"Last In Line...AGAIN!"

Have you ever wondered why you seem to be the last car in line at a fast-food drive through? Now, I know that this is not "every" time, but it sure seems to me it happens a lot! Just this morning, I drove through the golden arches to get my usual unsweetened iced tea and the line ahead of me totaled seven cars and as I waited (patiently, I might add!), not a single car got in line behind me! Is this a conspiracy or what? Is there something that people are trying to tell me that I am not understanding? Of course, not! No conspiracy! No misunderstanding!

My point is that often people come to conclusions about things that happen to them with the same foolish thinking! How many times have you heard (or, have you said!), "Things just seem to happen to me!" The person is bemoaning what is thought to be some miniscule plot to make their life miserable and doing so with success. Friend, you are not being cursed by the "drive through window witch!" Trust me on this one, okay?

The problem is simple. We tend to remember the things that irritate us longer than those things that please us. It may be a part of human nature. I'm not sure! People can recall things that happened to them years ago that was hurtful, inconvenient, or aggravating, but have already forgotten many of the nice things that people have done for them. If I were to keep a record (which I am not going to do!), I would venture to say that most of the time I am not the last car in line at Mickey-D's. Many times, I am first in line and others have to line up behind me!

When you get to thinking about "all the bad things that happen to you," keep them in perspective because they are not as numerous as one may think! I wonder how many will be in line tomorrow morning about 9:45 when I pull up to that obnoxious speaker?

'Hello? Can You Help Us?"

Imagine putting down $2000 for a vacation "dreamhouse," only to find that it was more of a "nightmare!" Further imagine that you are in a town where you know no one...no one at all! What do you do? To whom do you turn? Add to the confusion the three small children you have with you to whom you promised a wonderful and exciting vacation! I wonder what YOU would do!

On Thursday evening, June 11, 2009, as I sat with my wife watching some television my cell phone rang! Who would be calling me so late on my cell phone? Is there some type of an emergency with one of our grandchildren? All of you know the thoughts that go through your mind when you get an unexpected call rather late in the evening, right?

The voice of a young lady asked, "Is this the preacher for the Williamsburg Church of Christ?" To which I glad said, "It is." "I need help!" was the quick reply. It seems they were in Surrey in a house they had rented and the actual house did not "exactly" look like the one in the brochure. It was not a pleasant situation for these four adults and three children. "Can you help us?" was the next response. Confused a bit, I asked, "How can I help you?" "Can you find us a place that will house seven people?" "Well, there are hundreds of rooms here in Williamsburg and they offer superior service," I proudly stated. I mentioned a few of the places that I thought would be able to handle such a large number and told them how to find them. "Really?" the young mother asked. "Absolutely, I have no doubt that arrangements can be made that will satisfy your needs," I quickly added.

After we got this all straightened out, she asked my name. I told her that I was Bill Butterfield. In the background I heard another lady shout, "Bill Butterfield? Bill Butterfield from Parkersburg, West Virginia?" Again, I said, "That's me!" These folk were from Bearwallow Ridge, Ohio (yes, there really is a place by that name) where my father had preached many times and I had gone with him a lot of those times. (When you are a "preacher's kid," you go to church a lot!) "Do you remember Frank Clark?" "Of course I remember him and told them exactly where he lived." "That's my grandfather!" the young lady shouted. Then I told her that my first girlfriend (the letter writing kind!) was from Bearwallow Ridge!

Well, they spent the night there and talked to the landlord the next day (who happened to be on his honeymoon and was not excited about being interrupted) and worked things out in some form. They met me at the church building on Merrimac Trail the next morning, much to my surprise, to thank me for talking to them and helping them to see things would work out! After they took my picture so they could show the folk back home, they went on their way to see the historic wonders of our little town!

Why did I share this with you? One simple reason! Those of us who are Christians are a part of a much, much larger family! No matter where you go, you will find brothers and sisters in the Family of God eager to help out others in the Family! If you are not a part of the Christian family, you have no idea what you are missing here and hereafter!

Same Order...Different Service!

I wonder what the difference is? Those of us who call Williamsburg home are blessed to live in a community that is very diverse...very diverse! The diversity seen here is often limited to much larger cities where crossroads of the world meet. Our little town with its streets lined with beautiful shade trees and houses reminding us our antiquity is at the center of the history of our great country. However, it is, also, a place that many foreign students flocked to each year to work in the numerous service projects available. I remember asking one young man, who was thousands of miles from home, why he would leave home to be a waiter at IHOP. His response was simple, "I can make more money here waiting tables during the busy season than I can at home in a year!" There you have it, but that's not my point!

