A Thanksgiving Story for Mother's Day

The story below is an excerpt from my new book, Where's God? Finding Him in the Small Stuff, which tells about the time I thought I would miss my first Thanksgiving with my Mom...until I decided I just couldn't stay away, and found a way back home.  I dedicate it to Ann Lawrence (my Mom's maiden name) and to everyone who has wonderful memories of their own moms as Mother's Day approaches.


It was a cold and stormy night.

A Wednesday night, to be exact...the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, in 1980.

It was my first BIG HOLIDAY away from home after graduating from college and I had BIG PLANS. 

Secret plans.

I would drive all the way to West Virginia from Indianapolis after I finished working at the Indiana Pacers game that night.  I had rented a car because I didn't trust my 1976 Vega station wagon to make the trip without breaking down. 

I would drive all night, overnight, so I could be home for Thanksgiving.

No one knew I was coming.  It would be a surprise for everyone, especially for my Mom.

You see, I had never missed a Thanksgiving with her.  Not once.  In all of my 22 years, Mom and I had always been together for Thanksgiving.

At first, I had told myself how silly it was to make the trip at all.  I was, after all, a grown man.  I had a fulltime job.  It was just Thanksgiving.  What difference would it make if I didn't get home that year?  So what if I wouldn't see my Mom, just this once.

There would be other holidays.  There would be other Thanksgivings.

It was too far to drive so late at night anyway.  I would be too tired.  It might even be dangerous.

I would be fine staying at my apartment, by myself. 

But, the more I thought about it, the more homesick I got.  Not that my Mom was a great cook, exactly.  I mean, she could cook a good meal, don't get me wrong.  But, for my Mom, cooking was more of a "hit and miss" proposition.

There were times when the Thanksgiving turkey just melted in your mouth.  But there were other times when the bottoms of the rolls were burned, or the mashed potatoes were a little stiff, or the pumpkin pie was still a bit frozen because she hadn't taken the box out of the freezer early enough to thaw. 

You never knew, from one year to the next, which food would hit the table.

Of course, it didn't matter.  I wasn't going home for the food.  I was going home to be with my family.  I was going home to be with my Mom.

So, sometime around midnight on that Wednesday night in 1980, I headed home.  It really was a cold and stormy night.

I was fine for an hour or two.  But eventually, there was no way I could keep my eyes open.  I had to pull over and take a nap.

I slept as well possible while sitting up behind the steering wheel.  That is, until the car got too cold.  Freezing, I started the car, turned on the heat and let it run until the air warmed up again.  Then, I turned off the engine and fell back to sleep.

That pattern repeated itself more than once that night.  Drive.  Stop.  Sleep.  Freeze.  Run the car.  Sleep.  Repeat.

Finally, sometime around the middle of the morning on Thanksgiving day, I pulled into the driveway at Mom's house.

She was in the kitchen when I got there.

She saw me drive up.  It was then that the most unusual thing happened.  Something that I had not expected.

For some reason, she did not seem surprised to see me.  She was happy that I made it home, of course, but she did not seem surprised at all.

It was almost as if she had expected me to be there.

As I look back on it now, I think I know why.  This was my home.  This was my family.  This was where I belonged.  This was the only place in the whole world where I could find a special kind of love...the love of my Mom.  Unconditional love.

The kind of love that says, "I love you just because you are my child."

I think Mom knew that I could not stay away, because that kind of love is too precious to miss.

Someday, there is going to be a great Thanksgiving meal in the presence of Jesus.  Actually, in the Bible, it is called a "wedding supper," but it is basically the same thing.

"Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder shouting:  'Hallelujah!  For our Lord God Almighty reigns.  Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!  For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.  Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear'...Then the angel said to me, 'Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.'"  (Revelation 19:6-9)

Do you want to be invited?  You have been already.  You were invited the very day that Jesus died on the cross for you.

If you want to be there, you do not have to drive for hours and hours on a cold and stormy night.  All you have to do is accept Jesus as your Savior. 

What waits for you is a wonderful time of precious, unconditional love, because you have "come home" through faith in Jesus Christ.  What waits for you is a love from God that says, "I love you just because you are my child."

Where else would you rather be?

For more information about my book, or to hear an audio excerpt from a different story, visit the following website: www.gregmccollam.com  Books are available from amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com, or at local bookstores (if the book is out of stock, they can order it for you) in hardback or paperback versions.

Don't Insult My Intelligence!

I just hate it when someone insults my intelligence.

When they try to "pull the wool over my eyes," it just infuriates me.

I mean, I can see with my own two eyes, and I can hear with my own two ears...and I like to think I have a brain in my head.

But, apparently, not everyone agrees.

Take this year's collection of judges on the once-popular TV show, "American Idol."  They have insulted my intelligence so often this season that I can no longer watch.

