Keep Trusting the Lord

The kind of persistent, extreme heat we have experienced recently alters our routines and schedules, causing us to reconsider things often simply taken for granted. Whether it's working in the yard, running errands, walking the dogs, or playing golf, we consider alternative times for pursuing these interests or alternate activities that will keep us in cooler places for longer periods of time.

Losing power last week forced many of us to be confronted by the blessings we so routinely take for granted that were suddenly non-existent. Several times I walked into rooms and flipped on switches, as I had done many times before, only to be reminded that without electricity, the switch and the light fixture, were useless. My neighbors hooked up generators that rumbled day and night, but they were only a temporary solution, and depending on the size, a poor substitute for the source of power we utilize every day.

Now, certainly there were circumstances that were life-threatening, depending on the age or physical needs of particular persons, but for most of us, these challenges were more manageable than we would probably like to acknowledge. Adjustments were made, complaints were voiced...then we moved along to do what had to be done.

Life is like that...recognizing our situation, assessing next steps, then moving forward to do what we have to do. The Psalmist has good advice for us in such transition... "Let the Lord lead you and trust him to help." (Psalm 37:5, CEV) I know the frustrations of day to day challenges sometimes get the best of us. I know we grow weary of things and people that don't always work as we think they should, but remember...in the dark, in the extreme heat...even when nothing around you seems right, God is still working...Let the Lord lead you and trust him to help."

Stay cool and keep trusting the Lord for help. That's the best advice on a day like today!

Jim Abernathy 

I Took a Walk...

I took a walk with Tiger Woods yesterday...well, actually, I followed Tiger Woods...from afar...along with hundreds of people I had never seen before. I spent part of the day at the AT&T National golf tournament at the Congressional Country Club in Maryland. It was obvious from the ropes barricading the fairways, the numerous PGA officials walking with him, and the armed security guards nervously surveying the crowd that my "walk with Tiger" would indeed be "from afar!" He was near, yet far...visible, yet inaccessible...recognizable, yet unknown by me.

I took a walk with the Lord this morning...well, actually a journey of prayer. There was no security to overcome, no entourage to break through, no ropes to hold me back. There were moments of praise as I acknowledged the wonder of the Creator God. There were moments of confession and repentance, concerns for myself and others, and the framing of hopes for the day. This walk was also characterized by silence as I listened and found comfort in the presence of the One who desired, not to be distant, but as close as a dear, dear friend.

I suppose these walks each had their place...one in the pursuit of entertainment and athletic admiration, the other in pursuit of growing relationship with the One whose Word is life. The walk with Tiger created memories that will fade...the walk with the Lord was another step along a pathway of eternal significance.

Perhaps the closing words of Geoffrey O'Hara's powerful text from "I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked," speak best of this journey..."I walked today where Jesus walked, and felt him close to me." That's a walk that I and you can take every day.

Jim Abernathy

The Blessing of Every Moment

I was just sitting on the deck, enjoying the gentle breezes of a June late-day, decompressing from another of those life-altering parental experiences...high school graduation.  Clayton was one of more than six-hundred graduates from Lake Braddock Secondary School who walked across the stage at the Patriot Center this morning.  Like other parents, Cindy and I felt great pride in our child and his accomplishments, and like other parents, we wondered where the time had gone.  Seems like just last week we brought him home from.  the hospital, nervously listening for every breath as he slept in his crib that first night.  The picture of him in his blue cap and gown at Mother's Day Out graduation still hangs in our bedroom, along with a variety of athletic pictures from soccer to baseball to basketball. There are reminders of his buddies, their parents, teachers, and coaches that have intersected our lives whose stories are woven into the fabric of a journey that seems to have begun only yesterday.

Many of you have already been down this path and are smiling in quiet recognition of one of the shared experiences of parenting...our children grow up too fast!!!  Then again, a recent birthday has reminded me that the experiences of life pass quickly for us in most arenas of life, and no matter how much we try to slow that pace down, time marches on.  So, unable to slow its movement, we are left with the challenge to make the most of every moment, appreciating the laughter and the tears, the victories and defeats, while cherishing every moment as another experience to be treasured.  Our lives are made up of these treasures, unpacked whenever we gather with family or friends during holidays and reunions where pictures tell stories and reminiscences make distant memories come to life.

