In the Boat

We fear the storms of life.

The real ones.

Trust me. I know. I live in tornado alley.

Each spring my wife, our dogs, and I spend a few afternoons or evenings in our basement next to the weather radio as sirens go off.

Two years ago, in early December, we found ourselves huddling in a theater basement with a few hundred other folks as a tornadic supercell moved through the region. We were there for a Christmas concert. The concert still went on, and it was all the more beautiful because of the shared experience…. but the band has yet to return. (Looking at you, Over the Rhine…). I digress.

Storms are scary. Both the real ones and the other storms life brings. You know the ones. The ones that can be even less predicable. Not tornadoes or supercells, but job changes, relationship issues, or the illness of a loved one.

A storm comes. An unexpected phone call with an unwelcomed diagnosis, a pink slip, word that someone you love is moving, a senseless loss, or the ramifications of our bad decisions…. all storms. All basically unpredictable, all with the power to bring pain.

And we suddenly feel unmoored. Tossed by the unexpected winds. Unsure which way is up and wondering if it’d be easier to simply turn tail and run than turn into the storm and face the winds headlong.

The things we put our faith in, we rely upon for happiness and peace, all are prone change or break. None are eternal.

Just a year ago, my wife and I were navigating a cancer scare (I wrote about it here). We got through it. Yes, it was scary. Yes, there was fear. But, we got to the other side of it. And she is ok. But for whatever reason, in spite of how often I am carried through the storms, I still fear them.

I’m realizing I shouldn’t be afraid. Yes, storms are powerful and dangerous things. Yes. They are scary.

But if I truly believe in the God of the Bible, then I must believe He is more powerful than the storms. And, I must also believe He knew the storm was coming even when I didn’t. The storm may have caught me by surprise, He wasn’t surprised.

And, if the Bible shows us anything, it shows us that storms are to be expected. They’re part of life.

So maybe you’re facing some storms tonight. Maybe the holidays are overshadowed by something unexpected lurking around the edges. Maybe someone is missing. Maybe you’re living someplace new and you’ve not found “home” yet. Or maybe you live at home, but it doesn’t feel like it. Or maybe you’re facing something huge that left you breathless, whatever it is….

The God of the Bible is bigger than the storm you’re facing.

Sometimes He calms the storms that surround us, and sometimes He gets in the boat with us and says…

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. We’ll get through this together.”

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The Little Drummer Boy

Each year my wife and I make all these grandiose plans to do ALL THE CHRISTMAS THINGS. And I promise myself I’ll have every gift purchased and in the mail much earlier than I ever do.

And each year, that never happens.

Maybe it’s because I’m not a kid anymore. Maybe it’s because the last few months of this year had a lot of big, adult things to deal with. Maybe it’s because of the state of the world. Maybe it’s all of the above.

But this year more than any other, it felt like it was September, I sneezed, and Christmas was somehow only a few days away.

One of those big things we faced a few weeks ago was a possible cancer diagnosis. Erin had a routine checkup and one hormone level came back very elevated. So elevated that her Doctor asked her to come in the very next day for additional testing.

The few days waiting for the results, and finally hearing the news that all was OK and that she was fine, were disquieted days.

If I’m honest, I wasn’t sure how to feel. I’m still not. I had to be brave for her. I had to be present, which was one of the hardest parts of this. I couldn’t just ignore the scary feelings. I couldn’t just pretend there were no hard parts. I had to sit in the mess and face some hard emotions and scary questions..

Last weekend, I finally had some time to decompress and begin processing all that had gone on over the last few weeks. I ended up stumbling upon my all time favorite Christmas TV Special, The Little Drummer Boy. It’s always been my favorite, but somehow I’ve not found it on TV in probably 20 years, which makes this all the more special. Because while I remember the overarching story (as I’m sure you do), I had totally forgotten the details.

Spoiler alert — if you’d prefer to watch it and not have the story spoiled, skip to the bottom.

Our little drummer boy (Aaron) had a great childhood. His parents loved him tremendously and he cared greatly for the animals on their little farm. His parents gifted him a little drum and out of the abundance of love in that gift, anytime the little boy played his little drum, the animals would dance.

Then it gets dark.

Thieves break in and burn the farm to the ground. They kill his father. And just before his mother is murdered, she hands him the little lamb and his drum and tells him to run.

Like I said, dark.

What was once a carefree, cared for little boy becomes a jaded, wounded and broken young man who finds himself leading his few remaining animals (including the little lamb) through the desert trying to survive. But Aaron still plays his drums, and the animals still dance.

