Talking to Mr. Mower

I never knew that lawnmowers could talk. Well, I never really heard the lawnmower talk but I did hear Pastor Jim talking to his “Red Machine”. Maybe lawnmowers can only hear? Anyway, Pastor Jim wasn’t happy with Mr. Mower. It seems Mr. Mower was broken and wasn’t cooperating with Pastor Jim. One of Mr. Mower’s bolts wouldn’t come out and Pastor Jim was not very happy. He warned Mr. Mower that he was about to end up in the junkyard but Mr. Mower wasn’t buying it.

After several one-sided conversations, Pastor Jim put the tools away and took me into the house. He cleaned up and poured himself a large glass of ice tea and plopped down in the easy chair. We both sat there for thirty minutes, not saying a thing. Finally I broke the silence. “We’re not mowing the lawn today?” I asked.

“No Bear,” Pastor Jim answered softly. “Not today.”

“Did you fix Mr. Mower?”

“No Bear. Mr. Mower is still broke,” replied Pastor Jim.

“You couldn’t fix him?” I meekly asked.

“No Bear, I couldn’t fix him. You see sometimes you run across things you cannot fix or you cannot fix at that time. It’s sometimes better to quit trying because you’re so frustrated that you end up breaking it more.” Pastor Jim paused for a moment and then continued; “You should never try to solve a problem when you’re anger. Anger is a powerful emotion that if not held in check can cause a lot of problems. We will try fixing the lawnmower tomorrow.”

That night after Pastor Jim had went to bed; I gave a lot of thought to what Pastor Jim said. I thought about all the people that are broken whose life has been messed up because of sin. They, like Mr. Mower, often fight the Lord who is trying to fix them. That must be why the Bible says that God is longsuffering and patient.

Thankfully the Lord does give up on them just like Pastor Jim didn’t give up on his “Red Machine.” You see the next day Pastor Jim was back with some help from the church and Mr. Lawnmower was fixed. So if you have someone that you love who is fighting against the Lord, don’t worry. The Lord won’t give up and that is the Bear Truth.

Knock His Block Off!

I am more of a lover than a fighter. You should be able to tell by the “hug me” tattooed on my feet. Pastor Jim doesn’t care much for conflict, neither does Sister Pat. So you must understand my surprise when I saw Pastor Jim delivering karate chops at the air and punching an invisible object with all his might.

In a timid and peace loving manner, I asked him what he was doing. It was clear he was aggravated. He said he was “fighting the devil!”

“Really,” I replied in meekest tone possible.

“No! Not really. It’s just that I get so irritated with the devil always laying temptation in my way that I would like to punch him out.”

This was one of those awkward moments when I didn’t know what to say. Then Pastor Jim began to explain.

“The devil never lets up. He is always trying to cause Christians to slip up and to diminish their testimony. Sometimes he succeeds. Sometimes he succeeds with me. It is always a battle and occasionally I get so frustrated that I’d like to knock his block off.” I didn’t know the devil had a block but it was clear that Pastor Jim was upset with the devil. It was also clear that he was upset with himself.

“Does boxing at the wind help?” I asked.

“Yes and no. No, it doesn’t stop the devil and it doesn’t hurt the devil; but it does make me feel a little better,” answered Pastor Jim

I was a little bewildered with Pastor Jim’s answer; but I could tell he felt much better. I guess if you’re going fight anyone it should be the devil – and that’s the Bear Truth!

Bear Finds Home

I have always wanted a home; and when Pastor Jim and Sister Pat stopped at a nursery named the Enchanted Garden, I found a perfect house for me. It was scaled just to my size with all the room I would ever need. Even the landscaping was great.

I was ready to move in but Pastor Jim said it wasn’t a home. He said that home is where your heart is; and although this was fine house, it would never be a home because my heart would always be with my family. That is true. It is a nice house but it would be a lonely house without my family.

The Bible tells Christians that where their heart is there is also their treasurer. Since Pastor Jim’s and Sister Pat’s heart is with the Lord, they long for their home in heaven. But! While here on earth, the Lord has also given them His Spirit to dwell in them so that they can have a touch of home while doing the Lord’s work. Pastor Jim says the Holy Spirit is the assurance that some day they will be at home with the Lord.

I thought about what he said as we drove out of the Enchanted Garden sitting between Pastor Jim and Sister Pat. I am at home – sitting between the two people I love. Sister Pat must have been thinking the same as she reached over and patted me on the head. If heaven is greater than this then it truly must be a wonderful place – and that is the Bear Truth.

