fit

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We Fit More People In Than I Thought We Could

You can always fit more people in than you think you can. This has been proven over and over, but we just proved it once again. 

We Fit More People In

I remember in the 70’s – before seat belts were a must – we would, at times, pile insane amounts of people into cars.

Sometime we would do it for fun, but mostly it was out of necessity. We frequently needed to transport more people than there were available seats in the vehicles. It was routine that we would go somewhere with friends, often sitting in the back seat, squished between two guys, with two or three girls sitting on our laps. 

It was similar to a gang tackle in football, only we were under the pile a lot longer. 

Sometimes we would shoehorn so many friends into a car that we had to ask someone to move a bit so we could shift gears. For long trips that wasn’t bad, but for city driving it meant for a lot of moving parts.

Well, for the first time in 24 years, we hosted the Christmas meal at our home. We really should have done it the first year we moved back to Ontario – we would have had a few less people. But having the whole family for Christmas dinner at our place this year, as apposed to 24 years ago, created an even bigger space issue. 

In 1996, 6 of the 14 family members at the meal were 7 and under. Not now – everyone is an adult – no little people anymore. 

We have a dining table that seats 8. With some creativity and ingenuity from my wife, we were able to up that to 12 people. That left 6 people eating standing up, so we brought in a folding table that extended into the living room.

It was going to work we could fit everyone in. But when everyone started to arrive and the tables were set up, it didn’t leave a lot of room for people to mingle. 

There were people sitting in the living room but then a whole lot of others standing around the perimeter of the room … much like a bunch of junior highers at a school dance.

 Fortunately we soon saddled up to the tables and got down to some serious eating. 

And when dinner was over, we pushed the extra table against a railing in the living room and shortened the dining room table. People spread out to other parts of the house; some went downstairs to the family room. Before too long the family was fitting in the space.  

I’ve been to parties where there was a crowd in every room you entered, wall-to-wall people. It was not nearly that bad … certainly not too crowded for a day.

The day after I was talking with a friend and told him about the 18 people we had over to our little home and he just smiled at me. Then he said, “We have 16 people living in our house all the time.” 

… Maybe we should have the whole family over every weekend.

Here’s the thing: People have joined God’s family for over 2000 years, putting their faith in Jesus Christ. We don’t know when Christ will come back, but one thing we know is that there will always be room to fit more in. So if you have not joined God’s family by claiming Christ as your Saviour, the time to do that is now.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How can you strengthen you family ties? Leave your questions and comments below.

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Why Letting Go Of The Old Is So Difficult

I’m having a hard time deciding on changing some old hockey equipment for new stuff – my hockey gloves and skates.

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My hockey gloves are only 6 years old, but I don’t have any palms in them any more.  My skates, well, that’s another story. They’re about 20 years old.

My skates are so old young people look at them and wonder if they should be in a museum! The other day, I was in the change room and a young guy looked over at my skates and said, “How old are THEY?!” He said it with a tone of “What are those things anyway?!”

My skates are probably about as old as he is.

I’ve thought of getting new skates but that thought scares me. They don’t make my kind any more.

I have top of the line (in their day) CCM Tacks called “Vacu Tacks”. To fit them, they would have you put your feet in the skates and then they would take a heat gun and heat up the outside, pretty much until your feet started to cook inside.

When they were sufficiently hot, with your feet still in the skate, they would but a rubber bag around the skate and zip it up. They would attach a compressor to a valve on the bag and they would literally suck all the air out of the bag, causing the hot skate to form to the shape of your foot.

They fit perfectly from the first time I wore them. It’s not going to be easy to get a new pair to fit like that again. Besides, my skates still work, and are in pretty good shape for all the hockey they have witnessed over the years.

My gloves are another story. I basically hold onto my stick bare-handed with a floppy lump of protection over top. Getting new gloves is not easy either.

They have to be the right size, so my hand doesn’t slide around in them. The palm leather must be very supple so its almost like there is nothing there. And there has to be enough freedom at the wrist so I can maneuver my hands easily for stick handling.

People think I’m crazy to hang onto my old equipment. But this stuff works, I’m comfortable with it, it’s been with me a long time.

I’m afraid that my experience with new equipment won’t be as good as my experience with my old equipment. Why would I go for something new that, in the end, doesn’t work as well as what I’m already using? Being new is not always enough reason to switch.

So I’ve been to a few stores, I’ve tried on dozens of gloves, and I’ll keep trying to find a pair that will work. I may have to go outside of Kingston to get the right pair. I’m going to take my time to make sure they’ll be right.

As for skates, I can’t get myself to do anything more than just look at the display models in stores. I’m not quite ready to try a pair on.

Here’s the thing: Often when we have had an experience with God, whether it is in our devotions, or in ministry, we tend to savour it. We are satisfied with it and don’t want to move on to a new experience that might be different or feel uncomfortable. Don’t let yourself get stuck there. Keep looking for what God has next for you to experience.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you keep using even though it’s almost worn out and you are due for a new one? Leave your comment below.