What fascinates me is the difference in cultures. I frequent McDonald's restaurant each day with the same drive-through order: "large unsweetened iced tea with ten Splendas." The window is served during the summer by young adults from the far east who are so different than those who have the same job in the fall and winter. The "summer" crew is polite, courteous, and greet the consumer with a "Good morning!" and a hardy "Thank you for coming!" They will go out of their way to be sure your order is correct. It is very refreshing! However, during the "off season" one gets no conversation, no greeting, and often an incorrect order. It is not very pleasant to be served in such a bland, non-friendly manner.

If I am not mistaken, most of these young adults are about the same age with nearly the same education, but there is a difference! While some are sullen and appear to be angry, the others are smiling and enjoying their opportunities. What makes these young adults so contrasting?

Could it be the influences that have shaped their lives? Could it be the difference in parenting styles? Could it be while one appreciates the chance to improve his life, the other believes the world owes him a life? The answer to the previous three questions is probably , "Yes!"

Is it any wonder that the consumer gets a bit frustrated with some while not so with others? Without the consumer there would be no jobs for these young adults. There would be no places to work...even minimum waged jobs! I know flipping hamburgers all day and getting someone's "large unsweetened iced tea with ten Splendas" is not the same as discovering the cure for some dreaded disease, but it is better than having nothing to do at all, right?

Be grateful for small blessings, at least, until your blessings can be larger!

Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

As I sit here this morning wondering about the confusion that exist throughout the world, I won dered why can't we all just get along? North Korea has exploded, at least, one nuclear bomb test and fired off three or four "test flights," the Dow Jones numbers rise and fall like a child's yo-yo; critics appear before the president announces his nomination for the U. S. Supreme Court; and, churches on every corner bicker with one another over some matter of opinion! Can we all just get along? Do we have to criticize each other just because we don't cross every "t" and dot every "i" exactly alike?

We are engaged in a significant expansion and remodeling of our church facilities right at the moment. It has been a project that began last September and is just now drawing to a close. I have watched with interest throughout these eight months as the work has been done. One thing that has caught my attention is the precision of the process. As one job is completed, another one is opened up for a different group of workers. Some work in the area of preparation and are replaced by builders and they are replaced by finishers! Today, painters have spotted places that need a bit more attention while others have been applying the finishing touch. One will be cutting a piece of moulding while one is being carried to the third guy who will put it in place! Precision! It reminds me of a finely tuned dance troup who knows each others move and are ready to step in at the right time.

Why can't life be that way?

If folk were less eager to criticize the opposition and more concerned about getting the job done, peace might just break out everywhere. Lasting peace! Politicians have an "unwritten code" that they must not applaud the efforts of the opposing party! Athletes must not congratulate their opponents even in defeat! Neighbors must fine some critical point with each other's lawns! Churches must announce the differences they have with each other! Why can't we all just get along?

Maybe the reason is that we just cannot be wrong about anything! I remember as a child blaming every scuffle that my brother and I had on my brother. I doubt that he was the source of all our disputes, but I was not about to admit my guilt! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to live with the above disposition? If one cannot be wrong about anything, he must always be on edge lest he be mistaken about something. What if the one thing I don't know proves me to be wrong about some practice? It means that I have to ignore the obvious error and plod ahead because I cannot be wrong! How sad! How troubling!

Friends, neighbors and brethren, why can't we all just get along?

The More Things Change....

Our local bi-weekly newspaper, The Virginia Gazette, has been covering our community and the surrounding area since 1735. It is pretty much a "folksy" type paper full of information that the rest of the world would find useless and probably a bit boring. However, if you live here you want to know what is happening around town and find out from "The Last Word" what the latest complaints are. Today as I perused it over lunch, I began to wonder how much different the news might have been nearly 300 years ago than it is today. No, I did not research this carefully and read the first edition of the paper, but I did wonder about it.

Were the concerns of 18th century much different than in the 21st century? Were their economic problems then like there are today? Were folk struggling to find employment? Were wars and rumors of wars rampant in their world? Were there athletic events that some found interesting? Were there political "issues" being discussed at length on the front porches of Duke of Gloucester street? Did children give reasons for parents to be concerned? Oh, the list could go on forever, right?

I guess my point is, how much have people changed over the centuries? I know our problems have different wrappings, but are they basically the same problems? When I was a young person one of the huge concerns of parents was their young boys "going out behind the barn" and smoking a cigarette, now it is inhaling some mind-altering drug. But, is that basically the same concern? In high school, if a young girl would become "with child," she would be sent to live with an aunt because the aunt needed help, but she would return in about nine months without a child that was given up for adoption. Today, it is the guilt of unwanted pregnancies and abortion that leads the list of concerns for teenagers who are "with child."

