Focusing On Our Future

I’m sure that this is dating me but I can tell you that we used to use cameras to take pictures.  I’m not talking about the camera that is part of your I-Phone.  I’m talking about an actual camera.  When we used up all of the pictures on a roll we would take it in to a place to have the pictures developed.  Normally it took a few days before we got to see our pictures.  In the time delay we might have forgotten the pictures that we took.  Sometimes the picture’s we got back were way out of focus or someone’s head accidentally got chopped off.  In the old days that was just too bad but later it was something that we didn’t have to pay for.  The film company would forgive us for our flawed pictures that didn’t come out the way we wanted and didn’t charge us for the bad ones.

The problem that we have today is that multiple things are coming at us all of the time.  With social media running rampant and 24 hour news always in our face it is harder for people to stay focused than ever before.  We may not have trouble focusing short term on an upcoming test or plans for dinner but we have a terrible time with long term focusing.  Of course that is where service industries have grown in recent years.  Services like retirement planning, wills, and supplemental insurance try to make us focus on things that may affect us or our families in the future.

We have lived in our house a long time.  The other day we had a roofing salesperson  come to our door.  It seems that a house across the street had been re-roofed by this company.  They mentioned that new shingles should be put on a house every 20 or 25 years.  Ours were last done 23 years ago.  Yes it is probably time for us to make the plunge and have the work done.  However it is hard to focus on the future. The roof is not leaking and it looks fine.  Re-roofing a house is very expensive.  There used to be a car repair commercial that I have always remembered their little slogan.  Unfortunately for them I have long since forgot the name of the company.  The slogan went like this “You can pay me now, or pay me later.”  It is talking about dealing with a little problem before it turns into a bigger one.  Long ago Benjamin Franklin had a quote that dealt with the same issue.  His quote was “A stitch in time saves nine.”

We are told to plan for the long term and are encouraged to have a plan for when we are not around anymore.  It is basically a plan for who gets which part of our assets.  It is important to think about these long term situations because life is not guaranteed for any of us.  Yet many people neglect the more important question.  That question is “What happens to us after we die?”  It’s a basic question that has been asked as long as humans have lived on the earth.  With Jesus in our heart’s we don’t have to worry about our long term future.  In fact we can look forward to a time when we are re-united with our loved ones that have went on before.  We can look forward to eternal life and joy unspeakable.  You see Jesus came to earth to take the unknown and make it known.  When we are sorrowful for our sins he throws them out and doesn’t hold us accountable much like the company did for the old photo’s that didn’t turn out!  He tells us to fear not because he is with us!  He gives us the Holy Spirit while we are here to guide and teach us!

Just like we should plan for the future do not neglect the Jesus plan for our eternal future.  With Jesus the plan becomes crystal clear.  The picture is always focused because Jesus has made it that way!  “In my fathers house there are many mansions”, he states in John 14:2.  “If it were not so I wouldn’t have told you”, he continues.  “If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there you may be also.”  Jesus has made securing our reservation for eternal life simple.  He has already paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross.  He wants to bring our eternal future into focus.  If you would like to secure your future repeat this simple prayer, believe it in your heart, and receive him in a child like way.

Lord Jesus,

Forgive me of my sins, come into my heart and save me.

I want to live forever with you in heaven.

Thank you for saving me

I give you my life while on this earth.

In your precious and holy name

Amen

 

 

Leaving Me Lonely Still

Have you ever listened to the lyrics of a song and totally related to the singers feelings? Those songs are the deep meaning emotional songs I enjoy so much.  They are the songs that you say “I feel exactly the same way that they do!”  If the emotion is loneliness perhaps I am not quite so lonely.  There is comfort knowing that someone else has the same kind of feelings that I do.  Maybe the song is so powerful that it brings tears to my eyes as the lyrics pierce into my heart.  Neil Diamond had a song he wrote over a long period of time in his hotel room.  The song was named “I Am I Said”, and from it’s popularity it is obvious that he struck a chord as to how countless people feel.  It speaks of a lonely feeling that grips deep inside.

During a lifetime it is perfectly natural to go through seasons of feelings and emotions.  We have all experienced extreme highs and lows if we have lived long enough.  It is normal for us most of the time to live on an even keel with an occasional swing from one end or the other.  There are times when we have extreme emotional highs.  Maybe everything seems to be going our way and the world is a great place.  Sometimes something very good happens that causes such elation it takes days to come off of the mountain.  Sooner or later though we invariably slide off of that peak.  After an emotional high it is not unusual to have a very emotional low.  That was the case for Chris Evert the famous tennis player after she won a major tournament at a young age.  “When I won Wimbledon in 1976,” she recalls, “I beat Evonne Goolagong in three tough sets, went home to an empty hotel room and was depressed an hour after the match.

It’s easy to think that these famous people we see so frequently haven’t a care in the world.  How often do we think “That person really has it made!”  What we fail to realize is that these celebraties are people too.  They have the same problems (and maybe even more) than you and I.  Bad things can happen to them too.  They get depressed just like we do.  Neil Diamond is telling us a story about himself.  It relates to so many people because in some way it is their story too.  For whatever reason he is very unsatisfied and not at peace with himself.  He has lived on that emotional mountain top where everyone has told him how great he is.  Living up there in the adulation of people is such a high that it is addicting.  Something happened that made him reflect on his purpose.  He had tried out for a part as Lenny Bruce the controversial comedian.  He didn’t get the part and for whatever reason he crashed into a funk and his emotions came out in his song “I Am I Said.”

I Am… I Said Lyrics
Neil Diamond

L.A.’s fine, the sun shines most the time
And the feeling is “lay back”
Palm trees grow and rents are low
But you know I keep thinkin’ about
Making my way back

What Neil seems to be saying in his initial wording is that physically he is in a good place.  The sun is shining and he is comfortable.  His financial situation is good and he had economical living.  It doesn’t seem to coincide with his desire to make his way back.

Well I’m New York City born and raised
But nowadays
I’m lost between two shores
L.A.’s fine, but it ain’t home
New York’s home
But it ain’t mine no more

Now we see the true picture.  He is feeling low because he doesn’t feel he has a home.  With all of his fame and fortune he realizes that there is something missing.  He has surrendered a base as a price for his fame. Is this really where the root of his feelings are or is it what he thinks is the problem? It may be something gnawing within him that he hopes will be solved by moving.

“I am”… I said
To no one there
And no one heard at all
Not even the chair

It seems that he states “I am” as a cry out.  He seems to be wondering if anybody really cares that he exists.  Sure there are many people who seem to care but when it gets right down to it he is sitting in his room alone.  How many times have we talked to ourselves in such times?  That is exactly what he is doing and the echoes of his own voice tell him that he is all alone.  The chair seems to represent the people who seem to care so much about him and yet they are only there as a symbol in his mind.

“I am”… I cried “I am”… said I
And I am lost and I can’t
Even say why
Leavin’ me lonely still

I am lost and I can’t even say why can be pretty typical.  Something isn’t right and you know in your spirit that it isn’t and yet you can’t pinpoint the problem.  When you sink into the depth of despair like he did it is hard to find your way out.  It’s hard to solve a problem when you can’t diagnose the problem that you have.

Did you ever read about a frog
Who dreamed of bein’ a king
And then became one
Well except for the names
And a few other changes
If you talk about me
The story’s the same one

Now he is talking about starting out as a nobody and having his wildest dreams come true!  It is the all American dream of fame and riches that he never expected.  The world sees him as happy and content but he has a different story.

But I got an emptiness deep inside
And I’ve tried
But it won’t let me go
And I’m not a man who likes to swear
But I never cared
For the sound of being alone

Even though he had everything in the worlds view that should make him happy he is miserable as he laments about the emptiness deep inside that won’t let him go.  Like all of us there is a little place deep within him that only God can fill.  The Bible talks about this dilemma.   In Mark chapter 8 verse 36 Jesus asks the question “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?”

