Love God, and do as you please
Paradox? Premise? Promise? More than likely, all three.
Ken Gire, in his 2006 book, Seeing What Is Sacred, has this to say; “When asked the secret of living the Christian life, Augustine replied: “Love God, and do as you please.” The thought of that is both liberating and confining. Liberating because it means we are free to do whatever we want. Confining because it means our love for God sets the boundaries of that freedom. It guides every thought, every action, every conversation. And it does so every minute of the day, every day of our life. Instead of a Byzantine complexity of laws to regulate the details of our life, we have only one. The love of God. When that is the heart of who we are, it changes what we do. And it changes something else. How we will be judged.”
Augustine was able to say what he said and mean what he meant because he knew if we obeyed the greatest commandment-to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength-then we will only do what pleases God.
I will admit that most of my waking hours are not spent consciously loving God. I DO love God, I DO want to please Him, and I definitely want the freedom to DO as I please. That’s the problem. Five times in the last couple of sentences I used the pronoun, I.
The unholy trinity; me, myself, and I. I want to do as I please more than I want to love God. There we go again! I I I….! I just can’t get away from it. I’m in love with I!. Are you shocked? The second part of the great commandment is to love my neighbor as I love myself. Isn’t it healthy to love myself? How can I love my neighbor if I don’t love myself?
To be honest, my self-esteem is at least average. What I need to work on is my God-esteem. Valuing what God values. Loving what God loves. Doing what God does. Seeing myself, and everyone in my world through the lens of the cross. Looking up into the pain-wracked and thorn-pierced face of Jesus keeps my focus where it needs to be. Not on me. Not on you. On Jesus. Seeing myself reflected in His eyes as he beckons me, “Come, just as you are, come.” The only mirror that I can see a clear reflection of myself in is the mirror of the cross. Where God spread His arms wide and bid me nail them in place, the whole time showing me how much He loved me-and you-and every human being that ever lived or ever will live.
It’s the cross that shows me how much God loves me. It’s picking up my cross and following Jesus that shows God how much I love Him. Paul said, “I die daily.” 1 Cor. 15:31
Earlier, I was lamenting the sad state of affairs in my own heart when It was all about me. BUT, that was the old me! Paul says in Gal. 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live.” The old me is dead and gone. The problem is I keep resurrecting the old man. So, how do I solve this dilemna? I DON’T!
God solved it. On the cross. When He said it is finished, He meant it. There is a whole new reality to life now. No matter how hard we try to lessen the significance of the cross in our own lives, we can’t get away from the fact that the cross is an instrument of torture and death. It HURTS to crucify the flesh and the lusts therof . Maybe if we try to look through the cross to what lies on the other side…? In AA, we talk about looking through the drink to what lies beyond. The morning after, the pounding head, the queasy stomach, not being able to look at yourself in the mirror. I have had to do that many times in the last couple of years. Any you know what, it WORKS. I remember what it feels like to wake up one more time, hating myself for not having the willpower to stop. The memories of what that feels like can cause my stomach to churn and my pulse race. Just writing about this is causing me to feel a little sick.
When I came into the rooms and fellowship of AA I was told that it was not a “stop drinking program, it’s a start living program.” Maybe if I apply that to my relationship with the Lord, it will work. “It’s not a stop sinning program, it’s a start loving program,” When I DO love God with ALL my heart, then I will only do what pleases Him. Knowing that I am doing what pleases God makes me want to please Him even more.
Thirteen days before I was released from prison in May of 2003, I wrote this in my journal: “To know God is to love Him; to love Him is to obey Him; to obey Him is to be known by Him; to be known by Him is the difference between heaven and hell.” Matt. 7:21-23. I still believe this. Now I have to act on it.
Love God, and do as I please.
One day at a time.
A handful of cherries
One of my Dad’s favorite illustrations about God supplying our needs is a story about a little boy named Johnny. Seems that Johnny was at the Farmer’s Market one afternoon with his Grandma. As usual, Johnny had his beanie cap on. He was staring intently at a big crate of Blackheart cherries when the big man with the apron on came over to wait on them. Seeing Johnny staring intently at the cherries he said, “Go ahead young man, take a handful.” Johnny just continued to stare at the cherries as his mouth watered and his eyes glistened. By this time Grandma was getting embarrassed and insisted that Johnny do what the man in the apron said. Johnny just stood there. Finally, the man in the apron grabbed a huge handful, and as he did Johnny took off his beanie cap and the man filled it with cherries. On the way home, Grandma, a little upset, asked him why he didn’t take the cherries himself. He replied, “But Grandma, his hand was so much bigger than mine!”
