
Spring
My wife and I visited noted children’s author, Bill Martin Jr, on several occasions at his home on Brown Bear Lane in Commerce, TX. Bill taught with my parents in St. John, KS and lived with my grandparents. Our last visit, before his death, we ate at his favorite restaurant where an unexpected event took place.
Story lesson: Appreciating the power of connections, and beauty of sitting at the feet of a master story-teller.
Having received a spanking in fourth grade, and knowing the family rule… ‘if you get a spanking at school, you also get one at home’… created an elementary school moral dilemma.
Story lesson: There are times that delaying the truth might be a safe strategy and an act of wisdom.
In an attempt to recycle many empty plastic bags I was told “we don’t recycle.” I sensed such a response was based on my appearance of an unshaven face and shabby garage-cleaning work clothes. Determination to recycle was embraced by another employee, who was non-judgmental.
Story lesson: That day I walked in another person’s shoes. A shot of reality!
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic an unexpected bag-piper appeared in our neighborhood and played music, inviting many of us into our front yards to listen. His concluding piece celebrated the meaningful moment.
Story lesson: A community of wondering folks were drawn together through the beauty of music and one particular amazing number.
A basketball team from a small South Carolina college traveled over 1300 miles to a National tournament in Kansas, not knowing anyone at the tourney site. Several churches in Hutchinson, KS decided, with the hopeful encouragement of the South Carolina college president, to embrace the ‘orphaned’ team.
Story lesson: Kindness builds powerful relationships, and is contagious. Nothing is impossible and the reward is life-lasting.
Nellie is a non-traditional student (age 50) who has returned to the University to finish her schooling. She is very shy, dresses quite frumpy, and is noticed by many students, who want to befriend her, but do not know how. There is a break-through at an Award’s Banquet and a quartet’s special song.
Story lesson: Hans Christian Andersen said, “Where words fail, music speaks.”
My last semester of college I enrolled in a woodworking class. I knew nothing about building. I chose a bookcase, and began to draw exquisite plans. My hours spent on designing were an excuse for not actually doing the building, where I felt so inadequate. And then, one day, my Professor asked me a most profound question.
Story lesson: Making plans – extensively – can, many times, serve as an excuse for immobility. Beverly Sills said, “You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.”
This is a story told by my mother, who was an ardent supporter of my dad’s high school band. A required number for the national contest had a very difficult baritone solo in it. Donny, dad’s brass player, often had difficulty hitting the extra high note in the solo. It was the day of the contest, and Donny began his solo…
Story lesson: We all can survive difficult moments. Sometimes we believe in our own power to pull us through…other times, we draw on a higher power. We can reach the unreachable!
My mentor in Seminary taught a seminar on ‘prayer’. We would pray individually for the class, and Dr. Michalson would critique our prayers. Except when Paul prayed. It was so powerful that my professor did something he had never done in any of our class sessions.
Story lesson: Sometimes, when least expected, we all can become immersed into something ‘holy’. We don’t need to understand the moment, just experience it.

Summer
Two youth groups from South Carolina and Colorado met in South Dakota for a work experience amongst and with the Lakota Indians. On the evening of the last day we all joined together at the Pow Wow. Dancing together with my daughter, granddaughter and our friends from the reservation, was an unforgettable experience.
Story lesson: I realized in that moment I cannot change history, but I, with my daughter and granddaughter can keep loving, keep asking to be forgiven, and keep dancing.
I was counseling with Roy, a twenty-two-year-old with the mind of an eight-year-old. I learned to appreciate his simplicity, and the way he viewed his and my world. He worked at a nursery, watering trees and plants. They fired him. He told me on his last day there “I want to bake them some cookies and roll up the hoses the very best they have ever been rolled up”.
Story lesson: When we have been mistreated, sometimes we just need to ‘roll with the punches’. Avoid our first impulse. Get in touch with our second impulse. Maybe ask, “What would Roy do?”
I felt overwhelming excitement by being asked by a circus employee if I wanted to help set chairs for the afternoon performance (my fifth-grade year). I was promised a free ticket for the next day’s performance. When I showed up at the appointed time I experienced something I have never forgotten.
Story lesson: I learned at an early age the importance of asking questions and then trusting my intuition.
At a baseball game, where our sixth-grade grandson was playing there was a dad who yelled loudly and repeatedly abusive comments to his son, who was pitching for the other team. “Throw strikes!” The young pitcher’s mom, seated away from her husband, shouted to him some comments all parents need to hear.
