It Runs In the Family

My sister, Ruth, had her second knee replacement yesterday. She just had the first one done in June. She's a better woman than I am! She needs someone there to help her for a week or two as she recuperates, and I am the only person available. Bless her heart! She certainly deserves better! But, I'll do what I can, and we won't worry about the rest. One thing I know I can give her is a great deal of laughter! There has never been a shortage of things to laugh about when Ruth and I are together!

Most of our laughter these days comes from reminiscing about things similar to the things I've shared about my children. For instance, there was the time Ruth and I were upstairs in our bedroom goofing off and making so much noise, mostly laughing, that Dad finally had his fill. He was downstairs in the living room, so it was pretty obvious we had gone to the extreme when the door to the stairway flew open and he yelled from the bottom of the steps, "If I hear anymore noise out of you two girls, I'm going to come up there and give you both a sound spanking!" We knew from experience he could do just that!

It seems there is always one child in a family who doesn't know when to quit. In Randy's family that would be Aaron. In Kevin's family it would be Dan. In Rob's family it would be Jacob. And in Kenny's family, I'd have to say it would probably be Ashley. In my family, that would be ME!
Ruth always knew when enough was enough. She said she was going downstairs before Dad decided to make good on his promised punishment! My first mistake was not following her lead.

Ours was an older home with an enclosed stairway. At the top of the stairs and to the right, was a door that led into the only bathroom in the house. To the left there was a short hallway that led to the bedroom Ruth and I shared. There was a railing from the top of the stairway to the wall leading into that bedroom. Just inside the bedroom door and to the left was a small closet. To the right of the entrance was a wall just wide enough for a double bed to stand. On the other side of the bed was a doorway which led into my parents room. Just inside that door, in their room and to the right, was their closet, then another door leading back into the hallway. The bathroom door was just outside their bedroom and to the left. So, you see, there was a perfect circle from hallway, to bedroom, to bedroom, to hallway, with the bathroom just off sides.

I was still in little girl giggle mode! I would lean over the railing and, in a piercingly shrill voice I would call, "Ruthie!" followed by very loud giggling. After a couple of Ruthies, Dad opened the door and said, "One more time, and I'm coming up there!" He closed the door with force, an indication of his intent! None the less, I thought surely he wouldn't spank me if I did it just one more time, so I leaned over the railing and yelled once more, "Ruthie!" Giggle, giggle!

He meant it! The door opened and my little short, chubby daddy came bounding up those steps like an athlete in top shape! What to do! What to do! I ran! Into the first bedroom, then into the next, my dad in hot pursuit! Back into the hallway and into the first bedroom again. He was gaining on me! Into Mom and Dad's bedroom, then into the hallway again. I needed a break. He was still coming! This time I ran into my bedroom and hopped into the closet. I peeked through the closet door and watched as Dad ran past and into the other bedroom. This time I followed him. Seeing as the closet thing worked so well, I decided to try it again. I followed Dad into his bedroom and jumped into his closet. There I stood barely breathing as I watched him repeatedly run the circle from room, to hallway, to room, and back again. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen!

But, I knew I couldn't stay in that closet forever. And, I knew my dad's temper was not calming down from the exercise. I had to get out of that closet! However, surrender didn't seem like the way to go, either. There was only one place to go --- the bathroom! It had a lock on the door. Well, I guess you could call it a lock. It was one of those hook and eye things, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I darted out of the closet behind my dad, ran into the bathroom and locked the door. Then I huddled down between the sink and the toilet stool. Whatever made me think I had found a place of refuge I will never know!

Dad had to have heard the door shut and lock. I knew the inevitable was coming. I had just enough time to consider if what I had just experienced outside of the bathroom was worth what i was about to endure at my father's hand when he entered the bathroom!. YES! I determined that it certainly was worth it to watch from the closet as my dad ran circles around the upstairs of our house chasing, well, no one!

Before I could even think about unlocking the door, Dad came right through the door! And I received the whipping of my life! Those were the days when spanking was a part of child rearing and actually did some good sometimes! As with every spanking I ever received from my father's hand, this is the ritual we went through. DAD: (spank) "Are you sorry?" ME: "Yes!" DAD: (spank) "Are you ever going to do it again?" ME: "NO!" TRANSLATION: "Yes, I'm sorry I'm being spanked. No, I'm never going to do this particular deed again, but there will no doubt be a next time."

The Great Command To Love

I love my family! I love ice cream of various flavors! I love mildly warm days with lots of sunshine when I can lounge on the patio and watch the world go by! I love warm covers on a cold winter night! I love people who are friendly and people I know love me! Those are just a few of the things I love.

May I add to the list an obnoxious Sunday school child, someone who lies about me, a scruffy looking man who doesn't smell good, or a person who abused me as a child? Wait a minute! I do not see, in any of these, attributes that make them easy to love! It has been said that loving the world is no chore. It is that miserable guy next door who is the problem. Loving God and our neighbor is the very heart of biblical religion and the essence of the Judeo-Christian ethic.