“I am”… I cried “I am”… said I
And I am lost and I can’t
Even say why
Leavin’ me lonely still

If you can relate to this song like I can you are not alone.  Millions of people throughout the world love this song because it exemplifies so much of their circumstances.  You don’t have to be lonely.  Wherever you are God can be there too!  He loves you and wants to fill that empty space that only he can!  When you are in the deepest darkest cave know that God is waiting to rescue you.  Whether you are rich or poor, famous or unknown he will not leave you lonely still!

The Cave

by Lewis Hamilton
from the book “The Gardener and My Garden” c1997

It’s lonely in the cave tonight,
it’s cold and damp and gray
I’m hungry, thirsty and so run down
I’ll die in here they say

My friends come and see me here
I beg them all to stay
Oh no, they call as they retreat
We know a better way

I’ve blamed the church, the pastors too,
for helping me to fall
I’ve blamed my friends and enemies
Oh Lord, I’ve blamed them all

When I ran out of people
to point my finger at
I pointed up to heaven
He was the dirty rat

But in that cave I cried one day,
Lord if you really are,
how can I feel so forsaken
and why are you so far

Away from me in all my trials
and troubles here below?
My life has no meaning here
I’m empty as you know

I heard the wind a howling
the earth began to shake
I said, Lord are you really real
or is this all a fake?

In all of the commotion
when I thought he could be near,
I waited as it thundered
but my God did not appear

As I sat in that damp, dark, cave
without reason and or rhyme
A still small voice spoke oh so clear,
I was with you all the time

You will on some days stumble
and crawl along the way,
but I will pick you up again
until you’re home to stay

And yes, there will be valleys
that you will wander through,
but take my hand and hold on tight
and I will see you through

Then he took my hand and led me on
right out of that cold place
I looked and there I saw the Son
with a smile upon his face

Now go and tell the world out there
about the place you’ve been
How you’ve been raised from the dead
and brought to life again

Tell them when they die like you
and they’re at the place you’ve been,
I will touch them with my hand
and raise the dead again.

Jesus, once more deeply moved,
came to the tomb. It was a cave
with a stone laid across the entrance.
When he had said this, Jesus called
in a loud voice, “Lazarus come out!”

John 11:38 & 43

 

 

A Different View

Last month marked the anniversary of the first man on the moon.  I remember July 20, 1969.  I was listening to the Detroit Tigers baseball game when suddenly the broadcast was interrupted by breaking news.  At the time I didn’t like the fact that they were interrupting my game to go live to the moon landing.  I can see that my point of view has changed from when I was 12 as far as what was important.  In a way I think some of the astronauts point of view changed too.

I think it is the most amazing picture I have ever seen.  I know that’s a big statement but when you think about the significance of the whole picture it is hard to disagree.  It is pictures of the earth taken by the astronauts as they are on the moon or flying over the moon.

The number of people that have seen this amazing view is very small.  Many of them have made comments about this fantastic view and the aura of how they felt when they were seeing.this remarkable spectacle!

“It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.”

— Neil Armstrong, Apollo Astronaut

“As we got further and further away, it [the Earth] diminished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful you can imagine. That beautiful, warm, living object looked so fragile, so delicate, that if you touched it with a finger it would crumble and fall apart. Seeing this has to change a man.”

— James B. Irwin, Apollo Astronaut

“The view of the Earth from the Moon fascinated me — a small disk, 240,000 miles away. . . . Raging nationalistic interests, famines, wars, pestilence don’t show from that distance.”

— Frank Borman, Commander of Apollo 8

“I think the one overwhelming emotion that we had was when we saw the earth rising in the distance over the lunar landscape . . . . It makes us realize that we all do exist on one small globe. For from 230,000 miles away it really is a small planet.”

— Frank Borman, Commander of Apollo 8

“The world itself looks cleaner and so much more beautiful. Maybe we can make it that way—the way God intended it to be—by giving everybody that new perspective from out in space.”

— Roger B Chaffee, NASA Astronaut

“Oddly enough the overriding sensation I got looking at the earth was, my god that little thing is so fragile out there.”

— Mike Collins, Apollo 11 Astronaut

“For the first time in my life I saw the horizon as a curved line. It was accentuated by a thin seam of dark blue light—our atmosphere. Obviously this was not the ocean of air I had been told it was so many times in my life. I was terrified by its fragile appearance.”

— Ulf Merbold, ESA Astronaut

“Suddenly, from behind the rim of the Moon, in long, slow-motion moments of immense majesty, there emerges a sparkling blue and white jewel, a light, delicate sky-blue sphere laced with slowly swirling veils of white, rising gradually like a small pearl in a thick sea of black mystery. It takes more than a moment to fully realize this is Earth . . . home.”

— Edgar Mitchell, Apollo Astronaut

“Now I know why I’m here. Not for a closer look at the moon, but to look back at our home, the Earth.”

— Alfred Worden, Apollo Astronaut

“Looking outward to the blackness of space, sprinkled with the glory of a universe of lights, I saw majesty—but no welcome. Below was a welcoming planet. There, contained in the thin, moving, incredibly fragile shell of the biosphere is everything that is dear to you, all the human drama and comedy. That’s where life is; that’s were all the good stuff is.”

— Loren Acton, Physicist and Space Shuttle Astronaut

“It’s beyond imagination until you actually get up and see it and experience it and feel it.”

— Willie McCool, Space Shuttle Astronaut

“To fly in space is to see the reality of Earth, alone. The experience changed my life and my attitude toward life itself. I am one of the lucky ones.”

— Roberta Bondar, Neurologist and Space Shuttle Astronaut

“There is perhaps no better a demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world.”

— Carl Sagan, Astronomer

“Look again at that dot. That’s here, that’s home, that’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there—on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.”

— Carl Sagan, Astronomer

“We came all this way to explore the moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the earth.”

— William Anders, Apollo Astronaut

We all get so wrapped up in our tiny little world and it is so easy to do.  Like I was with my baseball game at the age of twelve we get tunnel vision on things that are unimportant. Maybe it is time that we get interrupted in our normal thinking!  Taking a trip to the moon would surely do us all good.  Looking back at the earth and realizing that it is small in comparison to the vast universe.  Realizing the beauty of all creation that God has so majestically formed.  With all of the universe and space out there it has to be a mind boggling experience seeing the earth (the most beautiful circle) and knowing that it is home to everything dear!  It surely would take our mind off of our individual problems as we see the big picture of life and our world.  Surely the picture would be forever in our minds and hearts as long as we lived!

“³When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
⁴what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
⁵You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.”

Psalms (8:3-5)

The Crazy Place

W.C. Fields said the line “Here’s a quarter kid, go play on the freeway.”  Of course nobody in their right mind would take him up on that offer.  Playing on the freeway would surely mean their demise!  That would be going to “The Crazy Place!”  Hebrews 12:2 talks about how Satan convinced 1/3 of the Angels to rebel with him against God.  Can you imagine how ridiculous that was?  Living with everything you could ever want or need in paradise to rebel against the God of the Universe who created you?  That little rebellion has cost him and one third of the angels their place in paradise and eventually a place in Hell’s damnation for eternity.  They surely took their act to “The Crazy Place.”  So what is the “Crazy Place” I am talking about?  The “Crazy Place” is saying or doing things that you will regret later.  It is so far off of the wall that it is literally ridiculous.

In 1976 the Eagles had a hit song called “Hotel California.”  That song is about checking into a hotel that they thought was normal only to discover how crazy it was.  After discovering how completely weird and abnormal this place was they try to escape only to be told that “you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”  The song seems to describe Satanism however the Eagles later described it as their way of speaking out about the drugs, sex, and all about me attitude in the music industry.  Either way it is describing “The Crazy Place” that you are better off staying away from.

