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I had one of “those” weekends this last weekend. It was one of those weekends that make you thankful for the arrival of Monday. It was also one of those weekends that really get you thinking about life and how to approach it.

Early Saturday evening my daughter comes running in to the house screaming for the number to animal control. Apparently there was a sick animal in the neighborhood and one of the ladies down the street told them to go call someone who could take care of it. Before they went off on a panic-ridden dialing frenzy I decided to check out the situation myself, I mean there’s no sense in calling 911 unless it is absolutely necessary.

I walked down the street and saw the animal. It was a young groundhog, staggering and falling. It was obviously very sick with rabies. I went back to the house and called 911 then went back to keep an eye on the animal to make sure when the police showed up they would be able to find it. Something told me to take a garbage can with me, in retrospect, I’m glad I listened!!

The groundhog started taking off so I tried to scare it back to the area where it had been occupying. Instead, the animal started running at me in a very aggressive manner. Here I was, a grown man wearing shorts and sandals, being chased up and down the street by a rabid groundhog. Finally I used the garbage can and trapped the animal until the police arrived and “dispatched” it to groundhog heaven.

Sunday, I got pulled over while driving my new scooter. It seems the officer mistook my swerving to avoid all the ruts in the road (and the dead raccoon) with being drunk. After reading me the riot act on how I’m to stay on the right side of the road, regardless of what I hit, he let me go.

Later that day, while working my second job (merchandiser for a bread company. I go to stores and stock the shelves) my scooter ran out of gas at least 2 – 3 miles from the nearest station!!

Like I said…one of “those” weekends. But as they say (whomever “they” are) hindsight is 20-20. Unfortunately, we tend to use that only when we second-guess a decision we should have made to avoid some negative consequence. While I was grousing and complaining to myself about how lousy a weekend this was and wallowing in my self-pity, that still small voice spoke to me again. This time it said “why not try looking at the positive parts of these events instead of dwelling on the negative aspects?”

I started thinking about the animal incident. Even though there was a very real danger, I didn’t get hurt. Even more importantly, my going out there and drawing the attention of the critter may have kept one of the dozen or so kids playing in the neighborhood from getting injured. God made sure I had that trash can in my hand and gave me the will and the power to use it at the right time. This was a good thing after all.

While the Police Officer pulled me over (and frankly DID act kind of like a jerk) he didn’t give me a ticket, or harass me any more than he did. It was also good to get some of the actual law as it pertains to riding scooters (if you can’t hit the speed limit just stay to the right, don’t go in the lane…). Later, when I ran out of gas, there was a pickup truck with two perfect strangers inside who stopped to help me. They lifted my scooter in to the back of the truck and gave me a ride to the nearest gas station. They didn’t ask for anything in return, but simply did so out of the goodness of their hearts.

The Apostle Paul tells us to focus on whatever is good, noble and true. In Monty Python terms “Always look on the bright side of life.” Turning my thought process on its head and focusing on the positive aspects of these incidents was a very good exercise, an exercise that I hope to develop in to a habit. It was easy this time, because the cause and effect were fairly immediate, and able to be assessed within a day. Sometimes, however these things take years before the light bulb smacks you upside the head.

Ten years ago, on November 6, 1999 I was fired from what would be my last job in radio. I was devastated and openly questioned God’s motivation. I mean, my wife and I were just starting a family; I was fired the day before my daughter’s first birthday. What reason could there possibly have been? It took a number of years before I started to fully realize the significance and the positive nature of that firing. In fact, it turned out to be one of the best things to ever happen to me professionally. Getting fired, and spending the next 8 ½ months on unemployment, working odd jobs here and there, forced me to realize that that business was not stable enough to support a family. In addition, it gave me much more time with my infant daughter than I ever would have had otherwise.

I finally did find full-time work, and I just celebrated my 9^th anniversary with this employer and I have never been happier.

Maybe that’s what Paul means when he admonishes us to be thankful in everything. It is easy to be thankful when you know what you are thankful for. It takes faith and trust in God to be thankful, especially in the difficult times. But know that even if you don’t know what you’re thanking God for now…you will find something to be thankful for in the future.

