Unmet Expectations

A few months ago, I was in the mood for baseball. I decided to read the book that one of my favorite movies was based on. After finally locating the book at the Johnson City Library (it was in a combination book of two novels by the author), I sat down to read "The Natural" by Bernard Malamud.

I love the movie. Yes it is predicable. Yes, it is sappy. I still get a lump in my throat when Roy Hobbs sees his home made "wonderboy" bat shattered and the chubby bat boy brings him his own homemade bat to use, which Roy promptly uses the blast the ball into the lights. Can't you hear the majestic music playing as he rounds the bases in a shower of sparks?

Well they say that "real life ain't like the movies" and neither are the books they are based on. The scene I described above isn't in the movie. The Knights don't win. They lose. Roy isn't the hero in the end. There isn't even one mention of this chubby bat boy!

How disappointing. The book was still good and there is a great deal to learn from the saga of Roy Hobbs. But I had an expectation of this character and he didn't live up to it. When I put the book down I was angry with him, he had not lived up to my expectations. High expectations can be a dangerous thing.

Buddy Check

I was late for work this morning because I was enthralled with the news coverage of the 11 year old in Utah who had been missing for 4 days and had been found alive and in pretty good shape. As I heard members of the family and the search team talk, my mind drifted back to the story in Luke of the Prodigal Son. This verse kept repeating in my mind: "My son is here--given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!' And they began to have a wonderful time." (Luk 15:24)

On a sad note, one of the volunteer searchers was a man whose son has been missing in the same area for over a year. Yet he still came and looked. Then after the story on the boy that was found, the news did a story on the girl from the Birmingham area who has been missing in Aruba for several weeks. These stories bring another verse to mind: "Rejoice with those who are rejoicing. Cry with those who are crying."(Rom 12:15)

It was odd to have those feelings and thoughts in one newscast. Yet God experiences that range of emotions and feelings day after day as He watches us go through the revolving door of our commitment to Him.

In all these cases of missing kids, I have thought, what ever happened to the buddy system. I remember at Camp Wiregrass being in the pool and hearing the whistle blow followed by "Buddy Check". You were then required to go as fast as possible (without running) and grab your buddies hand and hold them up together. Everyone had a buddy, no exceptions. Maybe our spiritual wanderings would be less if we had buddies like that. That when those events in life come our way that can lead us to wander (and to wonder) we can go find our buddy. Isn't that what God did for Elijah with Elisha?

TWEEEET! Buddy Check!

Facing Mortality

Friday I got a call that one of the employee's of the agency I work for had died in her sleep. I didn't know her. But it impacted me in a couple of ways.

1. She was young (45) and died of a heart attack.
2. She worked at one of our day care centers and they needed volunteers to "man the ship" so that those closest to her could attend the graveside service.

Facing mortality is never easy. It is even harder when you know a class of 3 year olds are grappling with the issue of why Ms. Lisa won't be back to teach them.

Please pray for Ms. Lisa's family.
Please pray for the staff at the Children's Center who are mourning her loss while continuing to serve precious little children.
Please pray for her class.
Please pray for the parents of her students. That they will have the wisdom to explain eternity in a way that is understandable to the mind of a 3 year old.

Dear God,

I don't understand this fallen world we live in. What I do understand is that you love us, you care for us, and you are preparing a place for us.

I ask that you take those Lisa's family, her co-workers, her class and their families and hold them in your lap the way Lisa held so many children during her 19 years of teaching. I ask that you wipe away their tears with your comforting presence the way she did for her students after they fell on the play ground or had their feelings hurt.

Father, in the name of your Son, I ask you to hold them and comfort them. Give them peace. Amen.

What we have here is a failure to communicate

Ever been talking to someone and realize your at point J and they are still at point A? I had one of those moments tonight. I have become the first base coach for James' ball team. One fellow likes to watch the ball before running. Tonight, he hit a ball well and watched it go. Then when he saw who fielded it, he decided to run to first.

I told him great hit but if he would run instead of watching the ball he would have a double. He said "What's a double". I realized we had a communication problem that I couldn't resolve before the next pitch.

I believe you could replace the baseball language in that exchange with church language and you could have a conversation that is likely to take place in places all over the world. We as Christians need to beware that we aren't talking about the "finer points" when we should be telling others the basics. We need to beware that our desire to sound like we know what we are talking about doesn't wind up crushing the spirit of those who are "new to the game".

Dinner Table Guys Update

Troy Patton, one of our Dinner Table Guys from last summer is pitching lights out in Lexington (Class A affiliate of the Astros). Last night he stretched his scoreless streak to 31 innings. He is 8 2/3 innings away from a South Atlantic League record.

A camp romance that worked

We meet about 17 years ago when I was working at Homewood Church of Christ as a summer intern and she was working the camp circuit for Faulkner University. Homewood was taking all their kids to Camp Nayati in Guntersville, AL. She was there to try to recruit some kids from Homewood to go to school at Faulkner. I was not looking my best the day we met. I didn't shave that morning because I was planning to grow a beard over the week of camp. I was wearing my loudest pair of jams shorts (It was an 80's thing) and a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. Needless to say, she was not impressed.

As the week wore on, I grew on her. I flirted. She flirted back (eventually). The last night we were there, I asked her for a nighttime canoe ride on Lake Guntersville. She accepted and you might say we have been in the same boat together ever since.


We have survived the following:

1. Her being 1 1/2 hours late for our first date (I was still waiting thanks to the fact my battery had died. I had been listening to the radio while waiting and ran the battery down. She had locked her keys in the car in Montgomery).

2. Her scaring me by talking about transferring to Alabama instead of to Auburn where I was attending (thank you new registrar employee who took Life of Christ as a history elective).

3. Some heated theological discussions over this and that.

4. My decision (with a big nudge from God) to pursue social work instead of youth ministry.

5. Twin beds on our honeymoon (that is a story for another post)

6. 3 knee surgeries including a week in the hospital.

7. Grad School

8. Me being a volunteer fireman.

9. The odd hours my job required and the frequent pages and cell phone calls that came with it.

10. Late night feedings. (I provided drive thru service)

11. A move to a place where we knew no one.

And other things that I get choked up about so I won't put them here because it will definitely make her cry and that is not my intent.

We have also enjoyed the following:

1. Welcoming a beautiful little girl into the world.

2. Welcoming her brother a few years later. (Just as beautiful even if someone said he look like Ernie.)

3. Cooking for each other.

4. Notes left in hidden places.

5. Laughing together.

6. Yearly rituals like picking our NCAA brackets and our choices to win baseball pennants.

7. Visiting Hawaii in our own back yard.

8. Having friends over for meals and if we could rope them into it, a game of some kind. (No, were not competitive at all)

9. Watching our kids grow and seeing the gifts God has blessed them with.

10. Working side by side as we have been involved in the churches we have been a part of.

11. Watching each other grow closer to God.

12. Knowing glances or silent hand squeezes.

13. Stolen kisses when no one was looking.

There are too many things to list here. But you get the idea.

15 years ago, I waited at the end of the aisle at the Curry Church of Christ with the biggest, goofiest grin on my face as this vision of beauty walked down the aisle to me.

Shannon Bennett Duer (6/9/90) 

She still takes my breath away then she walks in rooms. Sorry for the poor quality of the picture but 15 years in the wallet will take its toll.

Happy anniversary Shannon. I love you. Thank you for 15 great years. (Only 35 more years till we can renegotiate) :)