The sun is setting and the day is near its end.  It has been a great day...indeed, it has been a blessed life.  By God's grace, there will be new chapters to share, new memories to make and cherish.  Time does indeed fly...thanks be to God for the blessing of every moment!

Jim Abernathy

All For Us

I have told stories over the years about our Miniature Schnauzer Max's interest in and severe reaction to chocolate. He has been to the veterinary emergency room several times, providing interesting sermon material for me, and perhaps a new wing on the home of the ER doctor who has attended him. Of late, Max's tastes seem to reflect a more mature outlook on life. I don't mean to imply that he wouldn't snarf down a chocolate cupcake or two...or six if they were placed before him, but lately he seems to be concerned about dental hygiene. Several times over the last few months, Max has nuzzled his way into Clayton's backpack and found the sugar-free gum. Perhaps it's the promise of "fresh breath" on the packaging that draws his attention. Of course, Max does nothing lightly, so if chewing one piece is good, chomping on the whole pack is even better! In his haste to achieve this better dental hygiene, Max considers the benefits of fiber as well for he eats not only the gum, but also the individual wrapper and the outside packaging. The only evidence left behind is the disheveled backpack (to be honest, it's kind of hard when looking at a teenager's backpack to judge whether anything has been moved or not), the occasional sliver of a gum wrapper scattered across the floor, and of course, Max's minty fresh breath (I can tell you that is a true benefit of the process).

His desire to achieve this hygienic improvement is not limited to Clayton's backpack. Last week, Cindy found her purse on the floor and her Dentyne mysteriously missing. The trail of course, led to Max, who offered that innocent "who, me?" look that he has mastered through the years. So, in the future, if you stop by and find Max chewing or perhaps blowing bubbles, don't be offended if he doesn't offer you any gum...he is convinced, as with everything else, that it is all for him.

Worship is something we often believe is all for us. We hope the music will be the kind or style we prefer, the sermon interesting, but not too long, the instruments played well, but not too loud. Like Max, we tend to think it is all about us. And yet, worship has little to do with us and everything to do with the Creator of the universe. The Psalmist writes, "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker; for he is our God." Gathering as a body of believers to worship is a gift we offer not to each other, but to the living God. We share this gift as a community, a congregation whose purpose is to honor the One who has given all.

This Sunday, we will gather for worship, led by our youth. They will lead in all aspects of the service. We will also recognize our graduates and give thanks to God for this important achievement in their lives. This will be worship designed for a purpose...to honor God. I hope you will be present, yes to encourage our young people, but also, to worship alongside them so that together, we might all praise the Lord!

Meanwhile, I will try to replace Max's latest obsession with something a bit more healthy...perhaps I could place a toothbrush and toothpaste beside his food dish...of course that would most likely result in another trip to the ER...I can just imagine the x-ray as the doctor points to the shadowy image on the screen and asks, "How did he swallow a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste at the same time???" Maybe it would just be easier to give him a Hershey bar!

Jim Abernathy

Tyranny of Time

No, the wind and rain didn't carry me away.  No, I wasn't hiding in the basement waiting for the tornado to blow over.  No, I wasn't glued to the Doppler 9000 radar watching the green, yellow, red, and magenta colors cross the screen.  It's been a busy day and as a result, I am getting to my Friday Pastor's Notes much later than usual.  "Time is but the stream I go a-fishin' in," said Thoreau.  Like the rising currents in front of my driveway this afternoon that carried away our garbage can, I find time less the stream for fishin' and more the shifting, rushing tide that must be managed if I am going to get done what needs to be done.  That's my story anyway, but you're not impressed...you were fighting your own stormy seas today, just like everybody else.  In reality, few of us are impressed anymore with the busyness of the world around us...we're too caught up in it to realize our own harried contributions to the mania.

I suppose the worst thing that happened today was not the fact that this edition was late.  Some of you won't check your emails for another day or two anyway, so you won't have known you missed me.  Others accidentally, if not somehow consistently, hit the delete button when my emails arrive.  I understand...too much to read, too little time.  In the grand scheme of things, a tardy email most likely has caused little if any concern...just another casualty of a busy schedule.  I wonder, however, if we talked less about our busyness and invested more of our time with those who need or are blessed by our "presence"...family, friends, perhaps the Creator, if we wouldn't worry less about the tyranny of time...just a thought, perhaps a fleeting one.

