Following the Everywhere Spirit …anywhere

People, Yard Sales, and Integrity

Over labor day weekend my roommates had a huge yard sale. I’m talking about a huge three day event. They worked for some three weeks prior to the “big event” collecting and sifting through all their belongings in an attempt to clear out some of the “stuff”they and their friends own. I say “stuff” because that is how the late George Carlin referred to the things we tend to accumulate over time and as our earning power increases and as we are able to afford and move into bigger and better digs, and I liked his description as well.

So once the three day sale extravaganza was over there was still a ton of furniture, electronics and other miscellaneous “stuff” hanging around the front, side, and back yards of the house waiting for good homes. So what occurred on the following weekends so far has been the great “stuff” giveaway! My roommates get up early and start to moving everything that needs a new home out onto the sidewalk in front of the house, they then place all sorts of “Free” signs on their wares.

Okay, so here’s the deal. Today as I was working on my computer which sits near my bedroom window some guy happened to stop by and proceeded to peruse the merchandise out front of the house. I was having a conversation with one of my roomies and he apparently was able to figure out that someone was home. Once our conversation was over, he asked “is all this free?” I got up from my computer peered out of my window and said “yeah, knock yourself out bro!”; he then proceeded to explain that he was interested in the left handed golf clubs for the cart, which I believe retails for around a hundred dollars us, and not so much in the clubs themselves.

All this to say that in America, or at least in Southern California, there is still some semblance of honesty, or at a sense of wanting to do the right thing. Apparently this guy had some integrity and was interested in doing the right thing.

The reason that this is significant is that I work in fairly tough industry, and after almost two of the toughest years I have ever had with a reputable company, and we’re talking a twenty-five year career here, but not all with the same company, the majority of my colleagues have perfected taking advantage of, and being able to dole out “endearing” things such as disrespect, sarcasm, bitterness, venom and vinegar in amounts untold toward management personnel and toward those of us who don’t always see things their way and who are just trying to mind their own business and earn a living, this one man has manged to restore my faith in my fellow man. There really are people out there who possess integrity, something that in my opinion, has fallen down and can’t get up.

You maybe asking, what about your friends and the other relationships in your life, where’s the Creator in all this? Well the reality is that I work odd hours, I work a lot, and I work “on-call”. So for the most part because of my work schedule I have very few other relationships, and as for the Creator He is kind enough to continue to reside in my heart and is the one solid relationship I still have. There are times when I don’t even get connection with my roomies and I live with them!

Anyway, this is just another random thought from the mind of Cephas. Thanks for stopping by!

Later…

Last night as I was lying in bed I began to think about my father.  He died in January of 2001; he spent only 64 years on this, Gods green earth, he went away just too soon, at least for me.  My mother died a year and 2 weeks later, again too soon.  She and I never really got along, but that’s a story for another time.

Anyway back to my dad.  We were never as close as he and my younger brother were.  My mother had a great deal to do with that, and somehow the man understood that.  His sight was failing, but he was not blind to the various dynamics going on around him.  He was not a college grad, but he was one of the hardest working men I ever knew.  He was employed by the County of Los Angeles.

About a month before he would take his vacation, which totaled a month in time, he would work like a dog. He’d work 7 days a week for that entire month just so that he and my mother could take us, that would be me, sister and my brother to “The Happiest Place on Earth AKA Disneyland.

Because he died so soon, he missed my graduation from college, he missed my wedding, and he missed the day my wife died, I really could have used his help when she died.

Anyway, all that to say that as I thought about how much I miss him, I realized that no matter how long he would have lived, it would not have been long enough for me.  Had he lived into his 70’s, and had I spent every waking hour with him, it still would not have been enough time. Had he lived into his 80’s that would not have been long enough.

So what’s the point?  The point is that we need, if we care, to make the most of the time we are given while here on earth for all our sakes.  Time is fleeting and the sacred scriptures instruct us not to take life for granted (James 4:17).

I wish I had something really deep to write about, but I don’t.  The most I think I can write about this evening is people and their apparent need to be led.  I just changed employers and I now manage an office staff of 5 and 26 field personnel.  And what I feel God is showing me is that people apparently have a need to be led. How do I know this?  I know this because my people expressed that to me, perhaps not in so many words, but nonetheless they did tell me. 

They remind me of sheep, much in the way that the holy scriptures refer to us, I mean people.  I’m not sure why I see this, but I saw the same thing with my last employer, and there were a few others that saw it as well.  That is one of the reasons I left their employ.  I moved on, not to lead, but because of a perceived lack of leadership in that organization.

I’m not sure that I have anything else to add. I could attempt to wax eloquent as many of my friends are so able to do oh so well, but I think I’m one of these guys that just kind of throws it out there and lets it go as is.

Let me know what you think, thanks.

You know, I’ve been in what seems to be a kind of holding pattern for sometime now. I am able to bring very few of the circumstances of my life under the kind of control that I would like to bring them under.

With the help of some very wise and very smart friends I’ve been giving this much thought. Yes there are times when I, not necessarily on my own, am capable of entertaining the thought process.

Initially, I got very depressed and bitter about the way things were at the time turning out with my academic career, love life, and my finances. After speaking with a fairly well educated friend yesterday I realized that the circumstances which surround my life currently are not the end, they are just the means. The frustration that I am experiencing is just a small part of the life experience and, will eventually subside.

So what does all this mean? What it means to me is that the Creator is in control and I guess there is something of some value that my current circumstances hold that I may need to learn by working through them. This does not, however mean that I have no say in the decisions that I do get to make, Creators plan or no, I still have a responsibility to make the best decisions for my life and the future I believe I am called to.

What say you?

I have 3 step children; their ages are 21, 14, and 12. They came to visit me this past weekend. This is significant, because I had not seen the two little ones, as we like to refer to them, in some 10 months. I see the oldest, Natalie, fairly frequently; however, Emily; 14, and David; 12 not so much.

They were staying at their grandmother’s house. I thought it might be nice if I stopped by to say hello. So I did, and we had a great time. They are so big, have grown, and matured so much that I almost did not recognize them. We played some of the same games we used to play when we all lived together. It was a very good time.

I hoped that during the visit they would see a different person than the man they once knew. I had this hope and still do because I have seen and know the work that the Creator has done in me, and how far along He has brought me from that time in the past. I am different because of His gracious nature and His desire to repair the brokenness that I for so long entertained.

I hope they saw the difference…I do.