Do you like to watch romantic movies? Rom-coms are fun because you know the couples will always end up passionately in love. Wow, heady stuff! Unfortunately, as most couples know, rom-coms are make-believe, not real life. First-love passions fade and the practical aspects of making a living, raising children and being committed to one another, through thick and thin, emerge. Abusive marriages need to end, but more marriages end not because of abuse, but because couples say they’ve “fallen out of love.” What they really mean by love is that first passionate romance of new love. How many morals, principles, families and marriages are sacrificed on the altar of unrealistic romantic love. Let’s hope all marriages keep some romance in them, as long as we remember romantic feelings are not enough to carry you through the hard times.

In the flower- and flag-draped casket, crowned with the British symbols of state and church, lay a queen who shared the gospel to more on the day of her funeral than she did all the days of her long life. If you watched the funeral service, you heard scripture after scripture recited pointing to Christ and his promise of eternal life. And, not only did you and I hear those words, so also did multiple millions of people worldwide in numerous languages. This service’s focus on God’s promise of the resurrection was not without her participation. According to various British ecclesiasticals, she was closely involved in planning her service. Whether Jesus returns tomorrow or thousands of years hence, God’s Word cannot be hindered. In one way or the other the gospel will be taken to the world.

Have you ever had to be rushed to ER? It happened to me. As my daughter drove me to the emergency room, acute pain piercing through my side, thoughts of Jesus being stabbed on the cross came. How much worse it had been for him. At the hospital big guys in scrubs wheeled me into a room, inserted an IV and started pain meds into my system. When they didn’t work they gave me stronger meds. Unlike Jesus’ experience, my painful kidney stone episode was taken care of by tender hands working hard to relieve my suffering. I hate pain. I hate it for myself and I hate it for others. While I do everything I can to avoid pain, our Savior faced it head on, just for the love of us.

As the world watched, an exceptional woman was carried from one destination to another, with all the trappings of royalty. And, she deserved every accolade, military band, gun salute and royal guard that accompanied her along the route from Balmoral Castle to Westminster Hall. She is The Queen. We don’t have a queen or king in America, so we idolize sports figures, movie stars and even politicians. They continually disappoint us, but The Queen did not fail her people. Queen Elizabeth II didn’t choose her role in life, but she vowed to fulfill it until the end. May we take our God-given responsibilities, whether chosen or not, as seriously as she.

One of English author A.A. Milne’s famous quotes is “Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.” In the spring when the grass begins to grow in my yard, tiny flowers appear everywhere. When I examine them closely, they’re perfect little works of art. Out in the pastures and fields glorious color spreads across the countryside, reds, yellows and blues! Weeds—we walk on them and we mow them away. Somehow I feel Milne’s words are not just about weeds.

“You want an ice-cream?” he asked. I said no to the ice cream. Another friend and I were with this friend who had lost his wife a couple of weeks ago. We had invited him to eat with us at a small Texas market known for its good hamburgers. We reminisced about his wife and in a small way, shared some of his grief. “Ok, if you’re not having one, I won’t either.” I saw the disappointed look on our friend’s face. Though I seldom have dessert after a meal, we all had ice cream that day. Some days you order the ice cream.

When I mentioned to my daughter I would like to be a philanthropist, she asked, “But don’t you have to have money to do that?” Well, there is that! Okay, I’m not a Melinda Gates or a MacKenzie (formerly Bezos) who give away money in the billions, but I still believe any of us can be a philanthropist. Because Jesus said there’s one philanthropist who outdid even those wealthy women, the widow at the temple in Jerusalem. Though she was poor, he pointed to her as an example of the ultimate giver. (Mark 12:41-44).  

We had taken lots of hikes and camped out often, but when my husband asked me to go backpacking for a week, I was hesitant. Finally, I agreed. We drove up in the high Sierras to meet with the group he backpacked with every year. As I was harnessed up with the backpack frame and loaded with camping supplies, including food, I knew I had made a serious mistake. In the thin air it was harder to breath, even without climbing with a 40-plus-pound pack on my back. But off we went. After several miles of climbing I realized how important my feet were. Those feet were my only means of transportation. You don’t think much about feet until you know they’re your only hope of rescue! It was years ago, but I have not taken my feet for granted since.

Have you ever wondered what questions 12-year-old Jesus asked the priests at the temple? Were they about the significance of the holy days he and his parents had attended? Or maybe he questioned them about some of the Sabbath restrictions he didn’t find in the Torah. His parents had told him about the circumstances surrounding his birth, therefore he knew he was special to God. So I’m wondering if he might have asked the religious leaders about the long-awaited messiah. Whatever he asked they were astounded at his perceptive questions. The Holy Spirit was guiding his young mind to more fully understand who he was.

Praying that God be with us through the day is a daily practice for many of us. I got to thinking that sometimes instead of asking God to be with us, we might ask that we can be with God. You know, like Jesus’ disciples. After he called each of them they followed him around, doing his bidding. They didn’t plan what to do and ask him to be with them, they were happy to let him show the way. We have to plan and have some structure in our lives, but how about asking Jesus if we can follow him around. Of course, like the disciples, when you follow Jesus you must leave the past behind.