Story lesson: First, there is no place for abusive parenting! Secondly, it is important to know how to support a person who is struggling. Question to ask: ‘what is the most loving response I can make in this situation?’
I hid a ninth-grade-young man in my church office from several officers of the rail-road, because he had been throwing rocks at a passing train, outside our church. Years later, on my last Sunday at this church we had a long-awaited visit that spoke to my first Sunday at the church and my last.
Story lesson: Circumstances in life have a way of resolving themselves, often years later. It is never too late for forgiveness.
My Mennonite, German-speaking grandmother had a saying on her wall. Every visit to her home I would look at the saying and try to figure out its meaning. Finally, I got it.
Story lesson: Truth is “out there”. Keep seeking it.
In high-school my buddy helped me with my math assignments every night after school. At a thirty-five-year class reunion, my college-aged daughter and my mom invited some of my class-mates for a lunch. While serving my buddies, Mary Beth is asked by my old tutor how she did in math classes. The conversation that ensued is worth repeating.
Story lesson: Humor in life is necessary and needed. Accepting our backgrounds is a reflective blessing.
Dad gave new life through music to a devastated, depressed community in the 1930’s. For seven years he taught kids to play instruments, and create a national champion band in marching and concert. The community found hope in music. Why did my dad continually say, “Those were the best years of my life”?
Story lesson: I learned that talent and ingenuity are important, but they do not stand alone. Relationships rise to the top. And, no one is entitled to live life at another’s expense.
Mom’s dying words to me were, “Have fun with the land.” A trip to see the Western Kansas eighty acres, with my spouse and sister yielded an unexpected joy.
Story lesson: As I reached down to pick up some dirt from our land, I thought, “Be thankful for your past, be very present in the now, and trust in the goodness that is meant to be.”

Autumn
Going to Pratt, KS to celebrate my friend’s 50th High-School football team’s undefeated season was a walk down memory lane. It renewed my memory of serving at the First United Methodist Church, and having such a strong connection to the community and my friend, Jim. But, I would not have made the trip if it had not been for another dear friend who called me and asked a question that caused me to ponder.
Story lesson: Some questions are so penetrating into one’s conscience that they bring out the deepest reflections in our souls. They also hit our honesty button.
Taking a ballet class in my late forties was indeed a challenge, and possibly a poor decision. However, it did put me in touch with what my youngest daughter went through every week in her preparation for her gymnastic routines. It was a weekly one-hour experience of agony and disturbing self-awareness.
Story lesson: Not being able to nurse my body into certain poses, or accomplish the commands of the instructor taught me to just “give as much of myself as I can to as much of the instruction as I understand.”
Some words just don’t make sense, like when my spouse said at 3:30 in the morning, “What shall we do?” My answer? “How about sleep?” And then, “No, I mean, where shall we go?” The rest of the morning saga gives life a whole new perspective.
Story lesson: Spontaneity is what can give relationships the spark they need. Key is, we need to be open to the idea or suggestion, even if it doesn’t fit the moment.
Ron was my pastor and friend. When I needed a word of wisdom or encouragement, I would call him. Through the years I thought of writing him a note of appreciation about our relationship. I just kept putting it off. One procrastinated day I wrote him a note of gratefulness. His spouse wrote me back. Her words reminded me of one of life’s greatest truths.
Story lesson: Procrastination can cause us to experience regrets. Taking care of business in a timely manner is an act of wisdom…for most folks.
I worked in a clothing store with William, a seventy-five-year-old man full of wisdom. He sold accessories with me, plus was a fine hat salesman. One day I asked him how he sold so many hats. What I heard from him was deeper than a lesson about selling hats.
Story lesson: The Williams of this world have much to teach us. Take time to listen. It is often a metaphor.
My great-aunt Eula was a combination of a down-home woman laced with elegance. She was loved by a whole community. When she died her nephew and I handled her service. After the celebration I took Kent to the airport ninety miles away for his flight home. Departing the car, he left me with four words from Aunt Eula, which I have never forgotten.
Story lesson: The greatest compliment we can give ourselves, as we breathe our last breath, is to say, “I took care of business.”
Years ago, I purchased at a “going out of business sale,” a vintage Hamilton-Beach malt machine. It has worked perfectly ever since, serving hundreds of multi-flavored malts as a signature drink in our home. Why are these malts the world’s most fantastic malts? It’s time for a sip…
Story lesson: Following one’s dream of how to make an impact in this world needs acting out…not just verbalizing.
