The Wonder of the Psalms

Don't Ever Go Against the Family...

I took a little trip today up to see my great-aunt who lives in a retirement community amidst the rolling corn, tobacco, and hay fields of south east Pennsylvania.  She's the first blood kin I've seen in over three months.  We had a wonderful time.  We did some catching up and took a little walk, and she treated me to an excellent lunch of St. Louis style ribs, potatoes, carrots, stuffing, andcranberry sauce in their dining room.  I started asking her some questions about the family history, and she broke out the archives for me:  An old picture album containing, among other things, pictures I had never seen as well as my great-grandfather's army discharge paper and enlistment record about his army service from 1918-1919.  There were some pictures of him in his World War I uniform, campaign hat, garters, and all.  As I looked at his pictures, I thought I saw a trend in his crooked smile; it reminded me of mine.  As I saw some pictures of the man who was his brother, that is to say, my great-great-uncle, I saw an expression I know I have seen in my grandfather.  I guess those men really are related to each other, and I'm related to them. 

I've asked my grandfather questions about the family history before, and sometimes he would say, "Well, Son, you ought to ask Sissy about that.  She's remembers a lot more of that than I do."  Well, I got to talk to "Sissy" today, and we had a wonderful time.  I hope I can get back up there sometime.   

Legends of the Fall

I've been enjoying the cooler temperatures of these past couple of days.  It makes me think of falls from the past.  One thing I was thinking about earlier today was an event from four years ago.  I was a first-year seminary student, new to Louisville, Kentucky, and had met a man at church who hired me to help him work on a house he was fixing up down in Mount Washington, Kentucky.  They had poured some concrete around the basement walls, and my job that first Saturday that I worked was to take down the forms and get the boards outside.  It was a good day's work for me.  In the afternoon, one of the neighbors came over with an RC Cola for me, and he said, "I brang ya a cold one!"  I can't remember for sure, but he may have given me a Moon Pie  You've got to love it!  There's just something about a small Kentucky town in the fall...

The Logic of Hurry

For any who have read this blog of mine over time, they may have noticed that UPS has played a decent part in my life over the last few years.  They've treated me well, really well.  They have provided me a paycheck, paid a decent amount of my seminary tuition, and given me insurance.  On the sides of their trucks and planes is painted the motto, "Synchronizing the World of Commerce."  That's what we do.  Yesterday afternoon, I was loading a "feeder" (a short semi-trailer), and the boxes started fast and furiously.  Where did all those packages come from? 

As I was reflecting on it some after my shift was over, I was reminded of my first December working for UPS in Louisville.  I was working in the "Next Day Air" operation then.  My crew was loading the belly of DC-8 plane in the wee hours of the morning.  Our supervisor was telling us to speed it up a little, and one of our crew members, part-time UPSer and a part-time bar tender named Tommy said, "Sorry.  We should've got started sooner." 

As simple as that sounds, there might some wisdom there.  It reminds me of what my grandfather used to say when he saw people driving at a speed he considered too fast:  "If they were in that big of a hurry they should have left sooner!"

We live in an age of microwaves, instant messages, "Next Day Air," and books with titles like Working at Warp Speed.  We say to our appliances and those who serve us the same thing that the man who trained me to cook at Waffle House all those years ago said, "You've got to be fast."  But Psalm 27:14 reminds us that there are times when we have to wait.  David says, "Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD."  The Christian life is a thing that takes time.  I hope you're not in a hurry.  Just look at the journey motif in a book like The Pilgrim's Progress.  It took a long and arduous journey for Christian to reach his destination, but God was faithful to bring him along step by step.  Wait upon the LORD.  His plans and His timing are all for the best.  But in the meantime, don't sit there and grumble.  "Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD."  

It might not be easy, but the testimony of God's people demonstrate that it is worthwhile to wait upon the Lord.  Richard Hobson's testimony and exhortation is exemplary in this respect:  "How gracious God has been to me!  My life is a clear proof of His tender loving care.  He is the same God and Lord still.  May any who are finding God's leading different from what they wish, trust, wait, and hope on the end.  Amen."  (Richard Hobson of Liverpool: A Faithful Pastor, Banner of Truth Edition, p. 48.)

Turnin' Back the Pages

Gordon Lightfoot once said in a song that he was "turnin' back the pages."  I have found over the years, that my mind often does the same thing.  I think back on the jobs I've worked, the characters I've known, the places I've been, the curious anecdotes and sayings of my forefathers, and other things as well. 

I think back to working on the grounds crew in college, "runnin' trash" with old Tim Van Cleave and working with my good friend Matthew Diggs.  I haven't seen him for years, but just thinking of him brings a smile to my face.  We had a lot of good conversations; it seems like most of them, or at least the best ones, were about theology or girls.  I think back to nights "on the ramp," loading planes for UPS in Louisville.  I think back to times spent with my brother working in the family nursery business.  The Lord has really blessed me with some varied experiences, some good friendships and a great family.  I'm so blessed and I deserve none of it.   

The newest chapter in my life is the Baltimore, Maryland chapter.  I moved to the area about five weeks ago or so to finish up school while serving as a pastoral assistant to a pastor-friend of mine.  I'm also working for UPS again, this time loading trucks.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to be here to learn, to work, to serve, and to preach the Gospel.  Who knows what will be added to my mental scrap-book from here?