Trusting God in the midst of life's surprises

The pilot episode from the TV show “Frasier” has been on my mind of late.  In one scene, a woman calls in to Frasier’s radio show, distraught over the loss of her relationship with her boyfriend.  “I’m a mess,” she says in tears.  “It’s been eight months.  The pain isn’t going away.  I think I’m in mourning or something.”  Frasier answers her with compassion, “Claire, you are in mourning.  But you’re not mourning the loss of your boyfriend; you’re mourning the loss of what you thought your life was going to be.  Let it go.  Things don’t always go as we plan.”  The irony is Frasier was the one who had a dream of what his new life in Seattle was going to be; it differed significantly from anything he could have ever imagined.  It took Frasier the whole episode to be at peace (somewhat) with the unexpected turns in his life.

Frasier, and his dad Martin, dreamed of a certain kind of future, but life circumstances played out very differently for both of them.  I can resonate.  I’ve used this quote before, but I love it and it’s worth repeating.  Barry Allen (A.K.A. the superhero known as “The Flash”) once said, “Everyone secretly thinks they have figured out what their life is going to be like.  But what no one ever considers is that life has its own plans for you, whether you like them or not.  And so you’re left with a choice: you can either embrace the change and move forward, or fight it and be left behind.”

Even though I am not in the same predicament as Frasier’s caller, Claire, Frasier’s words to her still impacted me.  A part of the grieving process for me was the realization that not only would I have to face a future without my dad, but I was also losing what I thought my life was going to look like.  The landscape of my life has changed forever.  I’m in a life chapter that I never could have envisioned.  But I put my hope, trust, and confidence in God and His will for my life.  I say to God what it says in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy will be done.”

Kevin

My Presidential election thoughts

I have never in my lifetime seen a Presidential election like this one.  It seems to me like these two candidates not only vehemently disagree with each other, but they also can’t stand being in same room together and having to share the same air.  It’s been so vicious and nasty.  I thought this was highlighted when, in the second debate, the question was asked, “can each of you say something nice about the other?”

There are several comments that I want to make about politics and the election today.  First, I want to encourage everyone to vote.  It is such a precious gift that we in the United States of America have the opportunity to choose our leaders.  Don’t stand on the sidelines.  The other day, I saw a bumper sticker that said something to effect of, “I’m not voting for either candidate.”  While I concede that both candidates have troubling issues, we can’t let that persuade us to give up and not vote at all.  You play the hand you’ve been dealt.  Vote.  Vote your conscience.  Vote for the candidate that most closely lines up with your convictions and values. 

Back in December of 2013, I wrote a blog called “Where is your hope?”  In that blog, I mentioned several examples of where people can put their hope.  I don’t want to rehash the whole blog again here (I’ve included a link if you are inclined to re-read it), but if I were to amend that blog, I would include the arena of politics.  It’s so easy to get swept up in putting all of our hope and trust in our preferred party or candidate getting into the White House.  Psalm 42 gives us excellent advice: “Put your hope in God” (verses 5 and 11).  The old hymn says, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”

http://kevskorner-kevin.blogspot.com/2013/12/where-is-your-hope.html

The other day, when I was cleaning the dining room at my work, I noticed that someone had left a small pamphlet behind that they obviously didn’t want entitled “Who America Needs”.  It was put out by a ministry called “Moments with the Book.”  I was in full agreement when I read these words: “The main problem we have in America is the same issue which has plagued mankind since the beginning of history – the problem of sin in the human heart.  Despite our best efforts, we will not find the remedy to this problem in any policy or president.  There is only one person who has the answer for sin…He is Jesus the Son of God.”  As I said, it’s important to vote.  But don’t put all of your hope in trust in politics.  Put your hope and trust in the God of the universe who is in complete sovereign control.

Kevin

Reflections on life, loss, and legacy

Before I dive in, let me express a personal word to you.  I am quite frustrated that I’m not able to spend more time writing blogs.  As you see in the sidebar, I have only written 38 blogs this year.  That’s close to my record low of production in this blog (in 2012 I only wrote 41 blogs).  The lack of content doesn’t imply that I don’t care about blogging anymore; I do care.  But I carry a lot of my dad’s responsibilities since his passing.  First and foremost, this includes taking care of my mom.  I wanted to document this fact.  I wanted you to understand my frustration.  With that stated, let’s move on.

One of the interesting components during the grieving process is, at night, you can dream about your dearly departed loved one.  I’m not an expert on dreams, but apparently, the subconscious brain remembers the way life used to be.  I’ve had a few of this particular sort of dream of late.  I was with my dad, spending time with him, as if nothing had happened.  The dream is happy, but when you wake up from such a dream, you remember afresh the present reality of life.  You remember again the magnitude of the loss, and just how drastically the landscape of your life has changed.

While it’s true that my dad is no longer with us (the Bible says, for the believer in Jesus Christ, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord), there is a very real sense that he will never be gone.  Let me try to explain what I mean with a story of something that happened to me at my work at Chick-fil-A:

The other day, I was complimented for the way I took orders on what we call headset; this is the device that we wear to communicate with cars that pull up at the drive-thru speaker.  I was told that I greeted each car as if the customer was my best friend.  I thanked the person and said that I inherited my dad’s radio voice.  At one point in the conversation, this customer commented that it’s not just the voice; it’s also the heart.  She then asked this captivating question: “Did you inherit your dad’s heart?”  My answer, in part, was that my dad was very selfless, and I want to follow in his footsteps.

My dad’s example lives on.  I will strive to follow his unselfish example.   I will strive to live my life selflessly, as he did.  I will strive to follow his legacy of humility, love for others, honorable ethics, integrity, and faith in God.  The saying is “like father, like son.”  Of course, in some cases, a son has to make his own path because the father’s life wasn’t worthy of emulating.  But that’s not the situation here.  In my case, I am honored to take the baton my dad has passed on to me.  Or, as I put it to that dear customer, I want to follow in his footsteps.

Kevin