The Eagle’s song was just a thought in someones imagination unlike a real “The Crazy Place”  that was on the Kansas Prairies around 1872.  It was an Inn where travelers could get a meal and a place to sleep for the night.  Surprisingly it was not on the beaten Osage Trail.  It was well advertised and tired weary travelers pictured a place of rest and comfort.  It was thought to be worth the effort to venture off and find the Inn.  Travelers never suspected “The Crazy Place” implications when they entered.  They were met by a beautiful young woman named Kate Bender.  She would interview them on their destination and if they had family.  If they were alone and seemed to be carrying a lot of money their fate was sealed.  A final factor would be if they would not be missed for awhile if they didn’t make their destination.  You see the Benders which included Kate, her brother, and their parents were in the business of murder.  They had the very definition of “The Crazy Place” and if anyone knew the danger that trip involved they would never go there.  Many travelers ended up buried on the  property as the Benders divided their life savings.

Of course for our own safety we would never intentionally go to “The Crazy Place.”  Yet almost all of us have been there already.  You see “The Crazy Place” is a place you can go verbally as well as physically.  As we all know it can be easy to get into disagreements with somebody.  After all we are all different and sometimes we have different points of view.  Through the disagreement with emotions flying high it is often that someone will say something completely off of the subject.  The words can be hurtful and final. An example occurred on a recent “Hoarders” reality TV show.  A lady had accumulated countless things that were piled up in her house.  It was suggested by a family member and the consultant trying to help the situation that she get rid of part of her accumulation. The lady was appalled.  “Why don’t you just dig my grave and kill me now?”, was her statement.  She was definitely taking the conversation to “The Crazy Place.”  After further digging through her accumulation she was asked to part with other things.  She questioned in exasperation “are you going to get that shovel yet?”

If we tell someone to go to hell, or that we never want to speak to them again, or don’t bother calling me ever again, we are entering “The Crazy Place.”  Those dramatic words used only to hurt bring a sharp end to the conversation.  Those are words we really don’t mean and sooner or later we will regret them.  They are words that we wish we could take back an hour after we say them.  They close the door where the door should always be open.  They block the line of communication which causes hurt feelings.  Use the words of James 1:19 & 20 as your motto.  “But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.  For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”  It is recommended that we live in peace with each other and live a stress free life.  However there are times that we have all experienced where disagreements happen.  When they do don’t say words that you will regret and that will cause hurt in a moment of anger.  Disagree if you must but please don’t go to “The Crazy Place!”

Praise God I’m In Prison!

Sue was adopted as a baby and had no family that she knew of.  She had nobody in the world except Ron.  They were very happy together and very much in love.  When Ron was originally drafted into the army Sue tried to kill herself.  That’s because she didn’t see how she could survive without Ron around.  Now another crises was upon her.  Ron, who was a lawyer had received orders for Vietnam and Sue was threatening to kill herself again.  Ron was the picture of despair as he met with Chaplain Merllin Carothers.  The first thing Carothers wanted to do was to meet with Sue alone.  Sue’s body was frail as she sat on the edge of the chair trembling.  She was the picture of misery as tears were flowing down her cheeks.  With a voice so soft it was barely audible she began.  “Chaplain, I’m scared; I can’t live without Ron.”  Carothers knew her fear.  Without Ron she would have to stay alone in a rented home in a strange town.  He prayed silently for wisdom to comfort her. Carothers shared with Sue what God had placed on his heart.  Sue began to weep out of control.  Carothers tried to calm her by reading Bible verses to back up his words but nothing seemed to help.  Finally she left the office crying feeling there was no hope.  The next day Ron came into the office.  “What did you tell Sue?”, he demanded.  “She is worse than she was before.”  After Carothers explained what God told him needed to be done Ron stated “Now I understand why Sue didn’t understand.  I don’t understand either!”, and he left.

Many years had passed since Carothers was originally in the army.  In fact back then he would have been the last person around that anyone would have seeked Godly advice from.  From the time that he was twelve and lost his dad suddenly Carothers turned against God.  Although his mom mentioned often how dad was in heaven, Carothers felt that a God of love wouldn’t do them that way.  His mom struggled to raise his two brothers and him and Carothers eventually moved in with some of his dad’s old friends after his mom remarried.  Carothers worked hard as a youth delivering papers well after dark.  He was determined to make his way in the world.  Somehow he felt he had it coming.  He was determined to grab for all he could get.  He went to high school but never quit working.  After school and all summer he worked as a food packer, shipping clerk, linotype operator, and one summer as a lumberjack in Pennsylvania.  He started college but ran out of money and had to go back to work.  That is when he got a job with B&W Steel as a steel chipper and grinder.  It was a very unpleasant job but it kept him in great physical condition.  Part of his solution to staying ahead of the rat race was to be in top shape physically and he didn’t intend on losing out there.    He never intended to be in the army.  His dream was to join the Merchant Marines but to do so he would have to be reclassified 1-A which wasn’t the case at the time because the draft board had given him a deferment to go to college.  While he was waiting to get reclassified the army inducted him.  He was told he could volunteer for the Navy which he did but a freak situation kept him out.  He failed the eye test because by mistake he read the wrong line on the eye chart.

Carothers found himself at Fort McCellan , Alabama in basic training.  Basic training was a breeze for him physically and he impatiently waited for action.  He volunteered for airborne training in Fort Benning, Georgia.  To his dismay and his desire to remain in the background, he was picked on by the commanding officer.  One time he spat on the ground in a sawdust pit and the officer made him pay.  “Pick up that spit with your mouth and carry it out of the area!”    Finally Carothers was given the chance to jump out of an airplane.  The pure excitement and rush from the experience was breathtaking.

He earned the honor of wearing the glistening jump boots as a paratrooper but he wanted more excitement.  He volunteered for advanced training as a demolition expert.  He lived to be in on the war effort and the hotter the better he thought.  After demolition school he was back at Fort Benning waiting to go overseas.  He waited and waited and it drove him crazy.  Patience was not his strong suit and he wondered, with the pace of the army, if he would ever get to do more than scrub pots and pans?  Bored out of his mind it came to a climax one day.  With a friend he decided to go over the hill.  They simply walked away, stole a car and left.  After awhile they ditched the car and stole another one.  They ended up in Pittsburgh, PA in need of money.  Carothers had a plan and it wasn’t good.  He decided to rob a grocery store.  He walked in with his friend waiting in the car and a gun in his pocket.  His plan was to disconnect the phone so the police couldn’t be called.  To his dismay the wire to the phone was insulated in such a way that he could not disconnect it.  Frustrated he walked back to the car and his waiting buddy.  As they were sitting there in the car he felt the harsh feel of metal against his left wrist and a harsh voice in his ear.  “This is the FBI and you are under arrest!”

Carothers was sentenced to six months confinement in the stockade at Fort Benning.  Right away he started campaigning to be sent overseas.  His fellow prisoners laughed saying “you wouldn’t have gone AWOL if you wanted to be shipped overseas”  He kept insisting that the only reason he went AWOL was because he was so bored.  His plea was finally heard and he was told he would be shipped out.  While in the stockade the night before they were to be shipped out he was told that he wouldn’t be among the men going.  “The FBI wants you held and returned to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania”, he was told.  Once again he felt the cold handcuffs as he was returned under guard back to Pittsburgh to face his charges.  “How do you plead guilty or not guilty?”, a stern judge asked him.  “Guilty” was his reply.  When the judge asked for the officers recommendation he said “I recommend leniency.”  I sentence you to five years in the Federal Peneteniary.”  The words hit Carothers like a brick.  Then the judge stated “your sentence is temporarily suspended and you will be returned to the army.”  When Carothers got back to the army he found that he had to serve out his remaining time in the stockade.  After serving four of the six months he was taken out of the prison and told that he was being shipped out.

