Black Tidbits: 05/01/2011

If you ask Christina you'd know that I'm not good when it comes to regrets. I frequently dwell - for decades sometimes - on missed opportunities to absorb and express my thoughts about the significance of a situation.

The strongest example is our wedding night - and how I wish I had a mulligan for the stammering speech that I gave at our reception. If I could do it again, I'd say so much more to our parents and I would better share why and how I love Christina so much.

I still kick myself for not giving a decent speech when I won an award from SPA 20 years ago. And for not giving a toast at a wedding we attend for Matt and Karina Nelsen.

It's not always speeches. I regret not going to St. Louis to visit my Gram after our first child was born and for not talking to her more on the phone. I regret not visiting Wyatt and Julie at their cafe in Parshall. I regret not telling all of my family, teachers, mentors, coworkers and friends how much I appreciate and love them and why.

You think I'd learn. A few days ago, I had another moment of regret. During a company breakfast meeting, I was honored to win a big company award. It's called an Eagle, and is American City Business Journal's highest honor. It was the first time that anybody from the Minneapolis editorial department had ever won an Eagle. My boss had done a very nice thing and nominated me late last year. He read a part of the nomination letter - he had done a good deal of exaggerating my accomplishments. I was stunned. Didn't know what to say. I went up and got my plaque, and was asked to make a speech. I just said, that I'm so lucky to work in such a great place where the people are awesome and always getting awesomer. Of course, it wasn't the inspirational thank you and 'lets go get-em' speech that I would have shared if I would have had a heads-up this was coming. My reaction was genuine and honest though - a few told me they wished it was on video - so fortunately I doubt anybody but me thought that I needed to say anything more. Plus, it gave me a chance and a reason to thank my boss and others individually later too, which was nice.

My point? We all wish we could see from a 20,000 foot view and recognize the importance of a situation as we're going through it. But we don't always know when we're going to have moments like that, so we'd better be prepared just to react with our faith and share our love all the time.

I was thinking about this topic a few weeks ago during church when the gospel for the day was Luke 24:13-25. That's the story where the two men were walking on a road from Jerusalem after Easter and then meet up with Christ on the road, but don't realize it is Jesus until too late.

³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Fortunately those men told others their story, which got into the Bible, but I am sure they both had some serious regret afterwords. They didn't grasp the situation and see and talk to Jesus like he was Jesus when he was right there, next to them.

It's sort of like that old Collin Raye song from the 90s What if Jesus Comes Back Like that?, which imagines Jesus coming back as a hobo or a drug addict. We don't know what each encounter brings and so we should make the most of all of them. Don't be grumpy to others - or rude or hurtful. Do be honest and open. Mostly, tell those you love and appreciate whenever you get the chance, because you never know when that chance will pass you by.

These thoughts are on my mind this morning because Today is the one-year anniversary of my dad's death. I miss him dearly. We all do.

I regret that I wasn't able to spend more time with my Dad before he died - and that I wasn't there with him when he died. Fortunately, Mom and Isaac and Kirby read this message from me to him - I had written it but was waiting until Father's Day to share it with him. I am glad I got to tell him how much I loved him in person many times; especially in the last year of his life. Those were some memorable hugs and conversations and I thank God for them.

I don't want to have regrets. Nobody does. Therefore, let's learn from our past, and be a little more prepared for the next encounter that comes our way. His way is through love, in which we all are.

A warmish picnic last Friday afternoon. Our first of the summer. (Reminder: You can click any photo on our blog to see an enlarged version.)

Ivy got to try a swing for the first time ever.

Mother's Day... Levi made this beautiful card all by himself.

We went for walk on Mother's Day as well. Ezra has a good ear for all airplane traffic near our house. That's what he's pointing at in the sky.

Here's how the outside of the house is looking these days. It may be lonely around the house without contractors - we've grown familiar with them all over the past several months. Notice the two-tone color. It looks like a duplex at first glance. Silly.

The office in the addition is the only new room that we've addressed with any furnishings. Our priority has been to pay the contractor for the outside of the house first - and then deal with floors, paint, bathroom fixtures, doors and trim on the inside.