The Promise and the Gift

There’s something really special about the promise of a gift, isn’t there?  Especially when it’s something you’ve really been looking forward to. You know what I mean, right? The comforting assurance, the delicious anticipation… and then finally getting that (fill in the blank here) you’ve been waiting for.

But… what if that “getting” part is delayed a bit? There’s nothing so agonizing, is there, as that wait for something you know you’re going to get – but haven’t yet.

All I Wanted For Christmas

Back when I was a little kid there was a certain Christmas gift (a race-car set) I’d had my eye on. You remember what that’s like, right? Starting somewhere around, oh, mid-July, I casually mentioned it to my parents to make sure they knew exactly what I wanted. At least, er, 294 times a week.

Plus, practically once a week (OK, twice… or maybe three or four times) I made sure Mom or Dad found the toy catalog lying around the house, “accidentally” fallen open to the exact page detailing the object of my desire (and conveniently circled, of course). I’m tellin’ ya, when it came to covering all the bases, I left no stone unturned! I even arranged for a friend to mention, in their presence, how they were sure they were getting’ something similar.

I’m tellin’ ya; I was devious smart, I was!

A Promise Was a Promise

Finally, the impromptu marketing campaign bore fruit: my Mom, after enduring probably the umpteenth millionth carefully-arranged “hint”, finally broke down and said two words I’d been waiting to hear: “We’ll see.” I was ecstatic!

Now, you may be thinkin’ to yourself, but that didn’t sound all that reassuring, am I right? But when it came to official pronouncements from my parents, I knew from experience that “We’ll see” was code for “You got it!” My spirits lifted to stratospheric heights.

For the rest of the year, I made sure nothing happened to mess up my chances. I scrupulously performed all my chores (that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it), ate all my vegetables (well, everything except the broccoli; no force on earth could make me do that), and made sure our cat and dog were clean, brushed, well-fed and had shiny teeth and fresh, minty breath. I’m tellin’ ya; I was the picture of a truly deserving fellow! And besides – a promise was a promise, right?

Was It Something I Did – or Didn’t Do?

The fateful Day crept closer and closer with all the swiftness of a runaway snail (you know how it always seems to take forever when you’re a kid), and once the Christmas tree was up I kept an eye out for one particular box. The days slipped by, but alas, it didn’t show.

Doubt crept in. Where was it? I wondered. Had my parents NOT bought it for me? Were they sold out? Or horror of horrors, had there been a strike at the plant and they no longer made ‘em? (It’s amazing what an overactive imagination can come up with, isn’t it?)

Christmas Eve arrived, and still – no box. I was crushed. And, although I did my best to hide it, that night as we opened our brightly-wrapped gifts, I have to admit to a sense of disappointment as my race-car set wasn’t there. I mean after all, they promised!

I know, I know; I should have been grateful for the gifts I did get. And don’t get me wrong; I was! After all, I had parents who loved me, actual gifts to call my own – I mean, by anyone’s measure I was truly rich! But still… as a kid, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was something I’d done, or forgotten to do. I remember thinking, Maybe I hadn’t been good enough.

One Last Gift

Later, after all the gifts had been opened, I put on my best face and thanked everyone for the gifts I did get. I had just given my parents a hug and was heading for bed when my Dad suddenly sat up and pointed over to a corner of the room, an innocent expression on his face. “Hey, what’s that over there?”

I turned and looked and, to my astonishment, there was a box in the corner that hadn’t been there before! (I know now my Dad sneaked it in while I wasn’t looking, but at the time, it was as if it had appeared by magic.) My little eyes got about as big as saucers as I disbelievingly stumbled over and picked it up. Sure enough; it was just what I’d wanted – the race-car set! To say my little heart was thrilled is a complete understatement.

In moments I forgot all those nagging self-doubts as I gleefully hugged my Mom and Dad, thanking them profusely for the one thing I’d wanted – and in the process, finding out that the shape of the world was, indeed, right.

The Best Gift of All

You know, when I read the Christmas story in the Bible (it’s in the book of Luke, chapters 1 and 2 if you’d like to read it for yourself), I often wonder if that’s just a tiny little bit how the Jews must have felt. I mean, over the course of thousands of years, they clung to a promise: the promise of a Savior, the Messiah. The promise had been given by God himself, sometimes directly, and sometimes through His prophets. And after all, a promise from God, well, that’s something you can pretty much take to the bank, right?

