Turn

So, I’m cruising down the road yesterday, heading toward my 1:30 appointment. Radio is on. Tea (in my SOTH travel mug, of course) is hot and, might I say, tasty. The day is gray and a little rain is falling, but life is good.

That’s the reason I didn’t see the taillights.

The car ahead of me ground to a halt. It screeched, actually.

I had about 2 seconds to figure out a plan, but I needed about 3. Thankfully, I had just enough time to opt for the ditch to my right, and to miss somebody’s mailbox by about 6 inches.

I was stuck in a ditch, but ok. My ol’ jeep had come through like a champ.

Now parallel to the driver who was formerly traveling in front of me, I rolled down my window to ask if he was ok.

The young man, maybe 19 years old, said he was alright, but he was obviously shaken.

“What do we do?” he asked.

For the life of me, I couldn’t understand what he meant. What do we do?

What I wanted to say was, “WHY THE HECK DID YOU STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD!!!!!!??”

Instead, he took my silent confusion as the sign of misunderstanding that it was. Without a word, he nodded toward the pavement in front of his vehicle. Realizing what had happened, my peripheral vision now drew clearly an image of the aged lady who stood at the end of her driveway, crying.

The young man had tried to stop in time, but he couldn’t.

Believe me, as a father of two little ones, I know it could have been worse.

No person got hurt. But a beloved pet dachshund, on its daily accompanying trip to the mailbox, had wandered into the road to meet its end.

Right before our eyes.

I was immediately thankful no person had been hurt, but my heart went out to this lady who had lost her pet. A moment before, life had been “as usual.” But there was obviously no way of putting things back the way they’d been.

I shifted my jeep into 4-wheel drive (a rare and delightful occurrence, though for a very sad occasion), and began rocking my vehicle free from the ditch. We both pulled to the side of the road and I put myself in pastoral gear.

When we had stayed as long as we could be helpful, the young man looked to me again, with the very same question, “What do we do?”

“Nothing,” I said. “You’re ok, I’m ok, they’re ok. Our vehicles are fine. It was nobody’s fault. We say goodbye and keep going.” And that’s what we did.

Some things, you can’t fix.

To say the least, I didn’t have the greatest focus once I arrived at my meeting.

Ancient words emerged from their resting place to trek, in pieces, through the corridors of my mind:

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. Ecclesiastes XII

Yep, those are the words.

They’re the kind of words that should just always be in King James English.

Though I probably don’t remember the first time I ever heard them, I definitely remember the first time I ever listened to them. The admonition to “Remember my Creator” struck home because I was clearly in the “Days of My Youth.”

Even though I didn’t fully (or perhaps at all) understand the implication of the words, I knew that I wanted to listen, and follow.

These years later, here’s what I think they mean:

Life is precious. Youth is precious. Today matters.

There’s a lot we don’t know, and more that we can’t fix, but our job, while it lasts, is to live in relationship with God, to do the best we can…and to keep going forward.

On Monday, I met my first-grade son at the end of his school day. My grin told him that I had a plan. We were skipping town, if just for a few hours, because life can turn on a dime.

Homework? It could wait.

Cell phone? It has an off button. Or something like that.

The woods were waiting for us, and they were impatient. We hadn’t visited them in quite a while. The next two hours were spent scaling the red clay ridges of Douglas County, and two little boys (at heart) had a wonderful time playing together.

That was a good day.

We remembered our Creator, and he was right there where we’d left him.

This Sunday, the season of Advent begins. We wait, and remember. We look to a future of hope and remember a 2,000 year old baby boy.

God will be there. Savor the season.

Grace & Peace,
Adam

The Tables Turned
William Wordsworth, 1798

UP! up! my Friend, and quit your books;
Or surely you'll grow double:
Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;
Why all this toil and trouble?

The sun, above the mountain's head,
A freshening lustre mellow
Through all the long green fields has spread,
His first sweet evening yellow.

Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife:
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! on my life,
There's more of wisdom in it.

And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.

She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless--
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.

One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:
We murder to dissect.

Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.

LIFE AT SOTH:

CONGREGATIONAL "TOWN HALL" SESSION REGARDING LAND ACQUISITION: This Sunday, December 3rd, following 10:00 worship. Members of our leadership team will present the congregation with options for possible land acquisition in planning for our building and relocation process. Bring yourself, your input and questions to this important time.

This Sunday, both 8:30 and 10:00 services will have elements of "Hanging of the Greens," a Christmas tradition in many churches. Worship will be interactive as congregation members are invited to help decorate our sanctuary for Christmas. Come out this Saturday at 3:00 and help with some of the work that needs to happen before Sunday.

SOTH's 2nd Annual "Blue Christmas" worship service will be held on Wednesday night, December 20th at 6:30 pm. This service is an uplifting time of reflection on the hope of Christ for those who have experienced loss or other reasons for sadness connected to the holidays. Last year our service was very meaningful for several in our community and we hope that you'll help spread the word.

WORSHIP SCHEDULE CHANGE: Beginning on our first Sunday in January, SOTH Sunday worship times will change to 9:00 and 11:00 AM. This schedule should balance our worship attendance and allow us to maximize seating space for worship. In addition, we will begin offering children's SS at 10:15, with adult classes and a Bible Study for adults lead by Adam in the sanctuary at 10:20. Please make a note of this change and look forward to the new opportunities ahead and 2007.