Good morning,
I pray the day is finding you well.
Being a chaplain comprises many things, one of which is spiritual direction.
While working with people in this capacity I have the opportunity to get them to look through the hidden doors and closed windows in ther lives and spritual journey.
Growing up in my small town we had a drive-in on the edge of town.
Everything seemed to be on the edge of town; when we moved from the farm to town my sophomore year in high school we moved into a house that was on the north edge of town. The grain elevator was at the west end of town, three blocks away. The high school was at the east edge of town 6 blocks away. The motel was at the south edge of town 10 blocks away.
Our town was a small town.
Mrs. Edmundson owned the drive-in.
I have mentioned before that one of my favorite pastimes was on Saturday morning to get up and watch the "Bugs Bunny Road Runner hour" on T.V. Not only was it one of my favorite programs, it was one of the few programs that Kloe Goodland offered. I would get up, go to the kitchen, make a gallon of chocolate milk; my mother said that when I went off to college she could not get the milk delivery shut off fast enough, yes this was back in the days when we actually had milkmen that delivered our milk in little white trucks, she said she was bathing in milk until she got it rectified.
I would bring the chocolate milk back downstairs, where the T.V. was located, and sit watching my cartoons, drinking my milk.
Notice that at no time did my hands ever leave my arms; nor did I bother to put on any clothes, this was all done in my underpants.
My sisters used to love to collect things; they would bring home all sorts of things, stray dogs, cats, boys...Katie always had a crowd with her.
There I was enjoying my cartoons and chocolate milk, and Katie would traipse into the room with all her friends. Great; now I have to go put clothes on. My day just took a turn for the worse.
One of Katie's best friends was Peggy. Being a small community meant that we all knew each other well. Unfortunately, Peggy was just one of many that had seen me in my underpants. One day I called Peggy up and asked her to go to the movies with me, it was summertime and this meant going to the drive-in.
I was nervous when I called, her mother answered the phone; why do mom's always have to answer the phone when a boy wants to talk to a girl? it is very disconcerting and intimidating to say, "Hello Mrs. Peters, is Peggy there?" Peggy comes to the phone and all I can manage is, "Hi Peggy, this is Roger want to go to the movie with me?"
And then there is the dreaded pause.
After an eternity Peggy says, "Yes."
We take care of the details, time, date, movie.
The day arrives and I pick up Peggy for the movie and we drive to the drive-in; which is much better than walking to the drive-in, that just would have been silly, or worse yet, having your mother drive you to the drive-in, that is just flat embarrassing, I know, it happened.
One of the favorite pastimes going to the drive-in was to see how many friends you could get in for free.
This meant have a driver; it always worked better when we had a driver, and a bunch of kids getting into the trunk. Mrs. Edmundson handled the the ticket booth at the drive-in, she was really smart.
The driver would pull up to the ticket booth and say. "One please." Mrs. Edmundson would ask, "Where are all your friends?" The driver would say, "They are coming soon." Mrs. Edmundson's eyebrow would raise; when this happened you always knew you had been had, and say, "Lets take a look in the trunk." The driver would get out and open the trunk, 20 or 30 kids would pile out; well, not really 20 or 30 more like 2 or 3, but it was always a theatrical experience when this happened.
I pull up to the drive-in booth and Mrs. Edmundson says, "Roger, where is Peggy? you do have a date with her tonight, don't you?"
Another attribute of a small town is that everybody, and I mean everybody knows everything about everybody.
I look at Mrs. Edmundson sheepishly; her eyebrow was already raised, and not saying a word I get out and open the trunk.
Out pops Peggy.
Mrs. Edmundson says, "Really Roger, you put your date in the trunk!"
I told you that Mrs. Edmundson smart.
What I found out that night was two things; one, Peggy, as pretty and funny as she is, was like taking my sister to the movies. We were too good of friends to ever mess that up dating. and two; Never put your date in the trunk, it is just really bad form.
When I counsel people, I remember Mrs. Edmundson.
I do my best to get them to look into their trunk. I know that God is continually nudging me and prodding me to look into my trunk. To open those closed doors and open those once hidden windows as Christ walks with me.
Have you opened any new doors lately?
Blessings,
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