Capture the Wind

I was extremely curious at the strange contraption we found in one of the parks we visited recently on vacation. It caught Pastor Jim’s eye too. Pastor Jim said it was a windmill. He explained that in times past people used windmills to capture the power of the wind to grind gain and pump water. He also said that today they are building enormous modern windmills to produce electricity. (Have you ever notice how Pastor Jim produces a lot of wind explaining thing?)

I remembered a Sunday School lesson where Jesus explained to Nicodemus that the Holy Spirit is a lot like the wind. You can’t see the Spirit but you can feel its affects – and use its power. Perhaps each of us needs to become better windmills and tap the power of the Holy Spirit. And like a windmill we need to internalize that power and produce good works. And that is The Bear Truth.

Love “…seeketh not her own” I Cor 13:5

Sister Pat loves to quilt and anything that has the word quilt or quilting in it will catch her eye. So it wasn’t a complete surprise when Sister Pat announced that we were going on a road tour of the Quilt Gardens while on vacation. Because northeastern Indiana has a large population of Amish, the road trip was sprinkled with a large dash of black buggies and some super eating places. The gardens were neat, each one designed after a quilt pattern; but after the first few, I was ready to return home and maybe take a dip in the swimming pool. Of course, that didn’t happen.

Since I know that Pastor Jim’s idea of fun isn’t running around looking at different quilt patterns, I asked Pastor Jim why he was pampering Sister Pat so much on this vacation. Pastor Jim explained that love and marriage is not about seeking your own needs but about seeking the needs of your mate. He explained that being a pastor meant that often his time was spent meeting the needs of others and that he always devotes a lot of his vacation time to meeting only the needs of his wife. He said that makes for a happy mommy bear and happy mommy bears make for happy daddy bears.

I guess he knows what he is doing because Pat sure is a happy bear. Still, I became very tire of sitting in the gardens and fell asleep several times in the car as Sister Pat went into detail about each quilt pattern and every flower that was used. Pastor Jim just smiled and listened carefully as he drove to the next quilt garden. And, that is the Bear Truth.

Campfires, Rollercoasters, and Jet Planes

I asked Pastor Jim what was so great about vacation if you didn’t do anything exciting. I mean why didn’t we go mountain climbing or why didn’t we go ride the rollercoasters? What was so great about watching the sunset by a campfire and watching a sunrise with a strong cup of coffee?

He said that rollercoasters can be fun but that this vacation was about slowing down and giving attention to some of small wonders of life. For example, he pointed to the sky and a jet plane flying thousands of feet above us. “Bear,” he said, “We see these jets everyday but today I seen God at work in his church?” Now, I was confused. “Today, because I have slowed down and relaxed, I was able to marvel at all the different parts and pieces that make that plane fly so smoothly across the sky. The church is like that too. It takes all the members doing as God gifted them to keep the church moving smoothly.”

I had to think on that for a minute or two as we watched the plane disappear into the clouds. The church should work as smoothly as a jet flying across the sky and all her members must function in unity. And that is the Bear Truth.

Let the Vacation Begin

Usually on Monday mornings, when school is not in, Sister Pat moves slowly allowing her coffee to take full affect; but this Monday was different. It was vacation time! This is when Pastor Jim and Sister Pat throw things into a suitcase and then spend the next few hours questioning each other if they remembered this-or-that. I wasn’t counting but I believe the “I forgot” out numbered the “I remembered”.

We spent the next few hours traveling on unfamiliar roads and going through many towns and cities. One city, named Gas City, caught my attention. I couldn’t think of why anyone would want to live in a town called Gas City. Every time Pastor Jim has gas, we have to roll the windows down in the car.

We arrived at a campground and made camp in a cabins. Each cabin was closer than any of Pastor Jim’s neighbors but that didn’t matter because Pastor Jim said we were getting away. The campground was only a few miles for a town called Middlebury. It claimed to be the Mayberry of Indiana and Pastor Jim and Sister Pat needed a little Mayberry time.

The remainder of day was pleasant. As the day gave way to night; all were very weary but relaxed. The last thing I heard Pastor Jim pray before falling asleep was, “Let the vacation begin” I guess the vacation has began. You can be sure I will share the lessons learned on this vacation – And that is the Bear Truth.