WACKY WEDNESDAY WISDOM: Shoot Me Straight and Carry Me to the Truth

     A while back I was having a regular, normal, run-of-the-mill, unexceptional, average conversation with a friend. Somewhere along the way in our discussion we agreed that we needed further communication regarding a particular subject that needed further research. To be honest, I remember very little about the subject of the conversation, but his concluding words have stuck with me. Said he, "Okay, once I find the answer, I'll shoot you an email."
     Shoot me an email. Why he didn't just say "I'll send you an email," I don't know. I'm not complaining. I like it when people live out of the box. Shooting an email sounds much more exciting than merely sending an email. So I started thinking of other ways one might phrase the whole email correspondence deal and I came up with a few.
     One can not only shoot an email, one can pop someone an email or tap out an email. If you're slightly angry, you can fire off an email. You can CC an email or BCC an email, depending on your preference.
     There are others in other realms. If you would rather call someone instead of emailing them, you can buzz them, give them a shout, hit them up, ping them, or give them a holla.
     If you're escorting someone to the prom, you might say you're accompanying them to the prom, courting them to the prom, or as one of my players told me one time- "Coach, I'll have to miss practice on Saturday. I'm going back home to carry my girlfriend to the prom". (I heard it went well though I was worried he would show back up with a bad back).
     If you are getting in the shower, you can either hop in the shower, jump in the shower, or take a shower. I don't know where you would transport a shower to, but apparently you can take it with you when you're done. For example: "Hey, I'm going to take a shower." "Great, where are you and the shower going?"
     Perhaps you're going to take the shower to a movie. Then you could reply by saying you were going to take in a movie or catch a movie. Before the movie starts, instead of merely going to eat, you could say you were going to eat a bite, have a bite, or grab a bite. Ex- "I shot my girlfriend Sally an email to let her know I needed to hop in the shower before I could come over to pick her up and carry her to the mall to catch a movie and grab a bite afterward".
     No wonder English is the most difficult language to master. So much slang. Insinuations. Ambiguity. Double meanings. The word "set" has 430 definitions.
     That's why I'm drawn to John 14:6 in the Bible. When the disciple Thomas asks Jesus how to know the way, Jesus replies- "I am way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Plain and simple. No ambiguity. No double meaning. No slang. No hidden clues. Straight shooting. What's interesting about John 14:6 is that it is one of the few verses of scripture that is nearly identical in almost every translation of the Bible. Why? It's clear, simple, and forthright.
     Considered by many to be the most controversial verse in the Bible because of its implication that Jesus is the only way to eternal salvation, John 14:6 is Jesus clearly stating that indeed He is the only way. He was either a totally egomaniacal wacko, or He was who He claimed He was. Every person must decide for themselves which of those He was and is.
     That's pretty much the heart of the matter. But for now, all this slang talk has now officially wiped me out. It's time for me to crash and hit the hay.

   

WACKY WEDNESDAY WISDOM: All This Mess

     The politicians of New York are all screaming at each other. The state governor is mad at the mayor of New York City and the President is mad at both of them. Political punches are being thrown and feelings are getting hurt.
     In fact, all across this great nation of ours, patience is wearing thin. People are tired of the Coronavirus robbing them of their "normal" lives. Even in my beloved state of North Carolina, the governor- like the one in New York- is threatening not only to halt the movement to the next phase of reopening the economy, but is considering taking a step or two backwards. The reason? Coronavirus is making a comeback. Like Jimmy Buffett at one point in his career, everybody thought CoVid-19 was a thing of the past. But both have returned- one to top the music charts and the other to being the lead story on the nightly news.
     Recently I was in a Wal-Mart with my wife. The store was jam packed with customers. It seemed to me the only people wearing masks were me, my wife, and the employees- and some of them had it pulled down below their noses. And as I've mentioned before, people look at you like you've got the virus if you have on a mask.
     At one point back in the drink section, a sweet older lady asked me if I would be so kind as to reach for a case of Dr. Pepper for her. Sure that she had noticed I was wearing a mask, I said- "Don't worry, I may be wearing a mask but I don't have the virus." Without hesitation she replied,"Oh, I don't believe in all that mess anyway."
     On the ride home I got to thinking. Does not believing in something make it not true? Does denying something exists make it go away? Can we discard undesirables and have them vanish just because we're tired of dealing with them like we do when we take our trash to the dump? 
     I don't think so.
     Toward the end of March, the United States and South Korea both had pretty much the same number of deaths due to CoVid-19. Now, the USA has over 100,000 deaths and South Korea has less than 300 (verified by World Health Organization statistics). The difference, according to the experts? Masks. Some other factors as well, but mainly masks. Said Paul Choi, a Korean health consultant- "Citizens have taken it upon ourselves to stay inside. We're very careful to wash our hands and keep our distance. Almost everybody is wearing masks. If you don't wear masks, you get looks on the street."
     The Bible says in several places that the Pharisees of Jesus' day rejected him and refused to believe the truth that he was the Son of God. In John 8:13 they tell him his "testimony is untrue". It seems obvious the main reason they refused to believe in the truth of what Jesus was saying was because it was a threat to them and their way of life. But refusing to believe Jesus was the Messiah did not make him any less of a Savior. Indeed he was the true Son of God, regardless of what they believed.
     I'm as tired of the Coronavirus as everyone else is. I'm ready to get out and watch a ballgame. I'm ready to have a meal inside a restaurant. I'm ready to high five or hug a stranger. (Okay, that would be weird but you know what I mean).
     The truth is I'm willing to wear a mask if the health officials tell me it will help slow down the Coronavirus. Apparently in South Korea it has helped tremendously, whether I believe it works or not. So I'll put my mask on and deal with the annoyance. It may be an inconvenient truth, but it's one I'm willing to embrace if it will shorten this pesky virus by even one day. I'm tired of all this mess.

