Author: Dave Burchett

I love to collect the stories of people who do stupid things. I am reluctant to call them stupid people because I am very likely to join their ranks at any given moment.

Parker T. Hall Houghtaling was struck in the head by a New York subway train four years ago as he leaned out to see if the train was approaching.  Amazingly, he suffered only bruises, cuts, and a shoulder injury.

On Friday, November 22nd, 2005, Houghtaling was waiting on the platform of the Poughkeepsie train station when he stuck his head out and, you guessed it, he was hit by the 6:26 p.m. commuter train. The Poughkeepsie Journal reached Houghtaling by phone and he  confirmed the 2002 incident. He said he didn’t remember much of what had happened in his latest brush with the New York subway. You could say he is developing quite a “track” record.

It is so easy to shake your head and wonder how in the world this guy could do this once, let alone two times. I would hope that getting bopped by a subway train would teach me a lesson. I would hope that I would be grateful to have escaped serious consequences and I would stay far, far away from oncoming trains.

But I suspect that Mr. Houghtaling could be an amusing metaphor for how I live my Christian life. I make a mistake (that is politically correct for sin) and I am convinced I will never do that again. I am grateful that the consequences were not worse. I am determined to stay far, far away from that sin. And then before I know it I forget the lesson and get clobbered by the same sin express in the disgustingly near future. The Apostle Paul wrote about this very thing in his letter to the Romans.

I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.    Roman Chapter 7 The Message

Wow…can I relate to that. A bit later Paul writes…I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?

That is the real question. And there is a real answer offered by Paul.

The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

To avoid sticking our thick craniums in dangerous places requires a moment by moment submission to the spirit of God. And if you are anything like me perhaps you have noticed that such submission is not a natural response. Further advice from Paul follows in Chapter 8 of his amazing letter to the Romans.

But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him.

Ouch…I feel a little like Mr.Houghtaling after the truth of that verse hit me. I am learning daily to recognize that the Spirit of God has taken up residence in my life. I am learning that I am the one who limits His power by restricting access and control to my thoughts and actions. I am learning that I don’t need to get clobbered again by the same old train but I likely will do just that. And when I do I will pick myself up and thank God for His amazing grace.

I am looking outside my window in North Texas and watching a smattering of snow flurries. There is a thin layer of ice on the patio table and the wind chill factor reached single digits overnight. Gloomy cold winter days like this are offset by the promise of spring and summer. And the first harbinger of spring is that pitchers and catcher report to spring training in 34 days. I am not sure why baseball has been on my mind so much recently. The last three posts have featured a baseball theme or reference. While not quite a Cal Ripken like streak that is a bit unusual for January posts. Today I was thinking about how the church could learn a lot about how we view one another’s spiritual gifts from a former baseball player.

I have written a lot about how people in the church do considerable damage with actions and words that do not reflect Jesus. I have been frustrated by Christians who receive grace willingly and deny it to others. I see division in the body of Christ where we should see unity. It occurred to me that the church does not understand a few key principles that winning baseball teams understand. The first thing that winning teams understand is that every teammate brings strengths and weaknesses to the team. A great team celebrates the strengths of each player and works together to offset the weaknesses. I pondered this as I was reading about the career of Joe Gordon. In 1942 Gordon led the American League in strikeouts. He made more errors that year than any other second baseman. He hit into more double plays than anyone in the league. By dwelling on those stats we could surmise that the New York Yankees were looking for a new second baseman for the following year. But there was one mitigating factor.

Gordon won the American League Most Valuable Player for that season.

In spite of the flaws mentioned above Joe Gordon had a great season. He batted .322, fourth in the AL, with 18 homers and 103 runs batted in. Gordon teamed with Phil Rizzuto to lead the league in double plays turned defensively. In 1942 Joe Gordon was deemed to be the MVP of the league despite some obvious weaknesses in his game. Great managers and good teammates know that every player has strengths and every player has weaknesses.

