Regular Guy Russ

Toilet Paper.  Seems to have turned into the new currency or at least the most sought after item since Beanie Babies or Cabbage Patch Dolls! (Oh, just showed my age there, huh?)

With the shortage of Toilet Paper during this virus crisis and the quest that most of us have had to take up at some point in the last few weeks to find it, I had a realization as I listened to the stories of a family member.

I have a family member in a different state, who shall remain nameless to protect their stash, whom I determined to have become an “Accidental Hoarder” of Toilet Paper.  I know that’s not a real thing and you won’t find that in any official Psych diagnosis listing but I think you know what I mean.  We have all probably done it at some point.  You know, pickup an item just in case and then your mind says better get another and then another ’cause you just don’t know.  I found myself doing that with canned food during a bad winter a few years ago and suddenly found myself swimming in canned corn!  As this person recounted their latest find and the somewhat alarming pile of TP they suddenly found themselves having, I had a realization.

My point here is that I realized that we can often become “Accidental Hoarders” of things that are meant to be shared.  Love and Affection, Knowledge, Wealth, our Faith.  The list can become quite long.  Most of us would say we didn’t mean to but after some thought have been guilty of accidentally hoarding many things in our lives.  I know it’s trite but it truly is “better to give than receive.”

So on your next TP adventure, remember to share something.  A smile, a kind word, phone call or card or even pick up someone’s tab.  You see Jesus Christ came not to keep but to give His life, perhaps we can share some of our blessings.

Do you remember Steve Urkel?  For those of you who can, he was a character on the sitcom “Family Matters” and he had a signature response in a nasally voice of “Did I Do That?” when he had made a mess of things.

I was sitting outside watching my dogs the other evening. I have 2 Rat Terriers and as the name states they were bred to help eradicate pests around the farm.  Reilly dog found a mole hole and it was on!  Fast and furious digging, the type that has dirt flying in every direction.  Dig, Sniff, Dig some more!

In just a matter of a few moments a rather large crater had formed in the yard along with a large deposits of dirt from the big dig.  My yard is mostly weeds anyway so the addition of new hole didn’t bother me much.  It was the look that Reilly dog gave me when he took a brief pause from the hunt and reviewed his excavations, with no mole to show for it, that definitely said “Did I Do That?”

I thought of how sometimes we are so busy and focused on what we think is the important task that we don’t see the mess we often make in the pursuit and often times not even hitting the goal, just like Reilly dog.  I know in the current world of COVID19 we have all been forced to put the digging on hold and maybe found we were digging in the wrong spots anyway.

Busy does not equal success, Reilly will tell you that.  Listening to the leading of God, asking for His help to focus on the right things will help us avoid the dirt pile mess and with patience even end up getting our mole!

For many those words may sound like a regular occurrence or an event that brings on a full blown panic attack!  But for some of us those words bring sadness and grief.

I lost my Mom to cancer in 1994.  While it has been several years, it doesn’t get better or easier, just different.  I was a self-professed Mama’s boy and being an only child the loss at such a young age for both of us was devastating.  All the things we never got to share or experience left me hurting and puzzled.  Made me question my faith at times and still leaves me with more questions than answers.

My usual writing style is to take an everyday observation and incorporate it into something to help us along life’s journey.  This one is different.  You see this year the anniversary of my Mom’s death falls on Mother’s Day.  Double whammy.

So for those of you who like me won’t have a phone call or visit to make or a card or present to send, just know it’s OK.  It’s OK to grieve.  I certainly will.  It’s OK to remember, to be thankful for the time spent together.  If you’re a person of faith it’s OK to hope, to know that the separation is only temporary.

You hear it all the time.  If you still have your Mom, please don’t take it for granted no matter how strained the relationship may be.  Some of us would love just one more afternoon with Mom.  To be able to ask what to do about a situation, get advice and to ask for that nut roll recipe that I just can’t seem to make.

I love you Mom and see you soon.

I know we hear those words a lot, especially when it’s us that find ourselves in one or both of those spots!  But I was taking my morning walk today and I noticed something.

You see we had some rain last night and early this morning.  But by the time I was walking the sun was peeking out and drying everything off. That’s when I saw them.  Worms.  Well, what used to be worms anyway.  I know, I know you are saying “gross” where are you going with this?

