Root Canal

Root Canal

Just the thought of that awful toothache signaling a trip to the dentist sends shivers down my spine. Anyone who has experienced a tooth in pain knows exactly what I am talking about. I don't mind the occasional cavity, gum check and cleaning but I dread the root canal.

About a month ago I began feeling a little soreness in my back tooth. It started  after my six-month checkup and cleaning. At first I thought it was just the result of an aggressive dental hygienist. But when pain persisted I had my dentist take another look. He referred me to an endodonist (the root canal specialist). I knew then that I was in trouble. He spoke those fateful words, “you need a root canal!”

Over my adult life I have had several root canals, none of which I enjoyed. I vividly remember my first one. At the time I was pastoring a small church in Minneapolis. As the pain increased I decided to go over to the church and pray (we lived in the parsonage next to the church). I prayed like I never prayed before. The harder I prayed for the Lord to heal me, the worse the pain. While I was praying my wife called a dentist who happened to be a member of the church. He came and took me to his office where I experienced the ultimate healing, a root canal.

Modern dentistry has eased some of my primal fears. I can't say that I look forward to the regular check ups. I am still somewhat anxious and my blood pressure is always high. However, considering the risk of more invasive dental procedures, I yield to their wise counsel of brushing twice a day, flossing and semi annual cleaning.

My hope is that dental hygiene will ensure I keep my remaining teeth intact until I see Jesus face to face.

Clouds

Clouds

 I write this blog sitting on our patio this warm summer afternoon. The perennials are in full bloom and I feel like I am in the middle of my own Garden of Eden. What catches my eye are the large cloud formations sailing across the brilliant blue sky. They stop and hang over the Bridger Mountains like a spattering of whip cream.

Big Sky country provides an unparalleled 360-degree view. Because there are no obstructions, I see cloud formations building up miles away. The Cumulus clouds that look like large cotton balls that can turn into Cumulonimbus Clouds that reach 45,000 feet. The Stratus clouds gather over the Bridgers like a pall after a cool rain.

Clouds remain a mystery to me. They bring rain, lightening and snow. From the ground they look sturdy but when I fly through them they are a fine mist. They take all kinds of shapes. I remember as a child lying on the grass looking up and imaging their different shapes and faces.

Gazing at these floating islands in the sky, I am reminded of a verse from a Joni Mitchell song of the 1960’s Both Sides Now:

“Rows and rows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air and feather canyons everywhere, I've looked at clouds that way. But now they only block the sun, they rain and they snow on everyone, so many things I would have done, but clouds got in my way. I've looked at clouds from both sides now, from up and down and still somehow it's cloud illusions I recall, I really don't know clouds at all…”

Sky and life would be incomplete without the clouds.

Fences

Fences

Recently I helped my son Tim build a fence to enclose a backyard. The owners had started the project by setting the posts but decided that it was beyond their skill level to complete. When I arrived on the scene, the job looked ominous because the posts were not set correctly. As we screwed on the boards you could easily see the horizontal and vertical bends over the length of the fence. When completed we dubbed it the Wave Fence.

Fences are so commonplace that we hardly take any notice of them. Out here in the rural West most fences are barbed wire with some split rail and jack fences thrown in. In different parts of the country fence styles change: bamboo, chain link, wrought iron, electric, vinyl, picket, pig wire, and many more. When I was in Great Britain, many of the rural fences were made of fieldstone.

Why all the fuss about fences? Well, while I was helping Tim with the wave fence I kept thinking about a poem I read long ago by Robert Frost. At the time all I could recall was that it was about a dispute he had with a neighbor over the need for a fence. Looking around the subdivision where we stood I saw  backyard fences of all designs. I wondered what people were trying to fence in and what they were trying to fence out.

Here’s a little of Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall”: “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall….I let my neighbor know beyond the hill and on a day we meet to walk the line….He only says, ‘Good fences make good neighbors’…Why do they make good neighbors?...Before I build a wall I’d ask to know what I was walling in or walling out and to whom I was like to give offence. Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, that wants it down.”

Instead of building a neighborhood of families, it appears we are building a neighborhood of fences. I hope Robert Frost will forgive me for butchering his poem.

Attitude

Attitude

I remember my dad having a sign hanging somewhere in our house that said: “I love mankind, it's people I hate.” I realize that is a caustic statement but it struck me as an attitude that embraced humanity as a whole but when it came down to individual people it was a whole different attitude. I have lived long enough to see that there is a difference between embracing a principle and applying it in a practical situation.