Carothers was always looking for a way to make fast money.  He became an expert gambler on the ship and made quite a lot of money at the other soldiers expense.  When overseas he also sold on the black market.  He found that he could buy cigarettes from other soldiers and sell them on the black market for extremely high profits.  It was very dangerous dealing in this way  but Carothers didn’t care.  He had one hand on his money and the other on a revolver he carried in his pocket.  The only problem he had was he was paid in military scrip. He stayed up nights trying to figure out how to get this money home.  The military was very strict on making sure soldiers could only ship the amount that they made.  He noticed men lining up getting their scrip converted to money orders.  Each one had an individual company card.  He then noticed one man with many cards who was getting money orders for his entire unit.  That was the answer..if he could somehow get more cards he could convert his scrip into money orders.  He met with the unit finance clerk and told him he needed a lot of cards.  He found out that the clerk would underhandedly sell him cards for $5 each.  Now he was in business as he converted his scrip into money orders.  He also found other ways to beat the system.  Soldiers coming from Berlin were willing to pay $1,000 in scrip for a $100 money order.  He then converted the extra $900 into his own money order.  He soon realized with this scheme that he was on his way to becoming very rich!

Carothers was given the option of attending college while overseas and he took full advantage of it.  He met and ended up marrying a girl in England and things looked very promising.  He was sent back to the states nearly six months before his wife could join him and he could hardly wait for the time they would be together again.  He had plenty of money and to his thinking the future looked bright!  One Sunday evening shortly after he returned home he went to see his grandmother.  Right away he could tell that it was a mistake.  They were going to church that night and wanted Merlin to come with them.  “I can’t”, was his reply.  “My buddy is coming by to pick me up.”  He called everyone he could think of to come and get him.  Unfortunately he couldn’t get anyone to come.  Finally he dragged himself with them to church.  The church service was held in a barn but everyone seemed happy to be there.  As Carothers began trying to follow along and sing from the hymnal he heard a voice.  “What did you say?”, he stated as he turned around.  Nobody was there but a second later he heard the voice again.  “Tonight you must make a decision for me, if not it will be too late.”  In a flash Carothers saw the answer to life.  Yes there was a God and in him was everything one needed to search for.  “Yes God, whatever you want me to do I’ll do.”  Carothers gave his life to God that night.  In the days that followed he had a problem.  He was feeling extreme guilt over all of the money he had accumulated.  He felt he had to get rid of it but how?  He called the army but nobody wanted to take it back.  Finally someone mentioned that he could send it to a conscience fund.  He was able to either destroy the money or send it away.  Once it was all gone he had a peace that came from giving everything to God.

Later Carothers had to report back to the district attorney in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  “You have received a presidential pardon”, he was told.  “You are in good standing with the military and if you ever seek employment in the military you are fully eligible.”  Carothers had to laugh.  I don’t think I’ll ever be needing military employment again he thought.  He did feel a call to become a pastor.  He went to school and into full time study.  His wife joined him and at first didn’t understand his new found faith.  Fortunately his life began to rub off on her and she gave her life to God too.  Carothers was the pastor at a couple of churches after he graduated but a deep feeling came over him.  It was a drawing toward serving as a Chaplain in the military.  His life ran full circle as now he was counseling men like he was not too many years before.

Through the years Carothers studied the Bible and tried to understand the will of God.  He also was seeking the answer of how he could help these young soldiers.  He got off track when he dove into the false spirit world.  He became involved in Hypnosis and would listen to all of the wrong people.  Carothers always had his heart in the right place.  He truly wanted to help the people he was put over and he was open to things he thought would serve that purpose.  It was only in God’s revelation to him that he was following the wrong spirits that he was able to ask for forgiveness and seek God’s way.

It was after this time and a time of real spiritual cleansing that Carothers discovered something in the Bible that he never noticed before.  It was Luke chapter 6 verse 23 and it was Jesus talking.  When you are hungry, when men shall hate you, when they reproach you, when they cast out your name as evil, rejoice in that day and leap for joy.  It was a truth that he had never saw before but it was building!  He read I Thessalonians 5:16-18…”Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing.  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  It was out of this truth that Carothers began a new ministry.  He learned to counsel soldiers now better than he ever had before from this one principle.  We are to praise God in every situation.  The truth is that God has allowed whatever is happening in our lives for our good.  Romans 8:28 states that “and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.”  Carothers discovered that when we are going through something it is God’s will.  Not only are we to be joyful but we are to jump for joy.  It may make little sense but we are called to rejoice.  Through this praise in the most unlikely situations the spirit of God is released to do his purpose in our lives.

An officer came into Chaplain Carothers office one day.  “Chaplain, you have to help me.  My wife wants a divorce.  I just got the papers from her lawyer.  I don’t think I can keep on with the officers training program.”  Carothers told him he had the answer to his problem.  “Let’s kneel and pray and thank God that your wife wants a divorce.”  The officer was so shook up that he took the whole rest of the day off.  While in his bunk he prayed “Lord I don’t understand this but I thank you for what happened.”  Over and over he kept saying “Lord, thank you that my wife wants a divorce.”  The next day while he was in the mess hall another officer tapped him on the shoulder.  He had a phone call.  When he picked it up it was his wife crying on the other end.  “Forgive me honey, I don’t want a divorce.”  Over and over people kept coming to Carother’s with their situations.  Some seemed so far gone that nothing could possibly help them.  After each person explained their problem the Chaplain always said “I have the solution to your problem!”  He ended up leading them in prayer and thanking God that their husband was always drunk, or that another had fathered a child, or that one of his men faced a court martial and a dishonorable discharge.  It sounded so strange as I read his prayers of “God, thank you that my husband is a drunk, or thank you that I’m facing a court martial.”  Not everyone followed his advice.  Some just could not justify thanking God for bad things.  Some just couldn’t keep praising God when things seemed so wrong.  Yet the ones who did found that when they took their eyes off of their problem and concentrated on God their problem got a lot smaller!

A few days later Sue and Ron again entered  Chaplain Carothers office.  They were hoping for some new advice but Carothers told them the same.  He asked them if they were willing to pray with him.  They prayed this thankful prayer..”God, Thank you that Ron is going to Vietnam.  Ron prayed “God, I do thank you.  I turn Sue over to you.  She is yours and I’ll trust that you will take care of her.”   They went over the scriptures again about how it all works out for our good.  About how it is the will of God.  Finally they were able to accept the decision and rejoice that it was Gods will.

A few days after Sue and Ron had prayed with Chaplain Carothers Sue was waiting to see him again.  A young soldier sat down waiting for an appointment and they started a conversation.  As the conversation went on the young soldier was showing pictures of his family.  He showed his wife and kids and Sue noticed another picture in his wallet.  “Who is that?”, she wondered.  “That is my mother”, the soldier answered.  “That’s my mother!”, Sue cried out!  Years ago Sue saw that picture of her mother and never forgot it.  It turned out she was right!  She had found a brother and a new family!

As Ron walked back to his unit he ran into an old friend from law school who was now a legal officer.  “Where are you going?”, his old friend wondered.  “Praise God, I’m going to Vietnam”, was Ron’s reply.  They talked some more and the old friend persuaded Ron to ask for a transfer so that they could work together.  In the end Ron didn’t go to Vietnam and Sue and Ron didn’t have to be separated!