My Dad, Franklyn Miller, taught this truth from a practical theology that bore itself out many times in the lives of his family and ministry. From the time he gave his life to Christ as a 17-yr old in Paintsville, KY, to the last breath he took on May 10 of this year, he KNEW that God would supply all he needed to do what God had called him to do. And God did.
Dad is no longer with us on this earth. At least, physically. But he is here. He is here living on in the lives and hearts of those who knew him. To know him was to feel special. He had a way of making you feel that you were the only person in the world, and that you had his undivided attention. I believe that came from knowing his God, and in turn he knew himself. I never saw my Dad treat any person different than another, or talk down to anyone. Knowing that his needs were met by an infinite Savior, and that none of us have more or less than what God allows is a real leveller in the realm of money and power and prestige. Whether Dad was telling the story of Johnny to high school kids or an audience of adults, he could place himself in that story. He knew that if he waited for God to fill his beanie cap with cherries there would always be more than he could have taken for himself. I think Dad knew that the produce man with big hands, wearing an apron, also had a big heart. Maybe as big as God’s.
“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Phil.4:19
p.s. I miss you, Dad
p.p.s. this story came to me from Murf Polan who worked with Dad in YFC and met him 50 years ago. Thanks for the memories.
The message as myth
Myth: 1 a: a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon b: parable, allegory
A tale, a story, myth. The way we view the world we live in, work in, love in, and one day depart from. The reason I placed the definition of myth above is because too many people think that myth equates to “imaginary or unverifiable.” That is the #3 definition as far as Merriam-Webster Online is concerned.
Frodo: “I can’t do this, Sam.”
Sam: “I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. ‘Cause sometimes you didn’t want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How can the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it’s only a passing thing. A shadow even darkness must pass. A new day will come and when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something even if you were to small to understand why. But I think Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folks in those stories had lots of chances in turning back only they didn’t. They kept going because they were holding onto to something.”
Frodo: “What are we holding onto, Sam?”
Sam: “That there’s some good left in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”
”Our actions and attitudes today are shaped by what we expect from the future.” That was a phrase I wrote down in a chapel service when I was a guest of the Federal government at Allenwood LSCI. To be honest, I don’t know if that is my take on what Chaplain Hoops said or a direct quote from him. Either way, a lot of my practical theology came from this period of my life.
Just like Paul, I had a choice. I could either live in the past and never live today, or I could live today in the light of the future. Paul knew that no matter what the Romans threw at him, his life had a purpose. In everything that happened to Paul, his purpose never changed, his faith never wavered, his mission stayed the same. When life sucks-let’s be honest-what do I hold on to? Is it a purpose, a vision, a mission statement. Paul had it right. He held on to Christ, who held on to Paul. His goal was a person. The same person he met on the road to Damascus. The same person who taught him for the three years in Arabia. The same person who picked him up after being stoned and left for dead. His number one goal for his life on this earth was to know Christ and make Him known. That journey involved battle, adventure, and beauty. The battle was for the truth embodied in Christ and all that meant. The adventure meant learning to be content in whatever the circumstance. And the beauty was in the relationship with Christ that marked him for eternity.
What does all this have to do with the message as myth? Simply this. The message from God is not a book of propositions, principles and precepts, even though all of those are included. It is primarily a book of stories about God and people and how He related to them, and vice versa. God could have chosen any number of, to Him, infinite choices to reveal Himself to us. He primarily did it through story. Stories of men and women like you and me. Yet woven through this grand book of myths is an overarching theme of a Hero who fights the dragon and attacks the stronghold of evil with a daring plan to rescue the beauty. In the attempt to rescue His beauty He loses His life. The Story doesn’t end there. The Hero rises miraculously from the grave to continue the fight. Only now the Story takes a bizarre twist. The Hero returns to the safety of His home and assigns the rest of the story on earth to those who believe He is the Hero He claimed to be. Those who believe are now indued with a supernatural souce of strength that empowers them as a Body to do more than our Hero could do by Himself. Amongst those who believe in the Hero are special ones who are entrusted with relaying instructions to the rest of us. These instructions include a battle plan, a treasure map, and a special section dealing with the end in sight. Belief is crucial. So is imagination. To believe in a God we can’t see is not easy when what we do see and feel is pain and hurt and disappointment. That’s why we need myth. To see what is really going on, why it matters, and what God has in store for us.
