You Missing Something??

The nature of our family today is that we are scattered across the country.   While I grew up only a few miles from my grandparents and each of their children, such is not the case with our family today.  While Ann and I live in North Carolina, 3 of our 4 daughters live in other states.  While many families all get together at Christmas and other holidays, it seems that we are only able to all get together about once a year.    That once a year gathering took place a few weeks ago.   Ann and I rented a house in the NC mountains and all of us made our way to that 7 bedroom 5 bath home in the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains.   You will find above a picture that was taken of all of us together.  This picture was taken at the house where we stayed.  While it is great to have this picture of each of our family members with the Great Smoky Mountains in the background, there is something missing.  Perhaps it is more accurate to say that someone is missing.   All of our immediate family was present except for our son in law, Christian Neff.  Christian was not able to join us this year for an important reason:  he is deployed right now in his duties as a Chief Warrant Officer with the U.S. Army.   This is his 5^th deployment in his 12 years of military service.   I missed Christian being there.  I missed his dry wit and his corny jokes.  Christian missed much too.   He missed running around Lake Junaluska with the family, riding the roller coaster at Santa Land, and seeing the house where he and my daughter, Ginger, spent their honeymoon.     I am so grateful that we could be together as a family, but I missed Christian.

I tell the story of our family gathering and of Christian’s absence not simply to point out the sacrifices our military personnel and their families make, but to make a point about the nature of the church:    when people are absent when the family of faith gathers, they are missed and they miss something.   In my 40 plus years as a pastor, I can’t recall a single church gathering when everyone in that church was present.  I have heard a myriad of reasons for abscences through the years.   Some reasons have seemed quite understandable  and other reasons have seemed pretty weak at best.   I will let God be the judge of all that. 

There are many people that have had bad experiences with the church.  I have seen the church at its worst, but I also have seen the church at its best.  What I do know is that you miss something when you are not present when the church gathers, and the church is not the same without you.  I hope to either see you in church soon or hear about your time there.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God,  thank you for the church, the body of Christ.  Heal the hurts in my heart of when the church has not been true to your way; through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

In the Wrong Motel Room

Some  of you reading this know that my father in law died earlier this year.  All of us sorely miss him in so many ways.   He grew up on a tobacco farm in eastern NC and was a husband, father of five adult children, grandfather, great-grandfather, and retired land surveyor. J. Lawrence Blackley also was a master story teller and he had plenty of stories of tell over the course of his life.  All of his family find joy and comfort in these days telling stories he told or about his life.

During these hot summer days, many people in our area make a journey to the beach.  A couple of weeks ago,  we remembered a story of a time when my father in law was at the beach with his family.   While many folks make their way back to their lodging for the night when dark comes to the Carolina coast, my father in law would don his “party animal” hat and make  his way to a nearby business where he would shoot pool, tell stories, and talk to the clientele asking the family to leave the motel room door unlocked for him.  

After a night at that coastal establishment, Lawrence walked up the steps of the motel to the motel room.  Sure enough, the motel room door was unlocked.  Since everyone else was asleep, he made his way to the bathroom to prepare for a night of slumber.     As he brushed his tooth, he noticed some after shave lotion there that was not his brand.    Even though he knew it was not his, he splashed his face with it after finishing his bathroom tasks.   As he went to the bedroom, he was shocked to discover a woman laying in the bed that was not his wife.    Suddenly, he realized the truth that he was in the wrong place and that his room was on a different floor.  

In Luke 15, we hear a story about a boy that leaves home.    He spent the money his father had given as if there was no tomorrow.   And then there came a time when the money was gone and so were all the so-called friends who came near when the money was plentiful.    As my father in law suddenly realized he was in the wrong motel room, this boy realized he was in the wrong place.  That boy decided he needed to go home. 

You may have never gone in the wrong motel room on a family trip to the beach, but perhaps you have had times in your life when you knew you were in the wrong place.   Your behavior was not getting you anywhere.   Your habits had put you on the pathway to trouble.   Like my father in law one night long ago in a North Myrtle Beach motel room, know that you too can leave that place.  You can  go home to your heavenly Father who will not only leave the door open for you but who will  be waiting for you.    Have a joy-filled week.--  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God,  thank you for your love for your wayward children.  Thank you for the truth that we can always turn around;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

A Story of Mr. Rogers

My wife, Ann, and I recently went to see the new movie/documentary about Fred Rogers.  I highly recommend the movie particularly to adults (there are a few things in the movie that might not make it so appropriate for young children).  After seeing the movie,  I was reminded of a story that Fred Rogers shared in his book The World According to Mister  Rogers. 

