Nothing Stays the Same

Nothing stays the same.

July 6, 2012

We are on “vacation” in Iowa. I put that in parentheses because we—my husband and I, my daughter Anna and her husband and two pre-schoolers--are staying with my soon-to-be 89-year-old mother. Don’t get me wrong; I am glad and thankful to be here and to have them all with me, but it is not relaxing for me, what with the shopping, cooking, cleaning up, laundry, etc. But I digress. What started my train of thought was the family picnic on July 4. My cousin Debbie mentioned that it felt funny going to the Carlton Church without Carl being there and to the 4^th celebration without Ray. Earlier in the day, it had crossed my mind that it had not been many years since Gerald, Vernon, Carl, and Ray would have all been there. I commented that nothing stays the same, and it really doesn’t. We shouldn’t expect it to, and we really should try not to feel sad when it doesn’t. Another change we saw that day was that a new generation is coming up. Judy Dobson generously brought toys and costumes for Emily’s kids. Since Anna’s kids were there too, they got to join in the fun. Joey became a knight in shining armor; Nora transformed herself into “bat girl”; and Jackson made the cutest, fiercest little pirate you ever saw! And so, change is not a bad thing. Something in our make-up resists change, and it IS heart wrenching in a way. But we must not let fear and reluctance to change or nostalgia about the past keep us from relishing the present.

Dad

Our Dad

            Jesus said in John 10:10, “I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.” Our Dad truly had an abundant life—certainly abundant in years though somehow it’s never enough, and it’s hard to say good-bye.

            Our Dad was a man of faith. Not one to stand up and testify publicly, his was a “behind-the-scenes” kind of testimony. He loved the church and God’s people, and he was generous with his time and resources. Carl Kouba’s imprint can be found all over the church entryway, the fellowship hall, and probably even on the plumbing in the parsonage! We all knew that we would go to church on Sunday, and we have memories of Sunday mornings in the summer when Dad might get up, eat his breakfast, do chores, mow the lawn or wash the car, take a shower, shine his shoes and still make it to Sunday school by 9:30!

            We have to say Dad was best identified as a farmer. Indeed, his fingerprints are on every inch of the family farm. We affectionately admit that, though he was absent-minded about some things—such as where he left his hammer or his glasses—he was very much the perfectionist when it came to his life’s work. He took great pride in beautifully even-sized cattle lined up at the bunk or a 12-inch ear of corn with straight rows, perfectly filled, hard, and dented just right. Like all good farmers, Dad was an amateur meteorologist scanning the evening sky for a bank in the west. Though he always feared we didn’t have enough rain or perhaps a little too much, or the cattle prices or grain prices seemed shaky, the cattle normally flourished, and nearly every year seemed to bring an abundant and satisfying harvest.

            Though Dad’s first love was work—he seemed happiest when he could just get outside and put in a long, hard day on the farm—he did have other interests too. He enjoyed sports of all kinds, including bowling and golf, but he especially loved baseball which he played enthusiastically. As a fan, the Chicago Cubs were his team. It’s hard to believe he waited 95 years, and the Cubs never won a World Series.

            Let’s just say that Dad had many “first loves.” His best love was his family. We never doubted how he felt about our mother. He always thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. He never changed that opinion, and he couldn’t believe how lucky he was to get her. As his children, we know that he was very much devoted to us as well. Maybe this is best illustrated in his unconditional love and patient caring for our sister Kay. Every push on the swing in the front yard represented his love and care for his family. And then there are the grandchildren and great-grandchildren! He had proud stories about each one, and they continued to bring a smile to his face till the very end.

            Dad’s favorite Bible passage was Rev. 21:4 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” …You know the reality of this now, Dad. You are rejoicing in glory--please know that we’ll meet you there!

                                            

Love,   

Barbara, Alan, Mark, and Kay

Do It Now

A friend died last week. Actually, I have to say she was a casual friend--someone who came to church occasionally, called occasionally, and with whom I had socialized only rarely. But anyway, the thing that caught my attention was that she was born in 1946--the same year as Laura Bush, George Bush, Bill Clinton and...Barbara Creed! Yikes!

When someone your own age dies, it's a wake-up call, and I know it will happen more and more as the years pass. What am I waking up to? For one thing, the next to go just might be me, and whatever I want to accomplish in this life, I had better do it now!

It seems that we never really feel that our own death is imminent. I know I don't. I always feel that I have lots of time. I always have hope that I will accomplish things in the future. I think that, for the most part, this is healthy. It's not healthy to think that time is unlimited, but it is healthy to make plans for the future. A mature person will rightly believe that he or she has much to live for.

I have much to live for, and so do you. Now let's get started!

What causes fatigue?

