Fixing A Crooked Beam

I was up at our family cabin recently and as I looked up at the open beams on the ceiling, an old conversation from twenty years earlier came back to haunt me.

“You know, I don’t think that I ever forgave you for that crooked beam.”

The year was 2000 and I was up at the family cabin sitting at the dining room table eating lunch with my (now departed) father-in-law. We had gone to the cabin to install some trim on some doors and a stained-glass window that I had recently created and installed.

I looked up from my lunch that I had been enjoying to ask what he said to me.

And his statement seemed out of character for this man who was known for his kindness and the gracious way that he treated people. He certainly was not known for holding a grudge or holding back forgiveness.

“What did you say?”; I asked him now that he had my full attention.

 “I said I don’t think that I ever forgave you for that crooked beam.” He said as he pointed up to the open rafters on the North side of the ceiling.

He saw my puzzled look and continued with his razzing; “When you were installing that beam, I had commented that you were about to install the beam on the wrong side of the line. Now, as I look up, I see that the beam is installed crooked. And, I was making a comment that I don’t think that I ever forgave you for that crooked beam.”  

I struggled for words to correct him but I knew that he was right. He had said it but my youthful pride had prevented me from admitting that I was wrong or at least from stopping to look at what he was talking about prior to nailing the beam in place.

After all, I was working construction and helped him to build this cabin. I was the professional. I was doing this for a living five to six days a week.

He, on the other hand, had only learned what he knew about construction from his father who was a carpenter and had come from a long line of Norwegian wood workers, carpenters, and ship builders.

Oh, and anything else he learned as he studied structural engineering.

And all of the construction projects that he had done over the years; including a large two-story addition on their home long before I came into the picture.

My pride had prevented me from learning from someone, who didn’t work occupationally in construction, but who had noticed that I was about to do something wrong.

Now I sat, looking up at the ceiling as I pondered what it would take to correct the situation. I see it each and every time I go to the cabin.

First of all, I would need to take off the whole roof system; which included shingles, ice-and-water shield (which would be glued to the roof), plywood, polystyrene, and one-inch roof boards in order for me to remove and replace the beam in its proper place.

And that would be just to replace the beam.

In order to get my father-in-law’s forgiveness, I would need to exhume the coffin and then raise him from the dead, drive him to the cabin eighty miles away and then, after showing him the beam, ask for his forgiveness.

The truth is I was able to have a conversation with him to understand that he was simply razzing me for not listening to him. He let me know that he didn’t hold it against me. 

But what if I hadn’t been able to hear his “aught” against me and asked for his forgiveness? What if he had taken it to his grave when he died seven years later never sharing with me that he had something between us?

More than a crooked beam, unforgiveness will haunt both sides for the rest of your life. And that is no way to live.

Jesus said;

“Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)

All Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Stop, Look, and Listen

Nancy Claster, who will forever remain Miss Nancy in the hearts and minds of her loyal fans as television's original "Romper Room" teacher, died this past week of cancer. She was 82.

Do you remember Romper Room? Daily televisions were turned on to find a friendly woman who seemed to be able to see us while we were in our living rooms using her Romper Room Magic Mirror.

The Romper Room hostess finished each program by gazing through an empty mirror frame and reciting the names of the children whom she pretended to see watching the program (a different list of names each day). For example, “I see Tommy and Cathy and Joe and Vickie and Stan and all you boys and girls out there.”

 

During the show, simple life lessons were taught on things like manners, kindness, and waiting your turn. Sometimes other life lessons like Stop, Look, and Listen.

That particular message was pretty simple: When you come to a railroad track, you are supposed to stop, look, and listen until proceeding on. The goal was to prevent being run over by a train.

As I said, the lesson was simple; so simple that it was taught to elementary students; which is funny considering the application wouldn't be applied in their lives until ten years later when they were drivers!

Yes, the lesson was given specifically for when one comes to a train crossing. But; and hopefully you figured this out yourself, the lesson was taught so that it could be applied to other situations in our lives.

And yet, lately, I have been thinking that many adults seem to have forgotten that lesson when they got older. I observe too many adults who are doing way too much talking instead of listening.