They did it by swooning over singers who were clearly not that good.  I think the judges wanted to convince me that these barely-better-than-karaoke-singers were the best talent since Carrie Underwood...or Scotty McCreary...or Barbra...or Frank...because, by doing so, they were defending their decisions to put these singers on the show in the first place.

But they insulted my intelligence.

After all, I have ears.

Or, consider a recent broadcast of "Morning Edition" on the NPR radio network.  They aired a "news" story that basically boiled down to this:  Many scientific researchers are switching from lab rats to lab mice for their experiments.

That's it.

Seriously.

It insulted my intelligence.

How in the world is a story like that "newsworthy?"

After all, I have a brain.

My children seem to specialize in insulting my intelligence.  This was especially so when they were younger.  Chores left undone.  Curfews not met.  Secret comings and goings.

When I would confront them about such issues, they would deny and deflect.

And in the process they were insulting my intelligence.

Because, I have eyes.

My reactions to these insults varied...from avoidance of "American Idol," to disappointment with NPR, to anger with my children.

In each case, however, my response was a negative one.

Which is also a warning to me as a Christian today.

Because, if I'm not careful, I can insult the intelligence of the people around me...especially unbelievers.

As a representative of Christ, they see Him in me.

They hear Him in me.

So if they see me looking at a woman in a lustful way, they see Him doing it.  If they see me at a movie I should not be attending, they see Him there.  If they see me cheating or stealing, they see Him cheating and stealing.

In the process, I insult their intelligence.

If they hear me gossip behind someone's back, they hear Jesus do it.  It they hear me lie, they hear Him do it.  If they hear me use God's Name in vain, they hear Him do it.

And I further insult their intelligence.

Because they have eyes, and ears, and brains...and they are basing their image of Jesus on me.

And on you.

When we insult their intelligence, their image of Christ is tarnished...and their response to Him can range from avoidance, to disappointment, to anger.

All negative.

As Christians, we must live in such a way that we stop insulting the intelligence of the people around us...

...and start inviting them instead.

Inviting them to come to Him and know Him as we know Him...

...which will change their lives forever by giving them new life!

From My Devotional Reading

Wanted to share with you an exerpt from my personal devotional readings today...

"This week with its failures and successes has taught me one new lesson.  It is this:  'I must give Him away in order to have Him.'   That is the law of the spirit world.  What one gives one has, what one keeps to oneself one loses.

Do you suppose that through all eternity the price we will need to pay for keeping God will be that we must endlessly be giving Him away?"

-- Frank C. Laubach, June 1, 1930

The Christian Life Marathon

I have been thinking a lot about the Boston Marathon this week, for obvious reasons.

And it struck me how it is so much like our Christian life in the world today.

Life is never a short sprint, it is a long-distance grind, with hills that must be climbed and curves that must be negotiated...

...and, every now and then, a bomb blast explodes abruptly in our midst and throws everything into chaos around us.

Our Christian Life Marathon also has a starting line, a finish line, and a Fellow Runner who matches our pace, step-by-step through the whole course.

Interestingly, the writer of Hebrews chose the analogy of a race to illustrate these similarities in his own way...

"...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us...Let us fix our eyes on Jesus...Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."  (Hebrews 12:1-3 excerpts, NIV)

The runners in the Boston Marathon didn't carry anything with them that would "hinder" them in any way...

...they dressed lightly
...they ate lightly
...they wore lightweight shoes

They wanted to run as far and as fast as they could so they could run well.

In our Christian Life Marathon, we need to strip away everything that "hinders" us too, so we can run well.

That means we must get rid of all of those things that weigh us down during our Christian run...

...guilt (God not only forgives, He forgets)

...perfectionism (you don't have to be perfect for God to accept and love you, Jesus was perfect for you already)

...anger (which hardens your heart not only towards the object of your anger, but towards God as well)

...worry (which crowds out God from your life)

The passage from Hebrews also says we must throw off the "sin that entagles."  Failing to do so is like trying to run the Boston Maraton as a "three-legged race" or a "sack race," which, of course, is quite impossible. 

If you tried it you would be constantly getting entangled, losing your balance, and falling.

No one ran the Boston Marthon that way, and neither should you run your Christian Marathon like that either.

You need to throw off sin that entangles you by taking it to God in confession...seeking His forgiveness...and working to "sin no more."

Hebrews also reminds us that the Christian Marathon, like the Boston Marathon, takes perseverance. 

Hard work.  Determination to succeed.  Dedication to the cause.  An ability to overcome hardships and setbacks victoriously.

The kind of "perseverance" talked about in Hebrews is the kind that keeps you moving forward with hope...with expectation...that you WILL MAKE IT to the finish line.  That you will, eventually, be able to raise your arms above your head and say, "I made it!"

