Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

New commander

Sunday, May 2, 2010

John 13:33-35
Jesus said to his disciples, "My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

Listening to Jesus put his imprimatur on this old commandment, I think of sacrifices people have made for me. Most of them quiet, unsung, unassuming ... and crucial to my physical, emotional and spiritual growth. That's the way God planned it. When you die a little for me, I grow, and then I die a little for you, and you grow. And we both move closer to the way God made us. We all move closer to the tree of life.

Forty years ago my mom defended my strangely left-wing political views in our quiet conservative community. At church and in stores she noticed disapproval in her friends' eyes and posture. She took it in and said nothing. And I learned from her how to do some of that myself. How to accept instead of judge, how to agree to disagree, how to handle disapproval, how to pray. The skill she showed in loving me eventually invited me to learn it too. And in 1980 we graduated together on Mother's Day with twin master's degrees in counseling.

My dad took our family on a week-or-longer vacation every year in August. I don't know many dairy farmers who are willing to leave their cows in the hands of others. Those 45 cows needed to be milked twice every day. Each one had a name. Dad could not help but be pre-occupied with their well-being. They were our livelihood. They were his pride and joy.

I didn't notice his choice; I grew accustomed to it and took it for granted. He said very little about all this; he just got in the car and took us to the Ozarks, and to Holland, Michigan, and Canada, and Niagara Falls and New York City and Rhode Island ... he still got up at 4 or 5 AM, quietly opened the door and went for long walks while we still slept in all those cool motels.

As I finished high school he bowed gracefully and let me go. At the time I wanted to get as far away from farming as I could get. A decade later I returned, interested for the first time in my life. In spite of his U of I accounting degree, in spite of all he might have done, he still spent days mowing weeds, feeding cattle, driving tractors, and praying for his family. I learned how to work from watching him do it every day. Eventually I wanted more than anything to pass that on to my kids.

I'm feeling a little melodramatic. Roger Ebert wrote, "Entertainment is about the way things should be; art is about the way they are."* I don't want to entertain; I do want to notice how Jesus' words are reflected in the matter of my life. I was loved and I learned to love.

At least occasionally I want to give credit where credit is due.

Thanks, Jesus. Thanks, Mom and Dad.

Your kingdom, Jesus, is a kingdom for all ages. Your dominion and your love endure through all generations. Your grace, your mercy and your kindness bless us over and over. Though we are the children of Adam, you have made us your sons and daughters, and your love teaches us over and over how to love each other. (Psalm 145)

*http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100211/REVIEWS08/100219991/1023

I have really enjoyed looking at friends and family pictures on Facebook and other places. I have a bunch of photos on the internet in a couple of places. If you want to spend a little time visiting, here are the sites:

http://public.fotki.com/davesandel/

http://picasaweb.google.com/davesandel

Devotions Archive

New commander

Sunday, May 2, 2010