Let Me Love

 

syn·chro·nic·i·ty: A meaningful coincidence—an event on the outside that speaks to something on the inside—as opposed to just a random occurrence

Do you ever feel like messages are coming to you like a flashing movie marquee? Or maybe like light breaking through the darkness of predawn, silhouetting a Kansas silo at sunrise?

During Lent, as we've traversed our way toward Holy Week this week, it has seemed that I'm seeing messages about love and light streaming into my mind. It's come in disparate way - listening to scripture at church, watching NCAA basketball, shivering in the coolness of a Kansas morning as I watch the sun's ascent, searching for music for a community Palm Sunday service or opening a series of unrelated emails. 

 

It has seemed a little like the planets coming together - kind of like we were supposed to see in our night sky last week. While I may not have had success in the nighttime sky realm, I do find messages - or God winks - scattered throughout the minutes of my days. 

 

After my K-State Wildcats defeated the Michigan State Spartans in overtime in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, our head coach - Jerome Tang - talked to a sideline reporter and had this to say:

 

"When you love people, it's amazing what you can accomplish."

Jerome Tang, Kansas State University men's basketball coach

after an overtime win in the NCAA tournament 

 

(Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

I immediately sent the quote to my kids and to several friends. Earlier that week, my friend, Linda, and I had gotten together to practice my solo for the Palm Sunday community service. I had combed through lots of music, but I kept coming back to one song called "Let Me Love." 

 

The words include:

Lord, You came to dwell on earth and share with us our lot.

You became our Sacrifice, our lives on Calv'ry bought.

Take this simple life, dear Lord; Take complete control.

Put the love of Jesus in my soul. ...

The song is certainly not showy. It wouldn't be one of those songs to get "The Voice" coaches on TV to hit their buttons and twirl their red chairs. It doesn't cover huge vocal range or have a huge ebb and flow of dynamics. But while the melody and the tune are simple and straightforward, the message isn't necessarily easy. 

 

After we were done practicing, Linda and I sat to chat for a little bit. Just a few weeks before, Stafford had united behind our boys' basketball team as they made their first appearance in 70 years at the state basketball tournament. A sea of red t-shirts filled the stands as the Trojans took to the court. At the time, people commented on Facebook about it bringing the town together. 

 

And it did ... for a little bit.

 

But it didn't take long for us to forget that comradery, that feeling of united purpose. The contentiousness crept back onto Facebook as neighbors railed against other neighbors - with Facebook posts to prove the point. 

 

 

Ripples inevitably spread out from all of us - both positive and negative.

 

Stafford certainly isn't alone in that. Turn on the evening news or scroll through Facebook or Twitter. Do people like being bent out of shape? It sometimes seems so. 

It could be easy to be discouraged by that. And, I sometimes am.

 

But even in the midst of my discouragement, I kept getting related messages.

 

I'm not sure how I got on an email list for an Inspiring Quotes email, but I did. And I often find inspiration from those posts. One recent one featured the words of poet Shel Silverstein:

How much good inside a day?
Depends how good you live ‘em.
How much love inside a friend?
Depends how much you give ‘em.

– Shel Silverstein 

 “How Many, How Much" from "A Light in the Attic"

Stafford UMC

Another Inspiring Quotes email featured the words of writer Edith Wharton. 

There are two ways of spreading light: 

To be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

Poet Edith Wharton

 Christ candle & the cross at Stafford United Methodist Church

In other words, carrying on the “light” of another — be it ideas, joy, love, or inspiration — can be just as valuable as creating it yourself.

I saw another post from Character Counts, titled "Courtesy is Kindness in Action." Here's part of what writer Michael Josephson had to say:

As a society, we have become almost obsessed with identifying and asserting our rights – to think, say, and do what we want. That’s not surprising, given the history of our country and the prominent role the Constitution and Bill of Rights have played in shaping our culture.

We have a right to be unkind, thoughtless, and disrespectful – but it isn’t right.

Ralph Waldo Emerson pointed out, “Life is short but there is always time for courtesy.”

The idea is to act in ways that make the people we are dealing with feel valued. Courtesy is kindness in action....Always be kinder than necessary because you can never be too kind.

Michael Josephson

I get several daily devotional emails. Sometimes I find them more meaningful than other days. I'm sure that has more to do with my attitude - not the devotionals themselves. Some days, it's just another confirmation of the other messages that subtly come into my day. 

The devotional New Each Morning had this to say:

Today's Reflection

Each time we step out of our comfort zones and into the messy and sacred world of caring about others, we risk stepping in the confusion of humanity. We may find ourselves asking questions about God and about this world filled with both beauty and affliction. When we share our journeys and questions with one another, our capacities to love and serve with humility, faithfulness, gratitude and peace grow.

