Holding Back The Waters
Stories
Object:
Contents
"Holding Back the Waters" by C. David McKirachan
"Recognizing Love" by Peter Andrew Smith
* * * * * * * *
Holding Back the Waters
by C. David McKirachan
Acts 10:44-48
I never had a child. Men don't. They observe, take credit, and think they are suffering while the women do the work. That being said, when I was about to become a father, I approached the ensuing ordeal with little less organization and preparation than General Eisenhower prepared his armada for the invasion of Europe. I read books. I quizzed nurses, doctors, and veterans of the event ad nauseum. I packed an overnight bag, kept it by the door, ran drills and found the quickest way by a good 20 seconds to the hospital. In other words, I was bound and determined to control this event. I was a silly man. The morning of my son's birth was shattered by the words uttered at high volume from the bathroom, "I think my water broke!"
Few of us are willing to face the truth that we are not in control of our lives, let alone much of the universe at all. We create systems and categories, we amass knowledge and consider ourselves wise, only to discover that these are feeble dikes that will not hold back the waters of the great tides that inundate our puny constructions and reshape our landscapes. Up becomes down, or at least sideways as the storms of life wash through our living rooms. We see this as disaster while all the time the disaster was our arrogance. It assumed our authority was more important than life.
We put boundaries on our faith and on God's inclusive grace and do nothing but confirm our own foolishness. It's a wonder and a glory that God puts up with us at all. We can't hold back the water of God's grace and God's will. Perhaps it's how we respond to these moments that help us see most clearly the Lord's grace and goodness.
After confirming that her water had, indeed, broke, I went into gear like a well-oiled machine. The overnight bag was in the car. I was careful not to back up too quickly and had almost made it out of the driveway when I realized I had forgotten something. I had forgotten her. It took me a long time to live that down with my wife. The baby came in spite of my foolishness.
God is good. Amen.
C. David McKirachan is pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Shrewsbury in central New Jersey. He also teaches at Monmouth University. McKirachan is the author of I Happened Upon a Miracle and A Year of Wonder (Westminster John Knox).
Recognizing Love
by Peter Andrew Smith
John 15:9-17
Rose sipped at her tea and then let out a loud sigh.
"What's the matter?" her grandmother asked.
"I wish John loved me more."
"Did he do something?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary," Rose said. "That's the problem. I want more. I want him to come home one night and surprise me with plans to go to Paris for a vacation."
"Did you get over your fear of flying?" Her grandmother passed her the plate of biscuits. "Because with only two weeks holidays, if you were to sail you would have to turn around as soon as you arrived."
"You don't understand, it isn't about where we actually go but I want him to do some grand gesture to show that he loves me."
"You don't think he loves you?"
"No, of course I know that he loves me." Rose took a bite of her biscuit. "I guess I thought that married life would be different. It just seems so ordinary."
"And ordinary is bad?"
"No, of course not but when I get home from work I want John to surprise me with something wonderful, something dramatic, something romantic," Rose said, "like you see in the movies."
"John gets off work before you doesn't he?"
"Yes," Rose said. "He works an earlier shift and gets home an hour or so before I do."
Her grandmother took a drink of tea. "He must be pretty hungry waiting for you to make his supper."
"Grandma you can be so old-fashioned," Rose chuckled. "John makes supper since he gets home first, which is a good thing since after a long day the last thing I would want to do is cook."
"So after his long day at work he comes home and cooks you supper."
"It's not like I don't do anything," Rose replied. "I wash the dishes."
"You have a dishwasher," her grandmother said. "Plus didn't you tell me that John helps clean up?"
"He helps me with the things that need to be washed by hand. We usually take our time and talk."
"Ah."
"I do things around the house," Rose said. "You know how John hates the vacuum."
"That's not the point." Her grandmother took another sip of tea. "We're talking about the ways in which he shows you how much he loves you."
"I never said he doesn't love me," Rose said. "Just that I wanted him to be more romantic and do some great gesture to show how much he cares."
"I see." Her grandmother sipped her tea. "What about the week you were so sick with the flu?"
"What about it?"
"Didn't John take some of his holidays to be with you?"
"He did some work from home that week," Rose said.
"When?"
"While I was sleeping," Rose answered.
"Uh-huh. He made you soup, held your hair while you were sick, and stayed with you until you started feeling better."
"Yes, he did. I never said he wasn't a good husband."
