A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Post Office

With the risk of coming across weird(er), I will admit that I think I hear from God. No, not audibly, but deep in my spirit.

And, at the risk of exposing others; I will go out on a limb and state that MANY people will confess that they too hear from God.

I would love to say that it is an exact science or formula: I ask God something and He answers me; clearly and very concisely. But, if I did have that ability or gift, I would probably somehow misuse it for my own gain.

What I am referring to are the times when we hear a prompting to do something or to not do something and we either take action steps or we don’t.

Sometimes it is hearing where I placed my phone or keys. This has been very helpful in saving me valuable time of unnecessary searching.

Sometimes it is hearing to call or write someone who is struggling. Oftentimes the other person will communicate that what I did was exactly what they needed to hear during a time when they were struggling or sad or sick or...

Sometimes the sense is to not open an email or friend request on Facebook. And when I obey, I save the embarrassment of seeing images that I really didn't need to see.

I had one of those promptings today. I wrote a check to a ministry and placed it in an envelope to be mailed. In the past I would have just placed the envelope in my mailbox, put up the flag, and it would be picked up and delivered as per my request.

But, for the past six months, we have been having trouble getting our postal carrier to pick up the mail from our box. So, I made a decision to take the letter up to post office later in the day.

A short time later, I decided to take a walk and heard a prompting to take the envelope with me. I reasoned to myself that because the post office was in a completely different direction, I decided to NOT take the envelope with me and that I would stick to my original plan.

As I was putting on my boots, again I heard to take the envelope with me with further instruction that I would see a postal carrier on the way.

Still, I reasoned that I didn't want to misplace the envelope in my backpack and put the envelope in a place where I would see it when I returned home, after which I would take it to the post office.

As I headed out the door, I heard a third time to take the envelope with me. Again I ignored the prompting and continued on my journey.

As I crossed the street one block from my house, a postal carrier crossed my path. I stopped and briefly thought about heading back to retrieve the envelope so that I could give it to him. But I didn't and continued on my journey.

I went another block and once again, a different postal carrier was also crossing the road. Ok, that's two of them and I realized that I should have listened and obeyed. I continued on my journey, not letting the missed opportunity trip me up.

I walked another two blocks and, you guessed it, I spotted another postal carrier. This one was already on the other side of the street. 

I want to give you the full picture of my situation and state that the walk from my house to my destination was only five blocks! In my short journey I had three opportunities to hand my envelope to a postal carrier who would have taken it to the address on the envelope.

AND, even as I sit here and write this blog, another postal carrier came into the shop and briefly spoke with me! 

Four postal carriers in five blocks.

On the surface it may not have seemed like that big of a deal; but not obeying never really does seem like a big deal. Oftentimes, because of free will, we pick and choose what we obey and follow. 

But I had been given instructions and I had chosen to ignore them; and it cost me something. What it cost me was a piece of my heart that was now clouded by disobedience. 

I had justified not obeying, and anytime we do that we end up setting a course that has the potential of becoming a rut that will impede our drive through life... 

Which reminds me of a sign on the Oregon Trail that said; "Choose your rut wisely; you will be in it for the next 200 miles".

Oftentimes these ruts become a way of life and we grow cold and deaf to the promptings and end up missing out of the insight that God was trying to give us.

The solution is learning to listen to His voice and knowing what His voice sounds like so that when the promptings come, they can be followed knowing Who is speaking. 

Jesus said; "My sheep know My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." (John 10:27) 

And: "Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." (John 10:5) 

Simple obedience, in all things, is what He is looking for. This is for things that are wrong to do as well as things that He wants us to do. And to not follow them can mean life or death to us.

King Saul ran into this hard lesson in 1 Samuel 15. Saul was told by God to go attack and utterly destroy Amalek and EVERYTHING the Amalekites had. The LORD told Saul to fight against them until they were all consumed.

But Saul decided to ignore what he heard and kept alive the best of the livestock and Agag the King; destroying only the things that were despised and worthless.

Saul hadn't listened to the LORD, so God spoke to the prophet Samuel instructing him to go speak on behalf of the LORD to King Saul.