- Rebecca Bruff, Loving the World with God: Fourth Day Living (Upper Room Books, 2014)

Today’s Question

 Reflect on the prayer of St. Francis today:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith,

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

And where there is sadness, joy. 

 

Today’s Scripture

And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.

Hebrews 10:24 (NRSV)

 

It sounds like a goal to aspire to during this Holy Week. I hope to still find the light in situations - both physically and spiritually.  

 

Sign, Sign, Everywhere A Sign

 

Randy had a regular doctor's checkup not too long ago. We were escorted back to an exam room, and we ended up waiting quite awhile.

As usual, I had brought a book. I try not to be irritated by delays because I hope the doctor will spend the time needed for me, so why should I wish differently for another patient? If I have a book, I can pass the time and be happy. However, I also gawked at my surroundings.

There was a sign on the door, politely telling family members who were there during a loved one's appointment to keep their comments to a minimum. I didn't take a photo of that sign, though I did abide by the directive.

But I did pull out my camera to snap a shot of another sign that hung near the exam table:

10 WAYS TO LOVE

 

Listen 

without interrupting

Speak

without accusing

Give

without sparing

Pray

without ceasing

Answer 

without arguing

Share 

without pretending

Enjoy 

without complaint

Trust

without wavering

Forgive

without punishing

Promise

without forgetting

I don't always go to Randy's appointments, so I'm not sure how long the plaque had been a part of the room's decor. But I thought it was significant enough to take a photo. 

Was it hanging there before the Covid-19 pandemic? Before the last election? I don't know. But the sign seemed to have a message for me during this time when there are so many different voices, espousing so many different opinions, more often shouting than speaking conversationally.  

I could certainly hone those 10 ways to love. I do some of them better than others. I imagine most people do. 

These days, I sometimes censor myself, trying to avoid those uncomfortable situations. I have avoided posting photos to social media from K-State football games this fall, knowing there are people who will think we should not be in a stadium with friends, family and strangers.

  

Same goes for the Kansas State Fair, where we presided over a meeting ... but also enjoyed a grandstand show.

Before the vaccine was released, I even hesitated to share photos during the few times we gathered with our kids or granddaughters.

"What will people think?"

"Are they going to judge me?"

It made me think of the song from my teenage years:

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

The "signs" are confusing these days. Just like the Five Man Electric Band song said, "Do this." "Don't do that." We shake our heads (if not our fists) and shout, "Can't you read the sign?"

But the sign may seem like you're going past it at 75 miles an hour and viewing it through a dirty windshield. It's kind of blurry. There may not be a "right" answer. But it is very likely the answer IS "right" for you and your family. And that's OK.

 

Taken on our way home from the K-State game 10-2-2021. Most were blurry like this!

Signs don't have to just be ones that you can read. I've seen plenty of "signs" all around me as I continue my role as chief "go-fer" around here during wheat planting. Some of those signs don't make a lot of sense either. For the second fall in a row, I have a few lilac blooms on bushes that typically bloom in the spring. 

 Last year, I used a different analogy. Here's just a snippet from that blog post:

It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world. 

I realize that statement can be taken a variety of ways. It certainly seems plenty of people are "mad" in 2020. It's true whether we're talking about anger "mad" or chaos "mad" during this year that everyone is calling "unprecedented." From a pandemic to a hotly-debated election, there's plenty of madness to go around.

So I guess I wasn't surprised that our lilacs are going mad, too. Not a single one bloomed this past spring. We figured that a frost had nipped them in the bud - literally. 

However, last week as I returned to the farmstead after umpteen trips to the field as go-fer, I noticed a few purple blooms among the greenery.

Taken October 6, 2021, after my second trip to the wheat field that morning.

Not much has changed. People still seem mad. And one persistent purple bloom in the lilac bushes south of my driveway is bravely brightening my day as I drive in and out on yet another farm errand. 

Even in this world that often seems awfully dark and full of vitriol, there are prisms of light. 

 We just have to slow down and see it.

And even more important, share it ...

 To live and LOVE in new ways.

That's Lit! (As the Kids Say)

Sunset, August 25, 2021, looking north, panorama view

As a kid, do you remember hearing the three chimes at the beginning of an NBC television program: "Ding, ding, dong ... The following program is brought to you in Living Color on N B C"? If you were a child of the 1960s, I'm guessing those tones went off in your head in perfect pitch as you read that phrase.

I didn't hear the three familiar tones as I glanced out my kitchen window, but the gold-tinged clouds did prompt me to throw on a pair of tennis shoes and drive down the road for an unobstructed view.