"No, just that you thought he should love you more," her grandmother said. "So let me ask you. Why isn't him taking a week of holidays to care for you when you were sick a grand gesture of love?"
"It's not the same. I was sick. It wasn't like I enjoyed the time."
"And you think he did?"
"He never complained," Rose said. "I told him he didn't have to stay home with me."
"But you were glad that he did."
"Yes."
Her grandmother poured some more tea for them. "The man who gets queasy when he has to open the compost bin held your hair while you were throwing up and you don't think that is a grand gesture of his love?"
"But, it's not romantic."
Her grandmother sipped at her tea. "You're friend Susan flies off to Paris on occasion doesn't she?"
"Yes, her husband takes her on these wonderful vacations," Rose said.
"The one who is never home? The one she worries might be having an affair?"
Rose nodded.
"So ask her which husband she would prefer. The one who stays home, cooks her dinner, and stays with her when she is sick or the one who flies her to Paris once in a while."
"I guess she would prefer a husband who was home more," Rose said softly. "But I still want the grand gesture in our marriage."
"Then do it."
Rose put her tea cup down. "What?"
"Do the grand gesture. You want to go somewhere then make the plans and tell John. You want the date nights like you had before you were married then go out."
"But I want him..."
"... want him to what? Love you more?" Her grandmother put down her tea cup. "Land sakes child, John adores you. He gives of himself because he loves you and because he does it out of love it makes him happy. Remember what the Jesus said 'Greater love has no man than he lays down his life.' That's not just about dying for someone that's about giving of yourself and being selfless. Well your husband sacrifices his time and his energy for you."
It was quiet for a few moments as both women resumed drinking their tea.
"You still have those travel brochures about the Grand Canyon?" Rose asked.
"I thought you were afraid of heights."
"I am but John has always wanted to see it," Rose said. "And I know I would like the drive."
Her grandmother smiled. "I think they are around here somewhere. Let's have a look."
Peter Andrew Smith is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada who currently serves at St. James United Church in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He is the author of All Things Are Ready (CSS), a book of lectionary-based communion prayers, as well as many stories and articles, which can be found listed at www.peterandrewsmith.com.
*****************************************
StoryShare, May 13, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2012 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"Holding Back the Waters" by C. David McKirachan
"Recognizing Love" by Peter Andrew Smith
* * * * * * * *
Holding Back the Waters
by C. David McKirachan
Acts 10:44-48
I never had a child. Men don't. They observe, take credit, and think they are suffering while the women do the work. That being said, when I was about to become a father, I approached the ensuing ordeal with little less organization and preparation than General Eisenhower prepared his armada for the invasion of Europe. I read books. I quizzed nurses, doctors, and veterans of the event ad nauseum. I packed an overnight bag, kept it by the door, ran drills and found the quickest way by a good 20 seconds to the hospital. In other words, I was bound and determined to control this event. I was a silly man. The morning of my son's birth was shattered by the words uttered at high volume from the bathroom, "I think my water broke!"
Few of us are willing to face the truth that we are not in control of our lives, let alone much of the universe at all. We create systems and categories, we amass knowledge and consider ourselves wise, only to discover that these are feeble dikes that will not hold back the waters of the great tides that inundate our puny constructions and reshape our landscapes. Up becomes down, or at least sideways as the storms of life wash through our living rooms. We see this as disaster while all the time the disaster was our arrogance. It assumed our authority was more important than life.
We put boundaries on our faith and on God's inclusive grace and do nothing but confirm our own foolishness. It's a wonder and a glory that God puts up with us at all. We can't hold back the water of God's grace and God's will. Perhaps it's how we respond to these moments that help us see most clearly the Lord's grace and goodness.
After confirming that her water had, indeed, broke, I went into gear like a well-oiled machine. The overnight bag was in the car. I was careful not to back up too quickly and had almost made it out of the driveway when I realized I had forgotten something. I had forgotten her. It took me a long time to live that down with my wife. The baby came in spite of my foolishness.
God is good. Amen.
C. David McKirachan is pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Shrewsbury in central New Jersey. He also teaches at Monmouth University. McKirachan is the author of I Happened Upon a Miracle and A Year of Wonder (Westminster John Knox).
Recognizing Love
by Peter Andrew Smith
John 15:9-17
Rose sipped at her tea and then let out a loud sigh.
"What's the matter?" her grandmother asked.