When confronted by Samuel, Saul rationalized that he had performed the commandment of the LORD and that the people had spared the lives of the animals so that they could be sacrificed to the LORD; as an offering...

Samuel told Saul that it is better to obey than sacrifice; in ALL things.

Not following what Saul was told to do cost him the kingdom. Because Saul rejected what the LORD said, He rejected Saul from being king. 

A simple act of not doing what the LORD had said was probably not done 'just this one time'. My guess is that Saul had developed a pattern (a rut) of not fully following what the LORD said; things that were wrong to do as well as things that were right to do. 

Saul had learned to rationalize and justify what the LORD had said one prompting after another; like me ignoring the prompting to take along a piece of mail...

I want to learn from my mistake as well as the mistakes of others like (the former) King Saul. 

I want to learn to say yes to whatever He says to do or to not do. 

I want to develop a rut of automatic obedience for His Name’s sake, as well the sake of others whose paths I cross.

Time for me to go mail my letter; which would've been half way to its destination if I had obeyed my prompting...

This is my heart cry to the LORD today...

Come as close as You want

Consume this heart that longs to burn

I know Your fire can hurt
But I would be worse here without You

For I was made to dwell with You
And how I ache until I do

Holy God, Take my heart
Purge with flame and truth
A holy heart is all I want
That I may live with You

Come and take all these chains
That get in the way of what You want
And as I stand in the flame
Still I will say, “I trust You God”

For I was made to dwell with You
And how I ache until I do

Holy God, Take my heart
Purge with flame and truth
A holy heart is all I want
That I may live with You

"Come as Close As You Want" By Misty Edwards from the Album “Fling Wide”

You Never Fail

I am in a time of transition as I seek the Lord as to what the next steps are that I need to take regarding my “employment” …

Actually, I think that it is safe to say that we are ALWAYS in a time of transition and the day we “arrive” is the day we leave this earth.

Although I am a pastor, the question has more do with how and where God wants to use me; secular or sacred? This applies to other gifts that I have such as my experience in construction as well as my gifts as an artist…

But during transition from one job to the next it can feel like God isn’t listening. It isn’t true but it can feel like He isn’t. This is true as we transition from city to city, relationship to relationship, school to school to school….

Sometimes during my time of transition it is possible to put unnecessary pressure on myself as though it is all MY responsibility to make something happen; NOW!

As a way to put the focus off my situation and onto God, I was listening to a worship song one day this week about God’s faithfulness.

        Walking around these walls

        I thought by now they’d fall

        But You have never failed me yet
        Waiting for change to come
        Knowing the battle's won
        For You have never failed me yet

        Your promise still stands
        Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness
         I'm still in Your hands
        This is my confidence, You've never failed me yet

And while I was listening to it, as the end was coming and the crescendo was building up:

        I've seen You move, come move the mountains
        And I believe, I'll see You do it again
        You made a way, where there was no way

I realized that this time of transition is not just about me. 

“Well said, Captain Obvious!”

 

I realized that this is also a test for all of those who are holding me up and praying for me concerning direction and what is the next assignment or appointment for me.

I realized that this is also for EACH ONE OF THEM to trust God to answer THEIR prayers and to be faithful one more time.

The question isn’t just whether or not I will trust Him, but will others’ trust God to answer their prayers on behalf of me? 

This isn’t just my struggle of faith and trust, it is also the struggle of faith and trust for my friends; that will God answer their prayers.

In other words; “Will God answer all those people’s prayers who were also asking God; not just mine?”

Oswald Chambers said;

         “We are not fundamentally free; external circumstances are not in our hands, they are in God’s hands, the one thing in which we are free is in our personal relationship to God. We are not responsible for the circumstances we are in, but we are responsible for the way we allow those circumstances to affect us; we can either allow them to get on top of us, or we can allow them to transform us into what God wants us to be.”

I’m so glad that He is personal even when we feel so far away from Him. And that He uses us in our weakness and occasionally when we have it all together; which is very rare day indeed.

