relationallychallenged

I had the most amazing morning this morning.  Victoria, my daughter is taking a class at Scottsdale Community College and needed someone to watch Brayden for a couple of hours.  I volunteered and so our time together was at 8:30 this morning.  I needed to get my truck washed because of the unappreciative black birds that sit on it during the week and choose to deposit their white runny poop onto the top of my truck that then runs down the full length of the truck cab or down the window.

We took off and got in the first of the line for washing the car.  It so happened that the place had free donuts and Brayden downed two whole white iced sprinkle donuts before we left the place.  It needed a vacuum that they didn’t provide, so we went and vacuumed it ourselves before heading to IHOP for some real breakfast.  He ordered scrambled eggs, bacon, and a large pancake.  I ordered 2X2–two eggs and two pieces of bacon with a pancake.

It was during our wait that I talked to him about shaking someone’s hand when he first met a person.  We tried it on Tim, the waiter when he came to take our order.  He put out his right hand like we had talked about and shook Tim’s hand, followed up with, “Nice to meet you.”  Tim was impressed and walked away.  Brayden was so happy he had learned it and began processing the experience.  About that time, an elderly lady came across the room and introduced herself.  She had been observing what was taking place and reached out her hand to shake Brayden’s.  He obliged and said, “Nice to meet you.”  She was so impressed with what he was doing and told Brayden so.

When we got the bill, Tim reached out his hand and shook Brayden’s, telling him to keep up the shaking of hands with people.  We paid and left the restaurant, driving home to meet Mom who was waiting at the house.  This was the first experience of Papa taking Brayden out for a Grandpa, grandson encounter.  Simple pleasure.  It was nothing special, but everything special at the same time.  It was connection with my grandson.  It was teaching time.  It was wonderful.

On this journey, there will be times to connect with those you love.  Slow down during these encounters and soak in the connections that come.  You never know when those encounters may be your last.  Slow down on this journey and smell the simple pleasures of life.

I woke up this morning to my wife having made me some coffee that she placed on the right nightstand that I sleep beside.  She is so kind in returning the favor that I do to her during the week.  It was a morning of waking up slowly and beginning to get ready for church.  We love our church and look forward to going to meet our friends that usually sit in the second row just behind us.  Yes, I love to sit in the front row so that I can stretch out my legs and not be bound by a chair in front of me.  Around the time we were singing our second worship song, my daughter Victoria came and sat beside Nadine.  I have never asked her whether she wants to sit in the very front of the church, but she comes weekly and sits beside us.

After the service, we talked with some friends and walked out of the church with blue skis and cool breezes.  We have been making it a tradition that after church, Victoria and our two grandsons come over to our house for chocolate chip Mickey Mouse pancakes, cheesy eggs, fresh squeezed white grapefruit juice, and homemade crisp bacon.  We told her we needed to stop by for a few groceries and began to leave.

I suddenly began to hear, “Papa, Papa” and stopped in my tracks.  I looked around and to my amazement, my little 3 year old grandson Keaton was coming running with his arms outstretched to be swept up in my arms.

He wanted a kiss and a hug from Grandpa before I left.  I was going to see him in a matter of a few minutes over at the house, but he needed a kiss and a hug from Papa.  He recognized his need to be engulfed in my arms and I obliged gladly.

I got to thinking how our heavenly Father wants the same from us and is expectantly wanting us to run to him like my grandson did to me.  Jesus looked over Jerusalem and said something that give me a sense of how longing our Lord is to have us run into His arms.  “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” Matthew 23:37.  It says He longs for us to run under His protection.  Into His arms.  Under His wings like a chicken gathers her young.

I could learn from my grandson about wanting to run into the arms of the Master.  Sometimes this journey can be lonely and painful.  I (we) have someone who is always ready with open arms if only I (we) call “Papa, papa.”

My daughter Victoria called in the early afternoon to see if I was available to watch the boys for a couple of hours.  She had an award meeting for one of her classes and needed someone to watch Brayden and Keaton from 3:45 to 5:45.  No problem.