I see way too many people in situations in which they are metaphorically about to be run over, and, they hit the gas instead of doing what they were instructed to do:

·  STOP when you are entering a dangerous situation.

·  LOOK at where you are about to enter

·  LISTEN (that means that you have to stop talking)

Too many people who fail to see they do not have to voice their opinions on everything they see posted by others.

Too many people who then pass on their opinions to all of their friends in the form of a post or video.

Too many people who simply need to stop posting, stop ranting, stop forwarding, stop insisting that their way is the only way!

Too many people who simply need to look at who might be reading their posts, look deeply with eyes of compassion and empathy at those with whom they have a differing point of view.

Too many people who simply need to listen. This, of course, implies that one needs to stop talking (including texting, tweeting, or posting) to do so!

You might be surprised just how much you have in common with someone you see as your opponent.

⁹ Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; ¹¹ not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; ¹² rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; ¹³ distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. ¹⁹ Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ Therefore

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

All Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

al dente

"cooked so as to be still firm when bitten".

At the risk of being corrected, I will instruct all of you eager readers as to how to cook pasta…I say risk because every cook and chef across this world of ours has an opinion as to how to correctly cook pasta. 

And each one thinks that he or she is correct.

I press on...

1.) In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a rolling boil; 

2.) Add salt and bring to boil again.

3.) Add package of pasta to boiling water.

4.) Stir pasta until all of the pasta is submerged.

5.) Bring to a rolling boil again.

6.) Cook pasta for approximately 10 minutes; stirring frequently.

7.) When pasta is al dente remove from heat.

8.) Pour pasta into colander and drain water.

9.) Serve.

Al dente means that the pasta is not overcooked; for that would make it limp, gummy, and hard to chew. 

Al dente means that the pasta is cooked perfectly with a bite. The pasta has gone from a dried, hardened posture to one that is pliable, flexible, and open to receive a sauce. Ora di mangiare! (time to eat).

 

Pretty simple procedure: Boil water, place inflexible and dried product into the boiling water until it flexible and open to receive something to make it better. 

Most of us who cook never really over-analyze this process or ponder it for that matter because it is the necessary process pasta must go through...

So, challenge accepted! I will ponder or should I say chew on this process...

Did you ever notice how closely this describes the process we sometimes goes through to bring real change in our life? And yet, when the process happens in our life, we see it as something strange that is happening to us. 

We start off in some areas of our lives; stiff, ridged, inflexible, and seemingly impervious to receiving good things in our life.

So, we are placed in "hot water" and the heat gets turned up...until all around is turbulent; or least it seems that way as we try to contain the rolling surroundings that seem to be spilling out everywhere. 

Salt is added to preserve, season, and bring flavor, but we can't see the value because it often comes in the form of tears and other times stings as it is poured into our gaping wounds.

The long process seems like an eternity as we are tossed to and fro trying to make sense of it all...yearning to get out of our circumstance...as the relentless waves continue their (seemingly) merciless agitation.

"What is going on?!?" We cry out to a chef whom we cannot see...wondering why He has walked off and left us alone to take another ride on this furious wave.

And as quickly as the process seemed to come on, it ends as we are removed from the pot as the hot water is drained and we breathe a sigh of relief.

"What was that for?" We ask without realizing that in the process we have been changed into something different than we were before. 

We've taken on a new posture; where we were once stiff, ridged, inflexible, and seemingly impervious to receiving good things in our life…we are now flexible and pliable and able to receive life.

Yes, it was longer then we would've liked, but it really wasn't too long (not overcooked). The timing was just right for what was necessary to change us into one who could be used by the Chef as He intended; as He purposed from the time that we were made.

"Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you." (1 Peter 4:12).  

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (James 1:2-4)

Vulnerable on the Ice

Most people have heard the story of Peter walking on water (Matthew 14:22-34). He made a request to Jesus (who was also walking on the water) to be able to walk on water and Jesus granted his request and told Peter to come to Him. 

Peter walked on the water towards Jesus. That is until Peter looked at the strong winds and the waves and he became terrorized and began to sink. And Jesus reached to Peter and pulled him to safety.

We read the story and are either amazed that Peter was able to do so or we write him off as faithless because he was afraid and sank.