The book Merlin Carothers wrote is called “Prison to Praise.”  Although Carothers found himself in a physical prison his story is much more.  You see we all find ourselves in prison.  Usually our prison is within ourselves.  It is situations that we don’t have the answer for.  Sometimes the prison walls seem to be crashing down on us.  As Carothers would say “I have the answer to your problem!”  Once we pray that prayer of thankfulness for the problem the view changes.  Instead of thinking of our dilemma we now are thinking about the total picture.  We are to rejoice and leap for joy knowing that we are in the perfect will of God!

The Proving Of My Faith

by Lewis Hamilton
From the book “The Gardener and My Garden” c1997

It’s easy to praise the Lord
when I’m on a mountain high
or I’m soaring in the air
up where the eagles fly

It’s easy to praise him
when life is going right
and it doesn’t seem the devil
is putting up a fight

But what will I do when troubles come
and I’m not feeling the power?
Will I cling to my faith in him
when I’m in my trying hour?

When I reach my lowest depth
will I take time to pray
or will I lose my grip on faith
and let it slip away?

Unproven faith is not faith at all,
this truth of faith I’ve found
The proving of my faith comes only
when I’m on my lowest ground.

Therefore, among God’s churches we
boast about your perseverance and
faith in all the persecutions and trials
you are enduring.

II Thessalonians 1:4

 

No Experience Needed!

I remember the puzzlement of going to job interviews fresh from getting a degree and entering the job world.  Inevitably the question would arise “Well what kind of experience do you have?”  In the world of today that wrong has been corrected.  Students are required or it is recommended that they have some kind of internship that answers that question.  At the time I was forced to answer that while I didn’t have the work experience they may be looking for I did have the Knowledge that an education provided.  Most of the time the hardened professionals had only one type of candidate they wanted to hire.  It would be the candidate that already had years of experience who just happened to fall in their laps.  A college kid with fresh ideas but no work experience was the last person they wanted in their don’t rock the boat world.

Saying all of that, sometimes I notice job ads today that actually state “No Experience Necessary.”  Almost every time I’ve found that these jobs are ones nobody wants like selling vacuum cleaners or being a telemarketer.  Of course you don’t need experience they figure because if you were experienced you wouldn’t want that job or they couldn’t teach you their five step technique of reading lines as soon as the phone is answered.  Being on the other end many times, as I’m sure you have been also,  you might get the hello in before the reading begins.  Only by interrupting the caller and appearing rude are you able to have an intelligent conversation.

It strikes me strange that either we don’t want the person with no work experience or we will hire anyone who is breathing.  In the first case it always seemed like a catch 22.  How can I get experience if nobody will hire me?  In the second case it borders on ridiculous.  If nobody is disqualified where is the uniqueness that  separates my talent from other people applying?  Somewhere along the line it seems there should be a happy medium.

I don’t have a modern navigational tool in my car and every now and then using Mapquest on a trip something goes wrong.  Perhaps an exit is missed or the directions seem unclear.  I am not like some guys people joke about.  “He won’t admit he doesn’t know where he is going, so we drive around until we are completely lost.”  The minute I realize I don’t know what I’m supposed to do I have an eye out for a nearby gas station or business.

Let’s stop and ask someone

Of course I check out the persons credentials right?  Sir, before I ask you directions do you have references?  Do you have a few years experience giving out directions?  Have you had complaints about the directions you gave?  Have you lived in the area for over ten years?  How does working at this gas station qualify you to give me directions?  Of course I don’t ask any of these questions.  One question I usually ask is “Are you familiar with this area?”  Normally if the person works there they are, but asking someone pumping gas or someone walking can get the dreaded “no, I am not from around here.”  Those are the times I search for a different candidate.

There is something about getting information face to face.  I like to see their face and their reactions.  Sometimes it can be lighthearted.  “I have gotten completely turned around”, I might offer, “can you help me?”  With that kind of approach I can get a good feel for the person.  Usually I can see in their demeanor that they are willing to help.  They may even smile and ask “How can I help you?”  Sometimes I may be further off of the path I should be on.  I’ve found that the best direction givers are good map drawers too!  It isn’t good enough to tell me to make three lefts and four rights because I get back to the car and I’m thinking “did she say three or four rights?”  I have a friend who used to give me directions on the phone to one of the ball fields we would probably never see again.  After listening and trying to remember his directions he would then say “or you could go this way”, and he would give me a whole set of other directions.  After all of that explaining I was more confused than when he started.  The map drawer on the other hand gives you one direction.  Here you are they pinpoint you on their map.  Then they draw the roads and the traffic lights.  When I leave I have a map and memory of the directions they gave and I’m all set!

I like that person to person contact when getting directions.  I feel like that I can sense if the person really knows and is sincere.  I don’t think I have ever had a person deliberately give me the wrong directions.  I may have misunderstood them a time or two and had to ask someone else along the way, but I never felt it was a deliberate unkind act.  The same thing cannot be said about opinions on the internet.  The internet is very impersonal.   You don’t have to have any qualifications to put an opinion out there.  Maybe you have a little rash on your arm or something and it concerns you enough to check symptoms on the internet.  I’m amazed that invariably someone will write something so bad that you will think you are dying.  I don’t know what thrill they get out of this mind game.  I’m sure that they are the cause of much worry and despair because many people take opinions of others very seriously.  Reading something like that, we can forget about the source.  Many times we don’t ask for qualifications, we just accept what they said as fact.

We recently got back from a vacation to Myrtle Beach.  As a kid I remember making long trips with my family where we would only stop to use the restroom.  When we go on trips I try to spread out the traveling so that the trip is much more enjoyable.  I’ll divide up the driving (usually more on the first day) and look for a hotel on the path to our destination.  On this last trip we used two stops each way.  Usually choosing a hotel revolves around which town I choose to stay in based on the proximity to the highway and the distance traveled.  Invariably while choosing candidates I will read the reviews of the hotels.  Almost every time there will be some people who rate the hotel very high, some in the middle and a few at the very bottom.  On our recent trip I had no problems with any of the hotels that we stayed in.  Each one had their own uniqueness and strong points.  One for instance didn’t serve breakfast but had by far the lowest price.  It was clean and nice and the bed was very comfortable.  The TV was antique in the world today (not a flat screen), but it could swivel so you could turn it toward you. The room was more like a suite with different areas giving it a feel of more than one room.  The other three were higher priced but did offer a breakfast.  One of the breakfasts was about average, and the other two were super nice!  All of the beds in everywhere we stayed were very comfortable and all of the rooms seemed very clean!  After experiencing each room I would give them all strong passing grades!

From my experience it was very clean with a great breakfast

If I relied totally on the internet I’m not sure which hotels I would have wanted to stay in.  The very first one for instance had in my opinion a very comfortable bed, nice TV, and the best breakfast money can buy!  The breakfast at this place was incredible and it left a lasting impression with me!  I read many reviews and almost every one mentioned how great the breakfast was.  Then there was one oddball reviewer that went totally in the other direction.  All of the review was written in capital letters and this is what it said.  NEVER EVER, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STAY AT THIS HOTEL, FILTHIEST, NASTIEST HOTEL I’VE EVER STAYED IN.  This was 100% the opposite of my experience in this hotel and it made me wonder.  I wonder how 90% of the people had fantastic stays and others may have nitpicked a few things, but this person gave such a completely negative review?  Then the thought occurred to me…maybe this person didn’t stay in the hotel at all.  There were no qualifications to the review he left.  It didn’t say what dates he was there and nobody could go back and get the related data.  Maybe for some reason he had something against the hotel or maybe he just enjoyed sniping websites and throwing something bad into the mix.  Perhaps this is the mentality of people who invent viruses that take down major computer systems.  They may see the damages they have caused as just being clever and funny.

