Her Place

She sat silently on the swing
Watching humming birds
Helicopter their way
In and out the red salvia

A hideaway of sublime solace
Serenely nestled among
Hostas, day lilies, and Alberta dwarf spruces
Planted for beauty and deer food

Sometimes I joined her
To be together, to talk
Or just to swing softly
In sweet silence

But it was really
Her swing, her place
For coffee, a book
Or profound worship

This year oddly meandered by
Without my neighbor's spectacular
October Glory maple tree
Which died unexpectedly, unexplainably

And the swing has been empty
For a while now
Except for the foot of snow
And the chickadee that visits

Today a delightful deer
Strode by the swing
And perhaps glimpsed the chickadee
As in a flash it flitted toward heaven

An Unnoticed River

The jet engines sang their steady whine of a song as folks tried to get a little shut-eye or at least comfortable. A few read the news or the SkyMall Magazine, while others played sudoko or read a book from their ancient "to read" list. One lady was using a large magnifying glass with a built-in light so she could see the fine print in her book.

As I tried to relax and reflect on the couple weeks' retreat I had just experienced, an emptiness resurfaced in the calm lake of memories. Little whitecaps began to ripple into severe choppiness. The choppy water of my mind soon turned into roaring waves, accompanied by deep dread. The two-pronged disturbance turned turbulant because my wife Edith is dead and also because I would be returning to an empty house.

Hot tears started to trickle down my face. The trickle was soon steadily coursing down my cheeks like a broken faucet that could not be fixed. This has happened many times since September 4, 2009. But most all the time it has happened when I have been alone. Now what? What if someone sees me crying? How could someone not see me? What if they think I am having a mental breakdown. If someone would have asked me a question, I could not have spoken any words. These tears have no words. I never knew tears could leave one speechless.

And I never dreamed that I could cry on a plane for 1/2 an hour and no one see me. I was not trying to be seen, but I did not think I would go unnoticed. But everyone in front of me was looking ahead or snoozing. Same with those behind me. The flight attendants were strangely still for 30 minutes, the couple on my right were asleep, and the two guys across the aisle to my left were totally absorbed in their books.

Besides feeling sad and lonely, I felt quite alone and distinctly disconnected from the sea of strangers who surrounded me. There was no American Airlines attendant who offered to relieve my distress. Nor could she. But, strangely, an invisible Flight Attendant walked down the aisle, read the fine print of my heart with His lighted magnifying glass, collected every single tear I shed and, of all things, put them in a bottle. (Psa 56:8) It also felt like He hugged me.

I hope that if someone I am near needs a shoulder, a prayer, or a kleenex that I will not be too occupied playing sudoko or flipping through SkyMall Magazine to notice.

A Heart Laid Bare

The curtain fell
Music stopped
And almost my heart
Darkness descended
In a flash
Upside down world
Full of emptiness
Faded songs
Echo faintly in the
Storm of storms
Where laughter flew far away
In a moment
In the twinkling of an eye
Flowers folded
Birds hushed
Cold rain drizzled
Groans and hot tears gushed
Faith wobbled

And then...

The Dove of Hope
Came and perched
In my heart

Edith, A Treasure

Sparkling burnt umber eyes

Raven hair

Sweet smiles

A mind quick as lightning

Wisdom above her years

Integrity never questioned

Epitome of a hard worker

A forever friend

Faithful, loving wife

Marvelous mom

Spectacular seamstress

Best barber a husband ever had

Always won at scrabble

German cuisine--authentic and delicious

Multi-talented, multi-tasker par excellence

Hands ready to help

Generous giver and forgiver

Left flowers galore in her wake

Elegant and graceful

Edith was a dazzling diamond

Best of all was her deep love of Jesus

Broken Heart

by reginald daniel

Repair and fix-it shops galore
Remodel, refurbish, restore
Trade the old for new
Try stitches, band-aids, patches, and glue

But where do you take a broken heart?
One that is shattered and battered
Filled with emptiness that seems it can never end
Maybe I can drag mine to The Carpenter to mend

Tho His hands are scarred and strong
The Carpenter's touch is gentle, kind, and long
A bruised reed He will not break
Life and death, eternity at stake

The flame has flickered shriveled and shrunk
Died to a failing ember
But He gave His word He will not quench
Somewhere in the sad, circling haze I faintly remember

The light in the Carpenter's shop seems dim
No sight, shadow, nor sound of Him
Somehow a soft, sweet touch brushes my broken heart
Could this caress make the healing start?

Desperate longing for healing and relief
Resolution for queries to rock-solid beliefs
Oh, to awake and find the horrific nightmare gone
Couldn't there be just one more earth-verse to Edith's song?

Please hurry, Carpenter, let healing start
Quickly stitch or staple our wounded, torn hearts
Swiftly the wine and oil pour
Can't You set the balm of Gilead at least near our door?