I personally have spent a major portion of my life walking on water; which really isn't that hard considering the fact that it is in a frozen state when I do so...Usually going thirty miles per hour with a piece of 1/4" steel strapped to each foot.

So walking on water (for me) doesn't seem to be that big of a deal...that is until I try to do so when it it ISN'T frozen or else when I don't have skates on. Then, for me, it is very hard to walk on water.

I ran into this recently when I was making my rounds around the local ice rinks picking up hockey pucks. I hit a patch of ice (on the ice) and my feet almost slipped from beneath me. Almost; but I didn't...and I was able to stabilize myself and not fall down.

I voiced a "thanks" to the LORD for His intervention as I continued my journey around the rink and then made my way home. 

When I arrived home and stepped out of my vehicle, I hit a very small patch of ice in my driveway and went from standing upright to a horizontal position of the ground in a millisecond; tearing my jeans as I cut my knee on the frozen ground.

I voiced a "thanks" to the LORD for His intervention as I brushed myself off and went into the house to attend to my knee that was now bleeding. 

As I was taping a gauze pad to my knee, I pondered how I was unable to do the simple task of walking on a tiny piece of ice; after all I do it several times a week on rinks that are about 1,400 square feet. The piece of ice that I slipped on was only about one square foot!

Had I, like Peter, taken my eyes off the LORD; troubled by my surroundings? 

No, I was simply missing a key component necessary for me to walk on water; my ice skates. 

And yet, like Peter, I realized that even with skates I still need the LORD to do what I do. My ability to walk on water was predicated by my ice skates.

That slip on the ice in my driveway was a wake-up call to me how complacent I can get as I look to myself to do what I do.

Symbolically, the ice skates represents the gifts, abilities, and anointing that comes from the LORD that enables me to do what I need to do. I realized (as I was bandaging my wound) just how vulnerable I am in this life; how dependent I am upon the LORD. 

There is no way that I can walk through the slipperiness of this world on my own efforts or strength. And just like walking on ice, it doesn't matter how often or many times that I have done something...Simply put, I NEED HIM FOR EVERYTHING THAT I DO!

So I pondered...how many times have I tried to do things in my own strength and abilities as I lean on my past experiences? 

How many times have I ignored the near slips or the actual slips as opportunities for me to hear the LORD calling out to me to look to Him instead of myself?

Bottom line: we ALL need Jesus.

One of the problems with having successes is that we have the illusion that we can do this on our own, and so we slowly drift away from Him.

But when we slip and fall day after day after day trying to do things in our own strength; that is when we become more aware of how much we need Jesus.

The Good News is that when we turn and call out to Jesus, He IMMEDIATELY welcomes us with open arms

Oh Jesus; help me to see You and to keep my eyes upon You lest I continue to slip and fall or sink...

Keep your stick on the ice; I'm pulling for you!

Tumultuous Tomato

I love all types of tomatoes; especially ones that are vine-ripened.  And this is the time of the year when they can be picked and eaten right off the vine.

But, since I live in Minnesota and I don’t have a greenhouse, all winter I settle for eating pink tomatoes that were harvested and shipped before they could come to full maturity.

As I eat them, I dream of summer when I can go into my garden and pick one at the fullest possible time of maturity; ripened to perfection!

This year is no exception…

Day after day I have been watching for the first red tomato of the season, eagerly and patiently anticipating the day when it would be introduced to my taste buds.

I should also add that this year I removed our six-foot high barrier fence because it blocked the sun from fully reaching our garden…

 

And I built a new much shorter picket fence in its place so that neighbors would have an easier time picking our abundant raspberries - that we can’t possibly use all for ourselves. Year after year we get so many that even with freezing we still don’t have enough room to store them.

This year was no exception and because we would be on the road for much of July, we decided to invite all of our neighbors to partake so that none of the raspberries would be wasted. The same went for any of the other fruits and vegetables that were in our garden.

One of the days that we were home (in between our many road trips), I noticed that one of the tomatoes was starting to ripen. I was hoping that it would come to maturity the next time that we were home.

The next time I came home from our travels, I heard from many neighbors and friends who thanked us for the raspberries; confessing they had come multiple times and each time hauled away a “boat load”.

