I bought a new Amana refrigerator and to my horror when I went to get a glass of water out of it…it was room temperature.  I called the manufacturer and after two different visits from the Amana repair guy it was determined that the water is not supposed to be chilled.  

Let me ask you…why do I need to get water out of my fridge if it is not chilled?  I can just throw a filter on my faucet and have nice-clean-warm water from there if that is all I want in life.  The good news…for an additional charge I could get and install a water reservoir to chill the water.  As soon as I was able to order it…I did.  I expressed the shipping and installed it within an hour of coming to my door.  

Now I have chilled water out of my fridge and the world is right again.

 I went grocery shopping with my oldest daughter the other day.  We went to a popular grocery chain in the dfw area. There were an interesting couple that were shopping at the same time as we were.  The lady drove in a motorized cart and the guy pushed a grocery cart of his own.  The best I could tell they were not married, but the lady in the cart lived with this guy and his wife (who was not at the store with them).  I could tell this because the woman was busy yelling at this guy for almost our whole shopping experience.  As hard as I tried to get away from this lady…we always seemed to keep crossing paths with this couple.  And even when an aisle or two separated us this woman’s voice echoed across the store.  She had one of those voices that reminded me of that mean old woman from “Throw Momma from the Train”.  At first I felt awkward listening to her rip this guy she was with…thinking to myself…”If it were me…I would knock her out of the cart or at least let the air out of her scooters tires.  But over time…vulgar yelling or not…every time she yelled something my nearly 11 year old daughter and I would turn to each other and start laughing.  Not so funny for the guy she was always yelling at I am sure!

 

I must have had a moment of temporary insanity a few months ago.  I decided to become a foster for the Dallas Fort Worth Labrador Retriever Rescue Club.  My first foster dog arrived at the beginning of February- he was an emaciated, stinky, beaten down shell of a dog.  He lived with me, and my lab, Grace, for about three months.  In that time, he put on 30 pounds, reveled in the simple joy of squeaky toys, and became one of the most playful and loving creatures I have ever been blessed to know.  When he pranced out the door to go live with his new family last Sunday, I cried my heart out.  Grace piled all of his favorite toys by the front door and laid there whimpering for an hour, hoping he would come back.

I wonder if that's how Jesus sees us.  We are all emaciated and stinky compared to his holiness and grace.  We are beaten down - sometimes by other people, but usually by ourselves and our own sinfulness.  But Jesus sees past that - he sees us as whole, as loving, and as God's children.  And all we need to heal us is him - not 3 months of pills and mountains of dog food!  Just Jesus.  And as sad as it made me to watch my first foster dog go away - though I knew he was going to amazing people who would love him and care for him for the rest of his life - I cannot imagine how sad it makes Jesus to watch us walk away.  He has to watch us constantly turn our backs on him, and on what is good, pure and noble...to turn to things that will only hurt us.  And yet, he still loves us, and intercedes for us, so that God sees us as beautiful and whole.  I'm so grateful for the chance to love that dog back to health - but I am more grateful that I have a Father in heaven who loves me back to health every day.

On Sunday, a middle school youth named Brandi asked me if I thought she was mature enough to read Angels and Demons, the Dan Brown book that is the basis for the controversial new sequel to The Da Vinci Code movie, starring Tom Hanks. My first thought was “Is anyone mature enough to read that?” But then, I’ve read it, and I actually enjoyed it a lot-just like I enjoyed the Da Vinci Code. Between the media interviews and the blogs surrounding the release of the movie, everyone from religious leaders to celebrities has an opinion about the content of the movie, and whether or not it is bashing Christianity and/or the Catholic religion. I haven’t seen the movie yet, so won’t weigh in on that, but I have read the book a few times. It’s a well written, suspenseful novel. Period. And if it’s read as such, I think Brandi, and most other people, are mature enough to handle it. If it’s read to find out accurate historical information about Catholicism or who Jesus was, then it’s not something to which you should turn. But if you’re looking for an easy way to start a conversation with your teenager, neighbor, or friend about your faith, and what truth is, it could be a great starting point. Just read or watch carefully, and check your Bible to see what God says before you buy into anything! Tricia Hamilton Youth and Children's Minister Light of the World Lutheran Church