But as year after year passed by, they found themselves ending every year with a sigh and the same sad thought: Is Messiah here yet? No? Well, maybe next year…

The thing is, it’s so easy to forget one tiny little detail: in God’s eyes, timing is everything. The prophets, even as they joyfully proclaimed God’s promise to His people, understood that certain events had to fall into place first. But still, what seemed like a long delay caused even the most faithful of God’s chosen to wonder if, maybe, just maybe – they hadn’t been faithful enough.

And then one day a simple priest named Zacharias was given a remarkable message while serving in the Temple – his aged wife was having a son! And not just any son – but the forerunner of the Messiah! Not long afterwards, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and joyfully announced she would give birth to that very Messiah! At long last, the promise was being fulfilled: the promise and the Gift of God – the Messiah – was actually here!

Do you think his doubts, his fears and his worries about God’s promises quickly vanished –quickly replaced by complete and utter joy? I’d have to say… yes!

The Promise and the Gift

That all happened nearly 2,000 years ago, and the world has never been the same, y’know?

There’s still more promises waitin’, aren’t there? Especially my favorite one: His promise to return. Oh, I know; year after year passes, and I find myself saying, like the Jews did every year, “Maybe next year…” But I’m reminded of how Zacharias must have felt. His great hope, long delayed – well, it was discouraging, sure. But his hope wasn’t founded on just any promise – it was the promise of God Himself.

So next time you think about God’s promises, and how they may seem, at least to you, a bit delayed – try to imagine the joy that’s coming when His promise is finally fulfilled. I’ll tell ya; it’s gonna to be one spectacular party!

Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas, y’all!

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OK, I know you were expecting to see an announcement about this month’s What I Learned From…” groupwrite project here today. Actually, I did too. I mean, ever since starting these things back in May of ’07 (practically prehistoric times on the Internet!) we’ve had a new one every month like clockwork.

But… well, sometimes stuff just happens, y’know?

As a matter of fact, this week I’m preparing to go away for awhile. And not just away – far away. (And don’t let me hear the sound of cheering here! Just sayin’.)

Yep, as a matter of fact I’ll be completely out of touch. Well, at least out of Internet range, anyway. But don’t worry, I’m not on the lam or anything. I haven’t been abducted by government agents (not yet anyway) or aliens. And yes, I’ll be back soon. Try not to let your disappointment enthusiasm show too much.

Where am I going, you ask? Well, as you can see from this handy image I created, it’s to a small municipality called Pedra Branca, located in northeast Brazil. (The town name means, “white rock” in Portuguese.) As a matter of fact, it’s so far out-of-the-way, Wikipedia has virtually nothing on it. It’s located somewhere near these coordinates: 7º04’03.06”S and 40º30’00.49”W. Pop that in your magic teleportation machine and drop by for a visit, won’t you? Bring some ice.

Actually, I’ll be part of a team of 17 wonderful folks who are there to build a church for a small congregation. Which is kinda ironic, considering my, er, “carpentry skills”. (I put that in quote marks for a reason, if you get my meanin’. But don’t tell anyone, ‘K?) Nevertheless, it’s going to be a lot of fun working with ‘em.

What’s more, we’re going to build an entire church in just 6 days! (How hard could it be? After all, God created an entire cosmos in six days. We’re just constructing the one building.)

We’re leaving this Friday, November 6 (that’s in 2009, in case you read this post in the future – or the past, for that matter), and we’ll be back on Sunday, November 15 (although I probably won’t be, y’know, awake, until a few days later. Not to worry; I expect to take lots of photos and will no doubt have plenty of stories about the experience in the days to come. Lots of things to tell about and lessons learned, I’m sure.

Y’all play nice while I’m gone, ‘K?

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Wandering around Discovery Green Park in downtown Houston one morning a few weeks ago, I was not surprised to find every single park bench had a dedication of some kind. You know what I mean, right? Along the lines of, “In memory of…”, or something similar.

Hey, it’s a time-honored way of remembering those who’ve come before us, and perhaps may no longer be with us. I often wonder what stories are contained within those few brief words.

However, as I was about to leave the park, I ran across this one, in which a slightly different sentiment is expressed: MAKE EVERY MOMENT COUNT.

I’m tellin’ ya; have no idea who the Reckling family is (all 46 of ‘em; yeesh, can you imagine the run on the bathroom in the mornings?), but I’ll tell ya; I am now a big fan!

Yessir, now that’s a sentiment that gets the ol’ ticker turnin’ over, ain’t it? I gotta say, as a kick-start to the day, it was a heckuva great one!

So allow me to pass it on to y’all today – along with a big ol’ tip o’ the hat!

