INSPIRING

Here it is, a picture from the inspiring worship conference. No, wait. That's Walt Disney World. Well, that was pretty inspiring. The young man on stilts is Jake, my first cousin once removed. (Don't send me any stupid jokes about whether he was removed for tracking mud on the rug. I looked it up. Your first cousin's children are first cousins once removed. I have four of them. No, they aren't second cousins. Second cousins have a common great grandparent. I have about a bazillion of those on my father's side of my family alone. I was a little disconcerting to discover a few months back a second cousin who is almost 40 years younger than me. Goodness, our family managed to get more than a generation out of whack.)

Anyway, it was amazing to see him dancing, jumping, and doing all sorts of contortions. Of course he's an athlete (hockey player). Me, I never played any sport more dangerous than Tiddly Winks. (It can be very painful if you tiddle a wink into your eye.) If I ever tried to get on stilts, I'd fall off and break something, most likely the pavement. (I have got to get back on my diet.) I am very impressed by my cousin's performance. I wanted to go around pointing to him and telling people "that's my cousin" as if that could make some of his bravura performance rub off on me. I am afraid I am always seeking glory by association. See that kid who won fourth place in potato sack race? That's my neighbor's gardener's granddaughter's best friend. (Do they still have potato sack races? Do they still have potato sacks? I know they still have potatoes because I see them in the store and Vice-President Quail once misspelled the word 'potato.' ((True! Look it up.)))

Anyway again, It was nice to see Jake. I've only seen him a few dozen times in my life because I ran away to live in Florida many, many years ago. He only ran away to Florida a few years ago. He's a really good person, interesting, caring, intelligent, and a lot more willing to take risks and explore things when I was his age. As a matter of fact I was only a few years older than he is now when I baptized him. Baptizing people is a LOT safer than dancing on stilts, especially in a traditional Lutheran Church. It's really hard to tumble head-first into a baptismal font and drown. Now I did see a church once that had a built in water heater in the font, so electrocution might be a possibility, but probably not drowning.

Jake is a good example of a person raised in a family that took raising children seriously. My cousin and her husband deserve stars in their crowns for this accomplishment four times over.

You know what you do for others is the real measure of your life. There are a lot of people who make great monuments to themselves hoping to live on for years and years in people's memories. The great baseball promoter Charles Comiskey named the ball park he built for the Chicago White Sox after himself, Comiskey Park. They tore it down in 1991and built a parking lot on the site. So much for a permanent memorial to yourself. You want a real memorial, invest in kids.

Sunday, May 31, 4 p.m. Feel the Spirit. Feed the Kids. A special, spirited Pentecost Jazz concert at Our Saviour in Marion Oaks. All donations to benefit Food 4 Kids. Here endeth the commercial for this blog.

May the Lord bless you on your journey and greet you on your arrival.


Wayne




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