The Ten Commandments are a love command addressed to God's chosen people. He had redeemed them by His grace and made an exclusive claim upon their worship. It was a covenant love; I do something for you, and you do something for me. God would love the people, and the people would love the Lord with all their hearts. God would redeem them from slavery, and the people should have no other gods. The idea was that human love would respond in radical obedience to God's redeeming love. Thus the Great Commandment of Matthew 22 compels us to love the Lord with everything we have and all that we are.

In the unsanctified life, this kind of radical obedience is not possible. An unsanctified heart is an idolatrous heart. God is in the life, but He is not the only god. Martin Luther observed, "Idolatry is the sin of any heart in which God does not rule alone. The lurking self-idolatry of the unsanctified heart creates a host of idols - unholy ambition, greed, lust, and soon -before which we foolishly bow down and waste ourselves."

Part two of the Great Love Commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves. That's good, if our neighbors can stand that much affection! A.K. Braken said, "Some people seem never to have discovered that the world is chiefly populated by others!" Someone else once said that the fellow who is deeply in love with himself should get a divorce!" God is saying, "Divorce yourself from self, and put the good of others above your own good." That includes the unlovable.

In Matthew 5:44, Jesus says, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you."

Perfect love is not a feeling. We can't make ourselves love that way. The forgiving love of Christ on Calvary demonstrates for us that kind of love. Jesus, being without sin and the incarnate love of the Father lived out in the flesh, was able to demonstrate that love for us. He made it possible for us to posses perfect love through His atoning sacrifice. A new covenant was instituted through Christ. We receive forgiveness of sin, we receive the witness of the Spirit, and the law is written on our hearts. Total submission to the will of God in our lives, and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, acknowledges God's supremacy and our need for new mercy every morning. It is not perfectionism which leads to legalism, but perfect motive which enables us to fulfill God's perfect plan.

That Darn Cat!

We moved to Rockton in July of 1973. That fall I became very ill and, since we had not yet found a doctor locally, had to return to Rock Island to see my doctor there. I had a serious sinus condition that was affecting my lungs. My doctor checked me over briefly in his office, then sent me directly to the hospital. A specialist was called in to determine the problem and the solution. The treatment turned out to be extensive sinus surgery. Who do you call when you need someone to step in and care for the children at a time like that? Mom, of course.

My parents had moved to Bowie, Texas around the same time we took up residence in Rockton. But Mom was more than willing to make the long trip back to Illinois to take care of her baby's babies for as long as needed.

My only regret in telling this story is the fact that I did not personally witness the scene I am about to describe to you. I do, however, have a very vivid picture in my mind of what must have happened that Sunday morning in the parsonage chapel.

Boys seem to always need, or at least want, a pet of some kind. We had our share of them, although most of ours didn't last too long. At that time our parsonage pet was a kitten. Randy seemed the one who really liked the kitten and took the responsibility of looking after it.

One Sunday, while I was still hospitalized, Mom had all four boys lined up in a pew with her. They were sitting about half way down the aisle from the back of the sanctuary. Mom was sitting mid-pew with Kenny and Robby to her right and Kevin and Randy to her left. My husband had just begun preaching when the kitten, sitting just outside the church door, began crying mournfully. It was becoming quite a distraction, so my mother decided to do something about it. She sent Randy outside to get the cat and put it in the house where its crying could not be heard by the entire congregation. Then he was to come immediately back into the church for the remainder of the service.

Randy was more than happy to oblige! Chasing the cat sounded like a great deal more fun than sitting in church on a beautiful fall Sunday morning. He went, but he didn't come back. Mom waited. Randy still didn't come back. Finally, as much as she hated making any more of a disturbance, she decided she had better go find Randy.

Now, Kevin was between Mom and the center aisle she was headed toward. Kevin was only six years old and had very short legs. When he was sitting back in the pew, his knees bent at the edge of the seat, but his feet would not come anywhere near touching the floor. So, there he sat kicking one leg up and then the other. As Mom stepped in front of Kevin on her way to the aisle, Kevin's leg came up right between her own legs. As she tried her best to step over that leg, the other one came up and caught her between her legs, sending her into a spin. She spun right into the middle of the aisle, teetered this way and that way in an attempt to regain her balance. It was to no avail. Poor Mother found herself sitting flat on the floor, in the center of the aisle, feet extended outward, looking directly into the forlorn face of her pastor son-in-law! She picked herself up, straightened herself out, and headed for the door. At this point she was overjoyed to have Randy as an excuse to leave!

Once in the house, Randy found and the cat quieted down, she thought she was safe from the embarrassment of facing the people who had witnessed her sitting spread eagle in the center aisle. She waited until it seemed the sound of voices in the church had subsided, then she opened the kitchen door. There before her stood the entire congregation wanting to make sure she was okay. She assured them there were no bumps or bruises on her body, but her dignity was badly damaged!

