A trail hike was the perfect order of the day. The boys were excited about the idea. It would be a good workout and it would be good to be together. We planned to leave immediately after lunch. I noticed Daniel, who will be ten in November, and Wes, who will be seven in December, scrambled for their gear. They had spent the morning pouring over outdoor outfitter catalogs looking at sophisticated equipment that would be sufficient to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. I thought back over the years to the hours I spent with my official Boy Scout handbook. I was disgusted to remember that I spent more time reading about nature than I spent experiencing it. That’s when I said, “Guys, let’s just use the day packs we have and take a nice hike this afternoon.” They say the smallest deed is better than the grandest intention. The boys heartily agreed.
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Warnings and Evil Influence
Have you ever noticed that we rarely if ever get ourselves into trouble without overriding a warning first? Sometimes we ignore a series of warnings before we plunge headlong into trouble. Even though there are evil influences all around us God influences us to do right and warns us about evil. In his infinite creativity, though a network of angels, the voice of the Spirit, the dictates of His word, or the agency of human authorities God is always faithful to warn His children when they are about to do something harmful or foolish. Sometimes he uses Grandpas.
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Fallen Comrades
They say you find out who your friends really are when trouble comes into your life. Sometimes people you counted on are no help when you need them. Others you did not expect to help come to your aid. It’s one of the things that makes life interesting. It is true in the world and it is true in the Church. It is true at war and it is even true on the golf course.
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Just In Time
I almost didn’t make it. I pushed all day to be ready to go at five. I would miss breaks and skip lunch and call in favors from others in the office. I had planned my route and I had timed it in my mind over and over again.
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How Much Do I Owe You?
My Grandpa was a country parson. Dad is a village pastor too. So it is something I understand and love. It is a part of my earliest memories. When I was a little boy we lived in a wonderful farmhouse, near Wayland, Michigan, which was loaned to the church for a parsonage. It was a big bungalow-style house surrounded by barns, a chicken-house and other outbuildings, a working windmill, and a lane trailing back to a mysterious wood. A huge coal furnace in the basement warmed the house. The massive furnace always fascinated me probably because Dad once used it to illustrate the horrors of eternity away from God. He opened the big door and said; “Can you imagine suffering in fire for all eternity?” Those kinds of things tend to stick in your mind. Not all my memories are so sobering.
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Cry Out to God
When we face a foe so formidable that our life is threatened it is appropriate to cry out in desperation to God. Psalm 50:15 says “Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you and you will glorify me.” When I cried out to God in June of 2000 God gave me a level of self-control I have never known. Within six months I had lost 105 pounds. I am still experiencing that self-control today. Before I cried out I had to understand that my gluttony was a deadly sin. Only then did I cry out for God to deliver me.
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