Gary's Blog

Making It Through

2009-08-02T20:47:00.003-04:00

It has been a long time since I worked 70-hour weeks. Several months ago, my boss asked me to join her as the primary programmer for a new implementation. It started off slow and boring but as most computer projects go, once you start running out of time is about the time the client figures out what he wants. Of course the deadlines don't move, so your only option is to work incessantly.

I never expected to work this hard at age 55. Nevertheless, here I am and what am I going to do... I lift my eyes to the hills and realize my help comes from the Lord. He never slumbers nor sleeps. I wait upon the Lord and he renews my strength. I mount up with wings as eagles. My youth is renewed.

I know this isn't forever. In fact, we went "live" this weekend, and though I expected my phone to ring constantly with things that had to be done, it was completely quiet. Today I actually got a long nap! It was wonderful!

I had to say goodbye to the precious people in the Mt. Pleasant choir. I have been with them for almost a year and they have been wonderful to me. They gave me a nice parting gift and I have to confess I teared up quite a bit. They did much for me, in helping me believe in church again.

Most of all... today I am grateful for the love of my wife. She is a faithful companion with strength and courage, who for 34 years (today) has stood by me. Thank you, Sherrell. I love you more than you can imagine.

I Saw Jesus Weeping

2009-04-22T09:27:00.000-04:00

April 22, 2009

Consider This…

“Jesus wept.” (Jn.11:35)

I saw Jesus weeping when I stared down at the rubble that was once a box of memories. Katrina had graced my home with three feet of water that stood for eleven days before receding. Six weeks later when we finally got to go back to our home in New Orleans, all was destroyed except for a few things in the attic. The large print of one of our favorite paintings that I had given Sherrell for our 10th anniversary was covered in mildew. Our wedding pictures were now blank pages with spots of color here and there. Antiques, a baby grand piano, clothes, drapes, sewing machines. All ruined.

Jesus was there. He wept with us as we sifted through the memories. He wept as we saw our closest friends grieve. He was there weeping. I’m not sure I saw Him there at that moment, but as I look back, it is clear that He was present, with tears streaming down His face.

I saw Jesus weeping as I sat across from my pastor when he told me to look for another place to minister. I couldn’t see Jesus that day. The shock and pain must have blinded me, and for months I wondered where He was. Now as I look back, I can see Him there, weeping for me. He wept knowing the days ahead would be some of the most bewildering of my life. He wept knowing this turn of events would cause me and my family great pain and financial ruin.

There’s a familiar hymn that I love, but I have to differ with one line. It says, “He had no tears for his own griefs, but sweat-drops of blood for mine.” On the contrary, I believe Jesus shed great tears for his own griefs, and that is precisely why He weeps with us today when God’s eternal plan takes us through times of great stress and difficulty. He was “a man of sorrows” and because He embraced the sorrow of human existence, He knows how to comfort us in our sorrow with His tears.

Where have you seen Jesus weeping?

A Parable

2009-04-17T16:40:00.001-04:00

April 17, 2009

Consider This…

There once was a king who was perplexed by his subjects, because they didn’t seem to love him. There was already a decree that every subject was to love the king with all his/her heart, soul, mind, and strength, but alas there seemed to be so few that took that decree seriously. It was not that his kingdom hated him and was openly rebellious. They just seemed to be so preoccupied with other things, rather than loving him.

This he pondered for days and days, until finally he called in his beloved son to share with him his brilliant idea on how to solve his dilemma. The king had concluded that perhaps his subjects didn’t understand what love was, and that was why they didn’t love him. His solution was to send his beloved son to live as a peasant among peasants, to demonstrate the king’s love for his son so that they might understand that they, too, were loved by the king and that true love always reciprocates. The son bowed before his father and said, “As you wish, my king.” And off he went.

The son, now a peasant among peasants, set out about the countryside demonstrating his father’s love for him and the king’s love for his subjects. Instead of what the king had hoped for, the people sneered at him and said, “Who is this peasant who claims to be the son of the king?” Though the son continued to share his father’s love with his kingdom, it seemed the more he shared, the more belligerent they became toward him.

The king was greatly saddened by the news of this turn of events. Once again he pondered how he could help the people understand the depth of his love for them, so that they would understand how to love him. After many days he came to a horrible conclusion. The only way they would understand is for him to sacrifice his son, because to truly love another, one must give up everything else.

Many years past and the king still looked across his kingdom and found so few that loved him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Though he had demonstrated the ultimate of sacrificial love for them, they continued to be so preoccupied with other things. He called together his most loyal subjects—the leaders of all his followers—and asked them to help him solve the dilemma that had perplexed him for the ages. They returned with a myriad of suggestions. One presented a checklist he had developed that if each subject could honestly check off each day, this would demonstrate his love for the king. Another had developed a series of studies on the history of the kingdom in hopes that recounting the story of the king’s great love would increase their knowledge, which would at least be a step closer to what the king desired. When the king had heard all of their proposals, he went into his chambers and wept.