I would have expected a phone call last evening. But, I knew it wouldn’t be coming, so I just shut my phone off so I could deal with the emotion the events of the day had brought my way.
I lost a good friend yesterday, very unexpectedly, and much too early. Bill passed away on the basketball court, doing something he loved to do, with the person he most enjoyed sharing it with – his son Zach. Bill and I shared the same passions, and that’s why it didn’t take too long for us to begin to connect after we first met. He loved God intensely, and extravagantly poured out the overflow of that love on his family. He loved to laugh, boisterously, with friends. And, he loved sports. What I enjoyed most about Bill was the way all those passions kind of sloshed together. There was a seamless flow in our conversations together that usually included bits and pieces of all those things. The extent of the family and marriage counsel he sought from me was how a dad could watch his kids compete and succeed in sports without becoming too proud or too pushy. He wondered what things I had done to make Martha more interested in sports so he could share them with Deborah, too.
Bill had a real gift. I suppose it was what made him so successful in sales. I’ve never been friends with anyone who asked so many questions about me, what my thoughts were, what made me tick. And, after he figured me out, he was diligent about sharing those passions with me. The first time we were really engaged in more than cursory conversation, he managed to find out that our son Matt was attending Baylor University, so, we were a family of Baylor sports fans. That’s all it took. He pledged to me that he was going to be a Bear Backer, too, except, of course, when they faced his beloved Texas Tech Red Raiders.
And that’s when the phone calls started. I could count on hearing from him every time Baylor was on TV, or when the paper ran a story about them. The sport didn’t make any difference – football, basketball, baseball, track, men’s teams or women’s teams. The phone would ring, and he wouldn’t have to identify himself, he just led off with, “What did you think of the game?” So, when Baylor bowed out of the NCAA baseball tournament yesterday, the phone should have rung, Bill should have been on the other end to console me, and he would have ended the conversation with, “Oh well, football season starts in another month, and I’m expecting Robert Griffin to make big noise for the Bears this year. Hey! We love you guys!” But the phone was quiet.
I always felt that Bill was thinking about me. He made me feel that he valued my opinion and appreciated my company. After all, that’s just exactly what real friends do. I saw him at church yesterday morning, the first time our paths had crossed in about a month. He threw his arms around me and said, loudly, of course, “Man, we’ve missed you guys! When can we get together?” Next time we get together Bill, time won’t constrain us and busyness won’t deter us. We’ll talk and laugh as long as we want to.
So, I’ve been reminded the past twenty-four hours how important it is to shake off the tyranny of the urgent, those things that cry out for attention and fill our time, but are of no eternal value. Those people God has placed in my life really mean something. Lord, help me to be aware of my time, cautious of my attention and lavish with my love.
WBCL Radio Network in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, interviewed us on Monday, May 18. It’s a six-station network that covers Indiana and parts of Ohio and Michigan. Lynne Ford is the host of the weekly morning program, “Author, Author” that features interviews with several authors each week. Here it is! Our interview begins about 20 minutes into the program.
This past weekend, Martha drug out some of the old family photo albums, and coerced me to look through them with her. As we reminisced about some great times, I also happened to run across a few pictures that I would just as soon incinerate. They were scary, but I got up enough guts to post one of the least brutal ones here. No snickering allowed, because I’m sure you have some that would rival it.
Now, there’s a way, though, to embrace the embarrassment that families have for so long kept hidden. This morning, I found an “interesting” website, 
“It’s tapping into something universal,” said the site’s co-founder Mike Bender. “Everybody has experienced not only the awkwardness … [but] I think there’s something almost cathartic for people to share their awkwardness. That was always the hope.”
It just might be a movement whose time has come.
San Antonio knows how to celebrate. Fiesta is happening right now – twelve days of parades, music, fun and food at events all over town, all day and all night long. I’ve lived here my whole life, and it still amazes me how the entire city is always looking for a reason to party. During the Rodeo in February, everyone digs out their boots and hats and becomes cowboys and cowgirls for a couple of weeks. During Christmas, lights fill all the trees along the Riverwalk, and thousands of worshippers, singing Christmas carols, travel through downtown with La Posada, a reenactment of Mary and Joseph’s search through Bethlehem for a place for Jesus to be born. We host the nation’s largest Martin Luther King Day festivities, and you can’t begin to imagine the spontaneous revelry when our San Antonio Spurs win an NBA championship.
The scriptures are filled with scenes of unbridled joy. Some of it was just spontaneous response to God’s goodness and faithfulness, like when David danced before the Lord. But much of the celebration was planned and intentional. Throughout the Old Testament God’s people were called to celebrate.
Maybe we just don’t celebrate enough. Or maybe we just need to refocus our rejoicing. God knows that celebrations are important when they’re directed to Him. He knows that our family’s faith is enriched when our homes are filled with praise. Kids don’t forget special times, fun and exciting times that are focused on the goodness of God. And, for that matter, adults don’t either.
I’ve realized how important it is to set aside specific moments to engage my family and friends in celebrating who God is. I want to acknowledge God’s working in our lives through even the little things. I want to make the seemingly insignificant things God does really significant. I think I’m going to throw more parties.
This is a great time of the year to be a man. It’s one of those special times when sports converge and testosterone reigns. The NBA playoffs are underway, baseball season has begun, and the NFL will have its annual draft of college players next Saturday.
If I may, let me offer some wisdom to all the wives out there. Your husband doesn’t particularly like to be called “artistic” or “creative.” There’s something just a little dainty about those words. They conjure up images that are way too colorful, that smell too sweet, and that inevitably include lace and flowers. It reminds me of a time when Matt, our son, was about 10 years old, and somehow, he and I got duped into accompanying Martha into the craft store. About 15 minutes into the journey, he looked at me and said, “Dad, if hell is anything like this place, I really don’t want to go there.” I understood completely.
McNair Wilson, was, at one time, Senior Imagineer for the Walt Disney Corporation. He was the guy who came up with ideas for all the rides and attractions at the theme parks and made them come to life. He created all the Disney things that not only captured kids’ attention, but adults’, as well. McNair now teaches companies and organizations not to be afraid of that word “creativity,” but, instead, use it to effectively communicate their message.
“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”