Relationships

This is Husband Pat. Sorry for the late update on “Framing Faith.” Like much of the rest of the USA this winter, Pastor Kit and I have been coping with the effects of immoderate weather.

It is seldom that we get accumulations of snow here on our rustic island in Puget Sound. The surrounding waters retain just enough heat that when it snows, it’s usually a passing phenomenon. But not this time.

As I write, snow continues to fall on a week’s worth of accumulation—packed down by a week’s worth of holiday bustle. So now we have new snow over compact snow and ice. The resulting slippery surface is foreign to many of us residing here in the Pacific North-Wet and has caused life to slow down even more than usual.

Today as I hauled firewood from the back, my thoughts drifted to memories of a past holiday season and the concern that I had for my younger brother Mike. Mike had been suffering for many years with health problems. Last year at this time I was talking with our senior pastor, Pastor Ben. I told him how concerned I was about Mike. Pastor Ben said, “You know, Christmas Day isn’t a bad time to travel.”

So I took Pastor Ben’s advice and booked a cross-country flight to see my brother Mike. I left on Christmas Day and returned on New Year’s Eve. It wasn’t the most pleasant trip that I’ve ever made, but spiritually it was one of the best—and five weeks later Mike was dead.

As the pace of this holiday season has slowed down due to the weather, it has given me the opportunity to slow down my own life and to consider the things that are truly important to me—like relationships. And I remember that God’s heart is directed toward relationships—to the redemption of His creation. He longs to be in a relationship with you, and He has removed every obstacle. But your heart remains yours to give… it is a choice that only you can make.

Some day I will make one more trip to see my brother Mike. Perhaps it will even be on a Christmas Day. Whenever it is, I know that he will be waiting, and that he will want me to come with him to visit the Christmas Child.

So this season, while the snow falls and life slows down a bit, why don’t you make your own reservation to visit the Christmas Child one day? And perhaps even bring Him a present—the one that is only yours to give.

Husband Pat

Take The Risk?

One of our favorite National Forest campgrounds is at Loup Loup, a 4,000 foot mountain pass on Washington State Route 20 between Twisp and Okanogan. On this occasion we were the only campers at this isolated campground, so we left our two dogs, Beau and Belle, unchained.

Beau (husband Pat calls him “our main dog”) is a hound mix. He is big, imposing, and lazy. Belle (husband Pat calls her “our backup dog”) is a heeler mix. She is small, friendly, and energetic.

On our second afternoon there, Pat and I were relaxing in our lawn chairs under the RV awning. We were enjoying the aroma of the warm Ponderosa pine forest, the rustling of the grasshoppers, the rat-a-tat of the woodpeckers, the croaking of the ravens, and the chatter of the squirrels. Beau had crawled under the picnic table and was dozing in its shade. But Belle was a flurry of activity, chasing the squirrels and the chipmunks that seemed to go out of their ways to taunt her.

Eventually Belle cornered two squirrels in a pine tree about three feet from the back of our RV. One of the squirrels was content to sit in the tree, gnawing on pine cones and dropping the cuttings onto our awning. The other squirrel, however, was determined to get to a second tree—on the far side of our campsite. There were other trees that were much closer, but it soon became obvious that the squirrel had one particular tree as its goal.

Initially it would lurch down the first tree, go to the side facing the second tree, and then noisily chatter at Belle who was blocking its way. Belle would rush the squirrel—who would go streaking back up to a branch. This sequence repeated several times.

After a while the squirrel started sneaking down the backside of the first tree. It would glance over at Pat and me, and then it would slowly creep around the base of the tree toward its destination… and the silent, waiting dog. It would see Belle (yikes!) and then run back up the tree, chattering all the way. This new routine went on for at least 20 minutes. Although Belle began to get distracted by other things (bugs! birds!), she always rushed back to her post in time to prevent the squirrel’s escape.

Finally the warm sun got to be too much for Belle and she moved around to the backside of the tree where she could lie down in the shade. This gave the squirrel the advantage. It stealthily inched down the tree on the side away the dog, glanced over at Pat and me, and then made a dash for a large stump enroute to its goal.

Now the picnic table also lay along the route to its destination —the picnic table that sheltered a sleeping dog. And when the squirrel paused on top of the stump, Belle spied it and the chase was on! Instead of running directly to its goal, the squirrel ran to the top of a second stump, Belle closed the gap, the panicked squirrel dashed off the stump and under the picnic table… and ran smack into Beau!!

The combination of impatience and risk-taking can be deadly. It can kill people, relationships, marriages and careers. We may initially ask the Lord to guide our steps, but so often His way seems to take too long and we grow impatient with the waiting. Like the squirrel, we think we know where we want to go, we think we see the way to get there, we devise a plan of action, we take a calculated risk, and we go for it! And like the squirrel, we realize too late that we have overlooked a potentially fatal flaw that God’s timing would have removed.

The squirrel was so focused on eluding Belle and getting to its goal that it completely missed that there were two dogs—and the sleeping dog was the much larger and the more dangerous of the two. Fortunately Beau’s response time was handicapped by his size, his age and the fact that he had to crawl to move under the table—not to mention that he had been sound asleep when the squirrel collided with him!

Pat and I laughed until we cried as the two dogs and the squirrel continued the chase over, under, and around the picnic table. Finally the squirrel sprinted into the clear, ran up the second tree and sat panting on its lowest branch. And while both dogs sat distracted at the base of the tree, the other squirrel quietly left the first tree and scampered off … unnoticed by the dogs … into the forest.

Lesson learned?

Pastor Kit

It's That Messy Part In The Middle

This project started when husband Pat moved a large painting. I came home from work, walked down the hall, let the dogs out, turned to head for the kitchen … and stopped dead in my tracks. The family room wall was bare except for a large painting of the Methow River that had hung in another room for 21 years!

Several things immediately came to mind, but as I sorted through all of them (and my emotions), one thought overrode all of the others: “Does my husband have any clue what he has really done by moving that painting?”

You see, Pat had moved that painting the day after I wrote a story (Take The Risk?) [link] about two squirrels at Loup Loup summit. And the Lord had used that story to remind me to wait for His timing.

I’m a project person. I know what I want to get done, I have a pretty good idea of how to get it done, and I can visualize the results. That vision sustains me. In fact the entire process from beginning to end energizes me. However Pat doesn’t share my enthusiasm. He always enjoys the results of my projects, but “that messy part in the middle” is really stressful for him.

But now Pat had moved a painting from a spot where it had hung for 21 years! That meant that I would have to move something to fill the vacant spot, and then reconfigure the room around the new focal point! And if he could move a painting from one room to another, then so could I! Like it or not, he has now given me permission to start a home improvement project!!

Is there a “home improvement project” that God has been talking to you about? Is there a change that He asking you to make with His help? Could it be your attitude? Your choice of words? Your choice of friends? Your financial priorities? Your use of leisure time? A habit that negatively affects your health? God can’t work out His best plans for you and your family until you are willing to take the first step in the process. Once you do, He’ll keep the process going … and it may get messy at times!

Our kitchen, laundry, and dining rooms are now topsy-turvy. I have been up painting until well after midnight. Things aren’t where they should be, meals are haphazard, pets are neglected, and so is the husband. But daughter Kate and I have spent quality time working together.

Lord willing, order will eventually be restored, the messy part will be behind us, and we will have the results to enjoy for many years to come. With just one step, one change, one “moved painting,” you, too, can give God permission to begin a home improvement project in your life--or in your marriage, or in your career, or in your relationships. And when you partner with God, the final result will be well worth “that messy part in the middle.”

Pastor Kit