That is always the encouragement I need, to remember that simple thing, He always is with me and personal in my circumstances!

And suddenly the pressure was lifted off me to go through this all by myself.

“Let my cry come right into Your presence, God;
    provide me with the insight that comes only from Your Word.
Give my request Your personal attention,
    rescue me on the terms of Your promise.
Let praise cascade off my lips;
    after all, You’ve taught me the truth about life!
And let Your promises ring from my tongue;
    every order You’ve given is right.
Put Your hand out and steady me
    since I’ve chosen to live by Your counsel.
I’m homesick, God, for Your salvation;
    I love it when You show Yourself!
Invigorate my soul so I can praise You well,
    use Your decrees to put iron in my soul.
And should I wander off like a lost sheep—seek me!
    I’ll recognize the sound of Your voice.”

             (Psalm 119:169-176 MSG)

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Bienvenidos

“Hi, my name is Gus. My mom sent me down to welcome you to the neighborhood.” He was around five years old and had loving parents who would become great neighbors and who still live down the block today.

That was 32 years ago in August 1985.

Over the years we watched Gus grow up, get married, and eventually have children who spend time at our house picking berries or just stop by to talk. His oldest has the same gift of hospitality that his father Gus has!

We would get another visitor, Nathan, who was around eight years old, would greet us a few days later. I first saw Nate when every day he would bring his LARGE dog down to our house so that his LARGE dog could do his daily duty in our front bushes. One day, I had enough, so I asked Nate to not do it and he said nothing and walked away.

So, I grabbed a shovel, scooped up the dog’s “present”, and brought it back to Nate’s house; and told Nate that his dog had left something at my house. Nate was not receptive to me returning his dog’s property. I left it on his lawn and went back home.

About five minutes later, I saw an elderly gentleman walking down the block escorting Nate by the ear. It turned out to be Nate’s grandfather who was helping his single mom raise him and his two brothers.

When they arrived at our house, Nate was very lovingly exhorted to apologize for what he had been doing for months even before we had purchased the home.

And then Nate said; “Oh ya, I’m supposed to welcome you to the neighborhood.”

Eventually he came to mean what he said because when it would snow, he would occasionally shovel our walks and, when he was doing lawn care, he aerated our lawn just to be nice, and ten years later he purchased my pickup truck.

I am happy to report that almost every time that Nate stops over at his mom’s house (and sees me outside) he either stops over to say “hi” or shouts; “Hey Mr. Oestreich; hi!”

Nate (and his brothers) have turned out to be great men; mom and grandpa (and eventually step-dad) did an excellent job raising them.

“Welcome” in any language is a simple gift that takes so little to say; but can have lasting effects on the hearer.

Webster defines it as: ‘to greet hospitably and to accept with courtesy or cordially’. ‘To accept with pleasure the occurrence or presence of’  

Because of the effect that it had on our lives when we were the newbies on the block, Cathy and I try to be a “Gus” to new people who move to our neighborhood. At the first sign of someone moving in we try to make it a point to go over and say; “welcome” to them into our world.

At the church that we attend, we have members who come from well over thirty different nations so you might hear greetings like; “Karibu” (Swahili) or “svāgat” (Hindi) or “akeyi” (Haitian) or “bienvenidos” (Spanish) or “huānyíng guānglín" (Mandarin) or “bienvenue” (French) or “bine ai venit” (Romanian) or “si argun naaf gammachudha” (Ethiopian) or “sawatdee-krap” or “sawatdee-kahwhich” (Thai)…

The Apostle Paul exhorted the church in Rome to; “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7 ESV)

The Greek word translated there as ‘welcome’ means: to take to oneself, that is, use (food), lead (aside), admit (to friendship or hospitality)

Jesus exhorted us to welcome people. He said in Matthew 25 that “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on his glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats….” (see Matthew 25:31-46)

Jesus goes on Matthew 25 to say that part of how we are judged by God in the last day will be whether we welcomed people in our lives… “I was a stranger and you welcomed me…Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.”

Who are the people that the Lord would want you to reach out to; to say, “Welcome” to? In your neighborhood, place of employment, church, family, and even your own home?