Those earthworms, that are the fisherman’s friend by the way, thought it was all good last night to come out and take a stroll or wiggle as worms do.  Maybe pushed out by the rain too.  They found themselves on a nice flat surface that I am sure was smooth sailing for them.  Right up to the point the vehicles came by and then the sun came out and dried up their clear path and left them – well, immobile, permanently.

I though about my current situation with looming job loss, Pandemic, etc.  We all sometimes see what looks like a clear path, an easy way out of our mess.  Just know the worms thought that too and found themselves – yes – at the Wrong Place and Wrong Time.

So take a moment to see the path God is clearing for you.  It’s not always the easiest.  For me it’s usually been the toughest.  And like me maybe it’s hard for you to wait beside the road until He tells me it’s clear to cross or where to cross.  But waiting is a whole lot better option than the result for some worms I met this morning.

Like most of the country we have had our share of snow over the last few weeks here in North Carolina.  While it’s pretty to look at, you still have to deal with it, shovel it and drive in it.  Last week while trying to deal with some snow, I noticed something that made me stop and think.

As I was making several trips out to my workshop for boots and shovels and the like, I noticed that with every trip I was making tracks in the snow.  I know, stop the presses “Man Makes Tracks in Snow”, right?  Hang in there.  It wasn’t the fact I was making tracks, it was where they were.  Without thinking, every trip I took I simply followed the same path I had taken before, following the same steps.  I began to think about why that happens, why in life it’s so much easier to follow the path that’s already made.

Why not step out of the path?   Why not step out in the deep snow?  While that answer is different for each of us, for most it’s scary to step out, we don’t know how deep the snow will be, or where exactly that new path will lead.

So, for 2011 think of the deep snow in your life, I know I will be.  What have you thought about doing or been led to do, but have been afraid to step off the path.  Think of those who made a difference by stepping out into the unknown.  Edison, Lincoln, Gandhi.  After all the 12 Apostles changed the world by walking in the deep snow, what might you do?

Ok, so I guess I am showing my lower social class or lack of wealth status here with this thought.  Read on though and I think you will get where I am going.

So I am guessing we have all seen them by now, probably many times.  These very well produced and highly suspect holiday Lexus commercials.  You know, the one where the guy wakes up and his wife walks him into this massive living room with a glass floor only to see a brand new Lexus IN THE LIVING ROOM!  Or, the man brings the wife outside and the kids hoist up this 20 foot stocking to reveal the new Lexus in the driveway.  Come on, really? 

I only know a few folks who drive a Lexus, and no one I roll with on a regular basis drives anything above Grand Marquis!  This is not a bash Lexus owners blog, when you have the means, by all means, drive in style!  My thought here is if you believe everything you see, you should be mad at yourself for not surprising your someone special with a new Lexus, after all the commercials are telling you that’s what everyone’s Christmas day should look like.

While that thought has been brewing with me for a while, I saw something else yesterday.  As I was watching football, I noticed the many commerials where everyone was having football parties and there was enough food to feed a small army in every commercal.  Is that how it really is?  I am sure we all get that only a select few will awake to a new Lexus, but have we thought that many folks in your city, your state and all over the world would be thrilled to awake to a hot meal and a warm place to sleep?

As I was on my way to work this morning, I heard a song by one of my favorite artists, Steven Curtis Chapman who has adopted several children himself.  The song is called “All I want for Christmas” and tells the story of a little boy in an orphange who is just looking for a “forever home.”  Well, the tears rolled down my face as I thought of how much I take things for granted and how much need there is in this world everyday not just at Christmas.

So, I know you are bombarded this time of year with requests to give.  The Salvation Army kettle, the office, the Angel Trees.  I’m not asking for your help with any cause, simply asking you to help someone this Season just because.  Because we who are blessed have much to give.  Our money, sure.  Our time, our love and compassion, every day.  After all, Jesus came to give everything, I think we can spare a few dollars or a few hours, don’t you?

Peace.  I am sure that one word has different meanings and brings very different mental images for all of us.  As we enter this Holiday season I am sure we are hearing that word even more than usual.

But think about it for a moment.  What does Peace really mean to you?  Where or how do you find it?  When you do find it, how does it help you?

I thought a lot about it last week as I had some time off from work and was able to enjoy one of the ways I find Peace, spending time sitting alone in the woods while telling everyone I was hunting.  Hours of nothing but the sounds of nature, alone with my thoughts and time to reflect on what happened in my life this year, what I needed to work on and my many blessings.

