You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by; but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by.

James Matthew Barrie

So it’s official. My 20th reunion has come and gone. I was so over-concerned about appearances and expectations, that I almost let the moment slip by without the enjoyment that was there to be basked in.

The quote above cements the whole thing. Because we have all moved on to something else, the times we once embraced are now golden to us. What a nice taste in my mouth. I am now eagerly awaiting my 25th.

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

Dale Carnegie

I don’t know why we worry about reunions. But I have been nervous about this one. I suppose it’s because my physique has changed drastically in 20 years, and there are circles under my eyes due to allergies, and my back hurts because of a bulging disc, and all this signals to me that I have aged.

While this all bothers me, I think my largest concern is my change in philosophy. My change to a new creature. The very year I graduated, while away in college, I gained new life through Jesus Christ.

There in my dorm room, all alone, I grabbed the Bible my mom had packed. I can’t even remember what passage I was reading, but I changed overnight. It was like a wagon rode over a dirt road, and when the dust settled, the road was paved.

And so this is how I return to see the people with whom I graduated from high school. This is how I perceive that they will perceive me. A new creation. An anomaly.

I have no regrets about my new birth. It is without question the best decision I have ever made. The decision to follow Christ.

I am a bit nervous about the breaking of the ice. I think the quote at the head of the page is a great guide. I just need to be interested in them. Genuinely interested. I think this will make the most memorable impact in the lives of the people I see tomorrow.

After all, after tomorrow, life goes on. I will return home, back into my microcosm, and forget about what happened at the reunion. What will last is how I treated the people I greeted. With this said – I hope to enjoy myself by finding interest in others tomorrow. So here goes.

I feel good. Life is running around inside me like a squirrel.

Quote from “You Can’t Take It With You”

We recently watched an old movie called “You Can’t Take It With You”. We enjoyed the antics, the acting, and the message. There were several allusions to Scripture, and the overall theme really fit in with the title of the movie. But my favorite quote of the movie is above, and came from a Russian dance instructor named Boris.

He played the part of a pretty stoic guy, so this particular part of the movie came as a surprise. Chaos ensued, and he responded with the quote about the squirrel. I laughed so hard at the image this quote placed in my mind, but it also made me think of another quote.

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

John 10:10

These words were said by the Lord, and it is such a precious promise to those of us who believe.

There are times when I am not a very positive guy (Surprise!), so this promise of abundant life causes my antennae to twitch. The life the Lord refers to is a life much like the thought of the squirrel. It is spiritual energy that controls us. It is contagious, and affects others in an amazing way.

In Jeremiah, the Lord says that Israel forsook Him, the fountain of living waters. This is what we do when we look away from the One who offers abundant life daily.

I know I am quirky. I can find a spiritual application in a silly quotation about a squirrel. That’s just me.

I am challenged to pursue the One who offers this abundant life.

What kind of lazy man naps for THREE hours in a single day!?!?

Kane

I just had to respond to my neighbor’s bitter comment about my last post. You see, I purposely invited him to play Ultimate Frisbee and Taboo two nights ago. These activities kept us all up to at least midnight. My plan was to wear him out and then giggle while he worked and I napped. And the plan worked!