Full of It

A pastor of mine once said that if you want to see what a man is like, bump him. Whatever fills him will spill out.

We attended a memorial service today, and I almost lost it. I can only imagine what the family is going through. I can imagine how I would feel if it were me, and it breaks my soul. What spills out of a man when he is rocked like that? I am not a man of many sorrows, but the Lord is, and I felt full of it today.

I got home late and hungry, carrying takeout and my wife still at work. I let the dog out, and he tracked muddy footprints across the carpet. Then I noticed he'd had diarrhea in his kennel and his footprints probably weren't muddy. An hour later, I sat down with cold rice and still no wife.

As I was hosing down his kennel and blankets and cleaning up the floor, I couldn't help thinking about the life we live. How hard have I been bumped, really? I'm not digging through the rubble in Sichuan or ferrying supplies in Myanmar. Maybe that's why we're doing what we're doing. God has given us a great life, ringed us with steadfast friends, and supported us with strong families. Now I think it's time we gave it back. I don't know what our life will look like in six months, but we're on God's wheel now. Perhaps I'll still be cleaning up mustard yellow doggy doody and eating cold takeout, or maybe we'll be grieving in the company of friends. Wherever we are, whatever we're doing, we'll be doing it to the glory of His name.

1 Corinthians 10:31