Knee Deep

Here in the Midwest, we don’t like a lot of change. We arein the middle, not on the edge. We like variety, but we like our constants more. So, when our cross-town highway started to go sideways this summer we began to retreat to our alternative roads, the ones less travelled…

Fear of heights in this country is pretty common – like sixout of every ten people, but what about fear of heights and tall bridges and really large people and semi-trucks and losing your pants in public, and…?

“I like you the most when… Always stay sweet…Remember mewhen you are famous.”

Usually we read these messages on yearbooks this time as school closes and summer begins. I saw them all flash by meon a pink Cadillac recently and began to think the message for my future might be in for a long ride...

There’s all kinds of great sayings out there about thedifference between having good sight and good vision. One is physical of course, the other touches on our dreams and goals. Yet, when you have to wear bifocals, good sight and a healthy vision can overlap like in this story, and become an embarrassing blur…

The smallest spaces are the universes we stop to peerinto. They are made from beetles and Hosta and partly watched TV shows. Try this on: “You go ahead of me, I’m in no hurry,” and watch a slow walk become a new universe appear before your eyes.  

When my father passed away last week I imagined him finally meeting all of his golf heroes in Heaven's pro shop who would help him fine tune his chip shot and putting game. While I never matched his par as a golfer when I was a kid, as his caddy I did manage to come up with a few trick shots of my own.

When my father passed away last week, I imagined him finally meeting all of his golf heroes and fine tuning his chip shot and putting game. While I'll never live up to his par as a golfer, as a kid and his caddy I did managed to come up with a few trick shots of my own.

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? Well,don’t follow the lines in that poem or you may come up empty handed this gardening season. Underneath that soil, there's a lot that is not contrary at all, and a lot of hard work we don't see that reaps a harvest of a lasting and special kind.

What we see in our life here on earth are but smallsnapshots of the greater vision that God has planned for us. We can look into each other’s eyes, but the bigger picture of the depths of our souls and character are known only by the One who made us. My father, 102, is seeing the bigger picture now and although still spunky and sometimes talkative, often looks past me, towards a new and beautiful vista.

They are among the least, the lost and the lonely – those puppets propped up at local car washes. They are supposedly there for children, but the looks on their faces tell another story. We grown-ups may be the only upper hand they have in this world, but with a steady line of clear coats and tire shines waiting, reaching out to save them may be a wash…