Andrae Crouch

Throughout history people have badmouthed Christianity.  Many have tried to make it as unappealing as possible.  They have led many astray because their opinions have been taken to heart.  For those out there that have not made a decision for Christ based on what someone else thinks I have this question…What are their qualifications?  Have they ever experienced Salvation?  Have they ever known the love of Jesus Christ in their own heart?  I would hazard a guess that the answer to both of those questions is no.  Quit listening to people not experienced in the topic.  When seeking help experience is important and  necessary!  Once you have experienced God’s love in your life you will agree with Andrae Crouch and his lyrics to his “I Didn’t Think It Could Be” song!  “I didn’t think it could be until it happened to me and you’ll never know that it’s true until it happens to you!”

 

 

Gathering Strength After The Devastation!

It’s been over twelve years now but I can remember the day so vividly.  It was a normal work day but it would soon be very different.  The date was September 11, 2001.  I was at my computer when my boss came in with the news.  Apparently a plane hit one of the world trade center towers.  Although we thought it was a tragedy it never occurred to us that it was on purpose.  We heard that the stock market had taken a sudden dive downward.  A TV was brought into the office and we watched the building burning.  While there was still speculation as to what happened another plane hit the second tower.  Everyone was in shock around me and no more work got done that day.  President Bush made a statement in response to the terrorist attack and everyone was feeling sad and confused.  We were told officially to go home and we all left in a state of shock!  I remember the hollow feeling as I just couldn’t believe this had happened.  That night I remember watching local prayer services of all different religions.  It was as if we had been sent a message and it had stripped our human pride down to it’s bare levels.  It was like OK God you win, we have nothing else to hold on to.  We have been broken down and we desire to draw close to you.

At first security was on high alert.  There was special efforts made to make sure nobody brought anything that could be made into a weapon onto an airplane.  I remember going to a football game the following Saturday when we played the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  I have never seen anything like what we went through that day.  Ladies were told to empty their purses and anything not approved was kept by security.  Maybe it was an over reaction as hundreds of games were played before on that field without such measures.  Then again maybe it was viewed as a different world than what it ever was before.  I suppose the price of our freedom at that point was in fact making sure that we were not the enemy.  I am amazed that although 9/11 is a part of all that lived through those days, we have learned to move on.  We were stunned, but didn’t stay that way.  We went into action to fight terrorism.  We were hurt but not knocked out.  We were down but not out as we proved how resilient we really are!

It’s hard to measure shock but I believe that shock comes to individuals every day.  The fact that everyone isn’t effected like that September 11th day makes individual shocks fly under the radar.  Yet they are just as real as that airplane crashing into the tower.  Recently a member of my family got a bad diagnosis from the doctor.  That kind of diagnosis is just like the shock of 9/11 because it is impacting their life in such a devastating way.  Most of us are not seeing this proverbial destructive plane but it’s impact is hitting a life just the same.  Those close to our loved one are just as concerned as relatives of the 9/11 missing were.

I have a friend who used to work in my building.  After she got a different job we would still sometimes talk on face book.  I was shocked when I read a post she made stating that it was day 3 in the hospital and that her doctors were fantastic.  I asked her to write and tell me what was wrong but I heard nothing.  A couple of weeks later I found out from her sister that she was in dire straights.  Her liver wasn’t working and the doctors were frantically trying to find out why.  In the next day or two the news kept getting worse. I found out that she was not responsive for three days.  Then on a Friday it got worse if that were possible.  She was put on life support and we were praying for a miracle.  I was in contact with her sister but I prayed I wouldn’t hear anything else.  I figured that no news was good news.  Out of the total darkness a little light came in the form of a post on face book by her sister.  It said that she is being flown to a different hospital and she gave the name.  All of the sudden from total darkness a little light was shining.  If they didn’t think there was hope why would they fly her somewhere else?  It was like a candle in the darkness but it was there!  Our spirits picked up and a work  friend said words that sounded like a prophet.  In fact I believe that it was a prophesy.  You see my sick friend wants to write a book someday of her experiences.  She has had many that would glorify God not including this one.  Well my work friend stated out of the blue “she is going to live and write that book!”  The words were so powerful at that particular moment that the candle of faith seemed to glow a little brighter!

In the days after 9/11 I remember our country seemed completely together.  Usually we hear arguments on policies and decision making and all of that.  In those days following 9/11 it felt like we were all on the same team!  I guess it is like the idea that I may talk bad about our country much like a brother might get annoyed with his sibling, but it is fighting words if an outsider pushes him around.

In thinking about 9/11 and the days that followed.  I believe there are steps that we as a country took that helped us heal.  The first step was  total shock as the event happened.  There was a time of sorrow as the news got worse.  It was like getting stunned by a punch to the gut and wondering if we would ever breath again? As time passed we realized that the world did not end.  We  are still breathing and we clung to any inspiration we heard.  One of the ones that has helped me in devastating times is “If it don’t kill you it will make you better!”

Once the shock has lessened the second step comes into play.  The second step is to take the first step of action that will help you recover from the devastation.  For example if you are diagnosed with a terrible disease at first you are shocked and stunned.  After awhile the human spirit takes over.  OK so it is what it is, now what can be done?   That is the survival spirit that God puts into us!  I have a picture in my mind of a basketball player going up for a rebound and claiming it before he gets bumped a couple of times and loses his balance.  He doesn’t fall but he clearly isn’t in a position to go up with his shot.  However what usually happens is he takes some time and rights himself, regains his footing, gets his bearings, and plans his attack.  At the precise given moment with his feet now solidly planted he pushes back up with a strong jump and puts the ball in the basket!

My friend in the hospital still has up and down days but is slowly recovering!  They have moved her from Intensive Care to a regular room!  My beloved family member will get her consultation with a doctor soon.  Prayers have been made and will continue!  The dark room of not knowing will be replaced by a little light.  That light is the hope that we have and the faith that we need.  At the moment she has been stunned and shaken.  In time with Gods help she will gain her balance, get her feet together and go up strong with her eyes on the light of faith that is within her!

Amazing Grace!

John Madden had a story about Pat Summerall the gifted play by play announcer who passed away this last year. Madden, who worked side by side with Pat had accidentally sat on Pats headset while Pat was away. When Pat came back with seconds left before he was to go back on the air they scrambled to find it. Madden uncovered the set which was twisted with the ear piece facing out on one of the sides (a complete mess.) Summerall quickly and calmly took the hand off untwisted the headset put it on his head and without missing a beat said “First and ten, ball on the twenty.” That little story in itself describes why Pat Summerall was considered the best play by play man on the air! He had a way of keeping calm and relaxed even when the pressure was enormous. While he was calm and collected in his working environment for many years his personal life was the complete opposite as it spiraled completely out of control.

Pat was born with a club foot to parents who split up before he was born. He was almost put up for adoption and ended up living with an aunt. An operation was performed on his foot but doctors were pessimistic. His family was told that he would never be able to run and play and just maybe he would be able to walk, maybe. Miraculously his foot healed better than anyone expected! Pat came away with the attitude that “I’ll show them” as he found his identity in athletics. He said that “as long as there was a ball involved he was happy!” He starred in every sport he tried and ended up with a football scholarship from Arkansas University where he majored in Russian History. Summerall spent ten years as a professional football player in the National Football League, primarily as a placekicker. The Detroit Lions drafted him as a fourth-round draft choice in the 1952 NFL Draft. Summerall played the preseason with the Lions before breaking his arm, which ended the year for him. After that season, he was traded and went on to play for the Chicago Cardinals from 1953 to 1957 and the New York Giants from 1958 to 1961, during which he was a part of The Greatest Game Ever Played. His best professional year statistically was 1959, when he scored 90 points on 30-for-30 extra-point kicking and 20-for-29 field goal kicking. It’s been said that the 1958 sudden death game against the Colts was the game that made the NFL what it is today! It was called “The Greatest Game Ever Played!” The Giants would not have been in that game had it not been for Pat! With time running down and his Giants tied with the Cleveland Browns 10-10 in a swirling wind the Giants sent Pat out to attempt a 49 yard field goal. Had he missed the Browns would have been the Eastern Conference Champion. Pat made that field goal which was a long shot at that time! That created a tie in the Eastern Conference standings which the Giants broke the following week by beating the Browns again.

