Up the Sunbeam

-- "Without fail." Quietly, fiercely, almost to himself, he answered her question. It was only two words, just one soft-spoken answer delivered by Denzell Washington's character in the movie  The Book of Eli , but it has echoed in my heart ever since. A young woman, who knew nothing of such things, had asked him whether he read the book every day . . .  the book he treasured above all else, including his life. [Spoiler Alert] I don't want to give too much away if you haven't seen the movie, but this very special book was none other than the last remaining copy of the Bible in a post-apocalyptic world. This scene, and maybe the whole movie, put a fine point on thoughts my Father had been laying before me all week. First, last Sunday when our pastor spoke of using his phone and a Bible app to listen to the Bible being read out loud, and how important it is to personally eat this daily bread even for pastors who study it as their vocation. That made me th

-- Great philosopher, Ferris Bueller once quipped, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Blurring . . . whirring . . . jumbled colors . . . sight and sound . . . Does life ever feel to you like a scene in the old Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie? You know, the one where Willie Wonka puts them on his whimsical boat and they sail off into a tunnel filled with disjointed and terrifying images projected all around them while he screams bizarre and disturbing poetry into the strange glow? Everyone is so relieved when he yells, "Stop the boat!" Life does move fast. Life is filled with change and challenge, the unexpected, the unwanted and the uncalled-for. But life is also filled with joy and laughter, dreams and fulfillments, pursuits and triumphs, the tried and true, the glorious, the counted-upon. It IS a bit of a jumble, priceless treasures thrown in the same blender with hideous gargoyles