Sunset, August 24, 2021, looking west

I'm used to looking west for my sunset shots. In fact, the night before, Randy called me from the tractor where he was spending yet another evening discing. "I think it's going to be a good sunset," he told me. He rarely steers me wrong, so I made the drive to the corner south that evening.

Sunset, August 24, 2021, looking west

But my kitchen window is toward the north. So I wasn't expecting the sunset show to appear there. And, yet, it did.

I wish I'd passed by a few minutes earlier, since the sun was sinking fast and the reflection on the storm clouds was about to fade by the time I made my way outside. But it was still worth the trip.

Sunset, August 25, 2021, looking north

It was kind of like Gomer used to say on the Andy Griffith Show, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!" (Speaking of old-time television. And that show was on CBS for the record.)

Image from Closer Weekly

That fading light in yet another of God's natural masterpieces viewed from the Kansas plains had me thinking again about the power of light. 

Before school started in August, I ordered "Jesus is the Light and the Way" flashlights for the worship committee at church to hand out to students and school staff for a Blessing of the Backpacks segment in our morning worship.

In 2015, our former pastor Ben Hanne wrote about light. I'm not sure whether it was in a pastor's column for the newsletter or what, but I saved it at the time because I liked it so much. (I did get his permission to print it here:)

From a technical standpoint, visible light is all about energy.  Click on your favorite flashlight (you do have a favorite, don’t you?) and you’ve ignited a source of energy that illuminates your surroundings as photons bounce off everything in its path as long as you have it turned on. Cool, huh? Light banishes shadows, clarifies our perception and can even generate sensation. (Think about the warm light of a fireplace versus the chill light of a walk-in cooler.)

The first chapter of the Gospel of John declares Jesus to be our true light, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it…The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” Thinking in technical terms, it suggests to me that God sending us the light of Christ is a lot more like a flashlight than a one-time gift.  God’s love and power continues to radiate towards us every day, it banishes the shadows of our fears and clarifies our perceptions.  The light of God remains firmly pointed at you, sending the gift of Christ continually.

May you walk in the true light of Jesus Christ, allowing it to illuminate every corner of your experiences.  In that light there is hope, energy and salvation - forever and always - as a gift from God who is…

Ben Hanne (former Stafford UMC pastor, now at Hillsboro UMC)

Here's praying I see the Light of Christ in nature and the people around me ... even on those challenging days when it seems the flashlight is firmly in the off position.

Some days, that's easier said than done, I know. Yesterday, we made the 8-hour trip home from Des Moines, where - as president - I was representing Kansas at the National Master Farm Homemaker convention. We got home to the air-conditioner not working, the hired man not working and a shattered window in the door of our loader tractor. "Welcome home to us!" I texted our kids.

But you know what? We had gotten safely to our destination and back. We had a good time while there. Our small town business responded last night and got us cool again. (We need a new AC, but that's another story. I was just glad to have the house cool again for now. Thanks, Meyer Electric!) Randy was able to go directly from carrying things in from the car to an evening session (and then morning session) on the tractor. And Case can get a door in four days ... Well, we'll see about that on a holiday weekend, but at least one is supposedly available in a time when parts can be hard to come by. 

There's always Light to be seen ... if only I look for it. May the Light illumine me ... no matter what.

                                                                         

Carriers of the Light

The sun was slowly saying goodbye to the day as we rode 4-wheelers across the Ninnescah River bridge. After a recent rain, Randy was checking to make sure the fence wire was still in place to keep the cattle where they were supposed to be.

As we again crossed the bridge to take the 4-wheelers back to the trailer, I glanced to my left and saw the sun playing hide and seek through the canopy of century-old trees. It was worth a detour to the cool, light-dappled path under the arms of the cottonwoods and elms.

FYI: HDR treatment on the photo

A few nights later, I was at our school's middle school and high school music concert. One of the songs sung by the 5th and 6th graders, Carriers of the Light by Jerry Estes, reminded me of that quiet scene.

I can get caught up in the daily to-do lists. Words can pierce the soul, many times unintentionally. Attitudes can falter in the crush of a life lived full-speed ahead. But I should be a carrier of Light instead of darkness.

Here are the words to the song. They resonate with me as graduates prepare to walk across high school and college stages this weekend. I should develop this kind of tunnel vision:

We are ignited, we are ablaze,

Burning with the fire of life.

We have invited you to this place,

To step into the circle of light.

Refrain:

We are carriers of the light,

Come to shatter the darkness.

We have power to pierce the night,

Carriers of the light.

Standing together shining our light,

There is no stopping us now.

Chasing the shadows into the night,

Overcoming darkness and doubt.

For when it touches you

When it sets you aglow,

The spark within your heart

will light the flame in your soul!

In case you'd like to listen, here's a children's choir rendition from YouTube. It might as well be stuck in your head, too!