Frodo: “What are we holding onto, Sam?”
Sam: “That there’s some good left in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”
Don’t forget.
Play-doh people
One of the ministries that is close to my heart is Helping Up Mission in downtown Baltimore. At a point in my life a couple of years ago I considered going down there to live and join their Spiritual Recovery program. Thank God for the mission! The staff, the volunteers, and the residents are all committed to a new way of life which includes freedom from addiction(s) and dependence on Christ for a new way of life.
Every Wednesday they have Art therapy. Normally, they make cards and decorate them for their friends and family. Today was my lucky day! Today they played with Play-Doh. And I helped! That’s right. Myself, along with about 20 other men (staff and volunteers included) made little faces. These faces were supposed to represent how we saw ourselves before recovery, in the midst of our addictions, and now.
I’m sure some enterprising grant writer somewhere could find some big money researching the benefits of Play-Doh Facemaking Therapy and the sociological implications for use in inner city drug rehab programs. Now, there’s a thought! Dangit! I checked. Someone already got awarded this years money. Just kidding!
It was both entertaining and sobering at the same time. Especially, when it came time for me to apply my fingertips to this helpless lump of pseudo clay. I am all thumbs when it comes to things artistic in nature so I decided to just go with the flow. I surprised myself when this orange lump of flour and salt and food coloring transformed into a round ball with a huge mouth crying out with Dumbo ears and not much else. I asked myself and God. Is this really how I saw myself? I could almost feel the cries of anguish emanating from the very depths of my soul. I DID see myself that way at one time. As I was working on me-that’s part of recovery-I was also checking out what some of the others were doing. There were a few guys who missed their calling. They should have been comic book superhero designers. Others were very one-dimensional in their approach. Addictions compress all of life to me and my next fix. Then there were the guys who, like me, should only be allowed to play with Play-Doh while they are under close supervision, preferably ADULT supervision. At least none of us ate our creations!
The one common denominator I noticed was that most of us had a clearer picture of how we perceived ourselves in the past than how we see ourselves now. They say hindsight is 20/20.
Perception is a tricky thing, you know. There is this perception that I have of myself. There is a perception of how you see me. There is even my perception of how I think you see me, or vice versa. But, the only perception that matters is how God sees me, and you. Isn’t it great that God sees us as the marred and scarred and disfigured persons we are, and also as the final masterpiece He created us to be. God is definitely in the recovery business. Just ask the guys at Helping Up Mission who are learning to let go of their past and step into the one day at a time life as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. Me too!
What is hidden hurts us all
For the last week or so I have been helping my buddy, Bob, try to eradicate years of unchecked growth out at his mom’s house in Taneytown. We have tackled forsythia bushes that must be over 12 feet tall. Trying to trim these bushes back to something manageable AND manicured is almost a no-win situation. Forget trimming! This is war! Maple trees 10 and 12 feet tall are growing up in the midst of the small jungle of forsythia. To make matters worse, the poison ivy is waiting at bay for the poor unsuspecting arm or leg to make it’s appearance.
The only way to make everything look normal is to cut a few branches back, lop off some of the most visible top-enders and basically let nature take it’s course. Assuming that you don’t mind a few trees and a lot of poison with assorted birds and rodents living within this small ecosystem growing in your mom’s yard.
Sounds like sin management to me. You know, a little less alcohol the next time, not as angry as you used to get, only fantasize about the good-looking guy at work because it’s NOT ok to have an affair. Maybe you are like me and you don’t have any MAJOR issues with sin in your life, at least as far as others can see, or I will admit. The truth is I do struggle with my thoughts, my words, my actions. I bet you do too. As far as I can tell, there was only one perfect person to walk this earth and they crucified Him.