MAKE EVERY MOMENT COUNT

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[Warning: Slight political rant here today.]

Light.

It’s one of those things we can’t do without, y’know? Over the centuries of human existence, light has become culturally synonymous with enlightenment, clarity, and all things positive.

Darkness, on the other hand, is equated with fear, obfuscation, and secrets.

Maybe that’s because light is so useful in revealing that which is not clearly seen. For instance…

Early Morning in Downtown Houston

I was downtown Houston a few weeks ago for a seminar. It was on the 4^th floor in a rather nice hotel next to the Convention Center (that unusual-looking building you see in this photo).

Since the traffic situation was a big fat unknown to me, I decided to go fairly early. (I live in Tomball, a small town on the outskirts of NW Houston – a drive of about 40 miles.) As usual, leaving earlier meant ‘way less traffic, so that was good. On the other hand, I got there so early it was still about an hour and a half before the seminar started.

To kill some time I spent an hour or so watching the sun rise and shooting a few photos in Discovery Green Park, a small park right across the street from the hotel. (You’ll no doubt hear more about the Park in future posts, but if you’re interested, you can check out some of the photos I took here.)

Anyway, just before the seminar started, I was helping myself to something from the breakfast buffet (don’t worry; it was healthy stuff – promise!) when I happened to glance out the window. Or to be more painfully accurate, I glanced at the window.

Yuck!

I mean to tell ya; it was disgusting! It looked like… well, forget the descriptive; you can see for yourself. The morning sunlight had dramatically illuminated the dirt on this window to the point where it was almost all I could see!

Needless to say, if you folks from the hotel staff are listening, I think you might want to invest in a bottle of Windex and a big ol’ bucket of elbow grease. (There’s even a convenient ledge upon which to stand – just, um,  don’t step back to admire your work! Just sayin’.)

The Power of Light

Yep; no doubt about it, light can be a pretty powerful tool when it comes to revealing stuff.

You can use light to find something lost. The other day, Mrs. MZM dropped a tiny little pill on the rug in our bathroom. Now, you’d think something like that would be pretty easy to find, right? I mean, the rug ain’t that big! But no, because of its color, it simply blended into the rug. So I turned on a flashlight and held it down low, parallel to the floor. Sure enough, the shadow of the pill gave it away! Voila!

Have you ever tried to convince someone to do something – but it was based on, perhaps, shaky logic? No need to raise your hand, my friends; we’ve all done it, haven’t we? I mean, from childhood (it wasn’t me, Mom!) it’s been a long succession of attempts to convince folks I knew what I was talkin’ about.

And what about (sound of terrified scream) politics? How many times has one politician after another made a statement – or ten – that simply didn’t hold up under the application of a little light on the subject? I mean, what’s with that, anyway? And what’s even sillier – they actually get upset when you do it, too! As if they were tryin’ to, y’know, put something over on us…

I mean, take the fracas over Health Care that’s goin’ on here in the U.S. (please!) You’ve got folks on both sides talkin’ as loud as they can, tryin’ to convince you they’re right and the other guy is wrong. Hey, I say we drag out the light and let’s take a look at it!

Does it do this, or that, or even that other thing? With just a little examination, we can find out for ourselves just what it says. Why be afraid of reading it, y’know? And why do they object to us reading it, I wonder?

All I’m sayin’ is, light can be a most powerful tool when it comes to discovering something fundamental – like the truth. And when folks start objecting to its use, well Bubba, don’cha find yourself wonderin’ just what exactly they’ve got to hide?

I’m just sayin’.

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… that is the question, isn’t it?

In fact, it may even be the question of the ages, wouldn’t you say? What, exactly, do you want to be? (In my opinion, it doesn’t matter if you’re grown up or not – or even planning to – hey, it’s a pertinent question for whoever you are, right now.)

As many of you may know, a few weeks ago I joined the several millions of Americans (literally) who have lost their jobs due to the condition of the economy. (I can’t begin to estimate how many have lost theirs worldwide.) In fact, this year alone I lost my job twice! Shucks. Alas. Dang.

I’m tellin’ ya; it’s takin’ a near-superhuman effort not to turn that into a political comment. But not today. (sound of big sighs of relief) But rather than just rant about that, it did bring up an interesting question. Now I’m sorta thinkin’ to myself, What, indeed, do I really want to be, anyway?

Oh, don’t get me wrong; as to my profession, well, I’m certainly a well-qualified Project Engineer. (That’s someone who manages either one or more “small” projects, or bite-sized chunks of much larger projects. Note: “small”, in this case, can be more-or-less defined as “less than $15-20 million” in total installed cost. And it’s usually more like $5 million or less.)

