Faith Renewed

In life there will always be something that lets you down.

Even in a cynical world such as ours there was once a popular song called “got to have faith”.  How true.

With this being said faith is something I believe we so often easily lose or get lazy with it. Here are two things lately that have renewed my faith, albeit though very common occurrences that happen in everyday life.

1- The weekly newspaper that had not been delivered to me for about two months is now coming every week.  To top it off, it is even in a plastic bag to protect it.   Who knew that last phone operator had such pull.  The reason this renewed my faith is that often when something dumb like this happens I think, “oh great things are not going my way.” Rather a missed newspaper delivery or a burnt out light bulb or flat tire are in essence just everyday normal inconveniences.  A better way to live is to get the problem fixed or get over it and move on and not blame God for it.

2-Funerals tend to renew my faith.  Just about three weeks ago I was at one for an eighty six year old dear friend of mine.  It is one thing to talk about faith in God and an altogether different thing to live it out.  But, it was reaffirming to know that my friend is now with Jesus because my faith tells me that is where she is, no doubt about it. 

Something that confounds me from time to time is when I hear about people who have lost their faith in God.  Their loss of faith was due to tragedy or that God just didn’t show up when they felt they really needed Him to do so.    The Bible is very adamant that without FAITH it is impossible to please God.  As a follower of Jesus I know that I follow a God who can’t be defined by our human standards.  He simply can’t be put in a box.

Our faith can be renewed every day by just witnessing every day miracles such as the sun shining and the grass growing which no man can ever explain.

Swavel

Going Home

Home is that one place where you can be who you really are. 

I believe Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz had it right when she tapped her ruby red slippers together and said emphatically, “There is no place like home.”

This past month has been a doozy for me.   As an exterminator in the summer heat and my neighbor leaving us and going home to Heaven, it’s been a challenging month.

For example, the other day in the high humidity, I was supposed to be using a leaf blower type device to spread insecticide granules into a high grass area.  However, unbeknownst to me, when I cranked it up the chute was open and I was spraying granules all over the parking lot, like a popcorn popper from my childhood.  Insecticide was everywhere, the size of corn kernels.  And there I was like a lunatic, running as fast as I could to get into the grass so I wouldn’t hit any cars.

Dripping wet with sweat, I tried to sweep up the kernels with a broom I had just bought from the grocery store.   About a half an hour later I was so happy to get into my truck and into the cool air conditioning.   The only thing better was when I got to the final mile of the work day and my Garmin told me Home was in 0.9 miles. There is nothing sweeter than going home.

With that said, my neighbor and landlady, Kass, has been talking about sliding into home or going to Heaven, since winter when her heart began to fail her.  She felt like God was not ready to wave her around third base so she could head home where she so badly wanted to reside. She so wanted to round third, and on July 13^th God gave her the green light and she slid safely into Heaven.

This was great for Kass, but so many of us miss her unique take on life and relationship with God.  However, the song we sang last at her funeral, with her smiling face below in black and white, gave me great comfort.

When I’ve gone the last mile of the way,
I will rest at the close of the day;
And I know there are joys that await me,
When I’ve gone the last mile of the way.

As Kass can surely now attest, some things are worth the wait.

There is nothing like going home at the end of the day. Nothing.

Swavel

Favorite Neighbor

In celebration of my neighbor Kass' home going to Heaven, on July 13th,  I took the liberty to re-post this same  article I wrote about her fascinating life two years ago.  If only to keep her memory alive for just one more brief, glorious moment.

A good neighbor is someone who makes you feel welcome at all times.

Undoubtedly, Kass Detweiler is who Mr. Rogers had in mind when he said, “won’t you be my neighbor?”  To make a long story short, allow me to introduce you to my favorite neighbor.

Here are the basic facts:

Kass Detweiler and her husband, Al, have twelve children.  Three were born to her, nine were adopted.  Kass was a Pastor’s wife in a church in Allentown and then they moved to Boyertown where she now resides as my landlord for the last twelve years.  She and Al we instrumental in founding Spruce Lake Wilderness Camp in Canadensis, PA, a Christian retreat center.  Kass and Al were married over fifty years when Al changed his address to Heaven in 2005.  Kass loves the yard mowed once a week and I believe in Heaven, her yard will look immaculate. 

Here are a few stories:

Kass is a giver.  Often when I call Kass on the phone, it is to ask for eggs or milk or sugar or soy sauce or lawnmower money.  Whatever it is, this is how I start the conversation: “Hey Kass, this is your favorite neighbor.”  She always laughs, “So I hear, how I may help you?”

Kass doesn’t sugarcoat the truth.   When I was about four, I used to live next to Kass and Al, but I don’t remember much about it.  However once out of the blue, Kass clued me in on how I was as a kid. She said that I was a snotty nosed kid who was always wiping my nose.  Just Kass calling it the way she sees it. 

Kass treats my kids like her kids.  All my kids have had or still do have their picture on her bulletin board in her house where her family pictures hang.  This reminds me of the time my wife and I took Kass to our son’s high school graduation, where he was salutatorian.  After his moving speech, Kass, who was sitting next to me in the audience, turned to me and not so quietly said something like this, “I couldn’t hear a thing,” she said, “but I’m sure it was great.”  That night Kass taught me how just being there for someone is the best way to show you truly care.

No one can pray like Kass.   In June of 2012, we were in China and were adopting our youngest daughter.  However, we were having a tough time adapting to the time zone, culture, and just feeling lost.  Not to mention, the threat of a typhoon right as we were about to leave.  So, we called Kass in the middle of the night more than once and she prayed with all heart.  I swear that Kass Detweiler has a direct line to God and that He takes what she has to say into consideration.  No one else I know can use the word “crappy” in a prayer and get away with it. 

