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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
What Is In Your Back Yard?"
May 17, 2007
What is in your back yard? Have you ever thought about it? Do you really
care? Would it matter more to you if you knew someone was looking? I
don't normally look at other people's back yards but a funny thing
happened last week. I was walking through a nice neighborhood and
admiring the beautiful architecture of some of the historic homes. Wrap
around porches, tower rooms, fancy molding and so many fine details
were prominently displayed in these vintage dwellings. I actually stood
amazed as I stopped in front of one house and marveled at what life must
have been like in the late 1800s living there.
Too often we just blast by some of these places in our cars and never get
to stop and appreciate what we have. We are in too much of a hurry. The
pace of our life is just too fast. This weekend I am going to Ithaca, New
York for my oldest daughter's college graduation. Where did the time go?
It seems as though we were just putting her on the school bus for her first
day of school. Now she is a young lady and set to take her first "real" job
as a teacher in New York City.
Why do we rush through life? Could it be that we want to avoid certain
things? Life has its thorny side. I noticed that on my walk. The homes I
walked by were beautiful. The facades were nicely decorated. But as I
walked along I noticed the back yards of the homes on the next street
over. Hidden out of sight from the main street, many of the homes had all
kinds of trash piled up just out of sight. Brush, old furniture, broken
appliances, and even a few abandoned vehicles were discarded in a place
where no one was supposed to see them. It's funny, but I never thought
about the view of my own backyard until I got home. I went out behind
my garage and noticed an old freezer, a decrepit riding lawnmower, a
couple of garbage cans and an old hose all piled up.
When we drive through life we only see the pretty facades, but when we
walk the streets of life, we have to wade through the reality of the back
yards. Maybe that's why we move so fast. The truth is that all of us are
struggling with some issue in our lives. This past week I had three calls
from individuals who were dealing with the junk in their lives. One person
was worried about their elderly mother who was going in for surgery. The
doctors had given her a 50/50 chance of making it through. Another was
trying to sort out some family issues that had boiled out of control. Hard
decisions had to be made and it was tearing her up. The third person was
trying to break free from addiction. He was looking for strength and
support to fight the demon that had controlled him for most of his life.
I don't know about you, but I dream about a life free from problems. But
that's not what most of us get. Even when life is going pretty well, we all
have those things that pop up. Here is the good news. God is in the
cleaning and renovation business. He wants us to have the good life. He
wants us to enjoy the blessings. He's willing to come into our lives and get
rid of all the garbage in our back yards. He specializes in cleaning up toxic
messes caused by unresolved issues from our childhood. He is especially
good at chasing away the demons of drug and alcohol addiction. God has
a Ph.D. in removing emotional chains that stop us from enjoying intimacy
with the ones we love. And God wants you to know that you are not alone.
So slow down and call on God to help. Before long your life will begin to
shine again. The neighborhood you live in will also start to look pretty
good again, front and back.
God bless! See you in church. Cal
May 17, 2007
What is in your back yard? Have you ever thought about it? Do you really
care? Would it matter more to you if you knew someone was looking? I
don't normally look at other people's back yards but a funny thing
happened last week. I was walking through a nice neighborhood and
admiring the beautiful architecture of some of the historic homes. Wrap
around porches, tower rooms, fancy molding and so many fine details
were prominently displayed in these vintage dwellings. I actually stood
amazed as I stopped in front of one house and marveled at what life must
have been like in the late 1800s living there.
Too often we just blast by some of these places in our cars and never get
to stop and appreciate what we have. We are in too much of a hurry. The
pace of our life is just too fast. This weekend I am going to Ithaca, New
York for my oldest daughter's college graduation. Where did the time go?
It seems as though we were just putting her on the school bus for her first
day of school. Now she is a young lady and set to take her first "real" job
as a teacher in New York City.
Why do we rush through life? Could it be that we want to avoid certain
things? Life has its thorny side. I noticed that on my walk. The homes I
walked by were beautiful. The facades were nicely decorated. But as I
walked along I noticed the back yards of the homes on the next street
over. Hidden out of sight from the main street, many of the homes had all
kinds of trash piled up just out of sight. Brush, old furniture, broken
appliances, and even a few abandoned vehicles were discarded in a place
where no one was supposed to see them. It's funny, but I never thought
about the view of my own backyard until I got home. I went out behind
my garage and noticed an old freezer, a decrepit riding lawnmower, a
couple of garbage cans and an old hose all piled up.
When we drive through life we only see the pretty facades, but when we
walk the streets of life, we have to wade through the reality of the back
yards. Maybe that's why we move so fast. The truth is that all of us are
struggling with some issue in our lives. This past week I had three calls
from individuals who were dealing with the junk in their lives. One person
was worried about their elderly mother who was going in for surgery. The
doctors had given her a 50/50 chance of making it through. Another was
trying to sort out some family issues that had boiled out of control. Hard
decisions had to be made and it was tearing her up. The third person was
trying to break free from addiction. He was looking for strength and
support to fight the demon that had controlled him for most of his life.
I don't know about you, but I dream about a life free from problems. But
that's not what most of us get. Even when life is going pretty well, we all
have those things that pop up. Here is the good news. God is in the
cleaning and renovation business. He wants us to have the good life. He
wants us to enjoy the blessings. He's willing to come into our lives and get
rid of all the garbage in our back yards. He specializes in cleaning up toxic
messes caused by unresolved issues from our childhood. He is especially
good at chasing away the demons of drug and alcohol addiction. God has
a Ph.D. in removing emotional chains that stop us from enjoying intimacy
with the ones we love. And God wants you to know that you are not alone.
So slow down and call on God to help. Before long your life will begin to
shine again. The neighborhood you live in will also start to look pretty
good again, front and back.
God bless! See you in church. Cal
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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