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Sand Trap
One Saturday morning many years ago, my brothers and sisters and I scurried around the house, doing our chores early. We were excited because Dad had promised to take the family for a ride in the five-year-old station wagon he had recently bought. We had wanted him to get a newer vehicle, but he said a newer car would be too expensive. Besides, he said, the one we bought was heavier and would be safer in an accident. That was an important factor for Mom, who had recently been in a terrible head-on collision and had almost died. Once we…
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The Blessing of a Home Teacher
My father was a hardworking man with a desire to have his own business, a business he conducted with his own truck. Our living conditions may not have been the best when I was a boy, but he took good care of us. I suppose it may have been because he took his responsibilities so seriously that he worried so much. Eventually he developed a bleeding stomach ulcer that put him in the hospital. Medical knowledge and approaches were very different then, and because the doctor felt that stress was a factor in my father’s condition my mother was counseled…
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Again
Well friends, I’ve done it again. Just when I think I have victory over a challenge in my life, It’s ugly head creeps up, again. I’m not perfect. I know that part already. I also know this life isn’t about finding perfection. It’s about placing value in God rather than the things of this world. It’s finding more room in your heart for God than the game you are playing on your phone for hours, scrolling on social media way too long, or any addiction that takes our focus away from Him. The solution to any problem sounds so simple.…
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I Found Myself Singing
Often the Lord sends us special blessings through the love and support of other people. One night, when the responsibility of everyday tasks seemed overwhelming, I knelt and tearfully pleaded with the Lord for perspective and help. A few minutes later, a friend of mine telephoned. She had been wrestling with a personal problem and was also discouraged. Though neither one of us came up with a satisfactory solution to the other’s problems, we enjoyed our brief chat. A half hour later, I found myself singing. Surprised, I realized that my burden had been lifted. My friend later told me…
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Lighten My Burden
Our family lived in Hamburg, Germany, during World War I when food was rationed. City-dwellers often tried to purchase food from farmers, who sometimes had a little surplus. When I was fourteen years old, my mother gave me money for a railroad ticket and sent me to the country to try to buy food. After a two-hour train ride, I arrived at a village where I began walking door to door. Though I visited more than forty houses, no one would sell me anything. I was determined not to return home empty-handed and decided to walk the 4.5 kilometers to…
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We’re In This Together
Last night I played a softball game with nine other people. We were down 13 points by the last inning, playing the #1 team. It seemed pretty bleak. We were up to bat last. In order to win this game, we would need to rotate through the batting box at least fourteen times before we had three strikeouts. As each of us got up to bat, rather than focusing on a home run hit, we each just aimed to get on the base. The score started to change. First, they were 13 points ahead. Then 9. Then, we had just…
