May 31, 2008

Endings and New Beginnings




This has been "one of those weeks". You know the kind where you are trying your hardest to please everyone and get all the jobs done that are on your calendar. Then, in among the hurry of the days' chores, you remember a loss and that wave of sadness washes over your heart for a moment. I had a few of those this week.

An old building where my family and I preformed and worked on many theatrical productions came down this week. The old building had been home to the Baytown Little Theater for 48 years. My participation with the theater group began 33 years ago when my husband and I got married. I have known for a year now that the theater was to be destroyed. Last July a woman having a seizure, drove her car through the side wall of the seating area, fatally damaging the main support beam to the theater. The building was constructed in the late 40's as a grocery store and meat market. It was already way past its prime. So, it didn't take much to cause serious damage to the structure which led to her inevitable demise.

After the date was set to tear down the theater, I made my plans to be present to watch this small, but rather historical thing happen. Wednesday came and I fell out of bed at 7:30, pulled some clothes on, slipped on my flip-flops and drove down to the site with my camera. There were a couple of my friends there to watch too. At a quarter past the scheduled time to begin, the bulldozer's backhoe made the first crunch into the roof of the building, just above the marquee that still held last season's poster. It sounded like a giant animal eating rocks as the jaws of the machine's shovel munched the wood, metal, and fiber glass that once was our box office. A handful of theater friends and onlookers appeared and disappeared to witness the demolition of a building where countless memories, careers in theater and even marriages had taken root. Alongside the numerous theatrical performances, the old building had also played host to many New Year's Eve celebrations, anniversaries, birthdays, and engagements of the actors, families and crew that played and worked inside those walls.

I was glad that I got to witness the demolition because it made the occasion less of a tragedy and more of a bittersweet drama. Seeing the brittle wood splinter like a twig and the rotten walls buckle under the slightest pressure of the shovel, evidenced to me that it was time to bid farewell to this building. On that warm Wednesday morning as I clicked my camera taking pictures of various stages of the demolition, I knew it was the right thing to do. Now working in a temporary space, the BLT board of directors will be working toward the future with plans to rebuild the theater.

Earlier in the week we got news about a dear friend that really is more of a tragedy than a tired old theater being laid to rest. Our friend, who was the associate minister at our church for 28 years, will no longer serve in that position. Our friendship with he and his family has spanned over 33+ years. My husband and I naturally feel sadness and loss over his leaving the church staff. There is a long story behind his resignation, but suffice it to say, his absence will leave a hole in the heart of our church. So many of us came to depend on his wisdom and Biblical knowledge. We asked questions and he always gave us a thoughtfully patient answers. He was available most anytime to help with everything from making coffee, to teaching the proper use of the copy machine, from teaching a class of toddlers about Jesus, to teaching a class of kids to sing classical music. He is always up for a dramatic rendering of a Bible story or singing Beach Boy tunes with a couple of old friends. His knowledge of Bible history is as accurate as the Internet with his research coming from his own library of literature sources and scholarly aptitude not to mention a Master's Degree in Biblical studies. His compassion for those less fortunate often lead him to seek aide in whatever form is applicable to their need at the time. Unlike the theater, there is no replacement in our congregation for one such as our friend and brother. We pray God's blessings on him and his wife as they continue to serve the Lord wherever and in whatever capacity He wills.

Endings and new beginnings are a continuum in all aspects of life whether it be an organization, a church or a life with Christ. The passage of time and events isn't always easy, but with God in control, we must believe that the new beginnings will be nothing short of marvelous. Therefore, I will not look to these endings with sadness but with the hope of new beginnings.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

May 26, 2008

How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?


I can think of younger days when living for my life
Was everything a man could want to do.
I could never see tomorrow, but I was never told about the sorrow.

And how can you mend a broken heart?
How can you stop the rain from falling down?
How can you stop the sun from shining?
What makes the world go round?
How can you mend a this broken man?
How can a loser ever win?
Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again.

I can still feel the breeze that rustles through the trees
And misty memories of days gone by
We could never see tomorrow, noone said a word about the sorrow.

And how can you mend a broken heart?
How can you stop the rain from falling down?
How can you stop the sun from shining?
What makes the world go round?
How can you mend this broken man?
How can a loser ever win?
Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again.

