Choosing to Remember

The news about Kobe Bryant and one of his daughters, plus seven other people killed in a Helicopter crash yesterday was shocking. It underscores how uncertain and unpredictable life can be. But when multiple children are taken from us at such a tender young age, it is unbelievably sad.

To be honest, I was never much of a Koby Bryant fan. I loved the Lakers and I loved watching Kobe and Shaq take over on the basketball court during their playoff runs. But it always seemed like Kobe was this dominant force that demanded to be in charge and at times he appeared to be really hard on his teammates. In all fairness though, I did admire his commitment to excellence and the way he always seemed to come through during the most difficult and crucial moments in a game. He was truly a unique athlete and definitely an LA icon.

My opinion of Kobe has changed though, not because he died, but because of how he died. From what I have read over the last 24 hours, Kobe was really close with his daughter Gianna. Apparently, she exhibited a lot of the same intensity on the basketball court as Kobe and for that reason… and probably many more… I read over and over again how super tight they were. Kobe died holding onto something he loved more than basketball, more than winning, more than championships. He left this earth holding onto his little girl. I think that is how I will choose to remember him.

A daughter may outgrow your lap,

but she will never outgrow your heart.

                  ~ Anonymous

I'll Try Again Tomorrow

This past week my wife and I took 10 members of our family on a short four-day mini-vacation. We stayed in Santa Barbara for two nights and then traveled to the Alisal Guest Ranch near Solvang. The Alisal is like a “Dude Ranch” but way more modern and fun. It is situated on 10,000 acres of beautiful countryside that includes 100-year-old oak trees, beautiful blue lakes, and a wide variety of wildlife.

The first morning we arrived we jumped on a Hay wagon and took a 20-minute ride up into the hills. When we arrived at our destination, we were treated to a fantastic outdoor breakfast of scrambled eggs, steaming hot pancakes, applewood smoked bacon, and homemade biscuits and gravy. The food was phenomenal and while we ate our breakfast a rugged old cowboy sat nearby strumming his guitar and singing country western campfire songs.

I know it probably sounds kind of corny, but it was actually lots of fun. And one of the best things about the trip is that we get to do it as a family, building bonds, and making memories, and quite often seeing things we have never seen before. This trip was no different. On the way up to the breakfast spot we saw a wide variety of strange and interesting animals. Obviously, there were lots of cows and horses. But we also saw things you don’t normally see, like colorful turkeys and huge ostriches running wild through a pasture of thick velvety green grass. Perhaps the most interesting thing we saw though, was the pair of enormous American bald eagles perched at the top of the highest tree on the property.

But as majestic as those giant eagles were, the creature that caught my attention the most was tiny. In addition to everything else, there is also a golf course at The Alisal Ranch and when we approached the 17^th hole, we noticed a small lake in front of the green. As we walked toward the green, we spotted a tiny little turtle clinging to the face of a sheer rock wall, just two feet above the water. He had one leg stretched straight up and was trying his hardest to climb straight up that slippery 5’ wall. His body was small but apparently his heart was huge. Unfortunately, as I ran back to the golf cart to get my phone so I could capture the moment, the brave little guy lost his grip and plunged back into the lake. I don’t know how many times that tiny soldier attacked that wall, but my guess is that he isn’t done trying.

And that got me thinking… We come across all kinds of wildlife here on earth, but we also come across all kinds of people. Some are big, bold and beautiful, and even a bit majestic in appearance. Others, however, may be a bit small, or quiet, or even slightly drab in their appearance. But you can’t tell a person’s character or courage by their appearance. For that you need to look deep inside, at their heart!

Eagles on Top of the World

Turtle Lake and the vertical Rock Wall

Courage doesn’t always roar. 

Sometimes courage is that little voice at the 

end of the day that says, “I’ll try again tomorrow".