I also noticed that the tomato was almost perfect. I would give it a few more days so that it would be perfectly ripe. My mouth waited in eagerness for this day of bliss that was coming!

 

The next morning, I noticed that the tomato was missing. My immediate thought was; “Who would take my tomato without asking me?” (now that I was home). I used my placid facade to conceal the tumult of my mind.

Just as quickly as the tumultuous emotions tried to come up, they were replaced by thoughts of my own stinginess. After all, I had invited neighbors to take whatever they wanted; I should be glad that I had something to give.

Believe it or not, over the next two days whenever I went into the garden to pick raspberries, I would look at the tomato plant and wonder who took it?

And, just as quickly as the tumultuous emotions tried to come up, they were quickly replaced by words of scripture:

“You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry” (James 1:19b) 

“Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.” (Proverbs 21:23) 

 “Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.” (Proverbs 22:9)

“…but the godly are generous givers.” (Psalm 37:21b)

Today when I went into the garden to pick raspberries and I looked at the tomato plant, my eye saw something red. No, not me but a tomato. But it wasn’t in the garden. It was laying beneath a tree and about one forth of it was eaten…

A squirrel had taken it; not a person; I had been wrong...I realized that it was a good thing that I hadn’t allowed my mind to “take someone to court” over a tomato.

I almost took an offense and got mad at “someone” over a missing piece of fruit! Thank God for His grace!

 “Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.” (Proverbs 13:3)

Reflecting, I find it amazing how stingy I (we) can be over something like that. Who cares if it had been a person and not a squirrel who took it; that is what it was there for!

It also shows just how much I (we) don’t trust God for His provision. The Apostle Paul wrote;

 “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. ⁹ As the Scriptures say,

“They share freely and give generously to the poor.
    Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” (2 Cor 9:8-9)

May God change our hearts and open our hands of anything that we would hold back from one who needs something.

All Scripture if from New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Where Were You?

It was May 1960 something and was attending Mass with my father.

Vatican 2 had been implemented and when I walked into the church, there was a small table in the aisle that contained two bowls.

I was asked to take a communion wafer from one bowl and place it in the other to signify that I desired to receive communion that day during the Mass.

Because I was young (around seven or eight) and was in a hurry, I accidentally bumped the table on my way to my pew; spilling the communion wafers onto the floor.

Without really thinking or having any remorse, I continued to my pew assuming that someone else would clean the mess up and that my dad was right behind me.

I found my spot and sat down wondering where my dad was…not realizing that he was the person who was cleaning up my mess. My mind quickly wandered onto other distractions as I looked around the church to see if I could find a girl on whom I had a secret crush

About ten minutes later, my dad came to the pew. I’m guessing that discernment wasn’t one of my gifts back then because before he was able to ask me why I had walked away, I asked him; “Where were you?”

I was upset that he had taken off instead of following me to the pew so I turned away from him (which is probably why I didn’t see his face).

Here I was, mad at my dad and he had done nothing wrong. Instead of yelling at me for making a mess, embarrassing him, and then walking away, he stooped down and cleaned up my mess.

He chose to take a position of a servant and cleaned up my mess.

And I was ungrateful.

We do that with our Heavenly Father (dad); don’t we? We think that we are following Him and assume that He is following us to where we are going, and we don’t realize that He has gone elsewhere as we have gone our own direction.

To make things worse, we get mad at Him and raise our fists to the air as we cry out; “Where were You?”

We are totally oblivious to the fact that He was cleaning up the mess that we had just made. The mess that we ignorantly assumed somebody else would take care of.

We demand an answer… and He had done nothing wrong.

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2:5-7)

Instead of yelling at us for making a mess, embarrassing Him, and then walking away, He chose to take a position of a servant, stooped down, and cleaned up our mess.

My friend, just because you can’t always see God (or most of the time can’t figure out where He is), doesn’t mean that He isn’t there.

Just because you can’t always understand or get your questions answered, doesn’t mean that He doesn’t care.

The Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah and said;

“Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’ (Isaiah 41:10 &13)

He is there; He does care and He wants to help you. In fact, He laid down His life in exchange for your mess.

“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:8)

And like a good dad, He is willing to clean up your mess. He is asking us to agree with Him (confess) and receive the gift of salvation.

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

All Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.