What was Bob thinking?

The way I see it …

I love stories.

I especially love stories that illustrate Truth in a way that is painfully difficult, if not impossible, to miss. The parables of Jesus are prime examples. Jesus didn’t need to preach a mighty sermon to tell us how we should love our neighbors. Instead, He told us a story of a Samaritan man who saw someone in need and, unlike others who passed by, actually did something about it. Then He told us to “Go and do likewise.” That’s a pretty clear message to me.

Even today, there are stories all around us that God uses to speak His truth. One of the most impactful stories I have ever heard was related by author Steven Covey in his best-selling book “The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People”.

Covey writes:

I remember a mini-Paradigm Shift I experienced one Sunday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting quietly — some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene. Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed.

The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people’s papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing.

It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated, too. So finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, “Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?

The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think, and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.”

Can you imagine what I felt at that moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently, I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn’t have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior; my heart was filled with the man’s pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely. “Your wife just died? Oh, I’m so sorry. Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help.” Everything changed in an instant.

The Bible talks about God’s righteous judgment. The only times it talks about ME judging others, God says “DON’T”. In a colossal understatement, that’s because I am not all-knowing and I’m not all-loving.

This story hits me so hard. Like a bowling ball between the eyes. I guess that’s what good stories are supposed to do.

And that’s why I love stories.

Death Clock

I came across an interesting website some time ago. It’s called Death Clock (http://www.deathclock.cc/). It will tell you when you will die. Seriously, all you have to do is enter a few details and the algorithm will calculate the exact day and year of your death. Of course, this is something inquiring minds want to know.

Unfortunately, when I entered my information, I erred on the truthful side. What I discovered was not great news. As many of you may already know, but what was quite a surprise to me, I passed from this life on June 21, 2012. It was a nice day. But not for me.

No, wait. That can’t be right. It shows I have -245,000,000 seconds to live. Let’s try this again. Only this time I weigh a little bit less, exercise more, and cut back on the beers. Hallelujah! Not only am I still alive but I am going to be here until June 2024!

Now, I do have a couple of questions about the site’s methodology. It doesn’t seem to take into account several variables (lifestyle, marital status, family history) that may impact your exact number of days. The data does seem to indicate that healthy living is better for you.

My question is what difference would it make if I knew the exact date of my death? Would I live every day differently? More fully?Well, the fact is we don’t know the exact date but we do know it is coming.

In his book “Finding China” author Mitch Albom recounts the story from his friend Morrie. He

What About Bob?

I love the 2019 World Series Champion Washington Nationals. Their path to success, however, was anything but smooth. No, their road was bumpy. In late May, the team’s record of 19 wins and 34 losses was one of the worst in all of baseball. There were plenty of injuries, errors, and sloppy play. And the embarrassing losses kept coming. I’m glad that the story doesn’t end there.

But what about Bob? Surprisingly, I’ve experienced a few bumpy roads as well. In fact, like the Nationals, May 2019 was a particularly rough period of my life. There were errors, sloppy play, and embarrassments. Once again, I’m glad the story doesn’t end there.

But what about you? If you are like everyone else who has ever lived on this planet, you have experienced your share of bumpy roads. Maybe you’re dodging potholes right now. The good news that I’d like to share in these posts is that the story doesn’t end here.

The Nationals rallied around their leader, Manager Davey Martinez, with the motto “Stay in the Fight”. They worked as a team, with each member contributing in a unique and key role. They understood their position in the standings but focused on the immediate task at hand, committing to go 1-0 in each game they played. They stuck together, encouraged each other, and even managed to have some fun (a little “Baby Shark”, anyone?).

But it still wasn’t easy. They had to come from behind to win the Wild Card play-in game to advance. In fact, they played five games in which they faced elimination and every time they came from behind late to win the games. It was a magical season and players and fans like me got to experience what Davey had promised. “Bumpy roads often lead to beautiful places.”

There’s something about a story of trials, perseverance, overcoming the odds, and experiencing a final redemption that resonates in my soul. I want this to be my story. What about you?

Thanks for reading and may God bless you!

Bob