Who are the least of these that Jesus is calling you to reach out to today?

Who is God calling you to be a ‘Gus” to and say; “bienvenidos!”

Scripture from English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

A Beautiful Bride

One of my daughters (Judith) got married this past week. Man, was that was tough on this old man! No, not because of any costs or time associated with the wedding, but because of the emotions connected with being the father of the bride as well as the officiant.

I am a pastor and at the time of this writing, I have about eight weddings to officiate this summer and several booked for next year...so weddings can be “old hat” for me…yet they never are. I guess I am just a romantic at heart.

Or, as one of my other daughters (Elizabeth) said to me eight years ago just before I walked her down the aisle; “Dad, you’re not as tough as you think you are!” pointing out that the pastor who had done premarital counseling for her and her husband was in the audience just in case I “couldn’t finish the task” of being both dad and officiant.

I have done this before, so you would think that it would get easier; no, it doesn’t! With each of my children I appreciated that they had asked me to even be a part of their wedding as a guest.

On the day of Judith’s wedding, my heart was on a roller coaster of emotions as I made a protein shake. I was using the time to deal with my nervous energy awaiting decision as to whether the wedding would be outdoors or inside depending on the weather.

Rain, rain, go away….

 

As I stood in the kitchen drinking my shake, I was filled with gratefulness as I thought about how the Lord had faithfully walked us through some tough times as she, as a teen, had questions and struggles about life and its meaning.

To use up some of my time I went back into my office and re-edited the message over and over until I told myself to stop.

My OCD was interrupted by a text from my daughter confirming that we would go ahead and do the ceremony outdoors. The weather had shifted and instead of rain, the clouds gave way and became a very beautiful day filled with sunshine.

My heart shouted out a responsive; “Praise God!” because I knew that the outdoor location had great significance for my daughter (as well as for the rest of our family).

So, I packed up my briefcase, a podium, and my dress clothes and headed out the door to meet my soon-to be son-in-law to set up the place for the wedding; which was located twenty minutes from our house.

The location was fifty yards from a river in a state park that has a large bridge overhead. The shore was lined with geese and this year’s goslings and a couple of fishermen who offered to move somewhere else; but we told them to stay and enjoy the weather.

This was a special place where my daughter searched and cried out for answers during a season in her past when life didn’t make sense. And here today we celebrated the some of those answers.

It was also a spot very close to where grandpa Gene died almost ten years earlier; in the same state park and below the very same bridge.

The time came for me to walk my beautiful daughter, dressed in a stunning dress, down the aisle to the front; looking into each other’s eyes, knowing the grace of this precious moment. Tears of joy filled my eyes as we exchanged private tender words to each other as we made our way to her awaiting groom.

Up front I assumed the role of officiant and added some comic relief as I asked; “Who gives this woman away?”; quickly stepping back into my position as dad as I replied; “I do”.

As I looked out at the audience made up of immediate family members, I realized just how handsome my two sons (and sons-in-law) are and how beautiful my four daughters (and daughters-in-law) are; I am so grateful that I had married a beautiful woman!

The wedding ceremony was short and sweet and went off without a hitch, that is until I looked at each of my four daughters, my wife, and my mother-in-law as I recalled to the audience the significance of this place.

At that point, I became so chocked up with emotion that I could hardly speak as tears began to fill their eyes. Maybe Elizabeth was right that I’m not as tough as I think that I am!

I regained my composure and finished joining these two in matrimony and then took time for the photographs.

After we packed up and loaded our vehicles with all of the props, I headed home to change my shirt, now saturated from the humid air and from standing in the bright sunshine, and then headed off to the reception located twenty minutes away.

Feasting and joy was on the itinerary for the evening as a large group of friends and family joined us to celebrate this delightful couple. The food was out of this world and the service was second to none!

Cathy and I were able to mingle from guest to guest playing the role as two of the hosts and hostesses; that is, in between times of chasing the grandchildren around at their request.