There is a lyric in the musical Pippin that says: "Let me tell you all the story of a sorrowful lad, had everything he wanted, didn't want what he had." Why does this resonate so profoundly in today's society? Why are we as a species so prone to thinking the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence? Why do we always want more? And more importantly, why do we always seem to want what we know we cannot have? God wants us to be content with what He has provided, and by all rights we should be. Why, then do we frequently go out of our way, and often self destructively, to get what we do not have? In all fairness, while this is a prevalent  problem in today's society, it is hardly a new phenomenon. You can trace this thought back to the Garden of Eden. Even in the time of King Solomon people wanted more. Not even the king himself was immune, denying himself nothing. But we are fortunate enough to benefit from King Solomon's example, and wisdom. Solomon filled his life with every treasure and presumably every pleasurable experience known in that day. Did the wisest and wealthiest man in the world give us a running tabulation on his experiences? Did he rank them on a scale from 1 - 10? No. Solomon had the same comment for each one, "this too was meaningless, a chasing after the wind." Now does this mean that we are to sell all of our possessions and live like hermits? I really don't think so. However, these passages  are pretty clear on what our priorities should be. I mean, do we really need the X-Station Whee  3000 game system with the 52 inch, flat panel TV? No. Frankly, my three daughters are just as happy playing Pacman. Would they like something bigger? Sure, but they are happy with what they have. One of the biggest hazards of leading a dissatisfied life is losing your focus. Instead of looking toward Heaven, and thanking and praising God for all He has done for us, we focus on what we can do ourselves to bring more stuff in to our life. Comedian Steven Wright once said "you can't have everything , where would you put it?"  Another fallback to dissatisfaction is the temptation to take short cuts. We see it all the time, whether it is CEO's committing corporate crime, or young hoodlums selling crack on the corner, the root cause is the same, taking a short cut to get the things you think are going to make you happy. The Bible warns us, "what benefit a man if he should gain the world but lose his soul?"  It is particularly relevant in this Christmas season, when we are bombarded with the message that our lives would be happier if we just bought this one thing. It is important  that we step back and take a moment to reflect. Just reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Not the 'black friday' shop till  you drop meaning. Not even the Currier and Ives white Christmas, warm fire, family, friends and food meaning . But the TRUE meaning of Christmas, that 2000 years ago a child was born of a virgin. A child who grew up, felt pain, and knew suffering unlike any of us may ever know. A child  that cleansed the world with His blood, a child named Jesus. That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown...

The Bible tells us we are to have "The faith of a child..." I think I finally understand what that truly means.

My middle daughter, Emma, is my favorite (I know, you're not supposed to have favorites!). Anyway, I have always held firm that God has something very big in store for Emma, she has such a delightful light and perspective on things. I honestly think she is destined for some service role within the Church. The other day Emma and I were talking and she tells me "You're not my favorite Daddy." That took me off guard a little, but she's only 6 and prone to flights of fancy (she once asked My wife to divorce me so Orlando Bloom could be her Daddy! lol). I was expecting another Orlando Bloom moment when I jokingly asked her what she had meant by that. Her reply struck at the very core of my being. When I asked "What do you mean I'm not your favorite Daddy? I'm your ONLY Daddy!" Emma replied "No...God and Jesus are my FAVORITE Daddy!" With tears welling up in my eyes I told her how happy that made me feel to hear her say that, and how right she was. In retrospect I find it fascinating and heartwarming on several levels. That a 6 year old child would have that kind of discernment, all on her own (this was like a week before we started going back to Church) and the fact that she said God and Jesus are her favorite DADDY, in the SINGULAR tense.

I Pray to God to grant me the faith of a child, to see our Heavenly Father through the eyes of the innocent and not the clouded lenses of the jaded world.

In Jesus’ parable of the sower He shows us what happens when seed is sown upon a path, on rocky ground, among thorns and finally in good soil. The parable is a metaphor for our lives in Christ. The seed, the Word of God; the various terrains represent the various state of a person’s heart.

I had a dream that I was walking in this magnificent garden. It was lush and fertile. When I bent down to inspect the vegetables however, I was stunned. As beautiful as this garden was there apparently was nobody there to harvest the vegetables. They had become oversized and malformed. Also, because the existing vegetables continued to get it’s sustenance from the plant there were no new blossoms. When I tried to pick a particularly gnarly green bean the owner of the garden showed up and began yelling at me. “This is MY garden what do you think you’re doing? I want people from miles around to come walk in my garden. To see how grand it is.” Then I woke up.

One of the most absurd practices I have ever read about is farm subsidies. There are apparently some farmers who have been paid by the government to grow crops but NOT distribute the fruits of their labor. My question to you is this. If you were one of those farmers would you put all of your time and energy in to growing a harvest you knew was going to be wasted? You would probably invest just enough time to ensure that the crop looked impressive to those who passed by, so they would say to themselves “boy, that person but be a great farmer.”

So it is with many Christians. In the beginning of our walk we are fertile soil. The seed takes root and a viable plant springs forth. When we develop the fruits of the spirit something happens. We are faced with a choice. Do we harvest the fruit to share it with others in need of nourishment? Or do we leave the fruit on the branches to become overgrown and malformed?

Unfortunately some choose the latter. The Christian becomes so enamored with the praise they have received from others how beautiful their fruits have become that they are loathe to distribute it. Perhaps out of not wanting to expose their selves and make them emotionally vulnerable. Perhaps they enjoy the praise and thrive on the complements. Perhaps because they are afraid once harvested the fruit will never grow back.

When growing roses the gardener must be very diligent, yet meticulous about pruning. If you prune too much, or at the wrong time you may permanently injure the plant. But if you know what you are doing, and prune the branches just right you have beauty to share with others for an entire season. It’s a very similar concept in the vegetable garden. If I leave the cucumbers or green beans on the plants too long they get overgrown, malformed, and taste bitter. They are of no use to anyone. Not only that but you are preventing new blossoms from flourishing. You have to pick them at just the right time.

I believe the same holds true for the “fruit of the spirit.” We can leave that fruit to sit on the vine for others to admire so they will think “boy, that person must really be a good Christian.” But after a while the fruit gets overgrown, burdensome. It turns ugly and becomes bitter until it shrivels and dies on the vine. But if we share our fruits, continually pruning and sharing with others we will have an overabundant crop of beautiful and sweet fruit. As pleasing to the eyes as it is nourishing to the soul.

Pax Christi