What many people do not know or do not remember about Fred Rogers is that he was an ordained pastor.  He tells in the book  about a time he was worshipping on a Sunday in a church in New England.   It  matters not what was the denomination of the Christian Church or where it was located.   At the end of the worship service,  Rogers shares that he thought the service was quite boring and that the sermon of the pastor had meant little to him.  As he was preparing to make his way out of the sanctuary, he noticed the woman sitting right next to him.   Tears were streaming down her face.  When he spoke to her inquiring about whether she was alright, she muttered through her tears:  “Oh, what a wonderful service.  It so deeply touched me.”   Fred Rogers goes on in the book to share that he learned a lesson that day, and it was that because people are different they are touched by different things and in different ways. 

In Isaiah 6, we hear about a time that the prophet Isaiah was in the temple worshipping.  Surely there were some folks that left the service believing that it was the “same old, same old” and just another day in the temple.   However, it was so much more than that for Isaiah.  Deep in the marrow of his soul,  Isaiah felt touched by the hand and the call of God Almighty.    In Acts 9, we read about a time that the man we call the apostle Paul was making his way down the road to Damascus.  Though his travel companions saw nothing,  Paul saw the Lord Jesus and heard him speak to him. 

We serve a mighty God who speaks to all, but who touches us sometimes as if we were the only one.  It happened to Isaiah and Paul, and it happened to a woman sitting beside Fred Rogers in a worship service long ago.  And I pray happens to you and me every now and then.   Have a joy-filled week.--  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God,  speak to me and let me hear.  Touch me in the deep recesses of my heart and soul with the love that is found in you;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Celebrating our Freedom

Today is the 4^th of July or Independence Day.  It is a holiday for many folks.  Many will crowd the beaches or another happy place.   Many will gather with family or friends for picnics, cookouts, and the like.   Some will seek a good view of fireworks lighting up the sky.   While today is a holiday, there will a myriad of activities going on.   As you engage in it all, I encourage you to take a moment to consider what Independence Day is really about: freedom. 

In the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia,  242 years ago  a group of men gathered together and signed their name that they and the colonies they represented were declaring they were independent and free from their mother country, England.   It was a bold move to say the least.  The civil authorities at the time might have said  that it was treason.   Putting their lives and families at risk, these patriots made their bold stance.  

Freedom is free, but it does not come cheap.     Cemeteries like Arlington Cemetery and national cemeteries like the one in nearby Salisbury hold the remains of men and women who answered their country’s call for service and served at duty stations near and far.  Today as we enjoy the amusements of another Independence Day,  men and women do their duty to protect us from threats foreign and domestic.  

Likewise, while the gift of our salvation is free, it also comes at a heavy price for “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”.    Christ willingly and gladly made the sacrifice of himself for the sins of the whole world.     We live in that salvation, and are called to share it with others through word and deed. 

Enjoy, my friends, the opportunities this day offers.  Enjoy your freedoms this day and everyday.   But never forget that others paid a price for the freedoms we know in this country and the salvation we know in Christ Jesus.   Have a joy-filled day and week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God, thank you for the  freedoms we enjoy as citizens of the kingdom of heaven and citizens of this country.    Help me to live my life in gratitude for all that you and others have given; through  Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Right There Under Our Feet

My wife, Ann, and I find ourselves travelling by air  from time to time at this point in our lives for a number of reasons.   First, we travel by air because it is the quickest way to visit family that live many states away.  Secondly,  responsibilities with the United Methodist Church these days sometimes take me to places far away.   Ann and I enjoy travelling and seeing the wonderful world that God has created.   The part I like the least about air travel is going through the security checkpoint.    As one who worked at Ground Zero after the 9/11/2001 attacks,  I understand the reason for the security.  However, I find myself often nervous and a little rattled as I go through the process.  Such was the occasion a few weeks ago.  After I successfully completed the security check and was gathering my belongings,  I discovered that I was missing something very important:  my drivers license.  I had shown it in the security process, but it was no where to be found.  I checked my bags not once, but three times.     I wondered what I would do.  How could I pick up a rental car without a valid drivers license?   How would I manage to go through security on the return flight without that valued document?   As I sat on the plane on the way to my destination, I remembered that I had taken my shoes off in the security process.   I wondered if maybe my drivers license was in my shoe.  When I departed the plane,  I quickly found a seat and took off my shoes.  Lo and behold, there was the precious drivers license that I had been missing.   It had been there right under my feet all the time. 