And that is the lesson I was thinking about for the church. Too often we dwell on the weakness and not the gifts that God has given others. Or we acknowledge the gifts but make sure to note the weaknesses. All of us are a mix of gifts and flaws. The first mention of spiritual gifts is in Paul’s letter to the Roman church.

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

Commentators note that the translation here might be a bit confusing. The text might sound as if Paul’s giving away spiritual gifts to the first ten callers. A better translation might be that Paul wants to use his spiritual gifts to strengthen and encourage others. I believe that every single Christian is given spiritual gifts. We are given those gifts for many reasons but two of the primary ones are to glorify God and strengthen one another. But I wonder if we sometimes look at our spiritual gifts as something that we have the right to exercise for our personal fulfillment and glory? I am sure Joe Gordon often struck out when his team needed a hit. I suspect he sometimes made an error when the pitcher threw a good pitch and should have gotten an out. But his teammates (and the rest of the league) saw his gifts. Base runners batted in and key home runs hit. A vital double play turned and great range at his position. That is what made him valuable to a winning team. His strengths were vital to the team winning. His flaws were compensated by the team working in unity toward the goal of the World Series.

Do we do that in the church? Or do we choose to focus on the flaws of others? The World Series is a wonderful goal (it is especially mystical to this Texas Ranger’s fan) but it pales in comparison to the goal that Jesus challenged us to pursue.  Do we understand what it means to be unified for the common goal expressed so succinctly in the Gospel of Matthew?

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

That is the game plan. Each of us has been given gifts to contribute. Each of us has flaws. Can we pray that we will be mature enough to focus on Who unites us instead of what divides us? Even the MVP of the American League had shortcomings. So will the pastor, elder, committee member, and volunteer chairman as we pursue the Great Commission of Christ. Another thing that winning teams understand. You don’t have to be best friends with everyone on the team but you do have to be united for the common goal of the team. My prayer for a bleak January day is simple.

God give us the grace to be unified as a team for your glory. Teach us to use our gifts to strengthen one another and glorify you. Give us the strength to be a good teammate  and the humility to believe that it cannot be about me for the team to succeed. Give me the desire to be a good teammate in the body of Christ. Teach me to see and exalt the gifts of my brothers and sisters even if they compete with my own talents. And especially teach me to be graceful with the flaws of others. We are all gifted and we are all flawed. A team understands that truth. Help us to do the same for the sake of the body of Christ.

 

Most of us don’t really appreciate the legacy of pioneers. They take the risks, endure the hardships, and suffer greatly to pursue their goals. The rest of us, the settlers, come along and enjoy the fruits of their sacrifice. Such a pioneer was Martin Luther King. Today we have set aside a day to consider the pioneering work of Dr.King. Many people have benefited from the hardships that Martin Luther King endured to communicate the message of racial equality.

Another pioneer, perhaps equally important in some ways, made his difficult journey sixty years ago. It is hard for me to imagine that Major League Baseball had no black players just seven years prior to my arrival on this planet. Jackie Robinson made his major league debut at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. It was a historic and significant day for baseball but maybe more so for our country. You can argue that the American civil rights movement was truly ignited when Robinson came to bat in Dodger Blue. The journey for Robinson was difficult at best and nearly impossible at worst. 

Many Dodgers players, mostly Southerners led by Dixie Walker, threatened to walk out if forced to play with a black player. That ended when Dodger management let them know in no uncertain terms that they could keep walking to the unemployment line. I often write about the pain that is caused by “bad” or thoughtless Christians. Can you imagine the pain that Robinson felt to have his teammates reject him for only one reason? Rejected not for talent or character but simply for the color of his skin.