How It All Began

I was so excited to be interviewing for our first pastorate! We had been told by our District Superintendent that the Rockton, Illinois church was a parsonage chapel. That was fine with me! Ken's sister and brother-in-law lived in a parsonage chapel. It was wonderful! The house was completely private. You couldn't even see the entrance into the church from the house. You actually felt like you had a house with a separate church building. I could live with that!



It was about an hour and a half drive from Rock Island, where we lived, to Rockton. We left town early so we would arrive in time to look the town over a bit, and, of course, find the building.



Rockton was, and still is, a lovely little town of about 2200 people. In a town that size, everyone usually knows just about everyone else. They certainly know where everything is, like gas stations, stores, the police department, post office, and churches. We looked around town, then began our search for the church. We found it to be well hidden! No one in Rockton that we talked to had ever even heard of the Rockton Church of the Nazarene. Not even the owner of the gas station right down the street from the church had ever heard of it! Finally, with no help from the locals, we found the parsonage chapel I was so anxious to see.



There it sat, on a huge lot, with a long driveway leading from the service road to the building. The exterior of the building wasn't too bad. It just looked like a small ranch style house. There were no distinguishing marks of a church. As my eyes left the building and began to scan the rest of the property, my attention was drawn to something quite unexpected. The toilet was sitting under a tree in the front yard. My excitement began to wane!



Not wanting to be too hasty in my judgement, I figured there was a good explanation for having the toilet in the yard. I decided to reserve judgement until I saw the interior. I still had visions of Donna and John's parsonage chapel dancing in my head. Some of the parishioners that were working on the house, to get it ready for a new parsonage family, met us at the door leading into the house. They were all smiles and gave us a warm welcome. We stepped inside the kitchen to find nothing like the parsonage chapel of my dreams!



The entrance to the house, from outside, led directly into a large kitchen. There was no separate dining area, but the kitchen was big enough to be an "eat-in." Across the room, to the right, I saw two more doorways, one with a door and one without. The one without a door led from the kitchen into a very small living room. The one with a door led directly from the kitchen into the back of the sanctuary of the church. How convenient! Open the door, and you're in church!



I told you in an earlier writing about the nursery window that had been cut into the living room wall and about the small bedrooms and bath. It wasn't pretty. It was nothing like what I was expecting. It was not at all big enough to house a family of six! It was horrible! I just wanted to go home and never look back. If Kenny thought I was going to move out of a big two story, three bedroom house just down the street from some of our closest church friends in Rock Island, to live in this little cracker box of a house with a nursery window in the living room, he was crazy!



We got through the interview, loaded everyone into the car, and headed for home, sweet home! I looked across the car at my husband and said, with great resolve, "If I never see that place again, it will be too soon!" His reply --- "That's too bad, because I think this is where God wants us to be."



God knew how I felt. I made sure of that! I put Him to the test. I asked Him to do things that only He could do in order to show me this was really His will. God met every challenge. There was no doubt in my mind that going to a pitiful little parsonage chapel, to begin our pastoral ministry, was definitely God's will for our lives. And so began the great adventure of our lifetime.

What I Know For Sure

There are times in life when I am tempted, not to perform some act of sin, but to try to rearrange my circumstances in order to avoid the unpleasantness of life. I am tempted to think of myself as a favorite child who should be able to escape heartache, pain, illness, suffering, financial disaster, and all other forms of human discomfort. I want too wake up each morning with the assurance that I am cloaked with some sort of supernatural protection that insures safe keeping and success in every avenue of life for yet another twenty-four hours, only to be followed by another such day until I finally escape the bonds of human existence and go on to heaven.

After all, I am a Child of God! I have been adopted into the family with all the rights and privileges of that position! I want to shout to the enemy of my soul, who continues to dash my hopes for the life free of trouble and trial, "Hey! Do you have any idea who you're messing with here? God, Creator of the Universe, is my Father, and Jesus Christ is my elder Brother! And they are not going to like what you're doing to me one little bit!

Then I hear the voice of my Father gently reminding me to look to the example of my elder brother, Jesus, who thought it not robbery to give up His Glory, His equality with the Father, and become nothing for my sake. He had the power to call legions of angels to minister to His every need while in the midst of temptation in the wilderness but chose not to avail Himself of that power. Instead He showed me I can survive any temptation because of what I know to be true about WHO I am, WHERE I came from, and WHERE I'm going. I know I am a Child of God! That alone defines who I am. Just like Jesus, I know I come from the Father. Whether anyone else accepts that as truth or not, the truth remains the same. He has given me LIFE and in Him I breathe and move and have my being! And, I know, whatever life deals me in the way of trouble and suffering, I have the glorious hope of an eternity free from suffering. Someday I'm going home to live with the whole family forever and ever and ever!