Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Dave's Deep Thoughts


Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.

The question always is

So what did you do on your vacation?

One can usually be expected to be peppered
with the question for a week upon return to work.

Did you go skiing?
or
Did you go to California to visit friends?
or
Did you have a relaxing week?

no......No........NO!

No, not me.
I chose to do something far more exotic ....

like DESTROY MY HOME.

I am at the beginning of a large home renovation
which will continue through the year.
The last days of the holiday season
and then the first week of the new year
were 10 days that became my launching pad
for this project.

The addition includes a new kitchen and dining room
so the old ones had to go.

Let me say that there is nothing like
spending an hour of your vacation
collating spices.

Will I need my whole cloves during the next twelve months?
How about nutmeg?
Cinnamon? Oh yes, you can never have
enough cinnamon in your life....

And then there's the utensils.

A tear came to my eye as I boxed up my wisp....
I can't even talk about saying goodbye to my spatula.

You know your house is under construction
when you reach for the rake instead of the vacuum
to clean your carpets.

You know your house is under construction
when you paint your new cabinet on your old living room carpet,
and you never even think about using a drop cloth.

You know your house is under construction
when you reach into the refrigerator for a soda.....
while sitting on your sofa.

You know your house is under construction
when you write your grocery list....
on the wall.

You know your house is under construction
when the Jehovah's Witnesses
knock on your door
and then run when you open it.

Challenging times to say the least.
But then I turn on the television
and see the misery and devastation in Haiti.

Then I know,
I am blessed to own a home
I am blessed to have running water.
I am blessed with a comfortable place
to lay my head at night.
I am blessed to have the opportunity to
improve my dwelling.

I am blessed.

I am so blessed.

And so are you.

My home may look like a disaster to those who visit,
but it looks like a palace
when compared with the homes in Haiti.

So when I am asked,
What did you do on your vacation?

May my answer be...
I did something to help answer
my prayer for the people of Haiti.

May it also be your answer.

No comments:

Post a Comment