   
   

WACKY WEDNESDAY WISDOM: The Rain Doesn't Care

Proverbs 22:2 - "Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all."

     I awoke to the dreaded sound of raindrops thumping on the roof above me and on the patio just outside of my bedroom window that July morning in 1999. I had feared the forecast might actually be accurate for a change when the weatherman predicted it would be a soggy Monday. What the weatherman and God should have realized is that I had monumental, important things to accomplish on that day and there was no room on the agenda for showers or thunderstorms.
     It was the first day of my summer baseball camp. I was the director of the largest baseball camp in Greenwood County, SC at the time and nearly a hundred boys aged 6 to 15 were counting on me to have everything under control- including the weather. Parents were equally as eager for a well deserved summer break as their kids would be under my care from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
     So rain was not allowed. The questions of where to send the kids if it rained and what to do with them inside even if we did find a place to go weighed heavily on my mind. All these kids and their families were counting on me and I had no clue how I was going to make it all work if it rained. I left to go to the field early that morning certain that my burden was heavier than anyone else's that day.
     At about that same time, Trey was waking up to get ready for his first day of baseball camp. He had been looking forward to this moment for weeks. He was ecstatic when he was told by his elementary teacher that a gentleman in town was going to pay his way to camp. Other seven-year-olds would be there and he could adjust to the fact that he would probably be the only black child at camp. It didn't matter. He was going to get to play baseball.
     I was told Trey came from an extremely rough home situation, so baseball camp was a way out of the house for a few hours. He had come to associate his house with sadness and neglect. He wasn't sure but he didn't think his house qualified as a home. Homes were built on love, he had read, and he was pretty sure his wasn't . . .

     The rain decided not to completely open up on those of us below on that first day at camp. But it did spit occasionally in a manner that reminded all of us that it could become a downpour at any moment. Fortunately the fun went on as scheduled despite the soft rain and by mid-morning, I was pleased to see three fields of eager little baseball players with all the energy of a nuclear reactor in full swing.
     Then I glanced over at Trey's group. It had seemed to be going well earlier but at that point I noticed Trey was off by himself near the fence not participating in the game. I walked over to him and could tell immediately he was crying softly. I asked him what was wrong but Trey was a very soft-spoken, quiet child who was obviously shy around adults and children alike- so he didn't volunteer an answer.
     I was informed by a coach nearby that he had been grazed by a thrown ball and was sitting out for a moment to get himself back together. But I knew better. This child was hurting on the inside and I knew it. I knelt down beside him and gradually convinced him to return to the action. Immediately upon his return he missed a ball he could have caught and began to cry again. Soon thereafter he was tagged out on a play and the tears began to flow yet again as he pretended the tag had hurt him when the "out" call was the true culprit.
     I walked over to Trey and asked him if he would like to come and sit down with me for a while. He seemed to indicate by his body language that he would like to do that even though he didn't answer. We walked over to a bench away from the action but in a location where we could see all the activities on each of the three fields.
     I tried to jump-start some small talk with Trey but it just wasn't happening. I began to think about the things Trey's elementary teacher had told me about his home life and suddenly my heart was heavier than both of my rain-soaked shoes.
     The dampness had taken what should have been a perfectly wonderful July day and made it miserable and unseasonably cold. I gently put my arm around this small child and pulled him closer to me. We sat quietly. I was warmed by his body's touch against mine. There was nothing for me to say to this child anymore except "You're okay now, Trey, I've got you." But I knew that his little heart realized that our relationship was temporary. We couldn't stay huddled together like this forever. It would only last as long as the rain fell.
     It began to rain a little harder and we huddled even closer to share in each other's warmth. I couldn't help but think at that moment how odd it seemed that we were bonded as one in this special way despite how different our lives were. The rain didn't seem to care about our differences. It fell on us both equally and indiscriminately.
     I wondered what Trey's life would be like when camp ended that day. I wondered what Trey's life would be like when he grew up. I wondered if he had been worried about the rain when he woke up that morning. I wondered how long it had been since he had been held close. I wondered if he could say for certain that anyone loved him. I wondered if he had any reason to be optimistic about his chances in life. I wondered if he was upset because he was the only black kid at camp. I wondered if he was upset because the other kids were better than him at baseball. I wondered if he realized our lives were not headed in the same direction once camp ended and his road would have bumps the likes of which I would never have to negotiate. I wondered why life wasn't fair.
     The rain increased from a sprinkle to a steady drizzle. We huddled even closer together to share warmth. Our opposite colored skin touched in places.  Interestingly, we were warmest at those points where our skin touched. We were worlds apart in many ways but bonded together by our mutual need for each other for warmth and comfort during those moments. I chose not to attempt to engage in any more small talk. The sound of the rain seemed more appropriate. We sat silently together.
     And the rain continued to fall.