The Fire in your Heart

Halloween is here and everywhere you look stores are selling costumes. It’s fun because for one day each year we get to put on a costume and be somebody or some “thing” that we are not.

It’s amazing how hiding behind a mask can sometimes help us break out of our shell. It gives us the courage to act differently than normal, perhaps with a bit more personality and flair. And although it’s fun to be different, the truth is each and every one of us is already different because each and every one of us is unique. We are not unique because we are flesh and blood with hair and hearts… animals have those features. What makes us unique is the stamp that God puts on our lives when he plants us in this world to grow. We are formed one at a time, each person a separate and very special work of art.

In fact, I believe that part of what makes us unique is that we each receive gifts when we are born. Spiritual gifts that enable us to make the world a better place. Some can sing, some can dance, some can cook. There are people with a passion for paperwork (accountants), those who make us laugh (comedians) and those who ignite our imaginations (writers). Being different makes life interesting because imagine how boring the world would be if everyone looked, acted, and thought the same.

However, sometimes it takes a while to discover our spiritual gifts. I remember when I was young I didn’t think I had a talent for anything special, so I just took the first job that came along. I was really grateful that somebody took a chance on me and after working in the business for a while, I began to dream of starting my own business someday. Forty-seven years later I still love running a business and consider it just one of the many wonderful gifts that I have received from God.

Yesterday, my two daughters (who both happen to be very unique and highly gifted) attended a Halloween Party with their husbands. The four of them dressed up as characters from the movie “Clue”, including carrying the appropriate props. They looked terrific and had a great time being in character.

And that got me thinking… A costume on the outside is fun for an evening, but figuring out who you really are on the inside and developing your own unique gifts is fun for a lifetime!

Once you find what ignites your heart, the fire in your heart will light your path.

~ Anonymous

Making Time

I have always been a Type A personality and I guess a bit of a workaholic. I admit I love setting goals, I love challenges, and I love being productive. It makes me happy to be busy, but that isn’t necessarily a good thing. Sometimes it can get in the way of what’s really important.

At 67, I have cut my work schedule back somewhat, but I still enjoy the work because it’s very interesting and challenging. My typical work schedule these days is to be in the field doing Light Pole Inspections three days a week. That schedule includes Saturday mornings, because on Saturdays the traffic is usually lighter and the properties I inspect are a lot less crowded. So I get more done.

However, this past Friday evening I received a text from a friend that I haven’t seen in several years. We were (and still are) very good friends having played baseball together for 15 years and golfed together dozens of times. But Covid, and the fact that he lives a long way from where I am, has made it really tough to get together.

He said he was going to be in my area Saturday morning, dropping off his wife at a church conference she needed to attend. He asked me if I wanted to golf with him and my first thought was, I can’t do it because I have to work tomorrow. I mentioned the text message to my wife, and she immediately encouraged me to consider doing it. She said, “This is a good friend you haven’t seen in forever, so you need to forget about work and make it happen.”

I decided she was right! She has always been my guiding light, so I texted back immediately that I would love to golf and would go online right away and look for a tee time. We got a 10:15am tee time at San Juan Hills Golf Course and I was really excited to see my friend and get to spend some quality time with him. And we did have a great time together. Funny thing is, the golf course wasn’t in great shape, the greens had just been punched, and one of the holes was shut down for renovation. But none of that mattered. Just being outdoors, spending time with a good friend, made it a great day!

And that got me thinking… Life is expensive, especially in Orange County, so most of us have to work really hard just to make ends meet. But it’s also easy to fool ourselves into thinking that work is all important and that can often lead to neglecting the truly important things in life, like family and friends. I know because I have made that mistake too many times, but I won’t anymore… because I realize now that nothing but heaven itself is better than a friend who is truly a friend!

I value the friend who for me finds time on his calendar, 

but I cherish the friend who for me does not consult his calendar.

~ Robert Brault

Underdog...ish

I grew up in San Diego and loved baseball, so of course my favorite team was the San Diego Padres! The Padres didn’t win very often, but they had Tony Gwynn, the hardest working man in baseball, my hero, and one of the best players of his time.

The San Diego Padres did make it to the World Series for the first time in 1984. However, they were severe underdogs, having only won 92 games, facing the Detroit Tigers who had the best record in baseball with 104 wins. They were underdogs and played like it, losing the series 4 games to 1. The only other time they made it to the World Series was 1998, but again they were the underdogs and lost to the Yankees. But there were some bright spots. Out of the 8 World Series games they played, they did win 1 game. Okay, maybe just one bright spot.

Fast forward 38 years and the Padres are playing in a Division Series this week, with a chance to go to the World Series. Unfortunately, they were the underdogs again with only 89 wins, facing the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers, with 111 wins. The Padres weren’t given much of a chance, especially since one of their best players, shortstop Fernando Tatis, was unable to play. So they were definitely the underdogs, and often referred to in the press as the “little brother” of the iconic LA Dodgers.

First question - What is an underdog? Webster defines it as, “A competitor thought to have little chance of winning” but also as, “A person who has little status in society”. That fits, the Padres were figured to be losers and not given much status in baseball circles, so they should have lost. Instead they beat the mighty Dodgers 3 games to 1 and are now headed to the National League Championship Series, one step away from the World Series. And even though I like some of the Dodgers, I think that’s really cool!