It was the dancing animals that piqued the interest of a Ben Haramed, traveling entertainer/con-man. Ben immediately desires the dancing animals and essentially kidnaps Aaron and forces him to perform. Throughout their journeys they cross paths with the three Wise Men who, in need of a camel, inquire about buying Aaron’s camel. Ben Haramed, ever interested in getting rich, sees the predicament of the Wise Men and without telling the Wise Men of his greed, sell a camel he doesn’t own…. giving Aaron only a pittance of the money earned.

Our little drummer boy is able to break free and he, his little lamb and donkey then give chase, trying to find the Wise Men in an attempt to free their camel.

They finally catch up to the Wise Men in Bethlehem. Where, during the the crowds and commotion of the shepherds coming to see the newborn king and the excitement brought to the little town of Bethlehem because of the arrival of these Wise Men, the little lamb gets trampled and injured severely.

The Little Drummer Boy is heartbroken. He knows his most precious possession is is gravely wounded, and he knows he’s unable to do anything to fix it. But he has hope, for the Wise Men may know how to save his little lamb.

So the Little Drummer Boy pushes his way through the crowds, searching for and finally finding one of the Wise Men. He begs for help. The Wise Man looks at the little lamb and knows he’s unable to do anything, for the lamb is too gravely wounded. The Little Drummer Boy exclaims “But I don’t understand, you are a king?!“

And the Wise Man responds and says, “A mortal king only…. but there is a King among Kings who would save your little friend”.

The Little Drummer Boy doesn’t understand and the Wise Man tells him he doesn’t need to understand. But to just go to the babe.

Our Little Drummer Boy lays down his lamb, approaches the new born king, and worships. And he plays his drum.

I’d forgotten that part of the story. Of course I knew the song. But over time I’d forgotten the story and I filled in those gaps with assumptions. I assumed the little boy wanted to worship, I assumed he wanted to bring something to the newborn King. But it wasn’t that at all. It wasn’t that the Little Drummer Boy wanted to bring a gift to the Christ because he was the Christ, it wasn’t that he’d journeyed to Bethlehem to give the honor due…

No, his story was simpler, more human. Our Little Drummer Boy had a need he knew he could never fulfill.

It was that need, that love for his little lamb, that drove him to seek out the Wise Men. And it was the Wise Men who pointed him to Christ.

And it was Christ who had what our Little Drummer Boy needed. What I needed.

Healing for his little lamb, and healing for his heart.

You are not different.

This weekend always brings a flood of emotion to Erin and I. A weekend of celebration, and rightfully so, for so many. A weekend where we celebrate our moms, grandmothers, aunts and the moms we adopted along the way.

But if you’re the 1 in 15 of couples who struggle with infertility, this weekend is different.

If you’re the 1 in 100 that has lost a child, this weekend is different.

This weekend may not be one of celebrating.

Maybe you didn’t go dress shopping for a new outfit. Maybe you won’t go to church this Sunday. Maybe you smile and celebrate with your friends while putting on a brave face that hides a desire long unfulfilled.

Maybe this weekend is more questions than answers.

Maybe this weekend will be different, because things are different.

My wife and I have walked this infertility journey for a decade. The entirety of our marriage. We have felt alone. We have felt lost, and we have felt loss. And I’ve not always handled it well. My wife would tell you that for a long time I didn’t want to be a dad.

For most of my life, I was terrified of making the same mistakes my father made. So in my late teens, I came to the conclusion that I’d simply never have kids. It was simple, I could not mess up that which I do not have. I am incredibly grateful for the healing I’ve experienced since those days, I’m not that person any longer.

But still. Different.

It’s different when the very first question anyone asks is ‘do you have any kids?’. It’s different when you’re on a first name basis with your dog’s physical therapist but have never met a pediatrician. It’s different when you’ve made new friends, but you struggle to invite them over because you don’t have kids for their kids to play with, you don’t have a kids room they can play in.

It’s just, different.

But if I could say one thing to my wife, and to anyone who resonates with our story, it would be this.

Yes, things are different.

Circumstances are different. Hard and painful questions exist that do not have answers.

Yes, this weekend will be different.

But you are not different.

You not broken.

You are not forgotten.

Your story is not over.

You are not different.

My Prayer

2022.

May the light You shine be reflected in my actions.

May the Love you show be seen in how I treat others.

May my words be few. And when I do speak, may they bring the life You died to give us.

May I decrease. May You increase.

Just Show Up

I celebrated a friends birthday a few weeks ago. Lots of conversation, laughter, delicious burgers and shawarma (yum!), it was a lovely evening. We celebrated someone I’m honored to call friend and grateful that he calls me the same.

As we toasted the evening, he said something that struck me. He looked to the guys around the table and thanked us for consistently showing up.

Whether it is breakfast at 6am before work (slightly later on Saturday mornings), or coffee in the evening, he and I get together a few times each month. The fellowship is refreshing and encouraging. I’m a better man and husband because of his friendship.