But is that what I want to do with my life? Well… when it comes to my professional life – the answer is yes! After all, I love the work, and I truly enjoy the things I do when managing a project. So, yes; I do want to be a Project Engineer – and perhaps one day, a Project Manager (which is the next step up).

But I’m thinkin’ along a slightly different wrinkle here. After all, a fellah’s gotta make a livin’, y’know, and I do love to do what I’m good at, y’know, doin’, if you get my meanin’. But that’s just a job, after all. It’s not who I am.

No, the real question is, who do I want to be. Can you hear the distinction? I’m not even sure I can adequately define it, for that matter. Hey, at least I know what I mean. And I think you do, too, right?

See, besides bein’ a darned good Project Engineer, I’m a whole herd of other things, too. For instance (and in no particular order): I’m a husband, a writer, an author, a Bible teacher (the Mrs. And I teach Newlyweds at our church – loads of fun, I’ll tell ya!), a Christian, a friend, a fine fellow (or an insane person, depending on who you ask) – I mean there’s literally no limit to the things I can be at any given moment.

So why the seemingly ambiguous question, you ask? Well, maybe it needs to be stated in a different way.

I guess the question is really, what do I want to be that will produce something that will outlast me? Or that affects other people in a positive way? (And that’s positive as defined by me, of course.) In other words, what difference do I want to make in that totality of existence we call life, the universe, and everything?

Do YOU know what I mean? Maybe we should throw that one against the wall and see what sticks.

So, how would YOU answer the question: “What do I want to be?”

As always, feel free to respond in the comment box. Or, if you need more room and it fits your blog, write it there. (Just link here so we can all enjoy – and learn – from your responses.) Don’t worry; I’ll leave the light on for ya.

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Photos

… or not 2B, by Robert Hruzek

find out who you are 3042×2154, by Joanna Young

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Howdy, y’all!

Hey, I’m not going to apologize for not writin’ so much lately. I mean, you’re not supposed to do that, right? After all, your friends don’t mind when you’re occupied with, y’know, the other stuff that sometimes just has to be done.

Still… I miss you guys! So lemme just leave you with a quick thought for the day:

The road to victory

looks a lot like

the road to defeat.

It’s just a mite longer.

I’ll be back real soon now, y’hear?

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[Note from the Proprietor: Today's post is (as you can plainly tell by the title) a guest post submitted by my friend Luke Gedeon, who blogs at Luke Gedeon. Although this week we're focusing on Mountaintop Experiences, this one is a mite time-sensitive (and marginally related to the topic anyway) so I'm posting it today.]

Thank you Robert for this guest post opportunity.

The theme of this month is What I Learned from the Mountaintop, and I will post on that soon. For today, I have something closer to a valley, but don’t worry. It has a happy ending.

Have you ever needed help really bad, and had nothing to give in return? No money. No girl scout cookies. Nothing!

Well… I did offer one person a bag of M&M’s. The gift was accepted but the results were well… a little less than I had hoped for.

I recently entered Caring for China, the non-profit I work for, in a group-writing project. Not the ordinary, just for fun project, either. The company sponsoring the project, Zemanta, is giving away several thousand dollars to the cause(s) that can get the most bloggers to participate. (Click here for more info.) It is still open until Saturday the 6th, if you are willing to help.

So of course I jumped at the opportunity! I sent out a mass email to friends and family, I posted about it on my blog and twitter, and even set up a twitter account for Caring for China and followed anybody who said anything about China in hopes that they would help.

Then I went back to work on two huge projects, and let the mini-mass-media do its work.

Silence.

So I tried again, this time individually contacting a few of the people I thought most likely to help.

That worked!

At least half of the people I contacted directly followed through. I am still hoping a few more will soon.

This guest-post opportunity also came about through direct communication.

So my big lesson for the month, what I learned from begging, is that personal contact is still essential, and that blog posts and tweets without the “at” sign do not count as personal contact. You still have to use people’s names and address them individually.

So how about you? Have you ever experienced the thrill of begging? Did you learn anything in the process?

[This blog post is part of Zemanta's Blogging For a Cause campaign to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes that bloggers care about.]

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[Further note from the proprietor: As mentioned above, this post is also part of this month's What I Learned From... groupwrite project. If you'd like to join us (and you're more than welcome!), just click on that cute little link and read all about it. You have until Sunday at midnight, June 7 to enter!]

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