So, let’s get real. Let’s admit that there are things in our life that are not what they appear. Yes, God sees us as sinless. That’s because he is seeing us through the cross and what it cost our Savior and best friend, Jesus. Jesus is closer to us than our next breath. When we go down those rabbit holes of sin-let’s call it like it is-Jesus is right there with us. When we look at those pictures just a little too long, or contemplate what that extra scoop of ice cream will taste like, Jesus is right there with us. He is a brother that’s sticks closer than a friend, remember. Where we go, He goes.
The first step of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is “WE admitted we were powerless over alcohol (you name yours), and that OUR lives had become unmanageable.” First of all, it is a WE program. We can’t do it alone. In AA, our family, our church, our ministries, our communities, our nation. We have to work together. Jesus died for the WE program called the Church. It is HIS Body. Bought with a price. Someone once said that Jesus paid a debt He didn’t owe to settle a debt WE couldn’t pay. It is not just you..or me. It is us.
Then we have to admit that there are things in our lives that we don’t have a handle on. Our thought lives, our temper, our pride, our pocketbooks; you name it, it’s there. When we admit that there is a problem, and the problem starts with me, then WE can get to the root of the problem and dig it up, roots and all. Letting any bush, or field, or life go too long without some serious pruning and weeding only makes the inevitable clean-up that more costly and invasive.
Let’s get real with God, with ourselves, and some other person we can trust. A well-tended life is productive and beautiful. If WE don’t do it, then God will. Our choice. Got any hedgetrimmers?
Buried treasure
Where is your heart? Where your treasure is. What do you treasure? That is where your heart resides. How do you know what you treasure? Lots of questions. Important questions. The answers reveal a lot. To me. To you. About our hearts, and how important they are to God.
Jesus was not one who minced his words. He said what he meant, and meant what he said. Yet, he also had a way of burying the bone and making us dig for it. Sort of like digging for buried treasure. “I know it’s down there. I dug the hole exactly three steps to the left of the old oak tree!” Ever put something important somewhere and gone back later and couldn’t find it? I have. Many times. You would think that if it were that important, I would have written it down, made a note, drawn a map. Never fails. I don’t think about the future importance of something until I’m IN the future.
OK, here’s the point. I think that one of the implications of what Jesus was saying here in the famous talk on the side of a hill (Matt 5-7), was the value of our heart, which IS the treasure. The problem most of the people on the side of the hill had is the same problem you and I have, we place importance on the things that rust and break and pass away. And we end up becoming like the things we treasure. While all along, the most important thing, our hearts, the real treasures, end up buried and we can’t remember where.
Got some good news! I found a map! To buried treasure! Lots and lots of it. Whoo-EEE! That’s what I’m talkin’ about. Honest to goodness real treasure. The map starts at “In the beginning, God….”, or if you prefer, “Once upon a time….” Either way, you get to be a part of a great adventure, a costly battle, a rescue mission, a treasure hunt. Along the way, we are going to run into saints and sinners, devils and angels, miracles and catastrophes. This all happens under the watchful gaze of the same Jesus who sat on a hillside 2,000 years ago and tried to get us to listen as he shared the only opinion that counts about where to find the only thing worth treasuring forever. Our hearts.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Prov. 4:23
Risen heroes
Last night, my sweetie, Rhonda, and I watched our favorite show “Extreme Home Makeover Home Edition.” The episode was a repeat from back in February which was replayed for the Fourth of July weekend. This show is the most inspiring show on TV. Instead of being an in-your-face display of irreverence, sensuality, and sometimes downright asinine behavior, this show finds some of the “least of these” among us and just flat out gives them a fresh start. Kudos, ABC!
The best part of honoring our heroes is it give us a chance, even vicariously, to celebrate the good amongst us. The worst part is we think that observing is the same as doing. NOT! How many heroes are there in our midst that don’t get the 15 minutes of fame, the new home, the fresh start. I would argue that there are many.
Jesus said that to whom much is given, much is expected. Daniel Gilyeat and his fellow Marines understand and believe that. Freedom is worth defending, fighting for, even laying down your life for. Not just for a cause; for fellow Americans and everyone around this beautiful planet that long for freedom. May freedom ring long and loud!