But the words he chose that night stuck with me and I realized something I’ve been pondering ever since.

That evening I realized that life isn’t necessarily lived to the fullest by those who have all the answers (who does?), or even any of the answers. I realized being a part of the most important moments, being there for the hardest moments and the most meaningful moments, that living a truly full life doesn’t require you to be a great cook, or an excellent conversationalist, you don’t even have to be all that good at making friends.

I realized that life is lived fullest by those who just show up.

Forever Be Different

I said goodbye to a friend earlier this week. I wasn’t able to attend his memorial service, and being honest, we’d not talked in years. But I still considered him a friend. Most definitely someone who influenced my life during some of my most formative years.

Goodbyes suck.

Because they bring back memories. And while the memories bring joy, they also bring pain. I say all this not because memories of this lion of a man bring me pain, but because they Delorean’d me back 20 years.

I grew up in a very (so I thought) typical white, suburban, religious, household. We went to church, I had friends, we lived in the suburbs. Everything was normal.

It wasn’t until around 2000 that the paint covering the cracks in the foundation of my family unit began to peel, and the true nature of our home began to show itself.

In September of 2001, just two days after 9/11, my family left for what was supposed to be a two week trip to Texas. My youngest sister was fighting, and losing, a battle with an eating disorder and my parents were trying to find her help. By mid-October, it was clear this wouldn’t be a two week trip.

The years leading up to this were some of the most amazing of my life. I was a leader in my church and serving as a sound-guy regularly during worship services. I had two jobs I loved. I was really into the contemporary christian music scene and by the time I was 20, I was working full time in christian retail and christian radio. I had my own christian music radio show.

Music and worship. I loved music and I loved to worship. And I did all I could to surround myself with them.

Throughout 2000 and 2001 I’d been heavily involved with a prophetic worship group. We’d meet each week on Tuesday evenings and worship till 11 or 1130 some nights. Throughout that time, I was able to run sound for some of the most gifted musicians and vocalists I’ve worked with (including the friend I had to say goodbye to this week). I still count it an honor. Even as my familial world was fragmenting, this was a beacon of light, much needed normalcy as my life was fast sinking into chaos.

Our efforts culminated in an actual CD. We’d recorded an album. A release party was scheduled, we’d invited a choir to join us, it was without a doubt the most important event I’d ever run sound for and I was so incredibly excited.

November 2001, I can still remember the moment my phone rang. Soundcheck. I never answer my phone during soundcheck. But, it was my mom.

The floor dropped out.

Dad had left them. In Texas. He’d abandoned my mom and sisters in an empty apartment.

No jobs. No furniture (they were sleeping on the floor and using lawn chairs someone had donated. No money. No food.

During counseling, my sister began to talk about the abuse. The molestation. My other sister confirmed it. His depravity came to light and he fled, like a coward.

I hung up the phone and continued with soundcheck. What else could I do? But I was on autopilot. I was devastated. I was stunned. I was shaken.

I ran sound.

I went to the after-party.

I couldn’t see straight.

I left a few minutes into it.

That evening, forever stolen by the actions of my father. And I had no idea that this was just the beginning. Everything from that point forward, would forever be different.

The Amazing Race

My wife and enjoy different types of TV shows.

She loves good mysteries and the Hallmark channel. Stories with mostly happy endings. Murder, She Wrote and Magnum, PI reruns are regulars in our living room.

I love true-crime, the unexplained and the unknown. Unsolved Mysteries, X Files reruns and Stranger Things stream on my PC regularly

But — there are shows we both really enjoy. The Amazing Race being one of them.

Earlier this evening I was reminded of one of our favorite teams.

If you watched the show, you may remember father and son team, Mel and Mike. They were on for two different seasons. I remember watching both seasons and seeing this incredible love that Mel (dad) had for Mike (son). He was proud, but he wasn’t just proud. He rejoiced in his son and celebrated with him. It was one of the most pure father/son relationships I’d ever seen on TV.

It’s been a number of years since we watched those two seasons. I hadn’t thought about either of them until I happened to see an article online and it lead me down a small internet rabbit-hole. A rabbit-hole that lead me to a deeper understanding of the love Mel has for his son.

Mel (Dad) had been a Reverend. Back in the 80s he was a well respected ghostwriter and speech writer for nationally known televangelists.

And he was gay.

In the closet. Married.

He tried for years to ‘fix’ himself.

Can you imagine the shame he felt?

To be gay in the 80s was hard enough but to be an evangelical Christian as well? I cannot imagine anyone feeling more alone. Knowing that if the truth was exposed, he would most likely have been ostracized, abandoned by every friend. He would have been shunned. An outcast. Immediately unwelcome and unloved.