But one teammate reacted in a way that I wish all serious and thoughtful Christians would emulate. Team captain Pee Wee Reese was an unlikely ally for Robinson. He was born in segregated Louisville, Kentucky, and the odds were that Reese would be a part of the boycott against a black player. But the diminutive Pee Wee Reese proved to be a giant of a man one day in Cincinnati. During infield practice the Redleg players were screaming at Jackie with all of the usual hateful epithets. And then the venom was distributed to Reese. They were yelling things at him like “How can you play with this (epithet)?”, as Jackie stood uncomfortably at first base. Pee Wee went over to him and put his arm around him and smiled. A silence fell over the Reds dugout and the fans witnessing this amazing act of grace, Jackie smiled back. 

Photo courtesy of Baseball Almanac

At Reese’s funeral, Joe Black, another Major League Baseball black pioneer, said: “Pee Wee helped make my boyhood dream come true to play in the Majors, the World Series. When Pee Wee reached out to Jackie, all of us in the Negro League smiled and said it was the first time that a White guy had accepted us. When I finally got up to Brooklyn, I went to Pee Wee and said, ‘Black people love you. When you touched Jackie, you touched all of us.’ With Pee Wee, it was No. 1 on his uniform and No. 1 in our hearts.”  

Robinson later wrote this sentiment to Reese in a book inscription. 

“Pee Wee whether you are willing to admit what you being just a great guy meant (a great deal) to my career, I want you to know how much I feel it meant. May I take this opportunity to say a great big thanks and I sincerely hope all things you want in life be yours.”  

Teammate Carl Erskine had this poignant observation about the impact of Pee Wee Reese on Major League Baseball.

“Think of the guts that (refusing to sign a petition that threatened a boycott if Jackie Robinson joined the team) took. Pee Wee had to go home (to segregated Louisville, Kentucky) and answer to his friends. I told Jackie later that (Reese’s gesture) helped my race more than his.”

God uses pioneers like Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese. We need a lot more like them in the body of Christ. We need men and women who are willing to step up for others when it may not be the best action for personal gain. We need men and women who are brave enough to look hatred and bigotry in the eye and call it by its name. Sixty years ago two pioneers had the courage to step up and be heard. One was in a position of power and one was not. We need men and women who have the courage to emulate both Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese in our walk with Jesus. The Apostle Paul had some good advice to accomplish that goal. 

Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. Gal 6  Msg 

I want to be willing to stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. As I meditate on the gift of grace and redemption I received through the Cross I wonder how I can do anything else? And how can you?

Thanks to everyone who so graciously expressed condolences and offered prayers during my Mom’s illness and recent death. God continues to gently teach me as I begin to absorb that both my Mom and Dad are gone from this world. Several weeks ago my niece told me about a song by the group Diamond Rio. The song is called “God only cries for the living” and I have been visiting that tune pretty regularly recently. Here are some of the lyrics from the song.

God only cries for the living,
‘Cause it’s the living that are left to carry on.

That is a hard truth. The living are left with the financial and legal affairs. Disposing of personal items that generate tearful memories. And the living are left in a place that Scripture tells us is only a temporary dwelling place. Paul writes about our “dual citizenship” in his letter to the Philippians.

For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven.

It was interesting to talk to the hospice nurses who cared for my Mom. One nurse said that it is nearly impossible to not believe in something beyond this world when you watch so many people die.

Everyone knows that we have a finite time on earth. I believe that there is more than just my 53 plus whatever years I will live here. So I must decide how to navigate how I live this life while being mindful of the next. There is a balance that is implied by the concept of dual citizenship. I remember a quote that some Christians are “so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good”. That is not what Paul is saying. Clearly we have a spiritual purpose in this life. Jesus gave us our purpose with these two items that He made clear are not just helpful guidelines…they are commandments.

“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

It reminds me of the line from the movie Bull Durham concerning the game of baseball. “”This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.” In many ways Christianity is a very simple faith that we have made incredibly legalistic and difficult. To paraphrase the line above. “You love the Lord your God. You love your neighbor. Sometimes it is easy. sometimes it is hard. Sometimes life rains on you.”  I wonder how the body of Christ would look differently if we concentrated on those two simple commands? Would we would worry so much about the worship music style and the vestibule carpet color? As we concentrated on those two commands we would look forward to making the move to our heavenly home.