Freedom from tyranny is worth fighting for. If that is true, then how about freedom from the tyranny of alcohol, drugs, pornography, everspending, overeating, and depression, etc.? Do they not contribute to the destruction of bodies and minds and souls as much as roadside bombs? Having been in man-made prisons and prisons of my own making, I would argue vehemently, YES! And, just as Daniel Gilyeat lost his leg at a moment in time, and his whole life changed, those whose lives have been scarred by the consequences of choices made by them or others requires the same kind of attention. Ask Daniel Gilyeat if failure was an option. You will get an emphatic NO!
This modern day hero spreads the hope as he goes around to the different hospitals and rehabs to speak into other wounded soldiers, sailors , and airmens’ lives. The message: together we can do this. He did not get where he is today by himself. It took other Marines, doctors, nurses, therapists, family, friends, and a whole bunch of God’s grace to get him where he is today. It will take the same thing for any of us who know we are wounded, or know someone who is wounded, And who isn’t wounded? Who doesn’t know someone wounded? We are all wounded. How do I know that? Because God said so. Jesus said He came for the sick, not the well-or the ones who think they’re well. If we consider ourselves to be Christ followers, then it follows that we are sick. OUCH!
So what can we do? This is a “we” program. Remember. The BODY. That magical, mystical creation of Christ wherein we all reside and have a part. So, take your place. Fulfill your role. Complete the mission that God left us. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION! We can do it, but not without you. We need you. I need you. The least of these among us needs you, needs me, needs us. In AA they say that you have to “give it away to keep it.” Daniel Gilyeat understands that. Do You?
Uncovered!
Today, Larry and I finished the majority of the destruction of the prior CON-struction at his farm. This is an old farmhouse that has slowly evolved into a newer, old farmhouse. Additions, siding, enclosures, reinforcments; all conributing to the structure that stands today. Hear is the problem: everything that has occurred in the life of this house has only added to the original structure, it hasn’t replaced it. So, when you get ready to change something about the house, most of the process involves getting back to the original house, or what is left of it. After all the years of being covered up and tacked on to, the original house has continued to age, and in some cases, deteriorate out of sight. A lot of dirt and old paint and some rotten wood and rusty nails later, the house is about ready to be restored once again to it’s original glory. YEAH!
Yes, I see some parallels in my own life-of course! Over the years I have added on to, covered over, re-modeled and been given many fresh coats of paint. And all it has done is give the appearance of a well-manicured 52 yr old. But, underneath all the exterior improvements and additions, the original structure is still there.
One day as I was leaving Larry’s, he called me Harvey the Destructor. He nailed me. So much destruction, so much cover-up, so little work on the original. And yet that is what God says I am. An original. A work of art. And God also says that I am a work in progress. Oh! If I would only let God have His way with me, what kind of structure would He build? Maybe I need to ask Him. Now there’s a thought.
Letting God have His way in my life can be messy. The result is worth it. Check it out.
Whom God Chooses
by Henry F. Lyte
When God wants to drill a man,
and thrill a man, and skill a man,
When God wants to mold a man,
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man,
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch his methods; watch His ways.
How He ruthlessly perfects
When He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay
Which only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying,
And He lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When His good He undertakes.
How He uses whom he chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him;
But every act induces him
To try His splendor out –
God knows what He’s about!
Go then, earthly fame and treasure!
Come disaster, scorn, and pain!
In Thy service, pain is pleasure;
With Thy favor, loss is gain.
I have called Thee, Abba, Father;
I have stayed my heart on Thee.
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather;
All must work for good to me.
sola fide!
What God is about
Hey folks, Harv here! Wanna throw something your way and see what you think about it. Don’t worry! It’s not that heavy. But, it is important. To all of us.
As many of you know, I am an ex-con and a recovering alcoholic, as well as a believer in Jesus Christ. Makes for a unique perspective on living in a world where so many of us struggle to make sense of “what is it all about?” If you have a clear, defined sense of who you are, where you’re going, and how you are going to get there, then what I am about to say may either upset you, confuse you, or worse, bore you.
Here is the deal. I believe that the Bible teaches that the heart is central. I also believe that our lives today are a result of how we have handled our hearts and the hearts of other in the past. I also believe that just like 12 step programs, Christianity teaches that it is a “WE” program. Paul calls it the “body”. AA calls it a fellowship.
