The First Autumn Leaf

Autumn came early
In late September
While a storm
Brought the rain
Across my face
It trickled down
And I felt
A maple leaf
Hit the ground.

It was the first
Autumn leaf to fall
Withering in the cold
But it was special
Marking the end
And the beginning somehow
Of a lasting friendship
I long for now.

We came together
It was July
Blue and Gold
Around a table
Each an individual
Stranger to another
But soon united
I could tell.

The days passed quietly
And more leaves fell
Like the first one there
No longer so special
Covered by the others
Lost in the shuffle
Fading into fertile soil
Nature retelling her tale.

In one autumn leaf
Friends of a feather
Leaves to a tree
Gather as a whole
Clinging to hold on
Each day upon another
In separate ways gone
But strangers again, never.

Little Things and Lemonade

Someone once said, “Don’t sweat the little stuff, and believe me, it’s all little stuff.” This goes back to the idea of personal perspective. The pessimist tends to find a raindrop in a partly cloudy sky while an optimist finds a rainbow. One sees sour grapes and the other makes lemonade. Perhaps a better way to put it would be the concept of hope. I read from the Sacred Space Internet prayer site this morning that “hope that sees for itself is not hope, but hope that sees what it cannot see waits with endurance.” It all comes down to the details in life that seemingly make no difference unless we can view the bigger picture.

The scripture quote from today is from Luke chapter 13. Jesus asks the crowd what the kingdom of heaven is like and he proceeds to answer his own question with images people of his time could identify with. What he clearly alludes to is the idea of faith in the little things and hope in the bigger things to come. When we take the time to focus on those seemingly insignificant details in life then we can see how they lead us to the end result. Jesus uses the mustard seed to describe the notion that even the smallest belief can yield something much greater in scope like the bush that grows in the garden from the tiniest seed. He uses the image of yeast being added to three measures of flour to cause the dough to rise. I think we all sometimes fail to see our impact on the lives of others because life is so much larger than the scope of our individual lives. I think voter apathy is a direct example of this notion. Don’t be fooled, we all make a difference!

This past Sunday afternoon gave me a personal perspective on the whole concept. Our Cub Scout pack gathered at the local humane society to tour the facility, donate needed items and to walk some of the dogs being sheltered there. I could not help but be touched by the way families came together and brought a few moments of happiness to animals that had been abandoned, abused or neglected. Clearly there was a “bigger picture” being developed here than met the eye. We talk of compassion, and yet if we are not willing to give it then what is the use? If we do not see the yearning in a child’s eyes to be led and be taught how to live, then what business do we have putting on the impression that we truly want to raise and lead them? I hope that in some small way I have brought those little things to light for you today so that tomorrow brings a brighter view.

Please take a moment to check out this video from the group "The Boy Least Likely To." Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w54RJYpeHVk

A Twinkle in the Eye

Not long ago I met a kindly older gentleman at a scouting event. I first saw him seated at a picnic table some twenty yards away outside the dining hall at Camp Lakota in Defiance, Ohio. He was dressed in a red scout jacket and green scout uniform pants. I don’t know what possessed me at that moment, but something inside prompted me to go over to him and to simply say “hello.” As I introduced myself and shook the man’s hand, a conversation just naturally began between us.

In the space of about five minutes I came to know that this gentleman had been involved in Boy Scouting for sixty four years and that he had helped build the dining hall in which we stood facing. It had been constructed many years earlier and you could tell by the style and color of the dark brown log walls that it had seen many summer campers beneath its rustic roof. I could not stay long and talk, but I knew as he talked that the years had fallen away in the recesses of his mind and a twinkle appeared in his eyes. I’d swear he had shed about forty years and a much younger man stood before me reliving some of the most treasured moments of his life. I thought to myself, “what a blessing to be here today.” Later on I came to find out four generations of scouts in this man’s family, both boy and girl had assembled there to celebrate a special occasion. It really does not matter what the occasion was; what struck me most was that good things do stand the test of time.

Tonight, I sit here reflecting on the things in life that matter most to me and I realize that there is little difference between us; that older gentleman and myself. We have lived a little, learned a great many things and have had the opportunity to pass on those important lessons that life teaches. Being honest, working hard, having faith and being helpful are just a few, but I think living the “Golden Rule” is probably what sums it all up. Bringing a little happiness into the world with a smile and kind word can make even the most experienced set of eyes twinkle with delight. It is a light we all have inside and it shines its most brilliant when we simply pass it on. Good night and God bless.

