From the Pastor’s Heart

This past week I was reminded of my father and his life’s vocation. My mother received some pictures of my Dad at his work place on the day he retired. A place where I too had worked and had many opportunities to see him as he appeared in the picture.

This morning I was in conversation with Bill Ferguson and for some reason I found myself talking about my Dad and his trade.

My Dad was an electrician, an excellent electrician. If my Dad had wired a house the homeowner would never have to worry about their home catching fire due to faulty wiring.

When my brother Tommy and I were young teenagers we would take turns being his assigned helper. He would come home from his day job, eat supper and off we would go to wire a new home or rewire a home that was being remodeled.

Oh how I dreaded being his apprentice. He was a perfectionist and his going over his work not once but at least a half dozen times would drive me to distraction.

My Dad enjoyed chewing tobacco. People who did not know him, thought he had some kind of facial deformity with this huge wad of tobacco in his cheek. Often he had more than a generous amount of tobacco juice in his mouth. As youngsters we quickly learned that you didn’t want to sit in the back seat on the driver’s side with the back window down when he was chewing. But that is a whole other story. More times than not, this generous amount of tobacco juice prevented him from speaking and he would often give us instructions by pointing or mumbling and when we could not understand him, well, let’s just say it wasn’t a very pretty picture.

I told Bill Ferguson, I should know how to do electrical work. Sadly all I know about electricity is how to turn on and off a light switch. If only I had listened. If only I had paid attention. I certainly would be a better person for it.

I wonder what it is God is trying to show us or teach us but we just don’t want to take the time to pay attention? We are much too busy with life or maybe the lesson is a hard one and we just don’t want to go there.

God is constantly showing us the way. God is continually in the teaching business. The question is are we wanting or willing to learn what God wants to teach? Are we too stubborn and insist on everything being our way; or are we doing what we want instead of submitting to God’s way or what God wants?

We are the losers when we refuse to learn. We are the ones who miss out on the blessings God continues to bestow upon us because we refuse to take the time to pay attention.

I passed up the opportunity to learn from my Dad and now it is too late as I find myself saying, if only I had paid attention.

What is it God is trying to teach you today? What is it God is trying to show you? Are you paying attention? God may point, pointing us in a specific direction. But the good news is God never mumbles. My prayer for each of us is that when it comes to God we will not wait until it is too late and we find ourselves lamenting, IF ONLY!

Blessings,
Pastor Russel