At this year's Boston Marathon, runners and spectators were forced to endure the "opposition of sinful men."  The result was harm, and hurt, and death.

Jesus had to endure the same when He ran His own Christian Marathon here on earth.

And there may be times when you will need to endure it too.  Times when the crises and serious problems in your life are like bombs blasting away at your faith and knocking you off course.

But you CAN do it.  You can overcome.  You can get back on course.

Because, as a Christian, you have a power that is greater than your own.  Someone who has run the same race you are running, and did it perfectly.  He is your Example, and He can help you.

The secret is to keep your eyes on Jesus.

When you do, you can persevere without growing weary or losing heart.

Those runners and spectators in Boston have not grown weary or lost heart.  As a matter of fact, they have come up with a new slogan:  "Boston Strong"

As a Christian, you need to be "Jesus Strong."

For you, Jesus is the "starting line" of your Christian Life Marathon...He runs with you step-for-step all along the course of your life...and He stands at the "finish line," where He will celebrate with you as you raise your arms over your head someday...

...because you have run well.

And you have run into His outstretched arms.

National Anthem as a Hymn

In a time such as this, our National Anthem sounds more like a hymn to me.

See what I mean by clicking on the link below...from the first sporting event in Boston after the bombing, a Bruins game.

http://youtu.be/lbHMRpdk3_4

Boston strong is USA strong!

Boston, 4/15

I feel like I have been punched in the gut.

Punched by a bad guy who was hiding around a corner in a dark alley.

Punched when I least expected it.  I never saw it coming.  And it put me down for the count...

...all because of what happened in Boston yesterday at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. 

I find myself wishing it was all just a bad dream...bombs going off in the midst of a happy throng of people who were there to cheer on friends and family members running in the race.

Innocent bystanders.

Hurt, maimed, killed.  On a beautiful day.  A day that held such promise for so many. 

That is, until the awful explosion rocked the ground in Boston, and shattered windows for miles around, shattering lives at the same time.

Immediately my mind flashed back to another beautiful day in another major U.S. city...that city and date were New York, 9/11.

Now, we add another city and date to that infamous list...Boston, 4/15.

Right now, we ask the same questions we asked back then...

Who?
Why?
How?

And...What kind of person could do such a thing?

I don't have an answer for that one.

What happened is so beyond the pale of reason that, even if law enforement officials eventually identify a perpetrator and can offer some type of motivation, however mislead and off-the-wall, it will still stretch our ability to understand even a particle of it.

In the end, it goes beyond human explanation and understanding.

It is better dealt with on a spritual level, I think.

On a spiritual level, in view of this tragedy, and linked in our minds with 9/11, Sandy Hook, Aurora, Colorado, Columbine, and even going all the way back to Oklahoma City, we have to admit that evil exists in this world simply for evil's sake.

We must admit that Satan works in and among people to leave a trail of destruction in his wake, and in the process, creates a path to doubt about God's role in these tragedies.

Doubt about His ability to stop or change these attacks before they happen.

Doubt about Who is really in control, and how much control He really has.

As Christians, we cannot allow Satan to win this battle for our minds and spirits.  We cannot allow even these most horrible events to shake our faith in a good God who wants only good for His children.

Instead, we need to stay strong in Him.

We need to have confidence that, even what Satan means for evil, God can turn into good.

It happened on the cross.

And it will happen again as the smoke clears in Boston.

There will be stories of life-saving miracles that took place yesterday, even as the ground still shook.

There will be stories of amazing recoveries from devastating injuries.

There will be stories of support and strength given to those who lost a loved one in these blasts.

There will be heroes identified who ran into the face of danger and death to help others.

And for those of us who are believers, there will be a day when nothing like this can ever happen again...

...a day when Jesus reigns during an eternal Kingdom, when there will be no more tears, no more sickness or hurt, no more evil, no more Satan.

Only love and kindness and goodness and joy and peace.

In that assurance, we can always find our victory.

As I wrote on a facebook post yesterday...

Time to grieve again.
Time to be angry, again.
Time to seek answers, again.
Time to pray for the victims, again.
Time to hope that it just won't happen again, again.

When Christ comes again, it will never happen again.

Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Amen.

I Wish I Had Said That!

I am so inspired sometimes when I read well-known Christian authors' books or iconic Christian preachers' sermons.  The thoughts they had!  The words they used!  The concepts they communicated!

When that happens, I usually say to myself, "I wish I had said that!"

One example is the excerpt below from preacher and author Oswald Chambers (My Utmost for His Highest) which has such wonderful insights about prayer...

I wish I had said that:

"The reason many of us stop praying and become hard toward God is that we only have an emotional interest in prayer.  It sounds good to say that we pray, and we read books on prayer which tell us that prayer is beneficial -- that our minds are quieted and our souls are uplifted when we pray.  But Isaiah implied...that God is amazed at such thoughts about prayer.

