Month: May 2023

I used to think that Salvador Dali’s drooping, melting clocks were just the machinations of a deranged mind.  Time was a static, sequential, consistent linear flow of events with attached numbers.  Time could be plotted out by stories followed by more stories of human events.  Now I am not so sure Dali was as deranged as I had first imagined.  Last week I watched my granddaughter graduate from college and for a moment I saw a tiny little girl just able to walk dancing up and down with glee when my wife, her grandma came into the breakfast room.  That momentary vision was as real as the noon sun beating down on the commencement service.

I enjoy going to bed at night because each night is a wonderful journey into the past.  I go for rides with my father.  I hear my son’s childhood voices.  I sit with my sisters around a small kitchen table eating my mother’s cornpone.  My wife wonders why I take so many naps.  The secret is I take free trips randomly selected from 70 years of a very rich life.  Time travel is but a nap away.

Time melts into a confection sweet.  The clock droops with history written by those who want to tell a story by cherry picking events consistent with their beliefs. Recently I had to smile at someone ranting about history being rewritten, as if the first account was accurate.  If I should talk with my sisters who were with me those first years I am sure their recollections would be different, filtered through what they want to remember.

So what will this thing promised by Jesus called eternal life be like?   Finding out will be an endless adventure.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 26, 2015

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

 

Yesterday I saw the most beautiful field of dandelions.  There must have been ten thousand yellow smiles spread beyond and around a New England stone wall.   Some, like us, had turned gray and some, like us, had been blown bald.   Dandelions are so under appreciated.  Considering them to be weeds we quickly extract them from our yards lest we nap and awaken to find they have taken over.

Dandelions remind us of Jesus’ comments in the Sermon on the Mount. “See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?”  Matthew 6.

So they are like us.  Or is it we that are like them?  We are not here long.  Hopefully we add beauty to the world while we are here.  Unlike them we have a chance of being again and that second time lasts a really long time.  It lasts forever.  I was going to say time shall be no more.  But how then would we meet each other?  Time is important for making appointments.  If I want to see you I have to know when as well as where.

Jesus’ point is the important focus.  We are loved and cared for.  We need not worry about tomorrow.  Our Father knows our needs and has a zillion ways to provide for us.  It’s great belonging to a rich family and we belong to the richest family of all.  Am I bragging?  You bet I am!

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 20, 2015

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org

 

The Defense Chief of North Korea, Hyon Yong Chol, was executed last week with an anti-aircraft gun at a public gathering.  He is one of 70 officials to have been executed since 2011.  Hyon Yong Chol’s crime was falling asleep during a meeting when Kim Jong Un, the country’s leader, was speaking.  Oh, dear.  I am so glad our God is much more gracious than Kim Jong Un.  I could not count the number of times I have fallen asleep in church.  I have often wished men’s suits came with very high, very stiff collars so my head would not flop around when I drift off.  If a fashion designer came up with such a style I’m sure it would be a big seller for I do not think I am the only one guilty.

According to Kim Jong Un’s behavior, Jesus would have had ample excuse for executing His disciples.  We read in Matthew 26, “Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. ‘Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?’ he asked Peter.”

How reassuring it is to know that Jesus understands.  He said, “the flesh is weak.”  He knew.   He fell into the nets in His disciple’s fishing boat and slept so soundly He did not awaken in a raging storm until His frightened disciples woke Him.  I am so glad our Jesus experienced almost the entire human experience.  He was a baby, an adolescent, and a young man.  He did miss out on this old man thing, which I must say is very different from being thirty.  But if He was successful up to His mid-thirties, and He was, He could have handled the senior citizen thing.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 19, 2015

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

This past Sunday noon found us sitting on a university quad in the sun in a sea of humanity watching 900 graduates one by one march across the stage and receive their college degrees.  For three hours we sat not knowing 899 of the graduates.  We sat, we waited and we cheered for the one we knew – our granddaughter.  It took all of 10 seconds and we were a half a football field away and all we saw was a black robe, wearing a black hat with long brown hair streaming over her shoulders.  For this we drove 800 miles.

One might ask, “Why?  Was it worth it?”  And the answer is absolutely yes.  Would we do it again?  Absolutely yes.  Love is that way.  Love is by far the most motivating power in the universe.  This is not to say that hate is not powerful.  Just read Melville’s Moby Dick and listen to Ahab spew forth his miserable venom for a prime example of that.  But love trumps hate every time.  It was love that gave birth to a baby in a filthy stable in a small Judean town.  It was love that nurtured that baby into a man who said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”   It was love that poured out His life on that cross and it is love that will call you and me to live with Him forever.

It is love that will ultimately transform each of us into magnificent creatures with extraordinary minds that will comprehend infinity.  Love – it’s the best.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 18, 2015

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

We had a surprise visitor.  Indian Pipe or as sometimes called the Ghost Plant appeared in our front yard.  It is a unique plant that grows out of the decayed residue of other plants.  It commands our attention because of its pale appearance.  It doesn’t produce chlorophyll and looks waxy and ghostlike.  It’s a marvelous addition to our yard and I have no clue how it got here since it has not been here in summers past.  A bird or a chipmunk or the wind must have carried the seed to us.  Whatever it was I am grateful.

Our world is such an interesting place.  There is always something new to learn.  I noticed this evening the absence of catbirds, thrushes and ovenbirds.  I wonder if they have already moved south.  Summer is growing gray around the temples.  Labor Day is almost here and many children have already gone back to school.  It is a grand time of the year.  The leaves on the trees have turned that dark green just before they surrender their chlorophyll and show off their real colors.

I have always enjoyed the ideas in Jeremiah 17:7-8.  It reads, “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

You can tell Jeremiah never lived in New England.  His leaves stayed green forever.

