In His Image

It was Valentine’s Day, 2001, that I sat across from my wife, Aimee and thought about how life had changed so much in the last year, and how it was about to change again.   Less than four months before, we had been married and while life as newlyweds was wonderful, there was a tinge of apprehension as she battled some of the residual effects of having had ovarian cancer just a year prior.   Exhaustion and fatigue were the rule of the day, and we wondered if there was something wrong besides the fact that we were excited to be expecting our first child.   Our doctor had requested that we have an ultrasound to see if her remaining ovary was okay, or if there was a problem that could be indicating that the cancer had returned.   There was also that worrisome tiny lump on her neck that they couldn’t figure out what it was.   So just that morning, we had gone in for the ultrasound and were able to see our child for the first time, and also have a biopsy done on t...

As I have sat in courtrooms numerous times in the last number of years, I have been dully depressed by the legal maneuvering to try and reduce or mitigate the penalties for those who are guilty, or even to try and throw out the guilt of a party, simply because the prosecution had made a slight mistake in the process of convicting them.   I realize that in this world of earthly laws, and no accountability to God’s moral standards, these “checks and balances” are needed to prevent abuse of authority, but I question what role they play in the Christian’s walk In Jesus day, they had the same problem.   Some people felt that if you swore by the gold of the temple, you had to keep your word and tell the truth.   But if you only swore by the temple itself, then you had “legal wiggle room” to fudge your testimony.   Jesus strictly condemned this, and says clearly, let your ‘yes’ mean yes, and your ‘no’ mean no!   And then he adds this phrase in Matthew 5:36 “for w...

It was still early as she went down the garden path.  Oh the conflicting emotions that filled her soul!  Just days before, she had seen evil personified as she watched a brutal murder take place in public, while people cheered and jeered.  Oh how she had loved that man!  The tears overflowed her eyes as she approached the cave where they had left him.  This was not a pleasant task that lay ahead of her, but it was one that she did for the one she loved, because he could not do it for himself. As she approached the place, two strangers questioned her as to why she cried so.  How could they be so cold!  First he was killed without mercy, and now they had taken and hidden his body so that she couldn't even give him a decent burial?!  "Please! Just show me where you have put him!"  She turned to hide the torrent of tears and through them saw another man standing a few feet away.  Maybe this man knew? He gently asked her, "Lady, why are ...

He sat there at the corner of the bakery in his motorized chair, waiting for his wife.  For so many years, he had been the strong one.  He'd worn his back out laying block, and working cement until his body just couldn't take it anymore.  But he did it with integrity and there were people far and wide that still wanted Erv to do "just a small basement" because of his reputation for quality.  I often watched him pick up his wife and children at the door of our small, country church, and if he had to wait for a few minutes for his wife to finish her chatting, he would talk with us young men/boys in a way that made us feel important.  After he had to quite concrete because the pain in his back became to great an obstacle for him to power through, he started trucking and was known far and wide for being an honorable trucker.  He even was chosen to drive the Christmas tree to Washington DC one year because of his exemplary character.  And then two accidents...

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried; Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied. I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . . And the Master so gently said, "Wait." “Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply. “Lord, I need answers, I need to know why! Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard? By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word. “My future and all to which I relate Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait? I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign, Or even a 'no' to which I can resign. “You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe, We need but to ask, and we shall receive. And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry: I'm weary of asking! I need a reply." Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate, As my Master replied again, "Wait." So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut, And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?" He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . ...

Last week, my inquisitive, four year old son, found that the handle on the piano cover was loose. Being curious, he turned the knob this way and that, until all at once it fell off in his hand. Uh oh. He quickly tried to put it back on but the screw had sunk back into the wood! He tried pushing and twisting it but to no avail, it would not stay on. Now what should he do? He probably shouldn’t have been pulling on it so hard. And even though he knew he was not to play with the piano, he knew he should not be messing around it either! So he ran to find his big sister, who, after careful examination, decided that the problem would best be solved with copious amounts of tape to hold the knob in place. They fixed it there as best as they knew how, and hoped that it would go unnoticed, which it did for a few days. Last night, I saw the knob was missing and wondered what had happened. My wife said she had bumped against it and it had fallen off so she picked it up and set it on the top o...

Yesterday my father had a heart attack for the first time.  Just saying that makes me realize that life is moving on at an incredibly fast rate and things that only older people need to be concerned about now apply to my parents and that is a bit shocking to think of them in this light.  But in all of this, we were reminded and blessed by the fact that life is not about what is lived here, but only the preparation for what is to come in the life hereafter. Yesterday after lunch, Daddy laid down for his afternoon siesta and within a few minuets started feeling a tension and pain in his chest.  It kept getting increasingly stronger and he wondered if it was something that he had eaten as a doctor friend had told him once that indigestion can mimic a heart attack.  So he took some enzymes and decided to try and tough it out for a while.  After about an hour and half of intense pain (level 8 of 10), difficulty in catching his breath, and shooting pains down...