Nick’s Walk

I can’t watch the so-called impeachment hearings. The political discourse has gotten too course. Even our recent local and statewide elections were frankly, disgusting. So what’s there to be thankful for at least in the public arena. We all have, Thank God, personal things that bless us and make life worth living and justify an attitude of Thanksgiving. The national scene, on the other hand, not so much. Before we abandon thought of national thanksgiving, we might do well to recall the original Proclamation of Thanksgiving issued by President Lincoln. Things weren’t so civil when he issued that proclamation. In fact, in 1863, America was in the midst of a Civil War. We were not just calling each other names in Congressional hearings, we were killing each other. We weren’t fighting over our “right” to kill our unborn; but we disagreed on our right to enslave others. It was not a great time. Yet Lincoln found reason to ask a bitterly divided nation to be thankful.  If you can’t make out the words of the Proclamation. I’ll reprint them here: Washington, D.C. October 3, 1863 By the President of the United States of America. A Proclamation. The year that […]

I attend three different men’s groups, some more often than others. The one I meet on Tuesday mornings is one of my favorites because the men are so open and honest. Maybe for the same reason, it is the one I attend the least. (That will preach at a different time and place.) This week the discussion was about relationships and, of course, marriage came up. The pastor began asking how long some of us have been married. A cold chill ran through me. One look around and I knew I had at least 20 years on anyone else. Next May I will have been married for fifty years and, yes, to the same woman. I knew where this discussion was headed. He that has been married the longest would eventually be asked, “How do you do it?” I scanned my memory banks for clever responses; separate bedrooms, lots of wine, separate vacations, hearing aids with off switches. When the question eventually came, as I knew it would, I heard myself say, “You have to love her more than you love yourself.” The response in the room and even my own response at my own words, confirmed that they […]

There was an election in my town yesterday and no one I voted for won. It seems to me that this should be a reason for some serious reflection on my part. What is the meaning of it all? I have some thoughts, confusing and contradictory and thus worthing of sharing. I am out of touch.  As I live out my 70th year, I have no illusions that I am “hip” or “with it.” Maybe it’s just that I am too old for the community in which I live. Maybe my values are no longer the values of the society in which I reside. I think perhaps I am being too dramatic here. I wasn’t exactly in love with the ones I voted for. I didn’t wear t-shirts with their names on them or mess up my bumper with stickers. Truth be told, I just thought the ones I voted for weren’t quite as much “tools of Satan” as the other guys…the ones who won.  A Sign of the End Times.  That brings me to the next possibility that this election is just another sign that Jesus is coming soon. I admit to taking some comfort in this, but […]

[NOTE: This was written on September 20, 2019, and appears in November 2019 Issue of Covenant Spotlight. An update follows the original article.] As I write this my wife is two-thirds of the way through her chemotherapy treatment. As you read this she should be completely finished. I am grateful. I have learned a lot about gratitude by associating with Infusion Folks. Although they are a cross-section of the community, they are individuals. Some are obviously ravaged by cancer and the infusion of toxic chemo drugs. They are hairless, thin and gray. My beloved is not one of these and for that I am grateful. That gratitude may be selfish and “me” centered but that, I have learned, is the nature of gratitude. We are grateful when we positively contrast with the lives and sufferings of others. We are ungrateful if we focused on ourselves and lament our condition. Some Infusion Folk have full heads of hair and glow with good health. I am grateful for these folks as well because of the hope they instill in the rest of us. We rejoice together in small victories. When an Infusion Folk completes their chemo, they ring a bell and […]

“Recovery” is defined as a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength. I guess you could then say I am “in recovery.” At my last doctor visit, my diagnoses included Skull Lesion and Status Post Craniectomy. Also “need for influenza vaccination.” Compared with “Skull Lesion” and “Status Post Craniectomy,” the “need for influenza vaccination seems comically insignificant.  It certainly seems a challenge to return to where I was before all this happened. I am being promised a “full recovery.” I am realizing that’s not enough. My God doesn’t put his child through something like this to return him to the place he inhabited when it all started.  My God allows and may even create terrifying situations, medical mysteries, holes in skulls, lesions and various …tomies to place his children on higher ground. He doesn’t spin them around just to see them dizzy, confused and feeling abandoned. He wants them grateful for recovery, happy to be alive; but I have to believe He wants them happier to be alive, filled with greater purpose and bearing the scars and experience which will make them invaluable tools for the Kingdom. So sorry, docs, I appreciate the recovery but I […]

Change is tough. We become comfortable in our stages of life. Kids want to be adults, but not really. They want to have the freedom of adulthood without responsibility. That just doesn’t fly. Adults more than ever don’t want to be “responsible” adults. Being “free” seems impossible when you “tie” yourself to a mate or have children intentionally or not. Without those ties and struggles, the blessings of adulthood are squandered.  “Empty nest” syndrome is a real thing. What’s a body to do when their lives have been devoted to children who no longer “need” them? Isn’t it time to stand back and watch the fruit of what God has done through your parenting. It’s too late to correct the mistakes of the past. God’s got this.  My latest encounter with change is moving from the production years to the “golden” years of retirement. Those who have worked “all their lives” to build “nest egg” can’t seem to find a reason to stop building and start enjoying. The egg for many is never big enough. I’m seventy. Although I try to stay healthy, my days are limited.  I know folks live longer these days but does that really matter […]