Then it dawns upon my feeble, tattered mind
Wafts it way from the Ancient of Days, from endless time
It is not healing the Carpenter from me is taking
He holds me and waits while my heart continues breaking

Remembering Edith
June 16, 1948-September 4, 2009

A Picked Flower

A weather website slips me an update---to my old email address--- of hurricane Ivan ever so often. This little aggravation is not bothersome enough to pull the plug on, although it was 2004 when Ivan blasted the gulf coast. It is only a five year old reminder that is simply stuck in the computer loop, my mind, and my computer ignorance.

Another website has sent me two promotions since our mother's recent death, The company is called ProFlowers and they have the flower promo on automatic in an attempt to help their finances and my memory. They even print out mine and mother's first name. Kinda folksy and friendly.

ProFlowers knows all the holidays and even mother's birth date. Although they have no idea that mother recently died, they did manage to assist my wife and me in sending several bouquets during the last few years.

The flowers by mail got started a few years ago. My wife, Edith, got this clever idea while pondering over what gift we could send mother on her birthday. The first bouquet might have been the first one mother ever received by mail. Fact is, mother had not received very many flowers during her lifetime. Boy, was she fabulously surprised! Flowers by mail were a real hit!

ProFlowers was already on their regular, reliable mission of pointing out that mother's birthday would roll around soon and that they have just the lovely flowers that would delight mother so much. To our sadness, God picked one more flower He needed for one of His bouquets.

The sadness is accompanied by joy and hope. Because His bouquets never wither.

I can probably get the flower promo deleted from my email. But maybe the sad sweetness will remind me to give a few more flowers along the way.
Perhaps this blog will remind you, too. Afterall, we don't know when we will get picked.

Going Down?

Don Stuckey was rather tall, strong, brave, and adventuresome. He grew up near my home town in Florida---around water, boats, and fishing, but oddly enough, Don had never learned to swim.

One day while boating alone on the lake, Don's boat took on so much water that it sank. The situation immediately became dangerous and desperate, for Don had no life jacket. Don was suddenly sinking and on the verge of having his young teenage life come to a stunning and tragic end. The water was was over his 6ft. 5in. lanky body and there was no one to rescue him.

Or was there?

Don quickly did what many desperate folks do. He prayed. It was serious prayer. Life or death prayer. After flailing, gasping, sucking in gobs of water and some powerful calling on God for mercy, Don Stuckey was suddenly and miraculously saved. God had formed a small mound of lake bottom that Don discovered with his feet. My friend could stand on this unbelievable, small diameter mound and keep his head out of the water. He did that for some time until someone came to his rescue.

When did God form this mound? Maybe when the lake was formed or just at the moment Don needed it. For God, it was a piece of cake---er---dirt.

There is an elemnet in this story that perhaps you have wondered about. You see, when Don's boat sank, he had no relationship with God. He knew ABOUT God but did not know Him as his savior and best friend. But Don knew to call on God. And in his desperate prayer, Don made a promise to God. It was a promise that he would surrender his life to God and serve him. Don is one of those rare people who followed through with his promise.

Made any promises to God?

Don Stuckey decided that if he is going to die, he would rather be going up.

A Bottle in the Smoke

Ever get that parched, dry, shrivelled, tainted, burnt out feeling? Perhaps the Psalmist describes your situation. If anyone knew what it was to struggle, it was often David in his spiritual plight.

The bottle in the smoke was actually a wineskin, made from the hind leg of a sheep or goat. It was used to contain and carry milk, water, or wine. When not in use for travel or a trip to the fields, the wineskin was hung up in the tent and sometimes on the roof of a permanent house. The fire built to break the chill of cold desert nights would soot and smoke the wineskin. The smoke wafted its way over to the wineskin and began a tainting & drying process. The once useful wineskin would eventually shrink and dry so much that it would crack and become rather useless.

Feeling rather useless is not a good nor welcome experience. The good news is that there was and is a way to revive the wineskin and prolong its usefulness. The owner of the wineskin would wash and clean the sooty and dry old bottle. Then he would bathe the wineskin with oil, restoring its suppleness and its usefulness.

David revealed a key to the washing and oiling when he said: For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; [yet] do I not forget thy statutes. The "yet" is not present in the Hebrew, but it is implied. David was clinging to God, but more importantly, God was clinging to him. He seems to be saying that troubles and fiery tests may blur our vision and sometimes bring a dryness, but we are refreshed by the washing of the word & the bathing of the Holy Spirit.

Remember the Lord's Word, cling to it, and receive His gracious restoration.

Bits and Nails

A few days ago I had the misfortune of drilling a philips drill bit 5/8 of an inch into my hand. If you want this unusual sensation but do not have a drill, just jab and twist a #2 pencil deep into your hand and you will get the idea. There was some good fortune, though. I had some germicide hand lotion with me, my friend had a very small band aid, and my hand did not bleed much. I did not know they make band aids that little, but it was a welcomed little aid. Back to work. Let the throbbing begin.

Since that accident, I was thinking about Jesus’ being nailed to the cross. Difficult to imagine the pain and agony. He had already been mercilessly and mockingly flogged with the destructive cat of nine tails whip. A number of people punished this way actually died from the flogging alone.

