Well, the new pastor at Mount Hermon certainly has created an air of expectancy on Sunday mornings, hasn’t he? Especially for those that attend the 8:30 AM worship service. (The 11:00 AM folks just miss out on all the fun!) For the early service attendees, Sunday mornings have started to become something of an unfolding mystery, with each week offering an exciting new episode in the continuing saga, “Where Is Pastor Danny?” (Kind of like the “Where’s Waldo?” craze of some years ago.)
On our very first Sunday at Mount Hermon, Sandy and I got delayed for the 8:30 AM service because of an unexpected heavy frost on our windshield—the very first frost we had seen in almost twelve years! We were ill-prepared for the event, not owning an ice-scraper since Bill Clinton’s first term in the White House. (And, in case you’re wondering, the reason we left our cars parked outside overnight was because our garage was still full of boxes from where we had just moved in.) Our subsequent late arrival to church that morning created a panic for the church staff, the Chairman of Deacons and the Chairman of the Pastor Search Committee, all of whom wondered if they had even remembered to tell us what time the early service started. How relieved they were when the late Danny Davis finally appeared at church, alive and well.
This past Sunday—only my sixth at the church—I had a flat tire on my way to the 8:30 AM service. As far as I can recall, this was a first in my 21 years of pastoral ministry. Sandy was already at church that morning, practicing with the handbells. Stranded on Golf Club Road—with no time to change the tire—I got on my cell phone, and proceeded to call every church member’s cell phone number I had stored in my phone (which wasn’t very many). All of them—including my wife—had their cell phones turned off, which is a good thing when you’re at church, but a not-so-good thing for me on this particular Sunday morning. Finally, I reached Patti Merricks at home just as she was getting ready to walk out of the door on her way to church. She promptly drove down the road and rescued me. Later on, immediately following the 8:30 service, two other Good Samaritans—Ryan Riley and Jim Martin--went out and found my car, changed the tire, and returned the vehicle to me—all before the Sunday School hour was even halfway over. (Those guys provide better roadside service than AAA!)
So, I’ve definitely had some strange things happen to me on my Sunday mornings since coming to Mount Hermon. Not to mention the fact that—on top of everything else—I came down with bronchitis and pneumonia two weeks ago and missed all the services that particular Sunday.
Someone told me that—after blaming my tardiness or absence on frost, sickness and a flat tire—I’m starting to run out of good excuses. Now, I suppose that everyone can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next. Let’s just hope that, between now and Christmas, I don’t have a Sunday morning collision with a large bearded man, a sleigh and eight tiny reindeer. That would be just way too hard to explain to the awaiting worshipers at the 8:30 AM service.
What’s the moral to this story? I’m not quite sure. Always allot enough time to get to church? If you have a garage, park your car in it? Check the weather report the night before? Take your vitamins, get plenty of rest, and drink lots of fluids? Check your tires before heading out on a trip? Make sure you’ve got plenty of phone numbers stored in your cell phone? On and on the list might go.
On our very first Sunday at Mount Hermon, Sandy and I got delayed for the 8:30 AM service because of an unexpected heavy frost on our windshield—the very first frost we had seen in almost twelve years! We were ill-prepared for the event, not owning an ice-scraper since Bill Clinton’s first term in the White House. (And, in case you’re wondering, the reason we left our cars parked outside overnight was because our garage was still full of boxes from where we had just moved in.) Our subsequent late arrival to church that morning created a panic for the church staff, the Chairman of Deacons and the Chairman of the Pastor Search Committee, all of whom wondered if they had even remembered to tell us what time the early service started. How relieved they were when the late Danny Davis finally appeared at church, alive and well.
This past Sunday—only my sixth at the church—I had a flat tire on my way to the 8:30 AM service. As far as I can recall, this was a first in my 21 years of pastoral ministry. Sandy was already at church that morning, practicing with the handbells. Stranded on Golf Club Road—with no time to change the tire—I got on my cell phone, and proceeded to call every church member’s cell phone number I had stored in my phone (which wasn’t very many). All of them—including my wife—had their cell phones turned off, which is a good thing when you’re at church, but a not-so-good thing for me on this particular Sunday morning. Finally, I reached Patti Merricks at home just as she was getting ready to walk out of the door on her way to church. She promptly drove down the road and rescued me. Later on, immediately following the 8:30 service, two other Good Samaritans—Ryan Riley and Jim Martin--went out and found my car, changed the tire, and returned the vehicle to me—all before the Sunday School hour was even halfway over. (Those guys provide better roadside service than AAA!)
So, I’ve definitely had some strange things happen to me on my Sunday mornings since coming to Mount Hermon. Not to mention the fact that—on top of everything else—I came down with bronchitis and pneumonia two weeks ago and missed all the services that particular Sunday.
Someone told me that—after blaming my tardiness or absence on frost, sickness and a flat tire—I’m starting to run out of good excuses. Now, I suppose that everyone can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next. Let’s just hope that, between now and Christmas, I don’t have a Sunday morning collision with a large bearded man, a sleigh and eight tiny reindeer. That would be just way too hard to explain to the awaiting worshipers at the 8:30 AM service.
What’s the moral to this story? I’m not quite sure. Always allot enough time to get to church? If you have a garage, park your car in it? Check the weather report the night before? Take your vitamins, get plenty of rest, and drink lots of fluids? Check your tires before heading out on a trip? Make sure you’ve got plenty of phone numbers stored in your cell phone? On and on the list might go.
But how about this Biblical truth: “The rain falls on the just and the unjust.” In other words, there are things in this life that are common to man…things that just happen as part of living in a fallen, imperfect world. Some of these unexpected happenings can easily become irritants for us, frustrating us and embittering us, if we allow them to. Better to roll with the punches and go with the flow. Life is much too short and much too precious to get upset about every scratch, dent, sneeze, cough, ticket or traffic light. Jesus said that in this world we would have tribulation. But He also said that His grace is sufficient for us, and that He’ll never allow more to be put upon us than we can bear. That’s certainly an encouraging promise.
Furthermore, when you think about it, how can we even compare our minor frustrations with the glorious reality that there is a God who loves us unconditionally and who, by His mercy and grace, has provided us with the gifts of forgiveness, salvation and eternal life? Wow! That kind of puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?
Think about that as you drive around Danville this week. But check your tires first!
Lord willing—and if the Dan River doesn’t flood—I’ll see you at church next Sunday morning at 8:30 AM sharp!
Pastor Danny