One day while with the Giants Pat happened to be in the room when his roommate Charley Connerly (the Giants Quarterback) was not. There was a call from one of the radio stations wanting Charley to audition for a radio station in New York City for the morning sports show. Pat ended up auditioning and won the part! Before that time Pat never knew what he was going to do once his football career ended. He found that he liked broadcasting and he had a natural talent for it!

After his playing career ended Pat went into broadcasting full time. At first he was a color commentator for NFL games. He later hosted a show called “This Week In The NFL” which recapped all of the games played the past week. After that they moved him to a play by play announcer and teamed him with Tom Brookshire another ex player. They were the top team on CBS with Pat doing the broadcasts in his calm way and Tom adding color insights! Their team was a huge success as they brought a fresh understanding to the game while keeping it entertaining! Brookshire liked to do funny skits with him being the unusual personality and Summerall playing the straight man. Summerall was sure of himself and was comfortable letting Brookshire get the laughs. That trait would serve him well when he would later team with John Madden. Unfortunately Brookshire and Summerall not only had fun on the air but off the air too. They became drinking buddies and that was how they spent a lot of their off air time. From 1974 til 1981 they worked together in harmony both in and out of the broadcasting booth. The Super Bowl of 1980 was not one of their best broadcasts. It made CBS executives think about breaking up the team that was so good to them, because they were destroying themselves. Summerall concluded a few years ago that “if they had kept us together we would both be dead.”

CBS could see that John Madden had the potential to be a new future star in the broadcasting booth. They determined that he would be the new color analyst. The question they had was whether to keep Summerall or replace him with veteran baseball announcer Vin Scully? They decided to divide the games in half with Summerall and Scully working an equal amount. After the season they would decide which team worked the best. It was decided after the experiment that Pat would team with Madden as the number one team on CBS.

Pat and John worked great as a team! John would get crazy sometimes in his analyzing and although it was funny and entertaining it was Pats job to reign it all in and make the game sensible again. He did it in such a calm way that the broadcast never missed a beat. Pat again was very comfortable playing the straight man to Madden’s madness. He knew what his job was and was natural at doing it as he was at ease with who he was. Everyone wanted to watch their game every week and Maddens name was used for a new football video game that has been updated yearly ever since! Still Pat had a hidden problem that few people knew about. It got so bad that he started his day drinking and ended it drinking too. He had become a full fledged alcoholic.

Family and friends saw the damage Pat was doing to himself. In 1992 they had Tom Brookshire intervene and invite him to a meeting. It turned out that the meeting was a group urging Pat to get himself checked into the Betty Ford Hospital. Pat was hurt and against the idea and explained that he had other plans he had to take care of relating to his work. Pat was brought to tears as his daughter said in a letter that she was ashamed to have the same last name as Pat because of his addiction. A CBS director advised Pat that if he didn’t get help he wouldn’t have a job. It was then that Pat realized that he was at a crossroads.
“The intervention really opened my eyes about what life is all about, who was accountable and who wasn’t,” recounts Summerall, in an interview with CBN.com.
“Where the advice or the message or wherever the consideration, the choices that I made, who told me what was right and who told me what was wrong; I finally discovered that there was a higher power.”

“When I was at the Betty Ford Clinic there were two books you could read,” remembers Summerall. “One was the Holy Bible and the other was Alcoholic Anonymous Bible – every chapter is about a drunk in the AA Bible. So, I started reading the Holy Bible, beginning with Genesis. The more I read, the more inquisitive I got, and the more I wanted to know about the Bible and what it was all about. It gave my conscious information about making the right choice. And when I got out I never had a craving. I have never had another desire to have another drink.”

Life was changing for Pat Summerall. He still had a lot of unanswered question but felt he was headed in the right direction. Eventually, through the aid of his wife’s pastor, Summerall found Christ and requested to be baptized at the age of 64.

“It was such a magnificent feeling,” smiles Summerall. “After the baptism I felt so clean I knew what people were talking about when they talk about being born again. I had that feeling. I had a feeling of peace. I felt smarter, lighter, quicker; it was a feeling like I’ve never had before.”

In recent years Summerall has battled not with drinking but with a near death experience instead. Heavy alcohol abuse over the years had damaged his liver beyond repair. Complicating matters, due to his age and public notoriety, medical officials feared it would be difficult to find him a suitable donor for a transplant. That donor came with just 18 hours to spare.

For the rest of his life Pat was eager to tell his story to all that would listen! He lived for the times when he could help others to get out of the place he was in. One person that he had met many times for talks was Michael Irving the former star of the Dallas Cowboys. Irving wanted to get into broadcasting and Pat was able to convince his superiors that Michael Irving had changed his ways. Michael has been very successful on the NFL Network and credits Pat for giving him the opportunity!

Pat was also the voice of tennis and golf on CBS. His friendly, calm, relaxed style was very comfortable for his viewers! He covered major events each year such as the US Tennis Open and the Masters Golf Tournament. He also covered 27 Super Bowls for CBS and later Fox. His broadcasting career led him to many big moments in the sports world, however he told anyone who listened that the biggest event he had experienced was meeting Jesus Christ as his personal savior!

Unfortunately Pat’s years of drinking had an adverse effect on his first marriage. Pat’s second wife was a wonderful Christian lady Cheri and they moved into a house in Southlake Texas. Pat wanted to give the house a name and chose “Amazing Grace.” Pat and Cheri loved that house and on the gate for all to see was the words “Amazing Grace.” He loved the fact that when they were coming home they would always see the sign and it would remind them of the miracle that happened in Pats life! Like the time that Madden handed him the headset needing repair, Pat had handed Jesus his broken life. Amazingly his life was never the same!

In April of 2013 Pat went to a hospital in Dallas for surgery on a broken hip. He came through the surgery in good shape and anxiously looked forward to going back to Amazing Grace in a few days. A blood clot developed that took Pat’s life. His wife summed it up best when she said “we thought Pat would be coming home to amazing grace soon. We just didn’t know that it was that amazing grace he was going to.”

The Old Piano

It seemed so all alone

Many years ago my ex pastor had a dilemma.  There was an old piano in the back room of the church.  It was away from the action and the only activity it received was kids banging on it, making it sound as though it were a toy.  The piano had not been tuned in years if ever.  Pastor’s dilemma was should he attempt to have the piano tuned so it could be useful, or just write it off as worthless and get rid of it?   After thinking it over for awhile he called a piano tuner to repair it if possible.  This happened in the middle of the week and the next Sunday he shared the story with us.  I felt in my spirit that God wanted me to write a poem about this moving story!  You see as pastor was listening to the piano tuner adjusting the keys of that old piano his spirit was broken and tears flowed.  Suddenly it wasn’t about the old piano at all.