The loss of my drivers license was a scary experience.   It taught me an important lesson not just about securing carefully my valuables, but also about life.   Sometimes, it is right there under our feet.   Mission is certainly in faraway places, but sometimes the opportunity for missions in right there under our feet in the neighbor down the street or the person across the office.  Many people travel far to see the beauty of God’s creation, but it also right there under our feet in the flower in our yard, the smile from a family member, or the sight of a sunset.   Have a joy-filled week.—  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God, thank you for the wonder of this world that is all around us.   Give us a heart to see the beauty of it all and the needs of all;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

She Was Born

We are celebrating in these days the birthday of my wife,  Ann Blackley Wall.  She was born.  There is something in the word “birth” that seems so ordinary.  In this big world,  births take place somewhere all the time in all sorts of places.  If you are on social media, you see reminders of birthdays of friends most everyday.  If you are a news junkie and you keep up with celebrity birthdays, there is always some famous or fabulous person who was born on that day.  While births seem ordinary, there is something about witnessing a birth that is not anything ordinary.  What a miracle it is to gaze at the tiny fingers, face, and feet of a new-born child, grandchild, niece, nephew, and the like.     Psalm 139:14 declares,  “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;  your works are wonderful,  I know that full well.”  When I gaze at a new-born child,  my cup overflows with the meaning of those words knowing that child is “fearfully and wonderfully made.”   While births may seem so ordinary, there is nothing ordinary about seeing a newborn. 

Ann Blackley Wall, the beautiful woman that is my wife, was born.   I like to say that holidays and special events are about emphasizing something that we should remember and give thanks for all the time.   For example,  we pause on July 4^th to remember our independence and freedoms when we should be grateful for  them all the time.    On Christmas,  we remember and celebrate that Christ was born and the “word became flesh”  when we should celebrate that all the time.      In these days,  I celebrate and give thanks that my wife,  Ann Blackley, was born.     The birth of anyone and everything is a holy, blessed experience. How blessed this world and particularly my world is for the fact that Ann Blackley Wall was born.

My Mom used to like to say “the alternative to birthdays is not a good one”.     Surely there is someone in your life that is having a birthday soon that is a blessing to you.  Do let them know.  Everyone appreciates being appreciated.   Have a joy-filled birthday, Ann Blackley Wall, from a husband who loves you.   Have a joy-filled week,  my friends.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    Lord God, thank you for the gift of life that you offer to one and all.  Give me a grateful heart to give thanks for gift of the lives of those near and dear to me;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Anthony Bourdain, Kate Spade, and Me

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich – yes, richer than a king –
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

-       Edwin Arlington Robinson

I was saddened to hear of the death and apparent suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain last week.   I did not know either of them personally.  I had watched Anthony Bourdain’s show on CNN a few times.    The death of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain provoked two thoughts in me.   First, it reminded me of the above poem that I studied in college.  Richard Cory: gentleman, rich, and schooled in every grace.  Richard Cory puts a bullet through his head and takes his life while the world around him is oblivious to all  going on internally within him. 

The second thing that the death of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain made me think of was a time when I was in a very dark place in my life.  Over 25 years ago,  I thought about taking my life.  Unlike Richard Cory, there were people that noticed the bad emotional and spiritual condition I was in.   One of those people was my late Mom.  I remember being on the phone with her late one night sharing my despair.    Mom made me promise not to take my life and to call her in the morning.    I am not sure Mom slept much that night, but if she did she awoke to a new day and her oldest son alive though not well.   The second person that noticed my plight was my friend, the late Sam Dixon (who died in the Haiti earthquake a few years ago).  Sam saw my pain, cared for me, and prayed with me during those dark days in my life.  I miss my Mom and miss Sam, but will always be grateful that they noticed my plight and stood with me as God’s instruments. 

As I write this,  I know there are a lot more Kate Spades and Anthony Bourdains out there who are in a place of despair.  Like Richard Cory, perhaps there are no people who notice.   I hope not.  I pray that there is a woman like Shirley Perry Wall Wyrick and a man like Samuel Dixon who does and stands with them as they walk through that “dark night of the soul.”     Maybe you are that person that God wants to use.  Let it be, Lord.  Let it be.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    Lord God, thank you for people that have cared for me in the dark times in my  life.  Help me, Lord, to pay it forward to others;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen.