What are your plans for the Fourth?

Hot dogs? Gathering with friends? Time at the pool? Fireworks?

This Fourth of July weekend should be an exciting time as more people are vaccinated and eager to get together for a fun time with friends. 

Growing up just north of Atlanta, the Peachtree Road Race was synonymous with this annual holiday for me. My dad faithfully ran the July 4th race for decades, and I made the early morning trek down to Lenox Square to make the run to Piedmont Park a few times too. Later in the afternoon, I remember dad lighting the charcoal grill as mom finished forming the hamburger patties and opening a package of hot dogs.

Like most holidays, we tend to get so focused on current happenings and the fun time of being with friends that we fail to reflect on the purpose for the holiday.  On this 245th celebration of the Declaration of Independence, here are a few thoughts to ponder.

With the celebration of Father’s Day this past Sunday, I reflected back on thirty years ago when I first became a father. While I didn’t panic at the thought of raising this newborn, I did wonder quite often if I was saying and doing the right thing.  

I had a similar feeling years earlier when I conducted my first wedding at the age of twenty-two.  After it was over, I thought, “Did I say the right words? Is this couple legally married?” Happy to report that after thirty-eight years, their marriage is still going strong.

After thirty years of parenting, the same can be said of our children. Somehow Leigh Anne and I brought three children into this world, and each of them is successfully carving out their adult journey.

Several weeks ago, I had minor surgery.  I now understand the saying, “it’s only minor surgery when it’s happening to someone else.”  While this surgical procedure meant I would be off my feet for a few days, the surgeon said I’d be good to go in five days.  In five days, I was horizontal, in pain, and unable to go about my daily routine. Two weeks later, I was no better and experiencing other complications.  

As a pastor, I’m used to being the caregiver.  I’m the one who asks, “What can I do for you?  How can I help?” I’m the one who visits others in hospitals and nursing homes. I’ve been in this caregiving profession since I was twenty. 

After my surgery, I had to learn to be a care receiver. Here’s a few lessons I learned from being on the other side of the caring process. 

Is there anything better than a wedding celebration? Especially a wedding celebration post-Covid?

This past Saturday, I had the privilege and honor of conducting the wedding of my son, Stephen, and his fiancé, Abby. After the wedding ceremony, so much of the talk focused on how you could tell this bride and groom really loved each other. You could tell it in their eyes, in the gestures they made, and in the tender words they spoke. There was no question; this couple was ready to be married and share their lives together. 

As I reflected on all the comments, I realized weddings can be a great time for vow renewal and love rekindling. Rather than just watching the ceremony quickly go by, pay attention to the authentic expressions of love shared between the bride and groom, listen to the words they say to one another, and capture their excitement to begin this new chapter of life.

Did you run out of gas last week?

My wife called me from Toccoa last Tuesday as she was coming home from work.  The gas warning light had just come on in her car, and she could not find a gas station that had gas. I began calculating how far she should be able to drive before she would run out of gas. Fortunately, as she got near Gainesville, she found a QuikTrip with gas.

Later that evening I decided I’d better fill up my car.  To my surprise, all three of our nearby gas stations were out of gas. What a weird feeling to pull into a gas station and see signs that read, “No Gas.”

As I drove back to my house, I reflected on the thoughts and feelings I was experiencing: frustration, helplessness, no control, anxiety, and worry. As I pulled in my driveway, I realized that these thoughts and feelings were the same ones I had heard voiced to me by men and women I’ve met on my mission travels. 

Do you wake up to the sounds of an alarm clock yelling at you to get out of the bed, or does your body’s internal clock wake you up in the morning? Do you hit the snooze button, begging for ten more minutes of sleep, or do you bounce out of bed ready to take on the day?

I had a college roommate who made out his minute-by-minute schedule for the next day before he went to sleep at night. He envisioned himself waking up at 5:30, brushing his teeth at 5:31, fully clothed by 5:32, and starting an hour of bible study at 5:33.  Of course, the next morning when his alarm clock sounded (for all of Auburn, Alabama to hear), he hit the snooze and rolled back over.  This routine continued every ten minutes for the next hour.  Needless to say, by the third day, I wanted to toss him and his alarm clock to Tuscaloosa!

We all have our different ways in which we start the day. Some of us are slow to wake up, needing three to four cups of coffee before we mutter our first words, while others seem to wake up fully caffeinated with multisyllable words flowing continuously from their mouths for all to hear.

Rudyard Kipling wrote, "God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers."

If we could take a quick trip around our community today, we would see mothers accompanying their children to school, baseball games, dance practices, gymnastics, soccer games, school plays, and concerts. Mothers give time to washing clothes, preparing meals, providing resources for a science project, proofing an essay assignment, and correcting math problems. Several moms would be nursing sick children while others drive to urgent care with a child to mend a broken arm or leg. Some moms would be consoling children who experienced disappointment from not winning a competition or just had a fight with their best friend. I’m sure before the sunset, we would observe thousands of other activities completed by moms in a single day.

Have you tried learning a new skill lately?

Recently we purchased a new piano. My wife took piano lessons as a child and has played off and on throughout her adult years.  When we first started dating, she played at the nursing home while I led the music and preached. Fun date, right?

These past couple of weeks, I’ve enjoyed listening to her learn new songs along with playing old hymns and piano classics.  For me, the piano is more of a piece of furniture than a musical instrument.  Growing up, I was more interested in football and baseball and never learned how to read music, much less how to play the piano. When no one is around, I’ll sit down and bang on the keys. I have no idea the note each key plays, so you can imagine the cacophony of noise that fills the room. When Leigh Anne plays, our two Havanese dogs sit quietly underneath the piano as if soothed by the music. When I get anywhere near the piano, they quickly dash to their rooms wishing they could close the door and stuff plugs in their ears.

These past couple of weeks, I found myself repeatedly sneezing and grabbing tissues from the Kleenex box. I don’t remember always having such a reaction to the pollen. It probably doesn’t help that I’ve spent a couple of afternoons wiping a coating of green dust off my backyard patio furniture.

Sneezing is one of those uncontrollable acts that we all wish we could limit to times when we are alone or at least only around those who love us most. Sometimes you know the sneeze is coming and you can prepare… a little.  But most of the time, the sneeze monster jumps on you before you have time to grab a Kleenex or find a private place so no one will hear you. And what’s even worse? Sneezing in public with your mask on.  

Do you remember when someone wanted to celebrate an accomplishment with you, and they approached you with their hand raised high and palm directed at you?  You raised your hand, and both of you connected palms for a brief moment. That moment of connection was more than a slap of the palms; a shared spirit of approval and affirmation was captured.

While giving a high five happens often with athletes celebrating a score or an outstanding play, this celebratory act is shared outside the sports world too.  Investment brokers high five after a stock market rally, students high five after their science project wins best in state. And parents high five their child who just mastered riding a bike without training wheels.