Higher Law, Higher Love
A precocious middle-school student asked a soldier visiting her class what he would do if he were ordered to do something wrong. Then she made it personal. “What if they told you to shoot innocent people?”
Mistaken vs. Hard Hearts
It’s obvious,” my brother said. “A southerly wind is a wind that’s blowing toward the South.” I tried to protest. He rushed out and picked up a dictionary, returning with the gleeful smugness of the elder brother. “Read it and weep!” he said. When I read aloud the final phrase of the dictionary entry: “concerning winds, southerly means from a southern direction” he grabbed the book from me. He read the entry again, blinking in disbelief before stalking off dejectedly. He couldn’t accept the truth at first, even after reading it for himself. He had been convinced that he was right.
Friendly Wounds
I received an email from a close friend with the subject line “I’m too old for this!” His email told of his recent ordeal riding a roller coaster with his 12-year-old son. He said that the ride lasted only a minute, but it was miserable. He didn’t get physically sick, but he also didn’t want to eat for the rest of the day.
Oddly Honest
Do you have a problem with spicy food?” the owner asked as we entered his small neighborhood restaurant.
Memorials
Early in our marriage, my wife, Kristen, and I hiked a mountain trail. The day was full of color, with a hot, yellow sun overhead, lush evergreens on each side, and copper-colored soil beneath our feet. We came upon a tree on which numerous hikers had carved their initials. Filled with the joy of our new life together and the beauty of the natural world, we felt like leaving a memorial too. Using the teeth of my car key, I scratched “A + K” into the bark.
Sound Sensitive
Being overly sensitive to sound is a sign of creative genius. Research suggests that those who are extremely sensitive to sound might find it easier to think creatively because they’re able to focus on a wide range of things simultaneously. Now, I’m not a creative genius, but I am very sensitive to sound—particularly the sound of our children calling out in the night!
Sweet Music
O ur music practice was not going well. The team was tense because we were gaining no traction in selecting and practicing songs for an important event. Then it happened. A young woman said softly, “I think we should pray about this.” And with that, she called out to God to help us move forward in practicing and performing well for Him.
Possible
When my sister left a high-paying government job after 14 years, many people were surprised. I believe God led her to the job (a long story), used it to train and equip her (another long story), and called her away from it (yet another lengthy tale). In fact, she had to leave her work with no new job in place. There wasn’t time to ponder, because she had loads of projects to finish and hand over. Yet, by God’s grace, she didn’t fret. She was fully convinced that God her Shepherd would provide for her (Psalm 23:1).
called and equipped
One of the most famous and influential preachers of the gospel in US history was D. L. Moody. The preacher, who lived in the 19th century, also founded Moody Bible Institute and began publishing Christian books—scarce at the time. Both MBI and Moody Publishers continue to function more than a century after his death. Surely such a renowned believer in Jesus was highly trained and educated! But that doesn’t describe Moody. He had very little education and worked as a humble shoe salesman for years before his conversion.
Leaping From the Enclosure
The African impala is a deerlike creature that can jump to a height of 3 meters (nearly 10 feet) and cover a distance greater than 11 meters (36 feet) in one bound. Yet the impala can be kept in a zoo enclosure with just a 1-meter-high wall. Why? Because it isn’t tall enough to peer over the barrier, and it won’t jump if it can’t see where its feet will land.
Wise Words
In April 2014, a blogger was sentenced to 3 years in prison for slander and spreading online rumors. He was the first among hundreds of bloggers detained in a crackdown on Internet rumors being spread in social media. The authorities said that the arrests were aimed at maintaining social order, but rights groups saw this crackdown as an attempt to limit freedom of speech online. There continues to be much discussion, debate, and disagreement on the uses and abuses of social media, not only over what’s been blogged but also in the way words have been used.
Deadly Perspective
During the Middle Ages, some monks kept a skull on their desks to remind them of their mortality and eventual death. The bony paperweight was a vivid reminder that life is fleeting and that they needed to keep their priorities in line.
Tracking and Planning
When I spotted some fresh tracks last week, I determined that they had been made by a fairly large red deer, almost certainly a male. So I worked out where he would be lying down for the day, then I planned my evening ambush. After I sat motionless for almost 2 hours, he made his appearance. Stepping out from the woods, he came to within 8 yards of me. The only problem was that he came directly behind me! As soon as he caught my scent on the wind, he disappeared like a ghost. My carefully conceived plan had come so close to working, but in the end it counted for nothing.
the crooked path
My family is planning a walking tour of Scotland. I’m eager to take the meandering paths and the side roads—to encounter parts of the Scottish Highlands that we would miss if we simply stuck with a bus tour. Some things are experienced better by taking the crooked path.
humbled
Andrew Leisewitz is a loving husband, father, and elder in our church. He’s also an internationally respected veterinary professor. But even professors have to pay tolls on some roads in South Africa. One day Andrew left his wallet at home, so he had to go from car to car asking for money at the toll booth. The booth clerks and most of the drivers were unsympathetic to his dilemma. In that moment, it didn’t matter that Andrew is a well-respected professor; he had to humble himself and ask for help.
