responsible

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I Feel Responsible Even Though I’m Not

I may be responsible for bringing the snow to this area. It could never be proved in a court of law though, so I think I’m safe. 

I feel responsible even though I'm not

You know how it is, the one who brings bad news is considered bad news himself. That’s why the phrase, “don’t kill the messenger”. 

Apparently, there were at one time a lot of well-meaning people with unpopular messages getting knocked off for saying their peace.

You see that in the movies. It’s always the crime boss – some crime syndicate kingpin – who shoots the guy who simply tells him, “Ya, boss, he got away”. That poor guy is never seen again. 

I don’t want to be that guy. 

But on Saturday I decided to put the Christmas lights up on our house. 

It was a great day for it. The weather, as they say, was balmy. I didn’t even have a coat on at first. Only later did I put on a light jacket. 

It made sense to put up the lights when it was warm out. I’ve experienced many years when I waited too long and ended up freezing my hands off, up on the ladder. I didn’t want that to happen this year so I got the job done. 

The very next day it snowed. 

At first I thought it was harmless. The snow was melting as fast as it was falling. But in the end, there was a layer of the white stuff that began to stick to the ground. 

Then came the freezing rain which created a protective glaze to the snow. 

And I knew … that maybe … I was to blame.

When you have bad weather, there has to be someone to blame. We used to blame the weatherman. But in more recent years we have widened the net to include innocent people who are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

You know how it goes. When you’ve travelled from one part of the country to another, the first thing people say to you after you land is, “Did you bring this weather with you?” … as if you had packed it in your suitcase and checked it with the luggage! 

It doesn’t even help when you tell them, “No, I just came with a carry on.” Like how in the world could you ever manage to stow the weather in something as small as a carry on bag? 

Still, I do feel a little responsible for the snow. Maybe if I had delayed putting up the lights we would have had a few more days of nice, warm weather. 

I just have to keep a low profile for a couple of days. I understand that the temperature is on the rise and all this will soon be gone. 

Then whatever I have brought on – whether real or completely and ridiculously imaginary – will be deemed forgiven and forgotten. 

All I have to do is stay away from those crime bosses till then.

Here’s the thing: No one wants to be responsible for something they didn’t do or bring about. But that is exactly what Jesus willingly did. He died not for His sins but for our sins. He wasn’t responsible but He took on the role of being responsible. The punishment for that was death. He died for our sins – more specifically, He died for your sins and my sins. That act frees us from facing the punishment we would be responsible for. When we place our faith in Christ’s sacrifice and seek His forgiveness, we are free. That is something we all need to consider. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you often feel responsible for that you shouldn’t? Leave your comments and questions below.

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When They Grow Up, They Get Smart and Everything

A few months ago I wrote a blog I called my replacement blog. I had written a blog that my editor (wife) didn’t want me to post. She felt that it was not fare to the person I wrote it about.  So instead I wrote the blog that appeared on July 13th called “My Replacement Blog”.  Since that time my daughter Karlie as given me permission to post the original blog I wrote back in July.

 On that special day when your first child is born, you really don’t have any idea what will transpire over the years. Sure, you may look right into her scrunched up closed eyes and dream about things to come. You might even take that little wrinkly, slippery body in your arms and begin to make plans.

2013-star-motorcycle-bolt-1_600x0w

But you really don’t have a clue what the next few days will bring, let alone the next several decades.

My daughter, Karlie, is coming home after living on the other side of the country for the last six years. No, she won’t be living in our home, but Richmond Hill is under 3 hours away, and not the 36 hours of straight driving distance that she’s living now.

She should arrive next week … that’s if she doesn’t do anything foolish. Ha, like that would happen! My daughter is responsible, sensible and very determined.

But … she’s also adventurous. So, when she goes for a motorcycle ride with a friend and after the ride the friend says, “Hey Karlie, you want to try riding this bike? She says . . .

The responsible and sensible Karlie says, “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”  But the adventurous and determined Karlie says, “Ya, sure I’ll try.”

Now if you were going to try to ride a motorcycle for the first time, you would probably pick some really open area with no obstacles around. When I taught Karlie and Mike to drive, we went to a big parking lot, and to streets that had no cars on them.

That’s the sensible thing to do. Karlie and her friend, well, they chose a parking garage. There weren’t many cars around, but there were cement posts in the vicinity. But with some careful instruction on what to do, Karlie got on the bike with no helmet.

Did I really say she didn’t have a helmet? That must have been a typo. After all, she’s sensible, and in a parking garage. It wasn’t a long ride; short, in fact. Her friend described it as “I’ve never been more scared in my life watching that.”

Somehow she found one of those cements posts in the parking garage. She ran right into it. She wrecked the bike, got a ride in an ambulance, and got a $300 fine. Not bad.

The amazing thing is she’s alive! … and received only a few stitches on her cheek, a black eye and swollen face. No broken bones, concussion or death. We’re praising the Lord right now for His protection.

I love this girl; she’s my daughter. I’ll take her adventurous side as well as her sensible, responsible side. But I wouldn’t have dreamed 24 years ago – on the day Calgary won the Stanley Cup – that my little squirmy, wrinkly baby (who looked very similar to the babies on either side of her in the nursery) would be sporting the same beat up face as one of the guys contending for the Cup!

Here’s the thing: It would be nice to be able to protect those around you, to keep them from harm, or at least weigh in on the decisions they make. That may be a reality when a child is small, but is impossible as they get older. We can become relegated to worry about them and for them. However, God can care for them better than we can, no matter how far away they are. Our job is not to worry, but to trust. Trust God with those you love. It’s really all you can do, and the best you can do.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What’s the scariest story your child or loved one has told you? Leave your comment below.