Seen and heard along I-80

I was driving to Des Moines and back today for a regional church meeting. That was pretty much a yawner. Not much accomplished at that gathering, from what I could tell.

The drive down the interstate is usually interesting to me. Even that wasn't so great today. I saw some cars in the ditches and wondered how they got there. After the first half hour, I ran out of KVNO's radio range and realized I'd forgotten to pack music. So, I spent my time pushing the 'seek' button on the radio dial. What I found was station after station of noisy commercials, bad country music, small-town school announcements and obituaries. Pretty bad. Mostly, it was just NOISE. Where was the public radio station when I needed it?

I was pushing the seek button as I passed Casey. I heard "Trivia for Travellers and Truckers." (At least it wasn't noisy.) What is Iowa's state bird? State flower? State rock? Then it moved to trivia about the town of Adair and statements about Iowa's good educational opportunities, job opportunities, and quality of life. Next was the traffic report and the announcement that there were no problems today. As I heard these same things repeated again and again, I realized that I had found the travel info radio station -- you know, the one that the IDOT posts for weather info and that sort of thing. I'd never listened to it before..... and I see why. It had accurate and valuable info, but it was boring. If the weather conditions were bad, I might be more inclined to continue to listen to it.

I wonder if the Church passes on its message to life travelers the same way. The music is sometimes ho-hum. The message seems to be trivial and unrelated to modern-day situations, even tho it has meaning for Christians. During the times of our lives when things are going well, it's easy to turn off the message and listen to the noise of the world instead. When life becomes difficult, we are more attentive to the message of the Church.

As a member of the Church, I have a responsibility to pass on the message of God's love to all of life's travelers -- to all of those on a spiritual journey. I don't want other travelers to hear this message as trivia. I wonder if that's what others hear from me...... or do they hear my enthusiastic thanksgiving for God's love? Does the Church proclaim Jesus as Savior in a way that causes others to pay attention? I wonder what we can do as a Church to make other travelers stop and take notice........

Ash Wednesday

Lent started yesterday. This is my favorite season of the church year. For me, it presents opportunities for introspection. Lent invites me to consider my motives, my actions, my relationships with God and with one another.

Yet, it is not enough for me to sit alone and contemplate. For some folks, this is a time of giving up a habit or a favorite pleasure. That's not me. I find myself called to action -- tho not necessarily anything spectacular. I find myself drawn to new ways of establishing relationship with God.

And so yesterday - Ash Wednesday - I attended a noontime service. It is good to gather with other believers in Christ. Then for those who come for supper at church, I helped set up a prayer station in the sanctuary and assisted in blessing people and praying with them. The ashes remind us that we come from dust and will return to dust when this earthly life is over.

Each Wednesday at Broadway Christian, we feed people to keep their bodies going a little longer. Last night, we offered those same people food for their souls. Those who accepted the ashes and asked for prayers blessed me in ways they cannot imagine. I am honored to be on this lenten journey with them.