Jim Abernathy

Whatever the Cost

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic.  It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”

                                                                      -Arthur Ashe-

After a week of rain, the sunshine is a welcome sight today, just in time for a busy holiday weekend.  Memorial Day reminds us of heroic men and women who have made great sacrifice in serving others.  The late American tennis great, Arthur Ashe, speaks of heroism not in the context of great pomp or circumstance, but rather in its true significance as a gift of service to others. 

For some, Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer filled with barbeques, parades, and trips to the beach.  But more than seasonal celebrations with family and friends, this weekend calls us to remember and give thanks for those whose selfless gifts of service have indeed had an impact on the freedom we share as citizens of this nation.

"...A willingness to serve others at whatever cost," describes well the sacrifices men and women have been willing to make all through this remarkable story that is ours as Americans.  So, throughout this busy weekend, find a quiet moment and simply give thanks for everyday people who offered extraordinary gifts of service, not for recognition, but to serve others...whatever the cost.

Jim Abernathy

Technology Is Wonderful (When It Works)!

Technology is wonderful...when it works! I spent a few hours with some new friends today trying to get the cell phone I just purchased to work. Two technicians worked on it for forty-five minutes before they pronounced the phone defective and sent me out with a loaner phone while they got another of the model I wanted from another store. I came back a few hours later and met more new friends since the ones who helped me earlier in the day had now gone home. The new friends had the same luck that their predecessors had in trying to establish existing email accounts on the new phone. After trying for nearly an hour, the salesperson put me on the phone with the company representative. Thirty-seven minutes later he finally figured it out and emails started flooding in. I gathered up the box, manual, and other goodies that went with the phone and got in my car to go home. Before I left, however, I thought I would see if there were any emails that needed immediate response. The phone has a touch screen, so I touched the email icon and it opened to show me several emails that had come in. One by one I touched each email on the screen, and one by one, they did not open. I pushed an auxiliary button that offered specific commands and I touched "open" but nothing happened. With teeth firmly gritted, I got out of the car and approached the poor woman who had been working with me and tried to calmly tell her my dilemma. She tried to open the emails, but nothing happened. She pulled the battery to reset the phone (which took another several minutes to come back to life) but the emails could not be opened. It was then, after all that had been invested over the afternoon and evening, that she stared at the phone in disgust and told me that she had never sold this particular model and that in her opinion, the company that manufactured the phone was in real trouble.

Now when you have invested a good part of the day working with folks who cheerfully sold you the product that now condemn it, it is certainly a less than satisfactory buying experience. The store was near closing and I was near the peak of frustration, so I took the phone to see if, in reading the manual, I could find the problem. Of course, I assumed there was a manual inside the box. Foolish assumption on my part. There was a fold-out "how-to" guide with lovely pictures that instructed me to do what I had already done. It still didn't work. The fold out "how-to" guide was missing one important subject that all good manuals should have...TROUBLESHOOTING!!!! I suppose, however, that these new "smart phones" make troubleshooting obsolete...or so it might be thought. Maybe it's me that's obsolete. No, that can't be, for most of the difficulty was incurred by the technical staff of the store. Perhaps the smart phone has finally outsmarted the user.

So, I have been practicing my deep breathing exercises, trying not to be overcome by my frustrations over what seemed to be such a simple thing...getting a new phone. I have quoted scripture, hummed familiar hymn tunes, done everything I can to keep the evil phone spirits at bay. Tomorrow morning I will go back to the store, take advantage of their fourteen-day return policy, and choose a very different phone, perhaps one a little less smart.

How do you handle frustration? The Psalmists often spoke of the storms of life that so often brought frustration, worry, and fear. In the 46th Psalm the writer speaks of God as refuge and strength, even when the struggles mount. His conclusion is a powerful tool for facing the frustrations of life..."Be still and know that I am God." Now I wouldn't compare my frustrations today to the struggles of life that pose greater threats to our physical and spiritual well being. But even the smallest things can seem much larger than they are when you're stuck in the middle with no help in sight.

And me, well, I'll just have to do without email for several more hours...come to think of it, maybe that's not such a bad thing after all!

Jim Abernathy