~ Mary Anne Radmacher

Ebb and Flow

It’s been over six years now that my wife and I have been living in a small beach house right on the sand. Having the ocean directly outside our front door has been really awesome and we’ve seen some pretty crazy stuff over the years. Dozens of dolphins swimming at full speed, sea lions lying on their backs as they float by, whales pushing huge plumes of salt spray into the air, abandoned ships that have washed up on shore, and even a weirdly whiney message in a bottle from a distressed damsel one time. But last week we saw something that we’ve have never seen before.

Early in the week there were “King Tides”, which means that the tide was way up causing the ocean waves to crash hard into our sea wall. The waves were so high in fact, and so strong, that they tore out our entire upper elevated beach section and all of the giant sandbags that we had spent thousands of dollars installing. It left a huge mess of torn white plastic all over the beach and reminded me that we cannot and never will be able to control Mother Nature.

But “King Tides” have happened before, so that event was not new. What was new was that on Saturday afternoon, the water receded. And it kept receding! My wife yelled at me to come outside and look at the ocean. In six years, we have never seen the water recede so far and it changed our beach area from its normal length of 50 feet to reach the water… to over 150 feet! We both looked at each other and wondered for a second if a tsunami was happening. But once it got out to 150 feet, it stopped and stayed that way all weekend and I am not sure if it will return to its normal position or not.

Staring at that beautiful pristine stretch of sandy beach newly created by Mother Nature reminded me that things are always changing. And that the only constant in this world is change.

And that got me thinking… It’s really important that we are able to adapt to the ebb and flow of life. That we accept the changes that happen in spite of us, and that we remember that we can change things that happen because of us. But maybe what’s even more important is that we remember that there is one thing that will never change. There is one constant in this world that never changes, a constant not of this world… but above this world!

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, 

through which God speaks to us every hour, if only we would tune in.

~ George Washington Carver

Unexpected Gifts

Christmas has come and gone but I wish the spirit of Christmas could live on all 365 days a year. In fact, I wish it would last 366 days this year because 2020 happens to be a leap year! And when I talk about “Christmas Spirit”, I’m not talking about the stress of trying to find that perfect gift for that perfect person. What I’m talking about is an unexpected gift that God gave us when he created us… the gift of a warm and joyful feeling inside that comes from doing something nice for someone else!

Speaking of unexpected gifts, my wife and I received a very unexpected and unusual gift this Christmas. Let me explain. Three years ago, new neighbors moved into a beautiful brand-new home just three doors down from us and brought a puppy with them. Their puppy was really cute and after about 6 months, they started letting him go out on the beach on his own, without a leash. That’s not the best idea, but “Tucker” is smart and no matter how far he roams, he always seems to make it home at night.

We’ve always kind of worried about Tucker because he is on his own morning, noon and night. But he seems to do just fine. Somebody gave him a tennis ball to play with and even though there isn’t anybody to throw it for him, he still has a great time. He drops it on the sand and kicks it with his feet into the ocean, then barks at it until it washes back up on shore. Then he will bury it, bark at it, then dig it back up and kick it into the ocean again. I’ve never seen a dog that could play ball with himself before but apparently Tucker has the unexpected gift of independent play.

However, Tucker has always been a bit standoffish towards us… until recently. I noticed he didn’t have his tennis ball anymore, so I got one out of my shed and threw it for him. I swear it looked like he smiled at me. From that point on he started hanging around our house, partly because we would play with him, and (okay I admit it) partly because we would give him yummy little dog treats.

For months now, Tucker has been hanging around our house every day and it’s been fun for us. I mean think about it, we have a dog we can play with and yet we don’t have to actually take care of him. However, we started feeling guilty about how much time Tucker has been spending at our house, until we received a very unexpected gift at our front door. Inside a large gift basket was a note, apparently written by Tucker, and all kinds of cool stuff like beach towels, cookies, wine, etc. and I’m sure Tucker must have picked out the gifts himself because the gift basket was perfect… and also very unexpected!

And that got me thinking… Maybe the gift of joy that comes from gift giving wasn’t an unexpected gift after all. I mean, weren’t we made in His image!

You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving.

~ Tucker