Worship and intercession must go together; one is impossible without the other.  Intercession means raising ourselves up to the point of getting the mind of Christ regarding the person for whom we are praying.  Instead of worshiping God, we recite speeches to God about how prayer is supposed to work.  Are we worshiping God or disputing with Him when we say, 'But God, I just don't see how you are going to do this?'  This is a sure sign we are not worshiping.

When we lose sight of God, we become hard and dogmatic.  We throw our petitions at His throne and dictate to Him what we want Him to do.  We don't worship God, nor do we seek to conform our minds to the mind of Christ.  And if we are hard toward God, we become hard toward other people.

Are we worshiping God in a way that will raise us up to where we can take hold of Him, having such intimate contact with Him that we know His mind about the ones for whom we pray?  Are we living in a holy relationship with God, or have we become hard and dogmatic?

...Be a person who worships God and lives in a holy relationship with Him.  Get involved in the real work of intercession, remembering that it truly is work -- work that demands all your energy, but work which has no hidden pitfalls.  Preaching the gospel has its share of pitfalls, but intercessory prayer has none whatsoever."

So, prayer is not just giving God our list of needs each day.  Instead, it should be an act of worship, where we remember how amazing He is, give Him the glory for everything, praise Him for answered prayer, and SEEK HIS WILL for everything else.

Amen to that!

Pain, Thirst, and Lazarus

I had to go to the hospital emergency room yesterday because of an awful pain in my lower back, side and abodomen.

It was the kind of pain that takes over your whole body and mind.

In other words, it was the kind of pain that made it impossible to think about anything else other than how much pain I was in...

...and made me act in ways that were uncharacteristic.

Like beg my wife to make the doctors give me something for the pain.

Like beg the nurse to make the doctors give me something for the pain.

Like beg the doctors to PLEASE give me something for the pain.

You know you are not yourself when two different nurses in the emergency room ask you to "please be quiet."

Later, I tried to explain to them that, as a preacher, I am a verbal person and so I verbalize everything, even my pain!

The other problem I had to deal with was a thirst unlike any thirst I had ever known before.  Maybe it was the stress...maybe it was the pain...maybe it was the physical problem I was experiencing.  Maybe it was a combination of "all of the above."

I don't know.

I only know that I was in excruciating pain, and I was excruciatingly thirsty.

Here's the rub...the doctors and nurses would not allow me anything to drink...at all.  They needed to run certain tests on me that required I not drink.  There was also the possibility that I might have needed surgery, and I couldn't drink beforehand.

So, what does a person do when they feel like they are dying of thirst, but no one will allow them to have a drink?

They try to make a deal.

At least, that is what I did.

I knew my wife had a bottle of water in her purse.  I tried every trick I knew to convince her to give me a drink.

I told her my tongue was sticking to the roof of my mouth.

I told her I would do anything she wanted me to do around the house.

I told her I would love her more than ever.

I told her I couldn't swallow.

I told her I was dying.

It all fell on a deaf ear.

She was having nothing to do with it.  And I was getting no water from her.

Basically, I was desperate.  I just wanted some relief...any kind of relief...from my pain and my thirst.

And it made me think about a story in the Bible.  The story of a rich man, and a poor man named Lazarus.

Lazarus was a beggar who "longed to eat what fell from the rich man's table."  The rich man "was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day."

One day, both of them died.

The rich man went to hell and Lazarus went to heaven.

Here is how the scene is described in Luke, chapter 16...

"In hell, where he was in torment, (the rich man) looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.  So (the rich man) called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in the water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.  And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'"

Let me tell you, after my experience in the ER last night, I can definitely relate to the rich man in hell.

His unrelenting agony and thirst perfectly describe the way I felt.

But, in reality, what I experienced was only a trifle compared to what people in hell actually go through there.  Their pain is much greater than mine.  Their thirst is much greater than mine.

After last night, I can hardly get my head around that thought.  To think that anyone's pain and thirst could be worse than I knew...

...not just for a few hours like me, but for eternity.  It is just too much for me to handle.

In my case, I had compassionate doctors and nurses trying to help me, and a loving wife.

People in hell have Satan.

Enough said.

It boggles my mind.

And it convinces me that I want NOTHING TO DO WITH HELL!

Praise the Lord that I get to go where Lazarus went when I die.  I get to be with Abraham too.  All  because I have been forgiven by Jesus, my Savior, who died for me.

Will you be there too?

By the way, I did finally get some ice chips to help me with my thirst.  I did finally get some pain medication to relieve my pain.

The diagnosis was a kidney stone.

Not sure about that...but I feel much better today.  Back to normal, if there is such a thing.

I hope none of you ever has a pain like mine, a thirst like mine, or a kidney stone of your own!