Kass is full of wisdom.  She once told me a story in regard to dying.  “Just like a parent has to call a child in from playing so he can eat supper, God the Father is not being ugly when you die and He calls us home.”  As she would say, like only Kass can, “It’s just time to come in.”

Here is the conclusion:

One day I believe that our kind and generous heavenly Father will bring us together once again.  And off in the distance I will hear, like only Kass Detweiler can exclaim, "Look who it is, it’s my favorite neighbor, how may I help you?"

To be a favorite neighbor, one must act the part.

Swavel

Time Flies

It is with great honor I present to you my favorite guest writer, my daughter Sianna.

            Time is the most confusing concept that has stumped scientists and philosophers going back hundreds of years. One day it seems like everything is happening in slow motion and you have all the time in the world and then you don’t have any at all. Maybe the questions isn’t how time operates, with the butterfly effect or the time stream, but rather how we live our lives and make the best out of the time that we have. And that is more important than any educational question in the world.

            Many believe that since the world, and our lives are so temporary, so are our decisions. They believe that we can do whatever we want without consequences and that the world is our oyster and we need only to pick the pearl. I do not believe that such a lifestyle is appropriate. I mean, if humans have no God in their lives and need only have fun, then why do we have a moral compass to know that things like killing are wrong? If the world is truly under our complete control and there are no rules, then we should feel no wrong, and therefore all of us would be no better than Hitler, thinking that whatever we do is right and necessary to society while committing horrible acts. 

            Others believe that we must always plan ahead for each and every occasion. We can’t die as easily if we are cautious, right? Wrong. While it isn’t always great to live in the moment, it is important not to miss the things that are so beautiful in the present. It’s like the story of the boy who was given a ball of string that allowed him to skip through time. He eventually missed all the important moments in his life and instantly regretted his decision. But, while that boy was given a second chance, we don’t have such luck. It reminds me of a quote from The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis that says, “They have chosen cunning instead of belief. Their prison is only in their minds, yet they are in that prison; and so afraid of being taken in that they cannot be taken out.”  There are certain risks you have to take, a better option than staying locked in your home and never really living at all.

            Still more believe that there is a chance at immortality. After all, the conquistadors had been looking for a fountain of youth for years. Doctors and scientists have been trying to keep people looking young and living as long as possible. Another quote from The Last Battle states, “She wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now, and she'll waste all the rest of her life trying to stay that age. The whole idea is to race on to the silliest time of one's life as quick as she can and then stop there as long as she can.” As a human being it’s in our nature to pick any decision that that will almost guarantee our survival. In the Percy Jackson Series, Percy was offered immortality, but turned it down because he couldn’t stand the thought of watching all those he loved grow old and die without him. I would like to think that I would make the same decision, picking God over man’s sinful nature.

            That seems to bring up a question I’ve been asking myself ever since I learned about Heaven. Why don’t more Christians ever commit suicide to visit the Lord sooner? For one thing, murder is forbidden in the Ten Commandments, with suicide likely being included. But a more disturbing argument is if you think about the consequences if that situation actually became true. If all the world’s Christians committed suicide, who would be left to teach others about Christ? There would be no hope for future generations. Matthew 18:6 says, "If anyone causes one of these little ones--those who believe in me--to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Isn’t that what we’re doing if we don’t teach them about God in the first place, to keep them from committing sin? On a radio show called Paws and Tales, a character is trapped as king of the worst sinners in the world. He eventually escapes with the help of a Christian doctor who refuses to escape with him, saying that it’s his duty to help others who are lost as well. In the same way, it’s our Christian duty to stay behind and guide potential believers to Christ.

            Just because we don’t know exactly when, where, why, or how we’re going to die doesn’t mean that we don’t control some parts of our “destiny.” There is no such thing as “complete control,” and we can’t always keep bad things from happening, including death. But we can decide how we spend the time we have and who we spend that time with. We can’t avoid every adventure that comes our way, and we have to know where to draw the line. We change the lives of everyone we meet by even the slightest bit and everything in life is meaningful. Our lives on Earth are short, but that doesn’t mean that our legacy can’t last longer than we do, so we should make it count.

Sianna

Bus Stop Buried

An undeniable fact we all must face is that all of us find ourselves legs up sooner or later.

Some of the sights we observe in life reach out and grab our attention and won’t let go.

Months ago, on my way to work, I took a corner on a back road and came upon an unusual site.  There were some kids standing in their driveway waiting for the bus to come pick them for school.  However, at first glance it appeared to me that they were standing at the edge of a cemetery waiting for the bus to come. After I looked closer, it was clear that the old graveyard just happened to be next to their driveway.

 

Some of us are just starting our journey in life while others are finishing up with it.  Or as my eighty five year old neighbor likes to say, she feels like she is about to round third base, but God won’t wave her home yet.

God’s perspective on life and death is far different than ours.  Take a look at Psalm 39:4-7:

⁴ “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
    Remind me that my days are numbered—
    how fleeting my life is.
⁵ You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
    My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
    at best, each of us is but a breath.”

⁶ We are merely moving shadows,
    and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth,
    not knowing who will spend it.
⁷ And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?
    My only hope is in you.

 Still don’t know why God numbers some lives longer than others.  Needless to say, He is not taking any Q & A on the matter.   Some assignments just last longer I suppose.  The only thing that truly matters, and I learned this from my wife, is that we do “our job” for God while we are here.  Whether we are pleasing to God or not with our lives is up to us, yet it is so very vital to God that we seek to do so. Then, when He is ready, He will take us home to be with Him. 

 

Somewhere between the bus stop and being buried, I have learned to make the most of everyday the Good Lord has given to me.

Swavel