Thursday’s Thirst

The part of the story I find most significant is not that Jesus’ “face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light”(Matthew 17.2) or the fact that “there appeared to (the disciples) Moses and Elijah, talking with (Jesus)” (Matthew 17.3)  Rather, it is what happens after the Father, speaking from a bright cloud that overshadowed them said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matthew 17.5) – causing the three disciples to fall on their faces in terror.

Last week was a pretty busy week – any time you add a funeral service into the mix, the calendar tends to bet a little bit crowded.  Tuesday evolved into a longer day than usual – it happens when one’s wife gets sick on a day that starts with the dentist and ends at the dance studio.  So, yesterday I took the day off.

They say things tend to go in spurts. In an NBA game a 20-point lead can evaporate in minutes. It is easier to win game seven in a winning streak than game two. Funerals often come in threes. I think I just may be in the midst of one of those spurts this week!

 It has been a long time – at least according to my limited memory – since we have had a January like this.  Overnight temperatures in single digits on a regular basis, and it is not even supposed to reach 20 degrees until this weekend.  And when was the last day we did not see at least a few snow flurries in the air?  This is what I would call an “authentic winter.”

 I wonder if anything special occurred on Sunday night in the lives of the people in the 100-plus car pileup they were in on the west side of our state on Monday morning?  I wonder how they are all doing today after their long and winding event on Monday?   Since this news story I have personally heard three additional winding tales that look to be long … and I am wondering if any of us will encounter any surprising/shocking turns this day?

I got up a little after 5:00 a.m. yesterday to take my walk and the weather was beautiful.  The temperature was about 40 degrees.  The breeze was practically non-existent.  I found myself over-dressed, even with my light-weight gloves.  And, by the time I was showered and in my car, the colors of the eastern sky were gorgeous.

The worst time in being stuck in a rut is when one does not realize one is.  It is that time when we keep doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results.  The real danger is that the rut easily can start to feel like “home”.  When this happens, the fact that we will never get to where we wanted to be tends to get lost … which really means who/where God wants us to be gets lost.

 In my mind, CHRISTMAS is all about COMMUNICATION – God telling the world how important we are to him, how much he values us.  John 1.14 tells us, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  And remember, that “flesh” was that of a newborn infant!

A few days later I stopped by Bethlehem to ask the secretary for her assistance.  However, even though it was during their posted office hours, no one answered the door.  Assuming she was out for lunch, I decided to return on another day.

  I’m sitting at the kitchen table in our cottage on Wednesday morning, watching the snowflakes gently floating down from the sky.  I hear that many schools in the Detroit area are closed.  Winter has arrived early this year.