The Webster dictionary defines attitude as “ the way I think and feel about someone or something that affects my behavior.” Thinking and feeling are very subjective for they function from within. Nobody knows what another person thinks or feels unless that person expresses his or her thoughts or feelings. Humans are created in such a way that we can express something in words or actions and yet have a whole different attitude on the inside.

For over forty-five years I have stood at the church door greeting people on Sunday morning. I am certainly not a mind reader but I am somewhat of an expert on people’s attitude as I welcome them to our worship service. I can discern from body language and responses to my greeting who fought with their spouse of the way to church and who argued with their kids to hurry up and get ready. The ability to maintain a balance between the external and internal attitude is a sign of maturity.

I like what the Bible says: “If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.”

Now that is an attitude!

Weeds

Weeds

One of the pleasures of our Montana spring is watching the garden bloom. Because we have a rather long winter with the possibility of snow way into June, our growing season tends to be short. However, the cool, wet weather does not deter the perennials from sprouting out of the ground saying hello to spring.

Along with the new growth comes an army of weeds. I am amazed that weeds need nothing but moisture and sun to flourish. Left unattended these weeds will overtake the flowering plants sucking up all the nutrients and destroying the hard work of the gardener. At best weeds are plants growing in the wrong place.

For me the biggest culprit of the weed world is the Canadian Thistle. For some reason this weed loves our garden. As soon as the snow melts it is the first plant to pop out of the ground. By the time the rest of the garden awakens this thistle has already marked its territory. It likes to hide among the peonies, daisies and the lilacs so you can't see it grow. I did find one hiding in our hedge that had grown four feet tall with a foot long root!

I am reminded of the words spoken by God in the first book of the Bible. After Adam and Eve had disobeyed, God told them the consequences of their action.

To Adam he said, “You’ll be working in pain all your life long. The ground will sprout thorns and weeds, you’ll get your food the hard way, planting and tilling and harvesting, sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk….”

I wonder what our garden would be like if these first gardeners had obeyed. I know for sure that I would not have to hunt down and with glove in hand extracting the prickly Canadian Thistle. Then I could sit on the patio and enjoy the rainbow of color blooming in our own little Garden of Eden.

Dealey Plaza

Dealey Plaza

I had never heard of Dealey Plaza until November 22, 1963. On that day I was in class at the seminary when the announcement was made that President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The rest of that day was spent in front of the black and white TV. Every adult person in America who witnessed this event knew where he or she was that day.

One item on my bucket list was one day to visit this historical site. Although I had been to Dallas once before I never had the opportunity see Dealey Plaza. Recently, on a business trip there, my travelling partner and I drove into central Dallas to see first hand what I had watched on TV almost fifty-three years before.

My first impression as we drove up to Dealey Plaza was how small an area it was. The convergence of Main Street, Elm Street and Commerce Street frames this national historical site. As we walked up to the Plaza, I saw the two X’s on the street marking the places where the bullets hit the President. Turning around we saw the famous “Grassy Knoll” that has played such an important role in the conspiracy theories.

The self-guided tour of the sixth floor museum of the Texas School Book Depository gave an informative perspective of the events that day. I looked out a window onto the Plaza, the same view the assassin had. It was eerie to stand in the same place where shots were fired that killed a President and changed the course of history.

Since that day in November, there have been other assassination attempts. After 9/11, we have been jarred into the reality that life is fragile and unpredictable. Let the words from Psalms 23 help us keep perspective:

“Even in the unending shadows of death’s darkness, I am not overcome by fear. Because You are with me in those dark moments, near with Your protection and guidance, I am comforted.”

Unforced Rhythms

Unforced Rhythms

I have done a lot of traveling this spring. My work with our network of churches and family obligations have taken me from Colorado to North Dakota to Mexico to Florida to Oregon to Texas and Minnesota and Ohio. I like to travel. I enjoy going places and meeting people but as I am getting a little older the recovery time from each trip takes a little longer.

I am coming to notice that each stage of life not only has its unique challenges but also a rhythm that sets the pace. Years earlier, when we had children at home, everything was in a hurry. There wasn’t much time for anything else but making sure they were feed, clothed and the homework done. As the kids started leaving home, the rhythm changed and so did Judy and I.

The dictionary defines rhythm as “a regular, repeated pattern of events, changes and activities.” Not only does each day have a certain rhythm but so does life.  I easily get so caught up in the tyranny of urgent demands that I lose touch with the flow of living. As life wears on, I need a continual reminder that my days are numbered and I ought not waste them. I struggle to keep in perspective the difference between the good and the precious. There are a lot of good opportunities out there but only a few precious ones.

I keep going back to this passage in the Bible. It encourages me to stay on track with what is important in life. Jesus says:

“ Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me; watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Amen