One thing is for sure, God has not changed and never will change! That's comforting to all of us who place our trust in Him. We will never have to apologize for what He did, never be embarrassed by some misdeed that He performed, and never have to explain His prejudices toward anyone. What a blessing! Also, God maintains the answer to the guilt for our misdeeds and the cleansing power of forgiveness. Aren't you glad?

So, whether it is the 18th century or the 21st century, some things are different, but some things never change!

"I'll Never Be A Mother...But I Can Wonder!"

For the 45th time, I am planning a "Mother's Day" sermon and each year I struggle with this task! One reason it is getting more difficult for me is because this is the second year in a row that I will not get to buy a card or send a bouquet of flowers to my Mom. I miss her greatly! As I sat in the quietness of my study checking out sermons that others have preached on this wonderful day of celebration, my mind began to wonder what it must be like to be a mother. No, I will never know because I am a 63 year old man, but I can still wonder!

I read recently some thoughts that others have had about being a mother and found them to be challenging. Here are a few of them:

"It takes about six weeks to get back to normal after having a baby...the truth is that once you are a mother, "normal" is history!" The thrill of birthing a human life must be an incredible experience, but things are never the same again. A mother's time is not her own! A mother's thoughts are always about someone else! A mother's love blooms and never fades!

"You cannot love a second child as much as you love the first one...the truth is the person who said this never had two or more children!" I have known some families with several children and each child seemed to have as much love as was needed. I guess love is something that a mother never runs out of because there is always enough for one more!

"The hardest part about being a mother is labor and delivery...that person has never watched her baby get on that big yellow school bus on his first day of school...nor has that person said good-bye to a son boarding a plane for Iraq or Afghanistan to fight for their country!" The travail of child birth seems light compared to the travail of the heart at separation.

"Your mother knows you love her, so you don't have to tell her...somone has never been a mother!" Trust me, you never quit telling your Mom that you loved her then and moreso now!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

"Take The Detour If You Have The Chance!"

When you reflect on your immediate past, what do you think? I wonder how many of us can look back at the past decade and think, "Wow! This is as good as it gets!" For the past dozen years, I have been privileged to live and work in Williamsburg, Virginia. I have lived here longer than I have ever lived anywhere in my life. You see, I am a "PK" [preacher's kid] and it was usually "three years and a cloud of dust!" One would think that I would have learned my lesson about preaching, but I am in "my own" forty-fifth year of preaching.

As I drive to my study each morning (a ten mile jaunt), I have the blessed privilege of arriving here several different ways, but without doubt the best way is detouring through "colonial" Williamsburg. This morning I took the detour! Let me tell you about it!

Within five minutes (that's about as long as it takes to take the "detour") I witnessed sleepy-eyed students from the College of William and Mary making their way to that early morning lecture. At the same time, joggers came by on their normal morning routine as they "stay in shape!" As I made the turn onto Boundary Street there was a man power-washing the sidewalks in "colonial" Wiliamsburg. "Power-washing" in the 18th century? Is that not a bit peculiar?

Rounding the corner at Francis Street one knows that he is returning to "a different age!" Historic interpreters, dressed as their forerunners were, are making their way to jobs (gun- making, gardening, serving, and carriage driving) that will allow modern thought take a backseat to historical perspective. Is there anywhere else that one can see beautifully decorated tour buses and ducks drinking from a puddle leftover from last night's storm...all within two minutes? Is there any other place where one can see fifty elementary students dressed in shorts and T-shirts eagerly awaiting someone to step out in colonial garb to tell them "how it was back then?" Three minutes later (if you get caught by a traffic light) be ordering an iced tea from the "golden arches?"

That's what it is like for me to "take the detour" to work each morning! What a community this is!

One more thing. This is like every other village in the country in that we have those who have little good to say about "our town!" They are consumed with modernization, new housing, more traffic, and signs that don't quite meet the specifications. Their disgruntled words can be read each Wednesday and Saturday in our local newspaper (The Virginia Gazette) on the last page called, "The Last Word!" They probably feel better letting others know that they are not happy, so that's all right! The rest of us get a good laugh out of those things that others seem to think will destroy the universe if they are not halted...and halted NOW!

For more than twelve years I have been blessed to live and minister in "our town!" I love it!

I hope you can come by and "take the detour!"