"I wish John loved me more."
"Did he do something?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary," Rose said. "That's the problem. I want more. I want him to come home one night and surprise me with plans to go to Paris for a vacation."
"Did you get over your fear of flying?" Her grandmother passed her the plate of biscuits. "Because with only two weeks holidays, if you were to sail you would have to turn around as soon as you arrived."
"You don't understand, it isn't about where we actually go but I want him to do some grand gesture to show that he loves me."
"You don't think he loves you?"
"No, of course I know that he loves me." Rose took a bite of her biscuit. "I guess I thought that married life would be different. It just seems so ordinary."
"And ordinary is bad?"
"No, of course not but when I get home from work I want John to surprise me with something wonderful, something dramatic, something romantic," Rose said, "like you see in the movies."
"John gets off work before you doesn't he?"
"Yes," Rose said. "He works an earlier shift and gets home an hour or so before I do."
Her grandmother took a drink of tea. "He must be pretty hungry waiting for you to make his supper."
"Grandma you can be so old-fashioned," Rose chuckled. "John makes supper since he gets home first, which is a good thing since after a long day the last thing I would want to do is cook."
"So after his long day at work he comes home and cooks you supper."
"It's not like I don't do anything," Rose replied. "I wash the dishes."
"You have a dishwasher," her grandmother said. "Plus didn't you tell me that John helps clean up?"
"He helps me with the things that need to be washed by hand. We usually take our time and talk."
"Ah."
"I do things around the house," Rose said. "You know how John hates the vacuum."
"That's not the point." Her grandmother took another sip of tea. "We're talking about the ways in which he shows you how much he loves you."
"I never said he doesn't love me," Rose said. "Just that I wanted him to be more romantic and do some great gesture to show how much he cares."
"I see." Her grandmother sipped her tea. "What about the week you were so sick with the flu?"
"What about it?"
"Didn't John take some of his holidays to be with you?"
"He did some work from home that week," Rose said.
"When?"
"While I was sleeping," Rose answered.
"Uh-huh. He made you soup, held your hair while you were sick, and stayed with you until you started feeling better."
"Yes, he did. I never said he wasn't a good husband."
"No, just that you thought he should love you more," her grandmother said. "So let me ask you. Why isn't him taking a week of holidays to care for you when you were sick a grand gesture of love?"
"It's not the same. I was sick. It wasn't like I enjoyed the time."
"And you think he did?"
"He never complained," Rose said. "I told him he didn't have to stay home with me."
"But you were glad that he did."
"Yes."
Her grandmother poured some more tea for them. "The man who gets queasy when he has to open the compost bin held your hair while you were throwing up and you don't think that is a grand gesture of his love?"
"But, it's not romantic."
Her grandmother sipped at her tea. "You're friend Susan flies off to Paris on occasion doesn't she?"
"Yes, her husband takes her on these wonderful vacations," Rose said.
"The one who is never home? The one she worries might be having an affair?"
Rose nodded.
"So ask her which husband she would prefer. The one who stays home, cooks her dinner, and stays with her when she is sick or the one who flies her to Paris once in a while."
"I guess she would prefer a husband who was home more," Rose said softly. "But I still want the grand gesture in our marriage."
"Then do it."
Rose put her tea cup down. "What?"
"Do the grand gesture. You want to go somewhere then make the plans and tell John. You want the date nights like you had before you were married then go out."
"But I want him..."
"... want him to what? Love you more?" Her grandmother put down her tea cup. "Land sakes child, John adores you. He gives of himself because he loves you and because he does it out of love it makes him happy. Remember what the Jesus said 'Greater love has no man than he lays down his life.' That's not just about dying for someone that's about giving of yourself and being selfless. Well your husband sacrifices his time and his energy for you."
It was quiet for a few moments as both women resumed drinking their tea.
"You still have those travel brochures about the Grand Canyon?" Rose asked.
"I thought you were afraid of heights."
"I am but John has always wanted to see it," Rose said. "And I know I would like the drive."
Her grandmother smiled. "I think they are around here somewhere. Let's have a look."
Peter Andrew Smith is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada who currently serves at St. James United Church in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He is the author of All Things Are Ready (CSS), a book of lectionary-based communion prayers, as well as many stories and articles, which can be found listed at www.peterandrewsmith.com.
*****************************************
StoryShare, May 13, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2012 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
