And Jalal ad-Din Rumi said . . .

"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."

Tempted and Tried...

I was born (or early infused) with an innate reverence for books. They were my ships to far-off lands, my passage to distant times. They brought me face-to-face with the giants of Earth's history, the towering intellects of remote eras and of my own day. By them I walked right through the bloodiest battles as they raged with men and beasts dying amid the clash of iron on iron or blasting weapons discharging left and right. Walked right through . . . and emerged unscathed a handful of pages later!

I believed in books.

I believed anything and everything written in books. Until . . .

'Farther Along' is a favorite country Gospel hymn of many. It has been sung by everyone from Elvis Presley to your favorite local church choir. And I am blessed -- through nothing I have done -- to be a descendant of the author of that precious song. Rev. W. B. Stevens is my maternal great-great-great-grandfather.

I will sometime recount here the story that lies behind the writing of that song but suffice it to say that it has to do with the death of his last living daughter and the sorrow of a grieving father's heart.

But the details of that story were, as you might imagine, early etched upon my heart and memory through their frequent recital around the family circle. And, too, it existed in written form within a carefully compiled and meticulously transmitted family history passed down from generation to generation.

So, imagine my surprise when, upon opening my first book of hymn stories, I discovered a HUGE discrepancy between the "received" version and the "published" version of the song's background! Across the years, few stories of "how it was written" have jibbed with the version I learned within the family circle.

So how does a boy (now of 52) react when his books, his lifelong guides into all things wonderful and awesome, prove to be less than reliable? It has only served to remind me that this is life drawn small -- that a life is only as credible as the person living it. To leave a record of real integrity, we must live integrity. . .we must exemplify integrity in things both great and small in our lives.

Tempted and tried? Yes. But -- cheer up, my brother! -- farther along we'll understand it all by and by!

"Just Old Stuff"

It was a call from another state, a previous pastorate, this past week . . .

A dear lady is preparing to go into an assisted living facility and knowing and trusting us from our previous years together called now to ask a question about how to dispose of her belongings.

"All my stuff is just old stuff," she said. "Should I just call the Salvation Army and let them haul it away?" I asked if it would be alright to have another friend, from yet another pastorate, drop by and check things out and she agreed.

A couple of night's later I picked up the phone and the man on the other end said, "Pastor?"

"Yes?"

(A long, low whistle.) "You would not believe all of the beautiful things A_______ has! She is living in a goldmine!"

He then proceeded to describe several pieces of furniture and other antiques that the dear lady owned . . . things purchased by her now deceased husband years and years ago, the value of which she had no idea! One music box, alone, is worth in excess of $5000, having seven different songs and a bevy of mechanical birds that "fly" upward when the lid is opened!

And her whole house is full of such treasures. The proceeds from their sale will help her to enjoy a better standard of living than she has been experiencing for many years.

It set me to thinking. What treasures do you and I take for granted, unaware of their true value? Family? Friends? Church and Sunday School? Scenery? Even some material treasures long forgotten in boxes and attics? I'd like to make a suggestion . . . let's both spend a little while this week thinking of the overlooked treasures God has blessed us with and thanking Him for each one. And, if that treasure is a living human, pick up a pen or, perhaps, a phone and let them know that, among the blessings of life we have received, we're grateful that God has given us them!

Vacation

I vacated.

For the first time in years, I shut "the shop" down and headed to Nowheretown for a week. I didn't answer the phone. I didn't answer the door. I didn't even answer myself .

It was beautiful.

And habit-forming.

I'm going again in a couple of months.

Vacate.

It'll do you good.

Just mosey along and bother someone you love . . . or not. Whatever you wish.

But do it soon . . . or you may do it permanently.