Light Thoughts

In they came, bent over, shuffling slowly but with gleeful anticipation in their eyes. Sore knees, aching backs and the effects of years of toil would soon be lifted. Excitement filled the room. Up on stage, a man nearing his 80's was arranging trumpets, a saxophone and other assorted instruments . Occasionally he would stop to visit with a passerby. One lady stopped to tell him that he had played at her wedding thirty six years earlier. "You married me." she said. "Yeah, I've got a lot of wives out there." he retorted. Then he would go back to his work. Everything had to be just right. Then, finally the moment came. The music started and the crowd grew quiet. The first song was a Polka and a stampede of people filled the dance floor in the center of the room. They came for the three minutes of heaven each song would give them. Just like in the Bible where it says there will be no more tears, every pain and every problem would disappear ...

When I was in high school I was on the wrestling team. I made the varsity team as a freshman and boy, did that help my self esteem. Seniors were saying hi to a lowly freshman. What a rush! Anyway, my wrestling coach was a great guy we called Coach Ailts. I always knew that Coach liked me, but beyond that I knew he thought I had great potential. Now you need to know that I often lacked motivation during practices. I was a meet wrestler, meaning that I could do well during the actual meets where it really mattered, but not so well during practices. Not that practices aren't important, I just wasn't convinced of that at the time. Well, needless to say, Coach Ailts had to push me quite a bit. I'm convinced that he even told the assistant coach to watch me during warmup exercises. I remember him standing over me to make sure I was doing them right. But again, it didn't bother me because I knew it was good for me and because Coach really thought I could go far, as a wrestler ...

Many people say that there is no ultimate truth and it's just relative to the situation. Jesus said He was the truth. Having no definite truth is kind of nice for some people because then they can make it be whatever they want it to be. Some say it's not about what you believe but just that you're sincere in your belief. I, on the other hand, think it definitely matters what you believe in. A long time ago people believed that the earth stood still and the sun rotated around the earth. Today, we know that that is not true. What is true is that the earth revolves around the sun. Truth, I think, is like that. Many people think that they are the center and they can just pick the truth they want to revolve around them. I think truth is like the sun. It stands still and we move around it. So how about you? What do you believe? Is there evidence that it is true or does it just fit in nicely to the way you want things to be? In order to have a well-lived life, we need to start wit...

Knowing what matters and what doesn't is one of the greatest challenges we face. How often do we put enormous time and energy into something only to find out it wasn't worth it? Most of us, I think, have the hope that when we get to the end of our days here, we will know that who we are and what we did mattered. Always there, sometimes buried deep inside us, is the thought: Do I matter? I've heard songs that say love is the answer and I think what is the question? Well, I think the question is do I matter? When someone loves us or we are able to love someone else without ulterior motives, then we know we matter. One of my goals for this blog is not to tell you what to think but to give you something to think about. There is a verse in the Bible that says to stir one another up to love and good works. This then, would be my attempt to do that. To pick up the sword and wade into the fray. To banish hopelessness, indifference and mediocrity. Well, at least, to have a litte fun...