When I was asked by my Judith to join her for the “Father-Daughter Dance”, I made my way to the awaiting audience of one. As we danced, it became another opportunity for us to exchange private tender words to each other as we held on to each other and slowly shuffled our feet to the music.  

I realized this wasn’t anything that I had “earned” by being a "perfect dad", nor was I “owed” this opportunity; this was a gift of love! And, hockey player or not, I was deeply moved and once again tears came to my eyes. 

She chose me to walk her down the aisle, and she chose me to officiate, and she chose to invite me to be a dad at her wedding, and she chose me to dance with her and to share this joyous day with her.

The evening continued to be filled with great joy and much more food as guests made themselves available for conversations with people who, prior to this event, had not known each other and now could because we were all friends of the bride and groom.

Eventually, the celebration wound down and we all headed to our homes or to an adjoining hotel. God had clearly heard and answered this poor man’s cries.

“This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.” (Psalm 34:6 NKJV)

You’ve Stolen My Heart

At the time of this writing, I have four grandsons (Emmett, Everett, Gavin, and Rowan) and one granddaughter (Fallon Ann). I love each of them so very much, and oftentimes it is very hard for me after they have gone home (or when I have left their house). Each of them has a part of my heart.

I still don’t know how it happens, but (seemingly) each and every time we visit the grandchildren, they light up when they see us and come running over to give me (and Cathy) a hug.

And yet, because there is only one granddaughter, I can write this without offending the boys…that is until another granddaughter comes along.

But something happened to me on Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at 6:34 in the morning, when our daughter Elizabeth (with her husband Chris at her side) gave birth to her first child; Fallon Ann.

A casual look at my BlogSpot revealed that I have written about her at least sixteen times since she was born. I re-read some of them tonight as I am writing this week’s blog and cried because of my love for her.

I was thinking of the casual conversations Cathy and I had this past week when we spent time at Fallon’s hobby farm along with her brother Gavin, my daughter Elizabeth, and her husband Chris. Cathy and I had gone up to their home to help build a playhouse.

I should note that when I work on projects, I have a history of being goal orientated. But sometimes it has been at the expense of quality time with my children and grandchildren.  

This comes from my years working in construction where production meant profits. In fact, Cathy’s dad, when he was alive, used to “drive me nuts” when he would stop and start work on projects (such as when we built the cabin together) just so that he could spend time with his children and grandchildren.

He was a man who really knew that things were not more important than people and relationships. And so, as I thought of him on the drive up to the farm, I was determined this would not be one of those times so I asked Cathy to help me take some breaks to spend quality time with Fallon and Gavin.

I should note that even if I am focused or goal orientated, I have always made room for my children to help by handing stuff to me or swinging a hammer or cleaning up. Today was no acception as Gavin and Fallon worked alongside of us.

At one point towards five pm, Cathy told Gavin and Fallon that we would be staying over for supper so that grandpa could spend time with them. That was my cue to set down the hammer and stop working for the day.

And, just to make sure that I got the message, Cathy said gently said to me; “No more work so that you can spend time with them.” I took the opportunity to thank her and proceeded to go to Gavin and Fallon who called for me to push them on the swings.

It was a wonderful opportunity to swing and talk and laugh and spend quality time with just the two of them as mom and dad cooked supper with Cathy. During this time away from work, Fallon really touched my heart on two occasions.

The first came when I showed her a photo of a drawing that she did on the white board in our kitchen. The weekend before when she was at our house she started drawing a face in dry erase markers and I asked her who it was and she said; “It’s you” and gave me a big smile as she proceeded to draw another person whom I had assumed was grandma Cathy.

When I showed her the photo of the drawing and made a comment about grandpa and grandma, she said; “That’s not grandma, that is a picture I drew of you and me, grandpa”. I stood corrected and my heart was touched that she would draw a picture of the two of us.

After a while, Fallon said that she wanted to sweep out the clubhouse one more time before we ate, so I walked with her.

As we walked through her yard, talking about all sorts of things, Fallon said to me; “Grandpa, I’ve been trying to think of something special that just you and I can do together today.” This little girl was reciprocating love to me and desired to spend time with me and communicated it so very clearly.