Bee Gees lyrics, 1973

May 15, 2008

Yellow-Crowned Night Herons


Spring is definitely in the air. The weather is pleasant, my cats want to stay outside longer and we have heron chicks high up in one of our tall backyard trees. The Yellow-Crowned Night Herons nest in the trees around our neighborhood every year. They are back up there again this year right in the same nest they occupied last year.

About two weeks ago, we noticed the soft blue broken egg shells on the ground and garage rooftop. Some days before we noticed the eggshells, I had witnessed what I assumed was a male heron, feeding the female on the nest. She must have been sitting on her eggs. Recently, I saw a couple of gawky, fuzzy bird heads poke up above the nest a couple of times. They looked a lot like the one in the picture here. Since I can't really see inside the nest, I'm not for sure if there are two or three baby herons.

Last year there were three babies in the nest. My binoculars were close at hand as I reached for them daily to observe the babies' progress. I was fascinated as the baby herons gradually eased out on a limb, back to their nests and finally one day flew away. I wonder if the parent Yellow-Crowned Night Herons in our tree today are the same parents or the babies from last year?

The chicks will be in their nest for a month before they learn to fly. As they get older, I will see them stand up in their nest every day. Right now I can hear them chirp as they wait for the parent birds to bring food back to their open mouths. I look forward to the day when I may see one of the young birds awkwardly balance on a wire or fly down to the ground as they investigate the world around them.

Spring is here and my binoculars are out again and I'm enjoying a new family of Yellow-Crowned Night Herons. As the wind blows, they ride the swaying limbs like they are sitting on rippling waters. One of the adults fly back to the nest each day with food for the young birds. The Night Herons make a loud distinct squawking sound when they fly. So, when I hear their sound, I look to the sky and usually see one or two of God's creatures in flight. Sometimes they fly right into the nest high up in the tree in my own backyard.

And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” Genesis 1:20

May 13, 2008

Why Do We Worry?



Don’t we wish that there was no reason to worry? What do we worry about…the bills? Paying for repairs? Medical bills? So far we worry about money, don’t we? What else to do worry about? What we will wear? If our children are going to have the money they need for education and the day to day functions of life? What else? Whether or not our children are going to retain their faith in God, their happiness? So much to worry about and where does it get us? NOWHERE!

I tell you though we are not in control. No, we aren’t because wouldn’t we have money to fix the broken car, to paint our house, or to pay our bills? We would not be without a job when we needed one. We would have the money that we needed right now, if we were in control. So who is in control? Not me. Not you. Not even the Devil. The One in control is God. He and he alone is the controller of all that is. If we can just have faith in God and His control, we would not be so worried about today or tomorrow.

God is going to see to my needs, and make sure that my family is filled with food, covered with clothes and sheltered with a roof. I HAVE to believe or all hope for my livelihood is gone.

Jesus teaches that God cares for us more than the sparrows or the lilies. If he cares for them, then he is going to make sure we have what we need.

http://tinyurl.com/5fmd3e

http://tinyurl.com/6n7v6v

Believe that God loves you and that He is taking care of you. We can’t see down the road to the end of our problem, but God has seen the big picture. He knows what is going to happen. I have to trust that whatever happens is the best for me because God is the one driving my life, not me.

May 11, 2008

I Once Was, But Now...




Some very beautiful lyrics recorded by Christian artists, Casting Crowns, really speak to my heart. I wanted to share them with you. If you have the chance to find a recording of this song, I think you'll agree that it is beautiful, simple and true.

"And Now My Lifesong Sings"

I once was lost, but now I'm found
I once was lost, but now I'm found
So far away, but I'm home now
I once was lost, but now I'm found
And now my lifesong sings

I once was blind, but now I see
I once was blind, but now I see
I don't know how, but when He touched me
I once was blind, but now I see

And now my lifesong sings
And now my lifesong sings
And now my lifesong sings

I once was dead, but now I live
I once was dead, but now I live
Now my life to You I give
Now my life to You I give
Now my life to You I give

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Let my lifesong sing to You



[Thanks to c-unit25@juno.com for correcting these lyrics]

[ www.azlyrics.com ]
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