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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"Who Is Watching You?"
May 1, 2008
On Friday night we received the kind of call that every parent dreads. Our
oldest daughter, who was vacationing in Mexico, called with heavy
emotion in her voice. She told us that she had been in a serious boating
accident. Thankfully she received only bumps and bruises in the aftermath
of what could have been disastrous. The boat was hit by an enormous
wave and flipped over. The worst part of it was the fact that she lost all of
her personal belongings.
I have to confess that after finding out she was okay, I began asking
questions. Before long I discovered that she and her roommate had gone
on an adventure and traveled by bus to the seashore with two boys they
met in the lounge of their hotel. That's when I did the "dad thing." I got on
my high horse and asked how she could be so foolish to put her life in the
hands of total strangers. The fact that I had recently seen the movie "The
Ruins" where four twenty something year olds were lost in Mexico
probably added to my anxiety. I warned her that she needed to be more
careful because bad things could happen to unsuspecting people.
I was replaying this conversation in my head on Tuesday as I took the day
off and made my way into New York City to visit her. I was trying to
think of what I could say to her to get her to think twice before she
plunged head first into potentially dangerous situations. My train was
delayed and by the time I hit 125th Street I was running behind. So I
decided to get off in Harlem and catch the number 4 subway train up to the
Bronx. I got on the wrong subway and ended up going way out of the way.
I found a map and decided to leave the safety of the subway and walk
across the city to her school. I figured it couldn't be more than a couple of
miles as the crow flies. I got off on Simpson Avenue and began my trek
through the Bronx. I have to confess that I walked through a few pretty
bad neighborhoods and I began to question my decision. At one point a
couple of boys started following me and all I could think about was "Show
no fear!"
As I got to the school it suddenly dawned on me that my decision to walk
through an unknown part of the city was probably every bit as foolish as
what my daughter had done in Mexico. I didn't need to ask where she got
that independent adventurous spirit anymore. I realized that she got it from
me. The truth is that our children learn so much from watching us. I love
Rodney Atkins song "Watching You" which points out that his son learned
the good and bad things just by watching him.
It is true of our children and it is true of us in the community of faith. I
can't tell you how many times my faith has been bolstered by the people I
know who love and serve God faithfully. We often try to emulate them.
We try to follow their example. Seeing them live out their faith in the face
of trials and adversity gives us hope that we might do the same. I have got
news for you. People are watching you too. Don't get nervous. Just live
and let your love of God show through. You might just be surprised to
learn the affect you have on people. When you go with God you inspire
others to reach out in faith too. So just trust God and live your faith.
The truth is that my daughter is a pretty confident, self assured adult and at
age 23 she showed me she was capable of handling herself in any situation.
After all she lives and works in New York City. When I apologized for
making such a fuss, she said, "No problem. After all I got my confidence
from watching you and mom." Go figure!
God bless. See you in church. Cal
May 1, 2008
On Friday night we received the kind of call that every parent dreads. Our
oldest daughter, who was vacationing in Mexico, called with heavy
emotion in her voice. She told us that she had been in a serious boating
accident. Thankfully she received only bumps and bruises in the aftermath
of what could have been disastrous. The boat was hit by an enormous
wave and flipped over. The worst part of it was the fact that she lost all of
her personal belongings.
I have to confess that after finding out she was okay, I began asking
questions. Before long I discovered that she and her roommate had gone
on an adventure and traveled by bus to the seashore with two boys they
met in the lounge of their hotel. That's when I did the "dad thing." I got on
my high horse and asked how she could be so foolish to put her life in the
hands of total strangers. The fact that I had recently seen the movie "The
Ruins" where four twenty something year olds were lost in Mexico
probably added to my anxiety. I warned her that she needed to be more
careful because bad things could happen to unsuspecting people.
I was replaying this conversation in my head on Tuesday as I took the day
off and made my way into New York City to visit her. I was trying to
think of what I could say to her to get her to think twice before she
plunged head first into potentially dangerous situations. My train was
delayed and by the time I hit 125th Street I was running behind. So I
decided to get off in Harlem and catch the number 4 subway train up to the
Bronx. I got on the wrong subway and ended up going way out of the way.
I found a map and decided to leave the safety of the subway and walk
across the city to her school. I figured it couldn't be more than a couple of
miles as the crow flies. I got off on Simpson Avenue and began my trek
through the Bronx. I have to confess that I walked through a few pretty
bad neighborhoods and I began to question my decision. At one point a
couple of boys started following me and all I could think about was "Show
no fear!"
As I got to the school it suddenly dawned on me that my decision to walk
through an unknown part of the city was probably every bit as foolish as
what my daughter had done in Mexico. I didn't need to ask where she got
that independent adventurous spirit anymore. I realized that she got it from
me. The truth is that our children learn so much from watching us. I love
Rodney Atkins song "Watching You" which points out that his son learned
the good and bad things just by watching him.
It is true of our children and it is true of us in the community of faith. I
can't tell you how many times my faith has been bolstered by the people I
know who love and serve God faithfully. We often try to emulate them.
We try to follow their example. Seeing them live out their faith in the face
of trials and adversity gives us hope that we might do the same. I have got
news for you. People are watching you too. Don't get nervous. Just live
and let your love of God show through. You might just be surprised to
learn the affect you have on people. When you go with God you inspire
others to reach out in faith too. So just trust God and live your faith.
The truth is that my daughter is a pretty confident, self assured adult and at
age 23 she showed me she was capable of handling herself in any situation.
After all she lives and works in New York City. When I apologized for
making such a fuss, she said, "No problem. After all I got my confidence
from watching you and mom." Go figure!
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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