Fast forward a few decades. He’s on the Amazing Race with his son.

His gay son.

And I got it. It all of a sudden made sense.

Mel, first and foremost a father, wanted what every father wants for his son. He wanted to ensure his son never experienced the hurt and shame I can only imagine he experienced in the 80s and 90s.

So he chose to love his son fiercely. He chose to celebrate his son. And he chose to be proud of his son.

We could learn so much from that simple example.

May we love that fiercely. And we may know we are already loved that fiercely.

Ordinary is Overrated

Our life has really never been what my wife and I would consider normal.

The majority of our friends married much younger than we were (we were 32).

The majority of our friends live near family.

The majority of our friends have children.

And infertility isn’t a word most people use in their daily language.

But if you do, you know it’s a shadow, ever there. It’s the blank spot in pictures. It’s the awkwardness in conversation when you meet someone and they ask how many kids you have.

It’s the question, why?

And it’s the reason Mothers Day looks differently, too.

Being honest, we don’t use that word often. We don’t talk about it.

Not so much because it isn’t all of the things I just mentioned, but because in some ways, we’ve come to accept it. We’ve been married 9 years. We’ve had zero success. We’ve gone as far as we can medically.

At this point, we’re just used to it.

We’re not normal.

But, I’m learning normal is overrated.

My wife and I are best friends. We love spending time with each other. We have an amazing marriage that we’ve fought tooth and nail to grow. We have a beautiful family. So what if our kids have four legs. They’re our family.

And despite the challenges we face, and maybe even because of them, our life is beautiful. We have much to be grateful for.

Happy Mothers Day, Erin.

We aren’t ordinary. And I wouldn’t trade that for the world.

I love you.

Light has Come

Our neighborhood is awesome. Every Christmas Eve, before he begins his round-the-world trip, Santa takes the time to visit our neighborhood. Most years, he stops at each house, greets each of us and waves to the good little boys and girls. But this year, to be safe, he rode his Harley, waved and wished those he passed by a Merry Christmas.

And if I’m honest, it was the brightest moment of Christmas Eve for both my wife and I.

We both had tears in our eyes.

Because it was beautiful. Because for some reason, that simple interaction brought light to a tough holiday. Two adults, unexpectedly at home on Christmas because of a family member who was exposed, standing in the cold, waving like 5 year olds as Santa waved back.

Our family is all OK, which we’re grateful for, but it meant that Christmas was added to the long list of things this year that was suddenly, different.

After Santa passed by, Erin and I made the decision to grab the dogs, hop in the car and go Christmas light watching. So we did. We packed our dogs into the back, bundled up ourselves and headed off into the dark.

Maybe it was because everything was just, different, but as we drove, and ooh’d and ahh’d at all the pretty displays, it seemed like there were more Christmas lights this year. A lot more.

And then it hit me, why Santa mattered so much to us, why so many more houses were decorated. I realized that as hard as this year has been, as dark as some of the nights have gotten, we still need the light.

And I clung to that.

In the midst of this most weary of years, we need the Light more than ever. My wife and I needed to see Santa last night. We needed that reminder, that light. Maybe you need the same. 

It is in the darkest of nights, we need The Light the most.

And it’s in the darkest of nights, The Light shines the brightest.

Wherever you find yourself this Christmas night, I pray someone, somewhere reflects the Light to you, shines grace upon you, and reminds you of what we need most this season.

This, most precious of days.  When heaven literally invaded earth. 

Our light has come.

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.

 

Today Was A Hard Day

Even as I typed the title, I felt the corners of my lips curl slightly. Who hasn’t had a hard day? It’s 2020…

But, it’s the truth. Today was hard.

Being misunderstood is hard.

Believing in something and not having others believe the same is hard.

Genesis

I love the story of creation. And I’m not sure why I am so drawn towards it. But over the last few years, it’s probably been the story in the Bible I’ve returned to more than any other.

Maybe it’s because there is so much to the story. So much more there than just the story.

Maybe because, between the lines, the story tells me that there is a process.

Maybe because it’s the understanding that if God Himself, the most powerful being in the universe, who, by His mere words, spoke 400 billion billion stars into creation, had a plan and followed it, that maybe I can trust that there is a plan for me.

Maybe because the story tells me good things take time.

And maybe it’s because, if you were there, if you were a cosmic spectator watching the creation of the universe, none of it would make any sense until the product was finished.

And maybe it’s because that’s what I need to know right now.

Good things take time.

There is a process.

It’s part of a much larger story.

And just because it doesn’t make any sense right now, doesn’t mean it won’t make ever make sense.

It will.

Whatever I’m going through, whatever you are going through, will make sense. Because the end of that story is the most beautiful thing you would have ever laid eyes on.