Blessed Assurance

This week I was helping one of our sons obtain some prescription eyeglasses. I have worn eyeglasses constantly for about 40 years, so I know my way around the optician’s office.

Think back to when you were first taught about money…what do you remember? For me it was learning how to save money. I would get money as birthday gifts, tooth fairy leavings, an allowance, odd jobs for people. Mom and dad would ask that we give 10% to the church and then put the rest in the bank in a savings account. I can remember pulling up to the bank with the old pneumatic tube system and putting my money and my passbook into the tube and watching it whisk away like magic. My passbook would return with not only the new deposit added, but the new total in my savings account! It was a feeling of pride to know that I had money in the bank that I could use for things that I wanted (i.e., a bike, a puppy, a new baseball glove, etc).

Ihave always loved a good tall tale, myth, fairy tale, or other metaphorical teaching story. From my earliest childhood I was captivated by Hans Christian Andersen, Aesop, Thorton W. Burgess, The Brothers Grimm, J. K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, George R. R. Martin, etc, and their power to weave a captivating story that had a deep human truth or truths embedded in them. Stories of hero journeys and fanciful monsters, overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles, returning home wiser and more competent gave me hope in some challenging times in my life.

It doesn’t take too long in our lives before the first time we are wronged by another person. Maybe we’re not chosen when picking sides for kickball, maybe the teacher makes an example of us for things others were doing, maybe we’re not chosen for a job advancement because we’re not as well connected politically as another candidate, maybe our girlfriend or boyfriend dumps us for someone else. No matter what the cause, in our hurt we can often want to “get even” with the person who wronged us. Revenge is a normal human reaction to being hurt by another and contemplating how we are going to get even distracts us from our woundedness.

When I design worship services, I plan for all of the parts to amplify the theme for the day. The one wild card each week is the children’s time, what we like to call “young disciples’ time” at one of my churches.

For all of us at some point in our lives we dreamed about being older. The older kids always had more freedom (at least that was my perception) and they were able to do so much more than I.

am in a season where many beginnings are happening.