Rabbits in the Garden

Two rabbits come into my garden to eat every evening - which is making me feel a little like Mr. McGregor chasing Peter Rabbit.

The other evening I looked out our bedroom window and there they were: one in the midst of the cabbage plants, the other nibbling on the tender young pepper plants. Putting on my flip-flops, I rushed out the front door, ran along the newly seed lawn, sped along the side of the house, and then sprinted full-out to the garden, clapping my hands and yelling, 'Hey! Hey!' The rabbit in the cabbage plants calmly watched my approach, not bothering to stop chewing until I was about five feet away. Then, quickly turned around, only to slowly hop out the garden as though saying, 'Man, what a drag, Mr. McGregor! We're not eating that much!' The other one, which was working on my pepper plants, pealed out with a far greater sense of urgency - nearly matching my sense of frustration.

Maybe it was the fact that, at 10:30 at night a balding, somewhat overweight man in running shorts and an old tattered *M*A*S*H* tee shirt was running at them acting like a lunatic, maybe it was a sense of impending doom, maybe there was the realization of not wanting to be there when the ambulance with the nice little men with the oversized coat with long wrap-around arms showed up to pick me up, I'm not sure . . . but, whatever the reason, they both sprinted across the road and I was just left there steaming. I was Elmer Fudd - and Bugs Bunny had just left me in the dust hollering, "You wrascally wrabbits!!"

Returning to our bedroom, Nancy urged me not to use my pellet gun to dispatch them next time (probably envisioning me shooting at the rabbits from our bedroom window) and encouraged me to seek a more peaceable solution. "Darn it!, I thought, "This Christianity thing really gets in the way when really all that I want to do let out some of the frustration . . . . through the barrel of a gun!" Thank God for Nancy - and God help Nancy, for she's the one who speaks reason to me when all I hear in my minds are ways to 'get even'. "You wrascally wrabbits!!"

But then, isn't that basically how wars start? Isn't that how feelings get hurt? Isn't that how dissension is sown? Someone perceives a wrong being done them, acts upon it without hint of thought or grace and, what once was an innocent enough transgression, has now become a nuclear event. 'I'll show you' is lived out on the road, across the oceans, in the midst of national governments, even, potentially, from the window of a bedroom. And, who is really served by such behaviors?

I cannot imagine what my neighbors must think of me, though really I'm not too sure I really care . . . after all, it was my garden that the rabbits were in, but I'm fairly certain it wasn't a Christian evangelical message they got that night. On the other hand, it is people like me who are the very reason Jesus came to earth: that the rest of the world know that not all God's people act like me. Thank God!

Sometimes a little righteous indignation can go a long way and not every rabbit must die for my garden to live, yet . . . would God miss just these one or two rabbits? Would God miss me if others thought the same of me? It's something to ponder while I stand guard on the borders . . . of my garden, that is. Have a great day!

The Compliment of Matt

Last night I was told by a friend of ours that Matt, our oldest son, is an incredible young man and a gift to the church. My first thought was, "Thank God our kids have Nancy's common sense!", and my second was, "I am so proud of him!" Of course, having been raised in a fairly humble German household, the first thought, "Thank God our kids have Nancy's common sense!", was an acceptable response to share with our friend, laughingly acknowledging the agreement I had about Matt in my heart, carefully deflecting any credit for who he is becoming . . . while the second thought was not something a father would ever admit to in public, even to a friend, lest you be considered haughty. Yet, all this day, I have been pondering on that very thing.

How does God react when someone says to God, 'You know, your Son is an incredible young man and a gift to the church'? Does God just try to shrug it off and humbly shift the conversation, all the while glowing inside that the Son is making a noticeable difference? Does God relish the moment, trusting that no-one will think God haughty in the glow of the compliment? Or does God just say 'Thank you, I think so, too!'? Parenting is tricky enough without falling prey to personal pride when one of our children is recognized for the work they are doing or the accomplishments they achieve. Lord, save us from pride in our living and parenting, yet . . .

Are such answers to be found in the resurrection? Faithful to who He was birthed and gifted to be, even unto death, Jesus' resurrection points us to a Parent's loving response to a world that sees Him, but does not know Him. The stone rolled away from the tomb is God's affirmation of who Jesus is, whether or not anyone else recognizes it. How much more is God filled with joy when we do recognize it? In resurrection we see God's joy made manifest in who the Son is and is becoming. In facing His doubters in the days after resurrection, we hear again God's words coursing the ages since His baptism, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." and, therein, may be my answer.

Affirming faithfulness to self and God, whether in one of our children or someone else, is not prideful. It is truthful. Stating the truth of the moment in an encounter which occurred at a meeting was what our friend did for me last night . . . our friend told the truth about his observation of Matt and who he is choosing to become.

I humbly and heartily concur - and, Matt, in you I am well pleased. As only a parent comes to understand, and as you will come to understand with your own daughters, not everyone sees what the Parent sees or believes as the Parent believes, but when someone does and names it in truth, it is like baptismal waters washing all else away. Only pure love remains. Such love rolls stones away from the tombs of this world's disbelief. Thank you for filling this parent's heart with such joy in these days.

Cardinal Baseball, 2012 Opening Day

The irony is apparent: The 2012 Opening Day for the St. Louis Cardinals has them facing the Chicago Cubs, which is a long and storied rivalry, rich in competition and full of stories told by fanatical fans on both sides. This is a game which was scheduled last year long before the Cardinals won their 11th World Series and who would have guessed in August of 2011 what Opening Day 2012 would include? Yet, there it is: the St. Louis Cardinals receiving the accolades of an adoring and energetic crowd, entering Busch Stadium as conquering warriors in red and white cars, which are following the Anheuser Busch Clydesdale's around the warning track of the stadium . . . while across the way are the Chicago Cubs, more than a hundred years removed from any such championship, watching as their arch-rivals are honored. There is one upside for the Cubs today: No ring presentation today. That is saved for tomorrow's events . . . no sense rubbing it into a Division rival all in one day!

As the Cardinal baseball team begins a new year of competition, as they begin the journey for their twelfth Championship in 2012 ("12 in 12" is the current mantra), am I the only one who senses that the World Series Celebration, though honestly and thoroughly deserved, has about it the sense of those who 'lord it over the Gentiles'? Especially among those news outlets and fans who are gathering for today's opener with a sense that, 'the Cubs dare not mess this up'? I have to hand it to the Cardinal organization as to the classy manner in which all of the festivities are being presented. I would expect no less. Nor would I expect any less of the Cubs than to be equally classy in their presence at the honors, as well as in the competition at game time. Still, I am left mulling: Might this be the perfect impetus the Cubs organization and new GM, Theo Epstein, needed to turn the corner, having to taste the sour wine of humility as the victor savors the spoils? There is a reason Jesus warned the disciples about overdoing that 'sitting on the left or right stuff', precisely because when you are at the top of the heap you make a good target for others who perceive themselves to be below you and resent it. Maybe Jesus saw this day coming with the Cubs, though I haven't read it anywhere in the Gospels, I'm not sure.

Bottom line, the irony cannot be hidden, neither can the truth of moment be left untold. The Cardinals won the 2011 World Series . . . and the Chicago Cubs, well they have had a tough run the last ten decades or so. Like revenge, humility is a dish best served cold, lest in the heat of the moment what gets cooked is a bird on a bat, rather than a bear. Hmmmm. Jesus might have seen this moment coming.

Go, Cardinals!