Perhaps you have read the medical doctor’s account of the suffering of Jesus during the crucifixion ordeal. It is quite graphic, explanatory, and stunning. Preachers and poets have written and spoken dramatically in an attempt to describe the awfulness of agony. Words fall far short of being able to truly describe the horror and pain that Jesus endured.

But, strangely, the physical suffering was not the worst part of the crucifixion. The mysterious act of Jesus’ bearing our sins in His body was the most tortuous part of suffering. The pure and holy lamb of God who had never sinned became sin. Dark, ugly, filthy, sewage sin. All sin. Every kind of sin. Yours. Mine. Everyone’s. No wonder He said, “…If there is another way, let this cup pass from me.” But there was no other way.

The crucifixion might be beyond comprehension, but it is not beyond our grasp nor our gratitude. What a gift!

(What kind of nails were they? Surprise---> They were FINISHING nails.)

Got Any Idea Where You Are Going?

One bright guy said that if you don't know where you are going, you will not know when you get there.

Speaking of knowing and going, I held a very expensive navigational device in my hands back in 1993. I was in church and was making a little God-point with an object lesson. At my request, a friend who works at an avionics company had brought the device to church. It was called a Global Positioning System. You might have a smaller version on the dashboard of your car. GPS systems are cheap and common now. But just think, 16 years ago most folks did not not know GPS existed nor what it was. So, it was quite exciting to hold that device up and tell the congregation that modern technology allowed devices to know where something is at all times---within 10 feet at that time. The big points of my object lesson were: 1. God knows where you are. 2. God knows where you are at all times. He knows exactly where you are---not just within 10 feet. 3. God will never miscalulate, nor fail. 4. He is not tracking you just to keep tabs nor to bomb you into smithereenies 5. God is not a machine or piece of equipment.

The research and technology required to make the device work costs tons of money. The foundation for the navigator goes all the way back to the 1940's and WWII. The system requires 24-32 satellites to function. You can buy a GPS for $100-$800 that pinpoints a location within 5-12 feet. A military GPS costing $20,000-$50,000 can pinpoint a location or target within 2 inches.

The reason you can buy a GPS device is because the Russians shot down KAL flight 007 back in 1983. The Russians declared that the flight had strayed into their territory. Consequently, President Ronald Reagan directed that the GPS be made available to civilians.

Got your Magellan or your Garmin nuvi? Got God? He is not a device but wants to be our best Friend and Guide. wreg

A Road Often Traveled

A Road Often Traveled

On that first Easter afternoon two despairing and disillusioned guys slogged along toward home, weighted down with a heart full of emptiness. And brokenness. It was the worst time of their lives. The place where they were going is geographically obscure to us today. A road to obscurity.

Only God truly knows where Emmaus was. Whether you have been to Jerusalem or not, you probably have been on the road to Emmaus. Perhaps you have traveled it more than once. A road of hurt and helplessness. Questions and fear. The Emmaus road is a place of walking, wandering, waiting, and wondering. And it is difficult to walk when your dreams are shattered.

The naive and unbelievably uninformed stranger who drew near them must have been from another world. How could he know so little about Jesus and the dramatic events that had recently smashed their hopes and their lives? Perhaps the stranger even irritated Cleopas & his unnamed friend at first. Surely they simply wanted to share their grief together, but not with a stranger. How could an uninformed and uninvolved stranger understand their suffering?

The stranger proceeded to open the word of God to the two in despair. The Emmaus explanation of scripture must have been one marvelous masterpiece. For the stranger was the Master Himself, their loving Lord, the Shepherd who had drawn near to the wandering, lost sheep.

Jesus had put a fire into the two disciples hearts, now the guest becomes the host, serves them bread, and opens their eyes. Suddenly the One they failed to recognize in their storm has become more distinct and recognizable than they had ever known.

Was it the scars the two saw when Jesus broke the bread that caused the wonderful revelation? Maybe that had something to do with it, but it was not the main catalyst. Fact is, Jesus had deliberately obscured Himself and now He deliberately opens their eyes and reveals Himself. When Thomas heard the voice of Jesus, he no longer had to see and touch the scars, but cried, "My lord and my God!" The two weary ones on the Emmaus road believed because of the words of Jesus and the touch of the Spirit of God.

May your road to Emmaus turn from obscurity and broken dreams into hope and wonderment. May your road to nowhere turn into a road to somewhere. And Someone. wreg

Who's A 10?

by wreg daniel

Being a nature lover and a great admirer of horses, I wanted to see Bo Derek ride that horse in the movie Bolero. Lo, and behold, I restrained myself & missed it. In case you are wondering, both Bo & Flicker were naked. (Musta been some horse!) Bo must be a lovely lady because she is one of the few folks who is calssified by some as a 10. Actually, nobody is really a 10. Especially spiritually. We all fall short. Big fall! Great shortness! Jesus said that apart from Him, we can do nothing. Sorta like a zero. (John 15). Know how you make a zero into a 10? Put the ONE in front of it! In Him we go from a 0 to a 10. How is that for a ride?