Hedge

Do you ever have those moments in life when you just somehow, far in the distance, could swear you hear the creak of an old, wooden door swinging shut?

That’s sound of your life bumping forward, another notch older.

I know because I heard that sound this weekend.

Holly and I decided to take the boys to see their most anticipated theatrical release of the summer. 6 and 3-year-olds don’t care about “The Da Vinci Code,” (and maybe nobody else does either, it turns out). They’ve been waiting for one move… “Over the Hedge.”

“Over the Hedge” is the story of a happy little family of misfit, North American woodland creatures who wake up from hibernation to find that their forest has been turned into a sprawling new subdivision. Ultimately, the raccoon among them produces a map of the development, showing that they are trapped in a 2 acre “green space,” surrounded by the mystical “hedge” that separates them from suburbia.

It’s a great movie…really funny, entertaining, and we had a great time. The music was even cool (yes, I know how much my definition of cool has shifted if it can apply to music from a kids’ movie), and when I heard the singer’s unmistakable voice, one from my fairly distant past, I knew that both he and I had rolled forward to another phase of life. Officially.

See, Ben Folds is a guy I associate with being young. Back in the ol’ college days, Ben Folds Five was one of the best bands going. They are a jazzy, rocking, funky bunch of dudes. Piano, guitar and drums. Edgy lyrics. Nerdy coolness.

Now, they write songs for kids’ movies. In fact, they have kids themselves. Several.

Creak…creak.

Here’s the thing – I like the creaky-ness.

Life, like Ben Folds’ music, keeps getting better with time. As we grow older, if things go as they ought to, we figure out that the things that used to scare us just aren’t that bad. In fact, they’re kind of fun.

Sure, the stuff Ben Folds did for this movie is a little softer than his old stuff, but hey, so am I. I think Mr. Folds is learning how to embrace the things he never thought he’d become. For instance, in his ode to modern life, “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” he reminds us to laugh at ourselves, and to keep our way of life in perspective. And, a song this accurate could only be written by somebody who’s living it…

“Let me tell you what it’s like,
watching Idol on a Friday night
In a house built safe and sound,
on an Indian burial mound…

We drive our cars most everyday,
To and from our work both ways
so we make just enough to pay,
to drive our cars back to work each day…

We're rocking the suburbs
Around the block just one more time
We're rocking the suburbs
Cause I can't tell which house is mine
We're rocking the suburbs
We part the shades and face facts
They’ve got better looking Fescue Right across the cul-de-sac

We're rocking the suburbs
Everything we need is here
We're rocking the suburbs
But it wasn't here last year
We're rocking the suburbs
You'll never know when we are gone
Because the timer lights come on
And turn the cricket noises on each night”

Here’s the thing. Life doesn’t get much better than holding the hand of your little one, his belly stuffed full of popcorn, leaving the theater while the credits roll. Life, if we can learn to live it, is found in each and every little moment of joy, goodness and God’s presence that we can experience each and every day.

And so we left the darkness of the movies and walked back into the light and heat of almost-June in “the suburbs” of Douglas County, Georgia.

So, Ben is right. Some of us might have to circle the block a couple of times to remember which house is ours. But life is here in this place. God is here, too. Next month, next year, the next ten years…they’re nothing to be scared of. The trick is to love this place where we’re planted while remembering that there is a whole, wide world over that “hedge.” Our call is to love the life we’re living today, while knowing that tomorrow will have to be different.

When the disciples and the early church gathered in the second chapter of Acts, God’s presence was made known through the fire of the Holy Spirit. They had plenty of reason to be scared. All the hedges came down. Divisions of language faded away as all people of faith could suddenly speak in foreign tongues. Peter was moved to quote the prophet Joel, reminding the people that no divisions would exist between young and old, man and woman, but that all people would be blessed and used by God for the great ministry that was about to unfold.

This Sunday, we will celebrate that first Day of Pentecost and consider how the Holy Spirit works in our hearts, and in the life of the church.

God is with us, in these suburbs, through the creaky notches of creeping time, and in all that is yet to be.

Let’s love today, and always look toward tomorrow. I think there’s some good stuff over that hedge.

Grace & Peace,
Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:

Thanks to our praise team for an awesome music Sunday this past Memorial Day weekend. Mara Cleveland coordinated an outstanding brunch with many volunteers, and thanks to Tim Potate, Lamar Gilstrap and Deena Canup for their dramatic and creative contributions.

Prayer Time: Did you know that Adam and SOTH members meet for a time of devotion, discussion and prayer every Friday morning at Jolty’s on Chapel Hill Road. 7 A.M.! Come on out and join us. Don’t worry, they’ve got coffee…it’s what they do.

Property Update: If you attended our informational session in late February, you know that many local developers have made inquiry into the possibility of buying our church property, and our church leadership has been hard at work in these past several months considering issues relating to our property and the possibility of relocation. Please continue to pray for this team as they sift the many facts and work on our behalf (Doug Dean, Church Council Chair; John Archer, Church Council Vice-Chair; Chuck Lightcap, SPR Chair; Tim Potate, Lay Leader; Kelly Smith, Financial Manager; Jeff Seymour, Finance Chair; Adam Roberts, Pastor).

This leadership team will make its final recommendation to Church Council very soon, and we will have another congregational informational/listening session after worship on Sunday, June 11th.

Pending congregational feedback and Church Council approval, we have tentatively scheduled a Church Conference for vote on a final resolution on Sunday, June 25th, after our 10:00 worship.

This is an exciting and potentially historic time in the life of our congregation. As we work toward decision-making together, please keep SOTH in all your prayers.