And, as important as it was for her to get her clubhouse built, she wanted even more to spend time with the builder.

Now it is one thing to for me to think that I am a favorite person to my children and grandchildren and quite another when I find out that it may be true.

For some of us, this is easy to believe and receive. For others of us, this is not so easy to believe and receive. In fact, our minds can self-talk us into pushing it away.

And yet, the fact is my granddaughter loves her grandpa and wanted (wants) to spend time with him.

As I write this I realize that sometimes I do the same thing with God. Oh, I am grateful that He provides for me and forgives me (and doesn’t squash me like a bug).

But sometimes it is hard to believe and receive the fact that He wants to spend time with me; after all…if He only knew…oh wait, He does know…

Or that He could possibly ever say to me; “I’ve been trying to think of something special that just you and I can do together today.”

It is in these moments that I must believe that He has a part of my heart and stand on His Word that tells me that He demonstrated His own love toward me when I was a sinner and died for me.” (Romans 5:8)

He hung on a cross while we were yet sinners arms wide open, heart exposed, and longing for us to come to Him like my grandchildren do every time I see them.

And He isn’t as preoccupied with the religious things as we might think. And, as important as it is for us to do things for Him, He wants even more to spend time with the person doing the work.

He wants us to come to Him and spend time with Him as though nothing else matters.

How about you? Do you know that you are loved; really loved? Believe it or not you can. God is waiting for an opportunity to love you. But don’t take my word for it; take His – the BIBLE. Unsure where to start? Drop me a line pastortommyoestreich@gmail.com

I would love to share with you how you, too, can have a slate that is clean and heart that is open to love.

Or call 1-877-2GRAHAM (1-877-247-2426) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Thirty Five & Thirty Six & Counting…

It was a Saturday in March 1980 and I was working at a Youth Center in the maintenance department as well as helping out with retreats. I had gone into work to pick up a tool and stopped in the kitchen for a quick bite to eat and some conversation with the kitchen staff and a cute blond lass. 

She was staffing the retreat and had stopped by the kitchen to look for plunger or something to unclog a sink in the women’s bathroom that was plugged. 


She looked at me and asked me if I could help her with her task.


She was young and pretty and single and so was I; so I offered my assistance in her plumbing crisis.


When I got to the bathroom, the rest of the story was told; not only was the sink clogged, but the bathroom floor had two inches of standing water from the overflow.


I gave her some instruction and went down to my shop in the basement to get some tools and then ran back up to the third floor again to rescue this damsel in distress. 

When I arrived back to the bathroom, unbeknown to me, another crisis had arisen. Somewhere between the second and third floor she had lost one of her contacts! Her concern was that she had dropped it in the bathroom. 

I quickly unclogged the sink and accepted the new challenge of finding her contact in the two inches of standing water. I said to her that if I did find the contact, then she would owe me a date…Pretty clever, eh?


After looking for awhile with no success, I decided to go back to the second floor to get a flashlight hoping that it would help me to find the lost contact. I found one in the kitchen so I made my way back to the third floor bathroom. 


While walking upstairs, the sunlight caught something on the stair tread and bounced off a flash of light which caught my eye. I kneeled down on the step and way at the back of the step in the corner where the riser meets the tread was her contact! The sunlight had reflected off the contact enough for me to see it. 


I picked it up and ran back up to the third floor to give it to her and to collect my reward (a date with her) which we scheduled for the following night after she was done with the retreat. I invited her to a playhouse which was not only showing a play but also at which I had a “one-man” art show of a dozen or so of my paintings.


She ended up standing me up (as I tell the story) and never showed up for her knight in shining armor to pay off her debt. She tells a different version…

She said that because I was (am) a bit of a tease she didn’t think I was serious…and (as she tells it) she thought that I was still going out with someone else. I wasn’t; I had stopped dating the other woman she was thinking of a few weeks ago.

We ended up going out the following Friday and have been dating ever since. That was thirty six years ago this past March.

On June 6, 1981 we were married to seal the deal. This year we celebrate thirty five years of being married.

Happy 35th Anniversary Katie My Datie!