The Blue Church

We humans must be made in God’s image. Otherwise, why would we think we can boss Him around? Our prayers often sound like a child’s letter to Santa, and we have that child’s patience as well.

I’ve always enjoyed the SEPTA trolleys, and find excuses to take them. But this particular clear summer day, I was traveling by car, headed west down State Street in Media, PA. I was early for my appointment, and in no hurry, so it was easy to trail the trolley as it marked the stops and folks stepped off or boarded.

A mother sat pouring her heart out to me a couple of years after her daughter’s suicide. A beautiful young girl had chosen to drop out of life before she even knew what it was all about. Dad and Mom were left to sort out the details and interpret the rambling note to the girl’s two year old son.

One of the neighbors recently installed a powerful flood light which shines 24 hours each day. It not only lights his back yard, but mine, too, and, in fact, the whole interior of our house. And now, each evening a string of party lights adorns their new fence.

A former business associate of mine once quoted what he called an ancient Asian proverb, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” It turns out that the pithy saying is neither Asian nor ancient, but it does convey a very practical principle.

A few years back, I had a series of brief conversations with a business consultant. He made his living entering various offices and plants, and at the invitation of management, observed their systems and analyzed their methods. He was paid well to find problems and map solutions.

A friend of mine once backed his car over his son’s bicycle. When the boy protested, “But Dad, it was an accident!” my friend retorted, “No, accidents are unpredictable. When you leave something in the driveway, it’s very predictable that a car will run over it. You knew exactly where and when the car would back out of the garage.”

I remember years ago having dinner with a family who had done all they could to be healthy. They megadosed vitamins, bought their food from organic farms and stores, and had banned sugar and wheat flour from their diet. They had all sorts of health issues, some of which I’d never heard of, so I did not begrudge their efforts in the least.

Have you noticed how often the Bible mentions our hearts? It’s a way of speaking about our deepest self, our private thoughts, and secret motives. It’s basically who we really are when no one’s looking.

Dad was always sharpening his knife. Come to think of it, knives. He had several pocket knives over the years which he carried for work, and a tiny, pearl handled pen knife for his casual and dress clothes. All of the blades were sharp, razor sharp.