Three forty-five arrived and the boys hopped out of the car and off went their mother.  I want you to get the picture at our home at this time.  Nadine had run 6 1/2 miles earlier and still had her running outfit on.  She was doing bathrooms, dusting furniture, and fixing a delicious soup for supper.  Her oldest son Greg and wife Jocelyn with their son Greyson were coming from Colorado for a few day visit and would be here around 7:30.

Brayden, 6 1/2 , came into the house, took one look at Nadine and said, “Grandma, you look very beautiful today.”  He promptly walked off to play outside, never thinking what he had just done to the spirit of Nadine.  Mind you, she is beautiful all the time, but she didn’t feel especially beautiful at the time.

I think that scenario exists too much in our world.  There are people around us who are going about their business and need a word of encouragement from someone.  The problem surfaces when no word is given.  People feel taken for granted.  They feel unappreciated.  Unvalued.  If only we could take a clue from my grandson and begin to see people that need that word of encouragement from us.  Brayden’s eyes were open when he came into the house and verbalized what he was seeing.  We too could open our eyes to people we come in contact with and encourage them.  A grocer.  A postman.  A retail clerk.

What about A bagger of groceries?  Earlier in the day I was getting groceries at Frys and was checking out.  Fry’s  Food  employs individuals that are mentally challenged but need a place where they can use what skills they have.  Luke was one such person who was in training.  There was a supervisor who was telling him how to bag groceries with cold products in one bag, cleaning products in another, and produce in still another.  As I left, I said “Thank you Luke.  You did a great job.” and gave him a thumbs up to which he responded in kind.

On this journey we have the privilege of giving encouragement to those we come in contact with.  How about starting today.

A few days ago I started reading Leviticus in the Old Testament.  Most of you would ask, “Why are you reading Leviticus?  Isn’t it the most boring book in the bible?  Don’t you have something better to read or do?”  Every year starting in 1970 I start from Genesis and read through the bible, and Leviticus is the third book on my schedule.  It is a boring book with sacrifices, rules for priests and people alike, times of celebration, etc.  Today was a different experience with this book that I would like to jlog about.

The passage is found in Leviticus 26: 1-46.  I’m not going to print the whole passage on this jlog but what I found interesting defines the heart of God.  It seems as you read through the bible a picture of God emerges that is characterized by vindictiveness.  It  seems there is death wherever you read in the Old Testament and that God is giving up on His people who don’t seem to want to listen.  But this passage causes one to pause and begin to think of God in a different way.

This passage is set up in an “If–then” structure.  “If you follow my decrees. . .obey my commands” is followed by all the things that the Lord is going to do “Then”.  Send rain.  Bring crops.  Abundant crops.  Have enough food.  Live in safety.  Will give you peace.  Will lie down in safety.  No fear.  Remove the enemy.  Bring safety from enemy.  Will have favor.  Increase your numbers.  Will keep my covenant to you.  I will walk among you.  Will be your God. Leviticus 26:6-13

“But if you will not listen. . .reject my decrees . . .abhor my laws. . .fail to carry out my commands. . .violate my covenant.” is followed by the “Then I will do this to you” statement.  Bring sudden terror.  Wasting diseases.  Fever.  Destroy your sight.  Sap your strength.  Enemy will take away your harvest.  Defeated by your enemies.  Haters of you will rule over you.  Fear.  Paranoia.  Leviticus 26:14-18

An interesting thing begins to happen throughout the rest of the chapter.  God uses the negative consequences to get the Israelites attention to turn them back to himself.  “If you will not listen to me. . .if after this you will not listen to me. . .If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me. . .if in spite of these things you do not accept my correction. If in spit of this you still do not listen to me” Leviticus 26:14, 18, 21, 23, 27  These passages don’t picture a vindictive God, but a God who is loving and compassionate and uses negative consequences of our lives to turn our hearts and minds back to Him.

The key passage that shows a compassionate God is in Lev 26:40 which says, “But if they will confess their sins and the sins of they ancestors–their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me. . .I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham.”  God uses negative circumstances in our lives to turn our hearts and minds back to him.  It doesn’t mean that if there are problems happening in our lives that we have necessarily done something wrong.  Bad things do happen to good people.  It does mean that God wants our attention whether things are going good in our lives or when life is crappy.

This journey is a step by step process and seeking God for the steps we take will allow us to see His heart even when things don’t go our way.