"Nothing [is] so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task."
--William James

(via Gretchen Rubin--The Happiness Project)

Do you think William James was right? I do. Someone else (I looked for the quotation, but I'm not sure exactly how it goes or who said it) said something like this: "It's not what you do that makes you tired; it's what you leave undone." I really think this is true too. Even tasks that may seem too little to worry about hang over our heads like big black clouds.

As embarrassing as it is to admit it, I am writing thank you notes from Christmas this week (February 6-12). My goal is to get them out before Valentine's Day! Now there are only a few, and they are not difficult to write...so what's the hold-up? I don't know. It's just one of those things that when the job pops into my head, I say, "I'll deal with that later." Well, later is now. And the undone task does hang over me leaving me feeling defeated. Every time I see one of these sweet people at church, someone who thoughtfully remembered us at Christmas, I would get a pang of guilt. Guilt is exhausting, and so is having to remember things. Once the job is done, you can relax and forget about it.

So I'll let you know when I can forget about this!

Random Thoughts

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”

- Pablo Picasso

(via JamesNord) (via www.swiss-miss.com)

I'm afraid Picasso was right. I'm sure his inspiration involved more that forming the painting in his head! He had to pick up the paint brush, right? Well, I'm picking up this paintbrush for the first time since January 2008!

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. Talk about a made-up holiday! The country turns its collective attention to this contest. Now I admit that I am not a football fan. I don't understand the game, and each game takes way too long! But at the same time, I try to be tolerant of those who love it.

Sports has many positive qualities. I suppose fitness is the most important. And we can also learn discipline, teamwork, sportsmanship, etc. It can be a positive way to relax and spend leisure time. But the honest among us has to admit to some negatives too. The question that comes my mind today is this, "I wonder how many young people have been ruined by sports?" Often gifted young players receive far too much attention for something that has little to do with their character. The newspapers carry pictures and speak of an athlete's "high school career." High school career? School should BE his career! Anyway, going on. The college campuses recruit young players, and the signing makes sports headlines. The college sets aside certain housing arrangements and feeds the athletes special meals. They are treated like royalty. Sportscasters speculate on choices for the pros. With the pros comes rock-star status! No wonder these athletes come to think they are something special because they can throw a ball!

Saddest of all are the millions of young people whose major goal in life is to play in the NBA or the NFL or the NHL or MLB. (Did I get the acronyms right?) Why study or prepare for anything else? We all know how few actually play college or professional sports. In fact, most of us don't know even one professional athlete! I know I don't.

So let's have fun with sports! Take advantage of everything that is good about them. But let's teach our young people to keep their lives in balance. So many things in life are more important than athletics: God, family, education, and career to name a few.

The Bible offers good advice when Paul said in 1 Tim. 4:8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

Is It Morning Yet?

Are you a morning person? A night person? Experts in chronobiology, the science of body time, tell us that the body clock is a real phenomenon. We didn't need chronobiologists to tell us that now did we? I happen to be a morning person. I feel better; I have more energy; my mental outlook is brighter; I get so much done in the morning. When I was teaching, I could do a half day's work before leaving for school! I still arise early though it really isn't necessary. I know, I know...this is annoying beyond words to you night people out there. You are, for all practical purposes, unconscious until about 11:00 am. You secretly despise the cheery early birds. Your energy level builds throughout the day, and you are at peak performance at 9:00 pm when we morning people are dozing on the couch!

Psalm 5:3 says "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." Does this mean that God favors hearing from us in the "morning"? Maybe God is a "morning person"! No, no, no. That cannot be. Did you know that according to www.webexhibits. org, the Jewish calendar day begins at sunset or when three medium-sized stars become visible? You could go by Jewish time, and 10:00 pm would be REALLY early, perhaps comparable to 4:00 am, Gentile Standard Time! Or you could think of it this way, whenever you best spend your time with the Lord is morning somewhere. It is morning to God when He hears your voice, you are directing your prayer to him, and you are looking up expectantly to hear from Him. The point is not the time of day. Just do it. God is always ready for you to begin your "day" with Him.

Ahhhh!

Ahhhh...a new year. What a great feeling to start new calendars! Throw those old ones out! Think of them as symbols of things past. I love sunny January with its crisp air that brings a feeling of new hope--hope that I can get organized and maybe keep up this year and hope that I will reach those goals, read those books, accomplish those tasks! I'll make those phone calls, write those letters, organize those snapshots! I'll get my priorities in order, pray more, study my Bible as never before! Somewhere in the back of my brain lodges the nagging truth that I won't be able to do it all again this year, but that doesn't discourage me. I think it is a healthy thing to have hope, to have goals. Perhaps this is how the Apostle Paul felt when he penned these immortal words in Philippians 3:13 and 14, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended (arrived): but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Since the creation, time has been organized into segments--days, months, seasons, years, and yes, even millennia! I think God knew that we would need to start over from time to time. Each new year is a time to realize that we haven't arrived, to look back (briefly), try to learn from our mistakes, and then forget those failures. Start over, reach forth, and press on!