Good Morning Dear TSJ Faithful Peeps!
You know how “they” always tell you to take it one day at a time when you are in 
difficult times? Well, I think that is simply good advice for every day. And SJ told me that is what Solomon taught them while they waited for me to come home.
Son, Tim, came each day and took care of the home fires. He does not know this, but they told me they kept track of the days by the match sticks he placed on the sink. He would come in and light the tea kettle burner (it needs a match to light) for a cup of tea. The Boys and Lovey were watching. And for them this was like putting an X on the calendar.
Okay. Just kidding. The match sticks were gone when I got home and the place was in great shape. (Yes, Tim told me about them.) I am just having a little fun with you!
As always, using “The Boys” and Lovey, is a playful way to constantly review what is important and what sustains us peeps.
From Washer Fluid to the Four Fs for Today….
You see, on my way home from New Jersey, I drove from sunny weather , clear visibility and bare roads, into some snowy weather with poor visibility, sloppy to snow covered roads and in bitter cold winds. I had plenty of time to experience weather’s transitional demands.
Part of that time I was on the New York State Thruway and while the roads were manageable (wet and sloppy) and the visibility was excellent, I could not see half the time. Why? Because the trucks (lots and lots of them) sprayed muddy water on my windshield. I hoped I had enough washer fluid. But even what I had barely worked. It was so cold and so windy that the fluid could not really spray well on the windshield.
And my wipers spread dirty water into thin layers of muddy ice. I had to duck low to see through a small hole in the streaks or lean to the right. But my direct vision was truly impaired.
Life, I thought, is kind of like this at times. And as a metaphor, divine Love is the washer fluid for our spiritual lenses.
But we all know the elements of life streak across our lenses and impair our vision.
When I stopped for a bit at the side of the road and used the fluid it was able to fully clean my windshield. It was not competing against the wind and the truck spray.
Back to that “stillness idea” again . . . and again. It takes stillness to clear the muddy waters of our lives or let it settle. Solomon is relentless with me on this lesson. It is fundamental to our well being.
To our defense, however, we need more than stillness to keep us going. I needed more than washer fluid to get me home!
I think the Unseen Shepherd wants us to use our inner vision to discover ways to get through the valleys, ride out the storms, forge ahead to new pastures and trust that all is well on the higher elevations where we are being guided.
Right living (“paths of righteousness” perhaps as the psalmist wrote) involves a balance of these four Fs:
Faith, Family, Friends, and Fun!
They are the important stuff of life The big rocks so to speak. Like the familiar object lesson that a teacher once used when he showed students a glass container filled with rocks, then added pebbles, then sand and then water and asked, “What is the lesson?”
The lesson is to put the big rocks in first or there never will be room.
The most important stuff must go in first. It sustains us.
So after coming home and hugging The Boys and Lovey, I got to thinking about what sustains us right now are the four f’s: Faith, Friends, Family, and Fun.
These are the rocks we can put in our jar first today. Just one day at a time. We do well to notice which of those may be missing.
If we add another “f” word it might be faithful. If we are faithful to these things today we will have investments to draw from for the tomorrows too.
So, together let us keep our washer fluid tank filled and pay good attention to the rocks of life that sustain us. Remember one of those rocks is fun ...
Solomon says his “rocks” are SJ, Lovey , Ms. Margie and TSJ peeps.
