Basic Truths | Finding God in Everyday Life

  We are making plans for our annual summer vacation. We will be visiting Madrid and Lisbon as well as making side trips to a few other places in Spain and Portugal. While we are in Madrid, we will be going to see Picasso’s Guernica .   I’m not generally a fan of modern art. I still have the mind of an accountant. I prefer works of art that I can understand rather than those which are subject to multiple interpretations depending on the viewer. Guernica is an exception to me, being one of the most famous anti war paintings in the world.   Just as an artwork can be subject to multiple interpretations, the tapestry of our lives is subject to multiple interpretations as well. During Easter season, we read about the disciples traveling to Emmaus. Jesus came to them, although they didn’t recognize Him. We are told that “They stood still, their faces downcast” (Luke 24:17). They gave their account of the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection, feeling sad and confused. Jes...

 I have several little repair projects around the house that need to get done and, no, I’m not asking for help. I’m having trouble because: (1) I’m not very good at such things, and (2) I don’t have the particular equipment that I need, even though I’ve got a decent number of tools. The right tool makes all the difference. You can be very skilled, but if you don’t have the tool you need, you may have a hard, if not impossible, task ahead of you.   This is also true for life in general, and especially for spiritual matters. If you are trying to go through life on your own, not turning to God for help, you’re forgoing the one thing that you really need to overcome your problems and have a successful life. In the same manner, if you are trying to fight your spiritual battles on your own instead of putting on the armor of God, you’re doomed to failure because the enemy is stronger than you are (see Ephesians 6:10-18).   The psalmist experienced God’s care for him. He ...

  It’s that time of year again. Our veggies are growing in the garden. We’ve picked a lot of spinach already, as well as lettuce and a few beans. We have tomatoes and peppers growing and the beginnings of some cucumbers. The bluebonnets in the front yard are almost finished blooming but the daylilies have started. This means that we have regular chores to do in order to keep everything going. We need to water regularly, pull weeds, apply fertilizer, and get rid of invading diseases and insects. We don’t mind the work (much) because we enjoy the fruits of our labor. We know that things will begin to die out if we don’t put forth the effort.   Our faith is a living thing. Like all other living things, it needs to be nurtured if it is to grow. No matter what level of maturity we may reach, there is still work to be done. We are called to grow spiritually all of our lives. If we are to grow, we need to nourish ourselves and remove whatever impediments that may stunt our growth...

  I was working in the backyard on a fall afternoon a few years ago. I had raked some leaves and put them into bags to take for recycling. I was loading the bags into the trunk of my car when I heard a metallic clink. I looked at my hand and my wedding ring was missing! I figured it had fallen into the trunk or onto the garage floor or driveway. I searched everywhere in sight and searched again but no ring. A few rounds of searching in the house were equally fruitless. I decided to open up the lawn bags and look through the leaves to see if the ring came off while I was filling the bags. Nothing in the first bag, but there in the middle of the second bag was my ring!   Had I not heard the clink when I was loading the bags into my car, I wouldn’t have noticed that my ring was missing. There is no way that the ring could have made a metallic sound, given that it was in the middle of a 55 gallon bag of leaves. I never saw anything else metallic that had fallen or could have m...