 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  John 14 NLT|

The song from Diamond Rio echoes the belief that Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a better place.

An’ all the angels up in Heaven,
They’re not grieving because they’re gone.
There’s a smile on their faces,
‘Cause they’re in a better place…

I believe that my Mom is a better place. I love my life on this planet. I am not anxious to leave my family and friends. But I am not afraid. This lyric from the song by Diamond Rio portrays a powerful thought.

God only cries for the living,
‘Cause it’s the living that are so far from home.

That becomes more and more real to me as I get older. I have so many family and friends that have gone ahead to their eternal home. I miss them so much. But I rejoice for them because I am  realizing that I am the one who is so far from home.

 

 

 

The prevailing theme at my Mom’s funeral this week was how she finished strong. I have been thinking a lot about that topic. A recent conversation came to mind with a person who could not let go of past failures, bad decisions, and missed opportunities. My Mom’s life drove home a very important fact. God does not care about yesterday. His focus is on today and how we live and respond in this moment.  How I wish that we could wrap our minds and souls around that as well. We too often live in regret of the past and fear of the future. Neither place is God’s will for His child.

Christians believe that Jesus forgives us. It is a simple act of faith. Nothing that we can do to earn or work for this forgiveness. It is a gift of grace.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

Americans have a cultural value of working for and earning what we get. The salvation that Jesus taught is an enigma to our culture. Surely we must do something to earn it. We often struggle with other aspects of the gift of grace. We are, Jesus says, forgiven. But we cannot forgive ourselves. We cannot forgive others. God no longer sees our past sins. But we still live in the past. I have seen that real forgiveness releases the past and allows us to live today. I have made many mistakes in my past. But I am praying that I can continue to learn that God cares about what I do today. You plan for tomorrow but you live in this day. That is all we are guaranteed. And frankly, the rest of this day is not sure. So I join with Paul as he write this to the church at Philippi.

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.  No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,  I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.  NLT

I pray that I will finish strong. Allow me to take Paul’s athletic metaphor and put it into my world. For twenty three seasons I have directed Major League baseball games. I am the faceless guy (actually I have a face, it just isn’t on camera) that selects the camera shots that you see during a televised game. Over the years I have learned this valuable spiritual lesson from the National Pastime. I have learned how important it is to be a good closer. In baseball parlance the closer is the pitcher who comes into the game in the last inning to protect the lead and finish off the win. It all comes down to the closer. If he does well the collective efforts of nine position players and the pitchers that proceeded will have a happy ending. If the closer fails all of that effort is wasted. So what is the spiritual lesson learned from a baseball closer? 

Closing out well is critical as a follower of Christ. Sadly that is not a given. Many great men of the Bible did not finish well. They allowed the efforts of many around them to end in frustration and anguish because they did not close well. The honest portrayal of human success and failing is something I love about God’s Word. It is one important aspect that makes the Bible unique and real. The Bible does not spin the failures of godly men and women. Would you write a book attempting to persuade others to your beliefs and choose to have it detail many adherents who failed miserably? With all due respect to Mr.O’Reilly, the Bible is the original “no spin zone”. The successes and failures are equally displayed. Men with great stories still managed to not close well. Examples? How about the story of Saul? How sad to hear words like this at the end of your journey.

 

“How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have disobeyed the command of the LORD your God. Had you obeyed, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your dynasty must end, for the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart. The LORD has already chosen him to be king over his people, for you have not obeyed the LORD’s command.”  1 Sam 13  NLT

 

Imagine when the prophet came to Eli and proclaimed this dire message. What a kick in the spiritual gut this must have been.

 

“Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, says: The terrible things you are doing cannot continue! I had promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi  would always be my priests. But I will honor only those who honor me, and I will despise those who despise me.

I would be willing to wager (note to Spiritual Hall Monitors – a figure of speech – no actual wagering will occur) that Saul and Eli were planning on closing well. They had moments of great leadership and fellowship with God. But they couldn’t close. You know that Saul’s story ended in madness. The results for Levi’s sons were horrific. His family needed a man who could start well, stay strong, and close it out with integrity and faith.