Behold His face

We all have had and continue to face our share of good and bad days. And depending on your predisposition as an optimist or pessimist; the definition of each varies from person to person. For me, yesterday morning was the start of a bad day. Without going into laborious detail, you could say I was in a state of frustration, hurt and self pity; a good recipe for anger and worse yet, a reason for someone prone to depression to lash out. But that is only half the story.

As the day wore on I kept busy doing household chores as a way to work off the negative energy. By lunch time things were beginning to look a bit brighter and by evening the positive energy of good people doing good things out of the goodness of their hearts overcame the previous tension. I repeat myself to emphasize a word so often used that I think it has become almost a cliche. Anyone can do something positive for whatever reason, but when it comes from a deeper place inside, like the heart, I cannot help but notice my spirit being lifted up. It is truly a gift to see people who give so joyfully in spite of the challenges put before them. Any volunteer who has led a group of first or second grade boys at a Cub Scout den meeting knows full well what I mean.

By eight o’clock I was so full of positive energy that it was hard to curb my enthusiasm and return home where I had been so down earlier in the day. Then, I noticed a small wooden plaque that I had made years earlier just setting on a shelf in the kitchen. It was the face of Jesus as he may have appeared during the crucifixion. The image was burned into the wood to remind me of the sacred fire that burns in us all if we believe in the saving grace of Christ; an image I hold close so as not to forget the sacrifice he made. I even wrote something on the back to personalize the project. It says:

Behold the Savior’s face; scourged
Battered, bruised; blackened by hate
For the ones he loved so dear.
He endured; in spite of betrayal and denial of beloved friends.
Amidst the ignorance and envy of the world he became the ultimate sacrifice.
Upon the altar of disgrace he was nailed and hung for all people to see, but it was for them that he shed his earthly appearance to become the deliverer of God’s grace. He was led the way through his suffering cross to save us all from ourselves.

DAW 10/00

How ironic that it was in October of 2000 that I wrote this; perhaps even on the same day as yesterday! And so, I close with a link to a song that I hope clears the way for you to make the best of your day; however you define it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3loS3BSnmk

Being Here

The late great comedic actor Peter Sellers, who was known for his characters in the “Pink Panther” movies as well as such classics as “Dr. Strangelove”, wanted desperately to be viewed as a serious dramatic artist. Unfortunately, he passed away before he could achieve such acclaim. His last film “Being There” was probably the closest he ever came to his goal. You see, his character, Chance Gardener spent a lifetime of obscurity with little contact with the outside world. He was a simple servant who tended a walled in garden and looked after the house of a rich old man along with a house keeper. When the old man died, Chance was forced out into the world to fend for himself. I think many of us can relate to the first time we left home for the first time, but with a little more preparation than poor Chance Gardener.

I can certainly relate to living in obscurity. I grew up as the fourth of six children in my parent’s home in Northwest Ohio. For a long time I viewed being the “middle child” as a place where very few people noticed me or paid little attention to what I had to say. Often times at family gatherings or holidays I would start to say something only to have someone speak right over me or seemingly straight through me as if I was not even there. As a child I just settled in to this role and probably enabled my family to keep the trend going by my life of blending in to the background.

In the service they taught us how to camouflage ourselves and to practice noise and light discipline at night so the enemy would not detect us. We trained our ears to listen to sounds and to identify them as friendly or foe. This survival mechanism was already a part of my repertoire growing up, but it did little for me when it came to dating or relationships out in the real world. I was accustomed to blending in with the crowd and knew little of how to become noticed when it truly mattered. For this I blamed my upbringing when I failed or became frustrated in social situations.

I allowed this blame game to keep me from becoming the person I was meant to be and have only recently started to realize. It is like pulling the bushel basket off of the light that God gives each of us to light the world. We are given the choice to make a difference or simply settle for the security and warmth that obscurity provides. Becoming a scout leader has certainly given me this opportunity. So, the challenge for each of us today is whether to reach for the rope God offers us from the mountain top or to settle for the lush green valleys of certain despair and excuses for not becoming who we are meant to be. We can choose to live within ourselves or we can choose to be here and make a difference for those who follow in our footsteps. Let us all reach for the top and view the possibilities.