Marrying Bill, age 90, and Maude, age 88, was a sacred experience. Standing up with them was Cora, 89 years old, and Ira, age 92. Only the four of them stood at the altar, with empty pews behind them. When the last ‘amen’ was shouted, something very strange happened with the chimes.
Story lesson: Sometimes we humans, full of practicality, try to explain the unexplainable. Maybe it is best for us to simply accept the many ways the mysterious spirit moves in and out of our lives.
He was my son-in-law. He was 57 when he died. He and his family wanted to experience Steve’s Pizza one last time. They loved that pizza when they lived in Battle Creek, MI. He didn’t get to carry out his wish. A few days before he died, a miracle happened, that involved Steve’s Pizza.
Story lesson: There are angels and modern-day parables in this world. Keep watching and listening for them.

Winter
On a Christmas Eve, in the 1950’s, Snooky Lanson was the lead vocalist on the popular “Your Hit Parade”. It was Christmas Eve and he began singing “O, Holy Night.” About the third line he forgot the words. It was live TV. He stumbled, and finally regrouped. How our pastor handled Snooky Lanson’s botched performance the next day in his sermon is so life-giving.
Story lesson: When we feel lost, or depressed, or without meaning, we may feel like we are stumbling through life. We are not alone. Someone picks us up.
When my son didn’t get to play on a Biddy Basketball team, while in the third grade, he asked me to coach the next year. His coach violated the rules. I coached a team of eleven boys, the ones left over in a recruitment frenzy on the gym floor of the Salvation Army. We learned a lot, particularly how to lose with grace. With no wins, we played the last game of the season against an undefeated team.
Story lesson: Do not quit. Believe in oneself and what might be possible. Find joy in the moment. Treat one another with respect and understand each other’s uniqueness.
Two days after Christmas we were visiting our daughter’s home in Kansas. After everyone had gone to bed, Mary Beth and I stayed up to enjoy the Christmas ambience. Amidst the quietness, Mary Beth asked me to look at the wall near the fireplace. What we saw was a beautifully-formed Angel, looking directly at us. We stared back in awe. There was a message for us.
Story lesson: Sometimes we can feel like shepherds wandering around in the fields of life. We don’t always know where the message comes from, or how the picture appears, but there is a truth that invites us to “not be afraid.”
I am unsure how God speaks to us, but I do believe that divine guidance can come through the voice of another human being. Not knowing a certain direction to take in my life I called a friend to guide me. As good friends do, he did not tell me what to do, but rather posed a question, which I found as a gift. I didn’t fully understand, but eventually found the answer.
Story lesson: Listening to God speak through another can be mystifying, and energizing.
We have all found ourselves in ethical dilemmas.They are the spontaneously unplanned events that expose our deepest values. One such plane ride and a can of spraying tomato juice pushed me to my decision-making limits.
Story lesson: The story reaffirms for me something I believe in. It is this: Our values and ethics are involved in everything we say and do, and everything we say and do matters.
My Dad died in October, which caused the family to come to our home in Colorado, instead of Mom and Dad’s traditional gathering in Kansas. With everyone asleep, after difficult journeys through storms, I am laying on the couch being thankful and sad at the same time. All of a sudden a hall light flashes on – a light that does not work – it needs re-wiring. I sense mystically it is Dad. The story continues throughout the next day, with the light flashing at strategic times before the wide-eyed members of the family.
Story lesson: The truth of eternity speaks in many ways. Be open to the possibilities.
As the veterinarian hospital is closing on Christmas Eve, a young man, who works at the local junk yard, brings his extremely sick puppy to the clinic. It is five minutes before closing-time. They welcome him and reassure him, after an examination of the puppy, that they will care for him. Does the story of Christmas follow?
Story lesson: There are benevolent people in this world, who make room for those who are hurting. Empathy does have a place in the minds and hearts of people. Doors do open.
The last performance of a live nativity on a church lawn found a Wiseman putting an ample amount of dry ice in a basin before entering the stable area. The steam was so prolific that it blinded the Wiseman, causing him to be lost.
Story lesson: Many times in the midst of life’s haze we lose our way. And then, we hear a voice that offers us some direction. It may be a faith statement or just a voice of compassion. It is up to us to listen.
I found myself sitting next to an old man in the athletic club sauna, where I work out. Putting on my t-shirt I started to walk out the door, only to have him re-iterate the words on the back of my shirt. It was one my firefighting son-in-law gave me. It said, “Committed to Saving Lives.” What follows from the old man is prophetic.
Story lesson: There are lessons to be learned wherever we find ourselves. Truisms can jump at us when we least expect them.