The Good Portion

On Thanksgiving Day I got up early and headed off to work. As it turned out, the client who thought she would need my help that morning to prepare for her large family gathering did not need me after all. She sent me home with a full day's pay just the same. My own family gathering would be a small one. My daughter and her boyfriend were out of town for the day. My son and his girlfriend would not be available for dinner until 7:00 pm. I was tempted to lay around all day and do nothing. After all, I work hard. I could use some rest. But I know myself well. I resisted that urge and decided to make better use of those newfound hours. There is nothing like the process and result of cleaning your own house for clearing the cobwebs from your mind. As a person prone to depression, I know first-hand that it is a lying brute that will try to stop you from doing the very things that actually have the power to fend it off. If your house is dirty, it tells you there is no point in cleanin...

I've lived fifty years on this earth and I have a lot of regrets. But one thing I can say that I have never regretted was a decision to forgive. Decades ago I had an employer, a professing Christian, active in ministry. He was a charismatic man with big dreams, and his employees were devoted to him. But his dreams were bigger than the reality in which we all lived, and the business foundered.  Paychecks became sporadic, but his bright optimism, our belief in his vision, and our loyalty kept us around. Eventually, however, it got to the point that he neglected to pay us for weeks on end. This went on for two or three months before I finally quit, but there were others of us who stayed far longer waiting for that oft-promised ship, carrying its thousands of dollars of back-pay, to come in. One of the last straws came for me when I learned that all the while we were not getting paid, our boss was renting a luxury home in Dana Point. I was indignant. I, too, was a professing Christ...