I know we will all be bombarded with the year end countdowns of songs, movies, what celebrities passed, who made news in 2010 over the coming weeks.  Take some Peace time, wherever and however you find it.  Reflect on you.  Are you a better person today than 1 year ago?  What do you want to accomplish in 2011?  Peace, a powerful thing.

Let’s see. For me yesterday it was 30 the best I can count.  2 at my son’s doctor appointment, 24 at work, 1 at the barber shop, 1 at Starbucks and 2 at home.

I am not talking about money, or how many times I could have been caught speeding, but about how many people I came in contact with yesterday, how many folks I had a chance to make a difference with whether it was 5 minutes or 5 seconds.

How often do we hustle around with our faces stuck to our ultra cool smart phones, or just running to get from one place to the next the fastest and forget we are touching people’s lives?  I know I am guilty.  The guy at Starbucks last night, will I ever see him again?  Maybe, maybe not, but I did take an extra 30 seconds of my day and say ” Thanks, I really appreciate your help, have a super evening.”  Did that solve all his problems?  I doubt it, but for a few minutes, I hopefully brightened his day and showed him that people do matter.

I’ve been reading a book by Coach Tony Dungy.  He speaks about how our online communities like Twitter, Facebook, etc. have helped us be connected, but perhaps allowed us to forget we are people and there is life outside of the keyboard.  I know, ironic because you are probably reading this blog via one of those communities!

Just think about it tomorrow.  How many people you will interact with.  What will you leave those people with?  A hurry up and get me what I need so I can move on, or a few seconds to say a real Thank You and share a smile with that person.  Trust me, you never know what someone is going through.  Many stories are out there of folks who are at the end of their rope, don’t know what to do next or even considered taking their life, but a smile or kind word from a stranger pulled them back from the edge.  In reading the New Testament and studying Christ’s ministry, I don’t think I have ever found a passage where he didn’t have time.  Only passages where He made a difference, one life at a time.

Funny thing about Tunnels.  They’re dark, scary and when you’re in the middle of one, you are never sure just how long it really is. 

That pretty much describes my week last week.  It was one of those times in your life when you really take a hard look at your life and your faith.  We had some trying times as parents of a Special Needs child and I really felt like the tunnel walls were closing in.  If found myself praying for strength and wondering why I was facing this.  I prayed a lot for some light in my dark tunnel.

That’s when it hit me.  See, the purpose of a tunnel is to get from one point to another via a faster and easier route.  There was my key.  God was and is trying to move me along His pathway.  He is trying to give me a better and faster route, although at times it’s a little dark and a little scary.  He tells me in Isaiah 41 not to fear, He’s in control.

It’s still scary and I am sure I will hit those places in my journey where the lights are dim and I don’t know if I am at the beginning or end of the tunnel.  I learned last week to pray and trust for each step as there’s always a chance for construction on my tunnel.

So, if you are like me and find yourself in the darkness or at some construction roadblocks in your next tunnel, remember the tunnel is there to get you to the other side. The tunnel may be a short one, long one or somewhere in between, but there is an end with purpose.  And who knows – you might like the view on the on the other side even better.

What Are You Waiting For!  I know it sounds like something we’ve all said while experiencing Road Rage and that person is driving way too slow or won’t make that turn!

But what if we look at the phrase differently?  Are you like me and tend to wait way too long on things in your life?  I have lost count of the opportunities and times I have missed because of fear or anxiety.  Is it the right time, I’m just not sure, all the while waiting in that turning lane while those chances whirl on by me.

Or perhaps, as I was reminded of at the conference I recently attended, you are like many of us today and are so busy, so connected and life moves so fast that the .07 seconds it takes for the web browser on your handheld device to come up is way too slow.  Perhaps you need to find those important things and as the Scriptures tell us, simply wait.  Increasingly hard to do today, but the simple act of waiting can create a peace and sweet spot in your life where answers are clearer, priorities are simpler, and life slows down.

I had a chance to listen to Olympian and Gold Medalist Apolo Ohno this week.  He said when he was in the “Zone” in a race, everything slowed down and he could hear the person behind him breathing.  Amazing feat at 30 + MPH and thousands of screaming fans.

So what is it for you?  Fear holding you back and keeping you waiting too long?  Or our “always on” society has you running and not waiting, not listening for those things that matter.  Only you know and only you can figure out what you’re waiting on.