Hard Week, Good Memories

Can I be honest with you? This has been a hard week. Some weeks are like that.

Don't get me wrong. I am not talking about any major disaster. Just the normal rough and tumble of ministry.

I found out this week that one of my good friends is facing a difficult situation in his ministry and is going to resign. That will hurt both him, his fellow workers and, in my opinion, the long-term health of the ministry he has built up over the years. In addition, I had a hard conversation with a church that has partnered with us at the Multiplication Center for several years. They are now changing their long-term strategy and vision. As a result, we are going to lose their support and practical help. Nuts! I hate it when something like that happens.

Of course my gloomy mood could also have to do with some late night/early morning trips to the airport that have resulted in little sleep. Or, maybe it is the fact that we are now at the end of three months of rain where our aggregate accumulation has reached around sixty inches. Five feet of rain can certainly be mood altering.

A book that Susan and I are reading out loud to each other, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, has encouraged me a bit. It has also brought back some wonderful memories from a simpler time in life.

Do you remember when buying an appliance for your home was still such a big thing that it became the central point of conversation at supper? Today, it seems like it has become passé or even poor education to talk about something you have bought for your house. Years ago, the addition of a new product was the topic of conversation not only at our dinner table, but, in all likelihood, at several of our neighbor's tables, as well.

Ovens, washing machines and even significant plumbing could spark rumors around the neighborhood. Dryers could not escape notice. Televisions were on everyone's mind.

I remember when our family upgraded from a “green phosphorescence television” (you remember - light green with that rather dark green, roundish tube) to "real" black and white. Kids from several surrounding houses stopped by to try it out and watch Howdy Doody. If I remember right, it was an Admiral Television. I watched most of the sixties take place on it.

I think my father bought things without talking to my mother. I could be wrong on this. I haven't asked them about it. However, Mom often seemed as surprised as me by what came through the door.

My father brought a Zenith stereo home one evening. I am talking about a for-real-high-fidelity console stereo with AM/FM radio (although FM was still just an empty waveband in our community). The stereo came with five albums to play. One of them had two songs by that "new Colombia recording sensation, Bob Dylan." Talk about a life-changing experience! In a home where our most popular musical entertainment were Weatherford Quartet albums, Bob Dylan was a breath of fresh air.

A very nasal puff of fresh air, but fresh air all the same.

Of course the purchase of a different car created interest in the entire neighborhood. I still remember the Ames' 64 Chevrolet. They had a Rambler before that. The Woods family drove a '56 Buick. The Westphals had that yellow panel truck. My father seemed to change cars a bit more often than the other men in our community. Therefore, we probably became a topic of conversation more often than others.

Thinking of topics of conversation, at this point in my life I must admit that I have never really forgiven him for that 1958 Chevy we had. '57s became classics. Even the '59 was a stylistic advance. 1958 was not Chevrolet's year. Of course the same could be said for entire decades in the '70s, '80s and '90s.

So far, the 00s are not looking too good either.

Certain memories can be helpful in cheering us up… even as the rainy seasons in our life continue unabated. King David understood this concept. In Psalm 18:25 he wrote, “O LORD, you are faithful to those who are faithful to you; completely good to those who are perfect.” When encountering a few bumps in life it is important to keep in mind the ways God has proved Himself faithful to us time after time… after time after time after time.