Thursday’s Thirst

During the regular season (yes, I am talking MLB and the Tigers) it became my regular habit during the last two months to turn on Bally sports around 7:00 a.m. to watch the replay of the Tigers game from the day before.  Yes, ordinarily I had already seen the game and knew the results.  And, yes again, I was more likely to watch the replay if the Tigers had won the game.  This is a little more difficult in the postseason because I would have to actually record the game (and I’m just too lazy to do that).  Though I must admit, Tuesday morning after staying awake until 11:30 p.m. to watch the end of the Lions’ game, I did enjoy watching a replay of that game.

I was listening to a podcast the other day previewing the Old Testament lesson that will be read in many congregations this Sunday (but not ones that are celebrating “St. Michael and All Angels”).  It is a story all about anger and complaining – if you look at it from one perspective.  Or, from a different perspective, it is a story of abundance.  As I listened, I was amazed (once again) at how one’s perspective can completely change one’s story … and I got wondering how often my “Oldtimers Disease” drives me to an unhealthy perspective.

As I started reading the book I was not impressed.  It was obvious to me that the authors either knew nothing about or totally disagreed with the concept of original sin and human limitations.  They seemed to be pushing the concept that “you can do anything you put your mind to as long as you try hard enough.”  And I hope you realize this simply is not true.  However, I read on – hoping that such a popular book with monster reviews would have some value.  And I am glad I did – even though I am still not sure that they understand the challenges and limitations that all humans have because we are, by nature, sinful and finite creatures.

I regularly had days like Tuesday before I was retired, but I thought they were all in my past.  That said, in reality, the ways in which I was stretched on this past Tuesday do not really compare to many pre-retirement days.  So, I should probably just say that, as one who has celebrated 71 birthdays, I was stretched.

We hear a lot about mental disorders like bi-polar, depression, and the like, and well we should.  The mental state of many in our world today – and especially it seems, among the young of our country, tracks in many wide directions.  Take, as an example, what was going on in the mind of that 20-year-old who shot up the Trump rally?

As I re-read some recent Thursday’s Thirsts, I noticed how many times I used the word hopefully. This can be a somewhat dangerous word, so I thought I might use this week to discuss the word’s usage. Hopefully – there it is again – you will find this worth your consideration.

I’m on vacation, so this is a re-write from – believe it or not – ten years ago.  And, since it is being sent out a day earlier than usual – and at the suggestion of a neighbor – it comes under an altered heading.  Afterall, if you are at all like me, I don’t just get thirsty on Thursdays!  So, enjoy and be blessed (hopefully).

Do you remember Pete Seeger, the American singer-songwriter from the 1950’s? Have you ever heard his song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone”? I remember it mostly from Peter, Paul and Mary. The refrain at the end of each verse sang, “Oh, when will we ever learn? Oh, when will we ever learn?”

What do you think of when someone says to you, “You’re walking on thin ice there”?  My mind goes to risky business and touchy subjects.  With that in mind one might say that I have been doing my share of thin ice walking this past week.

Yesterday morning, as I began my day reading a devotion from “Portals of Prayer,” the Bible verse topping the page got my attention.  “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (Romans 12.12)  I think these words will continue to ring in my ears for quite some time.  “Christian hope” can be defined as “knowing the what, just not the when.”  We rejoice because we know that eternal life is ours.  We just don’t know when we will see Jesus face to face.  Or another way to put it, we don’t know when the tribulation in which we live will end.  However, since we know that it will end (because of our Christian hope) we can patiently endure it.  And the best and healthiest way to endure is by being – you guessed it – “constant in prayer”.