Written by Roger Bothwell on August 24, 2003

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwll.org

We live on top of James Carter Hill.  No not Jimmy Carter.  We don’t live in Georgia.  (We used to and another story for another day is when my wife rounded a corner and barely missed running over Jimmy Carter’s son.)  At the bottom of our hill here in Massachusetts there is a small memorial stone noting this historic place.  In 1838 James Carter was responsible for urging the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to pass legislation establishing a normal school.  (We wish all the states would have schools as normal as those in Massachusetts since our children rank third, not in the country, but in the world in science and math scores.) However, that is not the use of the word normal in relationship to James Carter.  A normal school was a school designed to train teachers. Mr. Carter would be happy to know that two teachers, who used to teach in the Education (Teacher Training) Department at Atlantic Union College and now at Fitchburg State University, reside on his hill.

They were called normal schools from the Latin word “norma” meaning “model.” Model schools were supposed to produce excellent students who became model teachers.  Wouldn’t it be grand if “model” was normal?   What if all our normal children were model children and all the normal people around us were model neighbors and model citizens.  What if all normal church members were model Christians?  Alas, that is way too much to hope for.  Actually, that’s okay that we are not.  We, being normal, are a hodgepodge group of sinners, each at a different stage of development.  Just as there is no one size tree in the forest so there is no Christian like another.  Variety is indeed the spice of life.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 29, 2012

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

Denny’s has a value menu listing $2, $4, $6, and $8 items.  One of the $4 dollar items is called “All you can eat pancakes.”  It sounds really good except underneath the description are the words, “Limit Restrictions Apply.”  So it really is misnamed.  It should be called “All you may eat pancakes.”

God has an “All you can eat” offering.   We read about it in several places.  The 23rd Psalm says, “Thou preparest a table before me … my cup runs over.”  Malachi writes, “Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”  When Jesus fed the 5000 and the 4000, on both occasions there were leftovers.  The people had all they could eat.  When He told the disciples to cast their nets they filled with so many fish they nearly tore.  It was all they could handle.

When our Heavenly Father makes us an offer there isn’t any fine print.  He is always out front with us letting us know what to expect.  His promises are amazing.   “Goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives.”   The mercy part is the best offer.   Think of the worst thing you have ever done and know it is forgiven.  No wait, don’t think about it because that might bring us some bad memories.  Merely ask Him to freely forgive you and everything will be blotted out.  You don’t have to be afraid that you forgot to confess a specific sin. Our Heavenly Father has an all you need mercy plan with no fine print.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 15, 2015

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

Thermometers are extremely useful.  They can tell us if our coughing and sneezing are the result of springtime pollen or a real cold.  They tell cooks just how hot to make the oven or if we should take a coat to work today.  They are very useful when boiling maple sap alerting the boiler when to take the pan off the stove.  As humans we seem almost obsessed with measuring things.  Most homes have a door jamb with marks and dates heralding milestones in our children’s growth.

Jesus had a measuring device to apply to you and me.  He said, “Hereby shall men know you are my disciples, if you love one another.”   He also said, “By their works ye shall know them.”  Jesus wasn’t much of a fan of people that professed one thing and lived another.  Matthew 23 is a manifest of His displeasure with the religious establishment in Jerusalem.  In Matthew 23 He is not gentle Jesus meek and mild.  He really went after them with scathing language.  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.  In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

What is wonderful about Jesus’ measurement of us is we are not on our own.   He promised to send His Spirit to dwell within us.   The Spirit will empower us to see the needs around us, help us figure out how to touch those needs and grant us the resources to do something meaningful.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 14, 2015

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

Our fruit trees are in full bloom.  Apple trees and cherry trees are breathtakingly beautiful.  You could easily call both the apple and cherry trees “cheery” trees.  A storm passed through this afternoon and something strange happened to one of the cherry trees.  The wind, which wasn’t severe, combined with the heavy rain pretty much knocked off most of its pinkish white petals.   What is interesting is this did not happen to all of the cherry trees.

So why?  Could it be that one tree caught a blast of wind the others didn’t?  If not, was that tree weaker than the others?  It reminded me of some folks I have known along life’s way.  Some manage to survive major storms, while others seem to fall apart under similar trials.  I used the word “seem” because there is so much we do not know about each other.  Perhaps it only appeared that the trials were similar.  Maybe something additional happened that we did not see.  One thing for sure, they had different childhoods, which could have strengthened one and weakened the other.

As we do not know why one cherry tree fared better than the other, we do not know why people respond so very differently to what appears to be the same events.  Jesus was so wise when He instructed us not to judge others.  We don’t have enough information and insight to do so fairly.   When we judge others we often use ourselves as the standard and when others don’t respond as we would, often we are harsh and belittling.  Using ourselves as a standard is so wrong because we make a zillion excuses for ourselves that we do not afford to others.

It is a wonder that God loves us so much.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 13, 2015

PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org

 

My neighbor’s children had been busy with their street chalk.  Their driveway was decorated with pastel designs of flowers surrounding an urgent message drawn in huge letters.  “Ice Cream Truck Stop Here – Please.”  I hope it worked.   But I have on occasion seen him driving too fast to notice such a message.

‘Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”   Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”  Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet!  He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.  “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.  The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”  “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.  Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.’

The ice cream man should be as attentive as was and still is Jesus.  Whatever your need He will always hear you.  He will always stop and attend to you.  For sure you will be blessed.  It might not be the blessing you thought you needed, but be assured it is the blessing an all knowing, all caring, all loving God knows you need. You don’t even have to write it on your driveway just on your heart.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 12, 2015

P.O. Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

rogerbothwell.org