The keys all clunked together
with each one out of line

The Old Piano

by Lewis Hamilton
From the book “The Gardener and My Garden” c1997

The old piano sat by the wall
it seemed so all alone
No one wanted to play it
such a disturbing tone

The keys all clunked together
with each one out of line
I knew i had to do something,
we were running out of time

I called a piano tuner
to come by when he could
Maybe if he worked real hard
it would sound more like it should

Still in my mind I doubted
I had my point of view
Maybe I should just go out
and buy one that was new

The piano man knocked on the door
and started working soon
He asked me how long it had been
since the piano was last tuned

Is it even worth your time?
Such an enormous task
Not wanting to discourage him
I decided not to ask

Patiently he took each key
and tuned them one by one
After a while I noticed
an improvement in the run

It started to sound better,
he delighted in each change
Soon that lonely old piano
was playing with some range

Gradually the sound improved
as he worked so hard and long
At last he was attempting
to play a little song

Adjustments were only minor now,
sounding oh, so good
And I was thinking to myself
it sounded better than it should

For it was an old piano
that seemed so all alone
But now it had a delightful sound
with a pleasant in-key tone

As I heard that pretty piano sound
with all the notes just right,
the Lord told me I was like
that piano in his sight

I may look like I did before
but my heart is now in key
Lord, thank you for amazing grace
and not giving up on me.

But God demonstrates his own
love for us in this: While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

A Candle In The Ice

Watching the Super Bowl game brought a memory back about my family that happened many years ago.  With the Baltimore Ravens comfortably in the lead 28-6 after returning the second half kickoff 108 yards the unexpected occurred.  With 13:22 left in the third quarter half of the stadium lights went out.  Thankfully it wasn’t a full blackout but it obviously was enough where play had to be stopped.  After the thirty four minute delay the San Francisco 49ers picked up the momentum that the Ravens left in the dark.  The Ravens hung on for dear life for a 34-31 win.  It was a game that might not have been so close if the unexpected hadn’t happened.

When the unexpected occurs

I believe the year was 1985.  My sister, mom, and dad planned a trip to Florida.  My dad had some property in Florida and they were scheduled to see the land, stay at their good friends in Zephyhills, Florida and possibly stop at my dad’s beloved Alabama hometown on the way back.  From Michigan it is a long car trip and my mom decided to include her own little survival kit.  She brought along a coffee can, candle and matches.  My sister rode in the backseat and had a quilt and pillow in case she or anyone else wanted to take a nap.  The trip went smoothly as they did everything according to plan.  They stayed one night in Zephyhills with their friends.  My dad helped his friend fix his car which kept him occupied.  They later shopped at a grocery store and had lunch together.  Although their friends begged them to stay another night my dad thought it best to get back on the road.  About 2 pm they left the confines of their good friends and hit the road.  About four hours later driving down the highway going 75-80 miles an hour in Georgia the unexpected happened.  Sounding like a shot but coming from the car an explosion sound rang out.  My dad noticed that the car stalled, the lights went out, and there was no power steering.  At first he was steering the car to the right side, but my mom yelled out “go left”.   Taking her advise he wrestled the car to the left medium and down a five foot slope.  My sister thought they may flip the car but that didn’t occur.  Instead they stopped out of the way of traffic but also in need of help.

Along the way the radio was reporting what record low temperatures Georgia was having that day.  The night time temperatures were going to be even colder.  Not only were the temperatures going to be below zero but a stiff wind was also blowing.  My sister had a red sweater she dug out of her suitcase and they put a flashlight inside of it.  My dad went out to the side of the road and waved it in hopes that someone would stop.  Unfortunately, even though there were cars passing nobody stopped.  My sister noted in reliving the story that not even the four or five police cars that passed stopped.  After my dad was literally frozen from his efforts my sister relieved him.  Nothing changed as the traffic kept moving without anyone willing to help.  It was like the story of the Good Samaritan except the Good Samaritan couldn’t be found.  By this time the darkness had set in and the roads were getting worse.  Finally a semi truck stopped at about midnight.  The drivers appearance was very much in question and when he insisted that he wouldn’t help unless my sister came with him, she refused.  The truck driver left them stranded.  Traffic was starting to lessen and it was decided that they would have to do their best to survive until daylight.

He left them stranded

My mom lit the candle and put it inside the coffee can.  They took the quilt that they had originally brought for napping and wrapped it around all three of them.  They sat on their knees and  huddled up in the front seat.  The candle along with their body heat produced enough heat for them to survive.  It probably got up to thirty degrees in the car which was far better than the below zero temperature outside.  Ever so slowly daylight came.  It was still frigidly cold as my dad made the effort to flag someone down.  Surprisingly when in the light a new revelation was discovered.  The path to the right that he originally was going to take when the lights went out had a twenty foot drop off.  If they had went with his first instinct the car would have flipped probably killing all of them.

Not only were they freezing cold but they were all hungry having their last meal at lunch the previous day.  The roads had gotten worse and there was far less traffic on the highway.  It wasn’t until about 11 am that someone stopped.  It was another truck driver, driving a long flatbed truck.  Once again his appearance left a lot to be desired.  At first he insisted that my sister go along with him.   My dad volunteered that he would go and the driver almost reluctantly took him.  My mom was apprehensive about the situation and hugged my dad like she might not ever see him again.  Dad reassured her that he would come back and rescue them.  Dad got into the truck and off they went.

Mom was  really worried at this point.   She mentioned to my sister that you never know what might happen.  Dad could be hit in the head and killed and they could be left there to freeze to death.  I’m sure the apprehension increased as time went by.  My sister and mom huddled together and prayed and sang hymns.  Time continued to drag on.  An hour passed and still no truck to rescue them.  They continued to pray and sing.  About two hours after my dad was picked up a tow-truck came driving down the wrong side.  Dad was nowhere in sight.  The driver said that he was sent to pick them up.  Although they were glad someone seemed to be there for them mom was still apprehensive.   “Why wasn’t dad with him?”,  she thought. The car was hooked to the tow-truck and mom and my sister climbed in the cab.  Mom told my sister that if this man tried to kill them for her to escape and not stay to find out moms fate.  The tow-truck driver started talking about how cold it was.  “You mean you survived all night in that car?”  “It was reported that this was the coldest night on record around here!”  They drove and drove and finally stopped at a service station right next to a hotel.  There  mom and sister were happily reunited with my dad!   Dad realized there would be limited room in the cab and thought it best to stay behind.

The service station garage discovered that the fan belt had broken on the car.  It happened that the garage didn’t have this particular fan belt in stock.  The owner said that they would have to call another party and if they didn’t have the belt the car couldn’t be fixed until an out of town delivery could be made.  This would take a day or two.  Fortunately the belt was available and a young guy working there had compassion on them and said that he would drive the few miles and pick it up!  After a three hour wait the car was fixed!

In the days and years to follow my dad always referred to this episode as “The night when the lights went out in Georgia”.  That songs title had a new meaning to all three of them.  Although the song was actually about a brother getting murdered it is ironic that the name of the town the brother returned home from was named “Candletop”.

As I was thinking about their adventure so many years later certain ironies came to mind.  First of all the decision to go left instead of right had to be a Godsend.  With their lights disabled and darkness setting in, that decision literally saved their lives.  The whole scene seemed like they were in Gods hands also!  The car for instance offered a place of protection from the winds.  The candle and the coffee can was like the light in their hearts that the Holy Spirit brought.  The candle wick was like Jesus’ body and because he died the light inside of them was always burning! Then there was the quilt.  It was wrapped around them much like how God wraps his arms around us showing  his love as he warms us and protects us from all harm.

I can picture in my mind three people huddled together with a quilt around them in the dark, with only the flickering light of a candle preventing total darkness.  My parents had my sister sit in the middle to give her added warmth from them.  We learn a lot about ourselves in crises times and I think that their seating arrangement suggested that if only one of them survived it would be my sister.  I imagine that time moved very slowly as they sat there.  Under these circumstances I doubt that anyone slept for more than a few minutes.  We’ve all had the experience of watching the clock wishing the time would pass quicker.  In these moments it seems that time stands still.  When daylight at last finally came they discovered that there was about an inch and a half of ice that had formed on the inside of the windows.  Still flickering it’s light, the candle was strongly burning giving the warmth that they needed to survive another day.

A candle in the ice