for her to remove that yellow straw and replace it with my favorite green one.

Unto the Hills

Last Christmas (2011) my mother gave me a daily devotional called Unto the Hills by Billy Graham. I had been meaning to read one of his books for some time, but just hadn't gotten around to it. So, I used this as a start and worked it into my morning prayer time each day during 2012. Now, let me first state, that I am not a fan of books that are designed to be read one page per day. This "condition" has always brought me frustration. Partly this arises because I like to sit down and read a book, not dabble and plod along at someone else's pace. I hate being limited and manipulated. However, I managed to have a talking to myself and then settled in and followed the prescribed "curriculum".

This book is based on taking a verse or two from the Bible for each day's entry and expounding upon it. The verses chosen mostly follow in order from selections in Genesis in the Old Testament to selections in Revelation in the New Testament. It includes the sound and tender theology that Graham based his ministry on, as well as a number of personal stories and anecdotes. The daily devotionals are not meant for intensive study, but are rather limited to about a page in length and serve to reorient your mind and your thinking towards God and those around you, whether you read your devotionals in the morning before you start your day, as you get ready for bed and reflect back on your day, or whether you read when you catch a few moments for reflection. Not a bad effort to read through.

Mere Temptation

I don't know about you, but I have some notions trapped within my mind that are longing for expression. Yet it seems the more I struggle to give them voice, the more I am left mute for not finding the words to capture the essence of my feelings. Every once in a while, however, you stumble across someone who has found a way down that narrow path to precisely frame that loose wildling that had previously confounded you. Such was the case the other day when I came upon the following writing by C.S. Lewis from his master work, Mere Christianity. The topic is about temptation and the depth of struggles of those who have sought to overcome some of this strife in their own lives.

No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. This is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it; and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means - the only realist.

Hobbes Partner

There is a guy in my group at work whose job it is to provide technical support for whatever projects we are staging or preparing for or tearing down. He has been working at my laboratory for as long as I can remember. He would never be mistaken for a cultured, mannered, or refined gentleman. I know that he has had a pretty hard life with a past checkered by severe emotional and physical abuse. I do not believe that he ever earned a high school diploma. From the car he drives and his lifestyle, you can tell that he doesn't make grand sums of money. To top it all off, he is short and weighs nearly 300 lbs. Yet I consider him a friend, enjoy his company, and have learned much from him over the nearly 20 years that I have known him.

For one thing, he always has a smile on his face and is quick to share his infectious laughter with those around him. He gives his all at work every day, yet he makes time for anyone who has a question or needs something. He is loyal, honest, respectful, and gracious. He doggedly stands up for and looks out for his co-workers and he gives out positive encouragement like Brewster gave away his millions.

From what I have seen, he may not have much, but his life is rich and he gives away what he has. He is not a man of faith, but he openly demonstrates many traits of love and giving that Jesus taught. He is an example of how to live one's life with gusto and serves as a great example of how every single one of us, no matter what our station in life, can make a positive difference in the world around us.