I want to finish strong like my Mom. I want to close this journey with an effort that honors the One who was willing to finish for me. Paul understood athletics. Sports can be a good metaphor for life and he knew that well. At the end of my life race I have a couple of options that I could hear.

 

a)      You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.   Gal 5

b)      You have fought the good fight, you have finished the race, you have kept the faith.  (Paraphrase of 2 Tim 4)

 

I choose b) for the words I want to hear. Author Kenneth Blanchard says, ‘There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.’

 

That is why I hold myself so accountable. I am committed to this journey with Jesus. And I accept no excuses in my own life. I will fall at times. But I intend to get right back up and follow Jesus faithfully. Regular readers of these ramblings (all six of you know who you are) know that I am a big fan of song lyrics to portray messages. Songwriter Mark Schultz is a brilliant writer/composer/storyteller. His song Time That is Left is rumbling through my mind as I sign off.

 

What will you do with the time that’s left?

Will you live it all with no regret?

Will they say that you loved till your final breath?

What will you do with the time that’s left?

 

And what will He say when your time has come?

And He takes you into His arms of love

With tears in His your eyes will He say “well done”?

What will you say when your time has come?

 

Pray that you will close well. Like my Mom.

 

 

 

My Mom died this weekend. There is the sadness of loss that is tempered with the joy of seeing her relationship with the Lord Jesus in her final months. The last year of my Mom’s life caused me to think of Al Michael’s famous question from the 1980 Olympics. “Do you believe in miracles?”

I do believe in miracles. I have seen one.

I loved my Mom but our relationship was challenging. She was raised in a family where love was not expressed. She could be very negative and her comments had stung me over the years. I knew that she loved me fiercely but I will admit that I grieved for a more gracious expression of her love. My Mom could be really difficult.

As her health declined I prayed that her relationship with God would be clear to her and to her family. Last summer I journeyed to Ohio to visit her. A group of Christian friends in Texas told me they would pray that I could discuss salvation with my Mom. I thanked them for their concern but in my heart I felt they were naive. They did not know my Mom.

Fast forward a few days as I am sitting with my Mom. The conversation is mundane. Out of nowhere she dropped this bombshell.

“How can you be sure that you are going to heaven?”

You could have knocked me over with a feather and I immediately thought of those saints in Texas praying for exactly this moment. And I felt a bit of shame because I was the naive one who doubted the power of prayer. I shared the gospel with my Mom. She assured me that she had trusted Christ as her Savior. The next question was nearly as surprising.

“What if you trusted Christ but haven’t lived it?”

Wow. What do you say to that? I chose to tell her the truth. That she was a child of God but she had forfeited a lot of joy by not walking more faithfully with Him. She had likely missed chances to serve and probably many blessings the Lord had desired her to experience. Still, there was a nagging question in my mind that I lacked the courage to address. I knew there were people who had hurt my Mom deeply and she showed no signs of forgiveness. I was fairly certain she would take that bitter anger to her grave.

But Mom took those comments about living for Jesus to heart. She chose to try to live for Him with the rest of her days. She told my niece that she had prayed more in the last year than she had in her whole life. She regularly asked me to pray for her and told me she was praying for me and especially for Joni as my bride battled breast cancer.

My Mom began to regularly tell me she loved me. That was something you didn’t say in her family. You were just supposed to know it. A few weeks ago she told me she was sorry if she had hurt me with her words or actions. That was the first time I had heard those words from my Mom in 53 years. It was a powerful moment of grace and reconciliation between us. When I saw her last week she kissed me and said, “you don’t know how much you mean to me.” But she was wrong. I finally did.

But the real miracle happened in her last days. My niece asked Mom about a woman she had felt so much bitterness and hatred toward. When I was told about her response the words sent chills through me.

“Oh honey. That was in the past. I have forgiven her.”