Second question - Why is it so cool when an underdog succeeds? Easy, because deep inside most of us feel like an underdog. Life is tough from the time we are born, and then it just gets tougher when we reach adulthood and face work responsibilities, family struggles, health issues, bills, taxes, etc. So when an underdog, or even someone who is a little underdog…ish succeeds, we can relate and feel like maybe it could happen to us as well.

Best question – Who is the ultimate underdog who succeeded? I can think of quite a few famous and successful people who started out with humble beginnings. Elon Musk was a lowly janitor at a lumber mill, Madonna was a minimum wage cashier at Dunkin’ Donuts, and Tom Brady started out as a construction worker. But when I really stop to ponder that question, I think the ultimate example would be a lowly carpenter, born behind a barn, who went on to save the world. When I consider that example, I feel like maybe being a little underdog…ish isn’t such a bad thing at all!

A meaningful life isn’t about being rich, famous, popular, or perfect. 

It’s about being real, being humble, being strong, and being willing 

to share ourselves in order to touch the lives of others.

~ Some Anonymous Humble Person

Picture This

I saw something yesterday that really bothered me. It was truly heartbreaking, and I knew it wasn’t my fault, and I knew I couldn’t fix it… so after a lot of thought, I decided to turn it over to someone else.

Yesterday morning my youngest son and I drove all the way out to San Jacinto to do an Ultrasonic Pole Inspection at a large retail shopping center. This particular shopping center was basically in the middle of nowhere and there were no homes nearby, but I’m sure it was important to the people in the surrounding area because by 8:00am the parking lot was already filling up.

Around 10:00am I was approaching the far north end of the complex when I spotted a body. It was a shocking sight because it looked like a person had fallen over backwards and hit their head on the concrete. He wasn’t moving at all, but there was a shopping cart nearby with some odd stuff piled in it. My son said, “Dad, that sure is a sad sight.” I agreed, knowing it could be a passed out homeless person. But I couldn’t bring myself to walk away because he looked injured. However, when I got close to him I saw his head move, so at least I could tell he was breathing. My son asked me what we should do, and I really wasn’t sure if there was anything we could do. But fortunately, as we moved on to continue our work, I noticed a firetruck on it way with its lights flashing.

The truck pulled right up next to the sidewalk where the young man was lying. The firemen got out quickly, but instead of checking out the “dead man” on the sidewalk, they hustled over to Kolsa’s Donuts instead. That bothered me a lot too! Maybe he’s just a drunk, or an addict, but whoever he is, he’s still a human being in distress. All the way home I kept picturing that poor young man lying on the hot concrete. I know it’s not my fault, and there’s probably nothing I can do to fix it. But as I turned into my driveway to walk into my nicely furnished, air-conditioned home, filled with plenty of good food, and people that love me, I gave it to God. Sometimes He is the only one who has the answer… and the other nice thing is that He always has the answers!

I still had that picture in my head when my daughter arrived at our house with her newborn baby girl. Our new granddaughter sure is super cute and smiley, but she is also a newborn with not a care in the world. Looking at her laying on her back with her hands behind her head, dreaming her baby girl dreams, somehow took away all my anxiety. I don’t know what God will do about that young man on the concrete, but I do know what He did for me. He gave me a much better picture in my head and a reminder that with every new child born, there is the promise of a better world!

Life is a flame that is always burning itself out; 

but it catches fire again every time a child is born.

~ Bernard Shaw

Gray Areas - Part Two

About a month ago, I wrote a Monday Message about finding money at an ATM machine. I knew the money belonged to a man in a gray Porsche who had tried to deposit it ahead of me, but I wasn’t able to find the guy. It was a very unique, brand new Porsche, so I have been looking for that car for weeks now.

I had decided to give up, but yesterday I spotted the Porsche! It passed by me in the parking lot of Pavilions, which is where the Chase Bank is located. I had two heavy boxes with me that I was taking to the UPS Store, but I immediately dropped those boxes on the sidewalk, and took off running after the Porsche. I probably looked like some crazy guy!

Fortunately the man in the Porsche parked pretty quickly. When I got to his window, he was still in his car looking at his phone. I knocked on the window and said something like, “Hey, I’m sorry to bother you. But if you bank over there at Chase Bank, I think I may have found some money that belongs to you.” Before I even finished talking, he was saying, “Sorry, sorry, sorry. No English.”

I realized he was Asian and didn’t speak English, so I got a little flustered. I tried several times to convey a message about finding his money, but he just kept saying, “Sorry. Sorry!”. There was a young girl in the back seat who spoke up and I think she was trying to translate for him, but he ignored her. After another minute or two, I started feeling foolish and gave up saying, “I’m sorry too, I just wanted to return some money to you.”

What I didn’t realize was that there was a man in a car next to the Porsche who was listening to the whole thing. He got out of his car as I started to walk away and said, “Hey, did I hear that right? Your trying to give that guy some money and he won’t take it? You’re a good man, you should just keep it and feel good about!  

I thought about what he said… but I didn’t feel good about it, I just felt confused. But on the way home, it occurred to me that even if it didn’t work out, at least I tried to do the right thing. You know that old saying, “It isn’t the gift, it’s the thought that counts.” Well, I’m pretty sure that covers “gray areas” as well!

Now go do the right thing!

~ Dr. Laura Schlessinger

Epilogue – After the first “Gray Areas” story came out, my friend Bill emailed me and mentioned that he banks at Chase and then asked me if I had seen the new gray Porsche he bought! I laughed at that… and today I will email him and tell him, “Good joke, but I gave the money to my church!”