Recovery is the mission of the church whether we admit it, know it, or believe it. When Jesus started his ministry after the desert experience with satan, he read from a passage in Isaiah 61. Luke 4:18-19 goes like this; “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Here’s the point. While in prison-1999-2003-I believed in my heart that God had called me to minister His Word. I pursued that with all my heart. I started Bible college while in prison to “preach the Gospel and defend the Faith.” Things went great for about 18 months after my release in May of 2003. But, I had not learned to “guard my heart above all things, for out of it flow the wellsprings of life.” Prov. 4:23. As a result of my actions and the actions of others, wounds that had never been addressed or healed were opened, and like so many of us, I returned to my favorite form of relief. In my case, alcohol. It was a short and hard ride. My faith in God was shattered. My belief in my self was destroyed. The call of God. HAH! Are you serious? Why would God stoop down to pick up a staggering, pitiful drunk with a felony past and a life time of of wrong choices. Talk about the prodigal son. He was a saint compared to me! This is a sample of how useless and worthless I felt, and still sometimes feel.
Here’s the Good News! We-you and me-are the reason God invaded this warzone called earth. To rescue us. To set us free. To give us a life of worth and meaning, so we could show another beggar where to find bread. As my Mom has often said, “I don’t know what the future holds, but I KNOW who holds my future.” That’s where I’m at.
In AA they say you have to give it away to keep it. Jesus gave us the great commission and the great commandment to do the same thing. To teach others, make disciples, and do it all by loving God with all our HEART, and love our neighbors as ourselves. See! The heart IS central. To all of life. To every human being God ever created.
My reason for writing this letter is to get some things off my heart and onto paper. Dawson Trotman, the founder of the Navigators, said “our thoughts untangle themselves through our fingertips.” Hopefully, what I have written has not been too rambling. I FEEL better!
In the first part of October this year, there is a Wild at Heart Bootcamp at Frontier Ranch, a Young Life facility in Buena Vista, CO. They have so many men apply to these events, that they use a lottery system. I was finally accepted-on one condition. That I PAY for it by next Friday-the 27th. It is $425.00, plus I will be responsible for transportation to and from the event. If I don’t pay the registration fee by the 27th, I forfeit the chance to go in October. Honestly, If I go, AWESOME! And, If the money doesn’t show up in time for me to pay, then God is still Good, and He has a different plan.
I want to use the time before the event, and the time there, to springboard into what God is preparing me for. The same mission Jesus gave us over 2,000 years ago, “As the Father has sent me, I’m sending you.” If you sense that God is saying yes to me about this call, and this event, and you would like to be a part of what God is up to in Harvey Millers’ life, then you can do one or more of several equally important options. 1. PRAY PRAY PRAY, please! 2. Write me back or call me or talk to me mano y mano. 3. Help me financially to have the funds needed to go in October. $425 is needed by next Sat., the 27th.
Thanks, and God bless,
-Harv
Acts 13:36
p.s. If you know of a need for a speaker, I’m available
Harvard F Miller II
Upward and Onward!
410-596-5454
What’s underground?
Today I was working with one of my friends putting an old telephone pole in a hole. The reason we were even attempting this task was because of the angle that the pole had ended up at. It held a light, and was the spoke for electric wires from his house, to the light pole, on to a shed and then to the barn. Rather than being straight and doing its job of guiding and supporting all the different wires going off in three directions, it was in danger of pulling everything down around it. The other day we dug out around the base with the intention of adding some support in the form of re-bar and concrete. Over the weekend, my friend’s brother-in-law started digging at the base of the pole below the surface of the ground and found that the reason that the pole was leaning was because it was rotted away below ground level. Time, water, insects; all had contributed to cause this once healthy telephone pole to become structurally unsound and almost bring a lot of wires and other poles down with it. It made me think of my life. Of all the different choices I have made over the course of my life that have contributed to decay below the surface that in turn affects my strength of character, and if allowed to continue, can not only affect my own health and peace of mind, but also the lives and destinies of the people in my life that depend on my strength, my uprightness. Was sobering as I reflected on what I needed to do to become the straight and true person I want to be, and others need me to be. It was relatively easy to pull the old pole up, cut off the rotting, diseased wood and re-set it in a hole straight and true. Now it can fulfill it’s designed purpose once again. Wish it was that easy for me.
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