Hootin and Hollerin at the river

Good morning, I pray that the day is finding you well. One of the best things about the house on the river is it is so peaceful. It is a place where a person can sit, relax, and learn how to breathe again. I like to say that it provides a “thin spot” to Christ. Laurie and I have chairs that face the river and we sit in them, listening to the river, reading and watching for the deer that like to cross the river near our house. It is very peaceful. It is very peaceful unless our neighbor’s nephew is having a party. Tuesday night as Laurie and I were getting ready for bed the music started. It was country western and the speakers worked very well, this is to say it was very loud. When I left Wednesday morning for work the music was still playing, Laurie told me later that it finally ended around 9am. Considering the length of time that the music played and the volume which made it impossible to disregard I will have to talk to this young buck about having more than four or five cd’s in his collection. I think I have most of the songs memorized. The thought did cross my mind at 4:30am to go over and tell them to turn the music down and stop “Hootin and Hollerin”. I was not a happy camper. Then my curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to see, just how long this would continue. As I stated earlier, I found out just how long it would go on. Wednesday, Laurie and I watched as cars started to show up at the property. We decided to go have a conversation with this group. We met the young bucks father who was pretty embarrassed and said that it would not happen again. We left on good terms and went home. I was pretty tired and frankly watching the bachelor is not my type of television so I went to bed early. I awoke at 2:30am to more “hootin and Hollerin”. I was just about to walk over and just yell, “Shut up and turn off the music!!!!!!!!!!” I just finished reading, “Walk in the Light and twenty-three tales, by Leo Tolstoy. One of his stories entitled, “A park neglected burns the house” tells of two neighbors who came into conflict over an egg. The story goes on to say how the conflict continued and became so big that eventually both homes were burned to the ground. Forgiveness, it is a word that we often talk about but is so much harder to put into action; Tolstoy’s story talks about how if they would have just resolved the issue with the egg both homes would have stood. Yet, as you read the story you see how easy it is to become myopic and narcissistic, taking a narrow view and think only of yourself. It even goes on talking to the point that the neighbor was only thinking of himself. As Christians, we are to put into action, a better way. Laurie and I have forgiven our neighbor’s nephew. We are not angry, a little tired, but not angry. We will have another conversation with him when the opportunity presents itself. However, we will do this out of love. A funny thing happens when you forgive someone whom you feel has trespassed on you. You stop thinking about it and find humor in the situation. Here is another story from another book. 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[f] 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents[g] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.[h] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18: 21-35) Love and forgiveness, two concepts we fail to totally understand. Love and forgiveness, two concepts that we continually need to work on. Love and forgiveness, two concepts that we simply need to do! Blessings,