What irony that I have been writing about forgiveness and my Mom gave me a miracle of forgiveness as her final gift. Forgiveness can happen. It is never too late. For those who think they cannot forgive I will tell you that with God it is possible. I have witnessed a miracle to start the New Year. I am saddened that my Mom is gone but I am rejoicing in her victory. She was able to lay her burdens at the foot of the Cross and pass unencumbered into the presence of the Lord. I praise God that I have not lost my Mom. Nope. Now I know exactly where she is.

 

Mother Teresa was alleged to have said, “I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle.  I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much”.  I think I understand how she felt. Regular readers of the humble ramblings know about Joni’s journey through breast cancer treatment. As she completed the bulk of her treatments I looked forward to the new year. Maybe 2007 would be better. But we never got to the ball dropping in Times Square before more troubles came our way. Joni noted that “bad news seems to come in waves”. I told her this was more like a tsunami. Just before Christmas we learned that one dear friend had entered hospice care. On December 27th the father of other close friends died unexpectedly. On New Year’s Eve I received a call that my Mom was not expected to make it through the night. Today I received a call that the 21 year old son of another friend had died.

As I hustled to Ohio on New Year’s Day I reflected on a difficult year past and a difficult start to the new one. For some reason a favorite old hymn came to mind. This is a song that has an amazing story. A song born out of tragedy and soul crushing grief. Horatio Spafford was a real estate investor in Chicago in the nineteenth century. His first tragedy was losing nearly all his wealth in the Great Chicago fire in 1871. Spafford was a friend of famed preacher D.L.Moody and the ministry of the great evangelist helped him to recover. Two years later, knowing that Moody was going to speak in England, Spafford decided to take the family there. At the last minute a business conflict delayed Horatio’s trip so he sent his wife and four daughters ahead.

On November 21, 1873, while crossing the Atlantic on the S.S. Ville Du Havre, the ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel and two hundred and twenty six people lost their lives, including all four of Spafford’s daughters. Somehow his wife, Anna, survived. On arriving in England, she sent a telegram to Horatio with the words “Saved alone”.

Can you imagine the devastation that Spafford felt? There was no internet or phones to comfort his wife. No direct plane flights to get there in hours. Horatio could only book his own ocean passage that would, ironically, pass the spot where his daughters had perished. It was in the Mid-Atlantic that Horatio Spafford penned the words to the song “It is Well with my Soul”. Imagine his anguish as you read these words.

When peace, like a river,
attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to know,
“It is well, it is well with my soul”

Chorus: It is well (it is well)
with my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul

So as I face this tough patch of highway I remembered the words of Horatio Spafford.

“Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to know,
“It is well, it is well with my soul.”

And that has been a comfort through the sadness outlined above. It is well with the soul of our friend in hospice. It was well with the soul of the father who suddenly died. It is well with the soul of my Mom as she enters into hospice care. She rallied after that scary night and I was able to have good conversations with her. I am grateful for that chance. I am also grateful for Godly men and women who have shown us how to respond to sorrow. And unknown author once wrote that we have no right to ask when sorrow comes, “Why did this happen to me?” unless we ask the same question for every moment of happiness that comes our way. The man of many sorrows, Job, once said a very similar thing in the midst of his inconceivable grief.

His wife said, “Still holding on to your precious integrity, are you? Curse God and be done with it!” He told her, “You’re talking like an empty-headed fool. We take the good days from God—why not also the bad days?”  Job 2 The Message

I am pretty sure that I would not phrase it quite that way to the lovely Mrs.Burchett. But his rationale was right on. We accept so many blessings and good days as our birth rite. Jesus never promised that there would be no bad days. And the next line in Job is the bottom line.

Not once through all this did Job sin. He said nothing against God.

It is important to note that Job was extremely honest with God. He clearly communicated his anger, frustration, and anguish. But he did not sin.

I hope that it is well with your soul. It helps peace to fill your heart when sorrows like sea billows roll.