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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"A Great Big Wonderful God"
February 7, 2008
I was enjoying one of those rare Indian summer day's when I pulled into
my drive way last week. I stepped out of my car and was ready to head
into the house when I was stopped cold in my tracks. I looked up and was
stunned by the sight. Sitting on the fence posts of my deck were two of
the biggest, ugliest birds I have ever seen. They looked my way and then
at each other as though they were sentries on guard duty. I had the feeling
they were checking me out as if I was the intruder. They were ghastly
looking . These creatures couldn't be real. They looked like something that
could only have been dreamed up by the imagination of Stephen King. Yes,
I could easily picture these two creatures flying out of the Mist or sitting
perched over the cabin in Misery.
I took a step forward and they both turned and looked at me, almost as if
challenging me to advance on the house. I have to tell you the truth. For a
moment I almost decided to get back in the car and drive away. In the
horror movies we usually watch as the star foolishly plods ahead into the
nightmare only to suffer at the hands of the monster. I'm no hero. I got
back in the car.
Then I came to my senses and I grabbed my camera. They were just too
unreal looking for me to ever convince anyone that I actually saw them.
Like the great white shark of Jaws fame, these birds were beyond
description and too menacing for anyone to believe they existed. So what
did I do? I snapped off a few photos. The whiz and whirr of the camera
must have startled them because they looked at me one more time and
suddenly took flight and disappeared. The moment had passed.
I chuckled to myself as I finally made my way into the house. I got to
thinking about the number of scary intrusions that land on our door step
over the course of our lives. The unexpected call from the doctor or the
panicked cry for help from a family member are good examples of these
things. Being called into the office to see the Principal or being served
divorce papers can send shock waves into our world. They raise a specter
of fear and push us into the abyss of the unknown. We've never seen
anything like this before. Our natural instinct is to turn around and run
away. We want to bury our heads in the sand and hope the apparition will
disappear. More often then not, we are better off standing up and facing
the scary things that come into our lives.
You see there are no monsters in real life. Everything has a name, even
those birds on my doorstep. So it is with the problems we face in life. I
have a friend who is facing serious surgery in the coming weeks. It is
scary. The temptation is to put it off and hope the problem goes away.
The truth is that we are always better off facing our fears and dealing with
them head on. Most of the time they are never as bad as we think. Once
we have the name of that which is haunting us, we can begin to deal with
it and put our fears to rest.
Here is the good news. We don't have to face them alone. God has
promised to be there with us as we face them. He'll be there like he was
when David faced Goliath. He'll be there like he was when Daniel was
thrown into the lion's den. He'll be there like he was when Mary and
Martha were grieving the loss of their brother. That is what God does. He
comes to us in our fear and weakness and he gives us power to overcome.
So what are you afraid of? You've got God on your side. He promised that
we would be more than conquerors in Christ. If anybody should be afraid
and worried, it should be the thing causing the problem for we have a
great big wonderful God who is on our side. He says to us, "Do not be
afraid. I am with you."
God bless! See you in church. Cal.
February 7, 2008
I was enjoying one of those rare Indian summer day's when I pulled into
my drive way last week. I stepped out of my car and was ready to head
into the house when I was stopped cold in my tracks. I looked up and was
stunned by the sight. Sitting on the fence posts of my deck were two of
the biggest, ugliest birds I have ever seen. They looked my way and then
at each other as though they were sentries on guard duty. I had the feeling
they were checking me out as if I was the intruder. They were ghastly
looking . These creatures couldn't be real. They looked like something that
could only have been dreamed up by the imagination of Stephen King. Yes,
I could easily picture these two creatures flying out of the Mist or sitting
perched over the cabin in Misery.
I took a step forward and they both turned and looked at me, almost as if
challenging me to advance on the house. I have to tell you the truth. For a
moment I almost decided to get back in the car and drive away. In the
horror movies we usually watch as the star foolishly plods ahead into the
nightmare only to suffer at the hands of the monster. I'm no hero. I got
back in the car.
Then I came to my senses and I grabbed my camera. They were just too
unreal looking for me to ever convince anyone that I actually saw them.
Like the great white shark of Jaws fame, these birds were beyond
description and too menacing for anyone to believe they existed. So what
did I do? I snapped off a few photos. The whiz and whirr of the camera
must have startled them because they looked at me one more time and
suddenly took flight and disappeared. The moment had passed.
I chuckled to myself as I finally made my way into the house. I got to
thinking about the number of scary intrusions that land on our door step
over the course of our lives. The unexpected call from the doctor or the
panicked cry for help from a family member are good examples of these
things. Being called into the office to see the Principal or being served
divorce papers can send shock waves into our world. They raise a specter
of fear and push us into the abyss of the unknown. We've never seen
anything like this before. Our natural instinct is to turn around and run
away. We want to bury our heads in the sand and hope the apparition will
disappear. More often then not, we are better off standing up and facing
the scary things that come into our lives.
You see there are no monsters in real life. Everything has a name, even
those birds on my doorstep. So it is with the problems we face in life. I
have a friend who is facing serious surgery in the coming weeks. It is
scary. The temptation is to put it off and hope the problem goes away.
The truth is that we are always better off facing our fears and dealing with
them head on. Most of the time they are never as bad as we think. Once
we have the name of that which is haunting us, we can begin to deal with
it and put our fears to rest.
Here is the good news. We don't have to face them alone. God has
promised to be there with us as we face them. He'll be there like he was
when David faced Goliath. He'll be there like he was when Daniel was
thrown into the lion's den. He'll be there like he was when Mary and
Martha were grieving the loss of their brother. That is what God does. He
comes to us in our fear and weakness and he gives us power to overcome.
So what are you afraid of? You've got God on your side. He promised that
we would be more than conquerors in Christ. If anybody should be afraid
and worried, it should be the thing causing the problem for we have a
great big wonderful God who is on our side. He says to us, "Do not be
afraid. I am with you."
God bless! See you in church. Cal.
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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