Tag: Life

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

A few more years

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Richard Burlton on Unsplash

A “through the Bible” devotion from Isaiah 38.

Hezekiah is one of Judah’s better kings. According to the writer of Kings, “he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done” (2 Kings 18:3). He purged idolatry from Judah and restored worship of the one true God. When threatened by the Assyrians, he turned to God for salvation.

When an illness threatens his life, Hezekiah also turned to God. He prays, “O Lord…restore me to health and make me live!” (Isaiah 38:16) God hears his prayer and gives him fifteen more years of life.

However, during those fifteen bonus years, his son Manasseh is born, arguably one of Judah’s worst kings, doing evil in the sight of the Lord (2 Kings 21:2). He assumes the throne at age twelve, and undoes all the good his father did. Because of his actions, God declares he will bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah (2 Kings 21:11,12).

Would things have turned out differently if Hezekiah had not lived those fifteen additional years? What if Manasseh had not been born? What if another son had become king and continued Hezekiah’s spiritual reforms?

Early on in my ministry in Florida, a ninety-year old member fell off a stool while having his picture taken for a church directory. He was in serious condition, but recovered and lived fifteen more years. However, over the next fifteen years, his son and daughter became embroiled in disagreements, hearings, and lawsuits about the care of their parents. At one point, seven different lawyers were involved as the courts decided who would get power of attorney, guardianship, and control of the assets. In the end, I believe the lawyers ended up with most of the estate. Sure, he lived to one hundred and five years, but the family conflict continues twenty some years later.

There’s got to be a lesson somewhere in this. We pray for health, healing, and long lives, not knowing what will happen down the road. Sometimes, God grants our request. But sometimes he doesn’t. Did you ever stop to think that the latter might be better?

All of that gives you a lot to think about. But don’t overthink it. God knows the number of your days, and has a purpose for short and long lives, from conception to last breath. Be grateful for today. Enjoy his daily morning mercies (Lamentations 3:22,23).

Posted in Life

You’re early

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I thought I was doing the right thing. As the mileage on the new car passed nine thousand miles and the oil life percentage sunk to twenty percent, I made an appointment for service. I feared I had waited too long. But it turns out I acted too soon.

When I first started driving, oil changes came every 3,500 miles. As recently as 2003, that was the recommended service interval for our Chevy Traverse. However, in the world of Honda, the mileage lenthened to five thousand miles or so. That was nice, until a service manager told me to wait till the oil life percentage hit thirty before I brought it in. It took seven to eight thousand miles to hit that mark.

So when our newest car, a 2025, hit eight thousand miles, I though I was close. But the oil life was still at 50%. Okay, I guess I had more time. I checked it every week or so, and finally it go to thirty percent. I made an appointment and brought it in.

After I found my seat in the waiting room, the service representative came over to ask if the maintenance light had gone on.

I anwered, “No. But I figured I was at the right mileage.”

Unless the maintenance light comes on, Honda doesn’t want to see you for service. The service rep said, “I’ll have to see if we can get you in.”

When I asked for more information, he explained, “Sensors know your driving habits, and when you’ll need service.” In other words, the car will let me know when it’s time.

In a sense, here’s an example of artificial intellegence getting a foothold in my decision making process. The machine controls me. I respond to its prompts.

I suppose a self-driving car could take itself in for service. I would not be involved.

That’s a little scary. i used to change my own oil and filters. I used to do my own tuneup.

I’ve almost been replaced.

Posted in communication, Life

Disconnect to connect

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Luke Chesser on Unsplash

His eyes suddenly shifted away and down. To his wrist. To his smart watch. A second later, he returned to our conversation. A momentary interruption, but a huge break in attention. It didn’t happen just once. He felt the vibration on his wrist and glanced at a message six times in the next ten minutes. Lunch was punctuated by a stream of digital notifications.

As the class leader outlined the discussion for the evening, a phone rang at the next table. The owner dug into his pocket to retrieve his phone. He didn’t answer the call, but his phone rang a few more times. Must have been important.

I cannot remember a Sunday morning worship service that did not include the sound of someone’s cell phone. From the pulpit or the pew, I watch with amusement as the guilty party scrambles to find their phone in purse or pocket to turn it off.

We live in a world where anyone can abscond with our attention. We surrender real relationships to digital imitations. Our devices rule our lives, and the people we care about suffer because of our allegiance to watches and phones.

I only have one suggestion for those who want to wrest their lives from the dominion of non-stop digital communication: Leave your device at home.

Leave your phone in the car. Turn off notifications on your watch. Go to lunch, worship, a meeting, or an amusement park without any connected devices.

What? I know. Everyone is connected. Everyone is one the phone in line for tickets, food, rides, parking, upgrades, and reservations. You have to see it, right? And you have to respond, right?

Well, maybe not. That like, that comment, that response isn’t time sensitive. I’ll bet it’s not urgent. You can (and will) reply tomorrow.

Posted in Life

Life Before the Internet: A Personal Reflection

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Benjamin Dada on Unsplash

This is my response to the WordPress daily writing prompt, “Do you remember life before the internet?”

A quick internet search informs me that the public gained access to the internet 1993. When I think about all the ways I use the internet every day, I recall life before my life was connected to everyone and everything.

I did my banking in person. I walked into a building and engaged with a teller who recorded my deposits and withdrawals by hand. I received bills in the mail, and paid them by mailing a check. Now I do my banking and pay my bills online. I may physically go into a bank once a year to get some specific cash I need to a trip or a garage sale.

When a teacher assigned a research paper, I headed for the library. We were not permitted to simply use the bound volumes of an encyclopedia for information. We used a card catalog and the help of a librarian to find resources for the paper. We took notes by hand on index cards and arranged them in preparation for a first draft, written by hand or typed out on a loud, clunky, manual typewriter. Now the internet grants me instant access to virtually every resource in digital libraries all over the world.

While at college, I wrote and mailed letters to my parents to let them know how I was doing and how much money I needed. A week later, a letter from my mom or dad would arrive with news from home, and hopefully, a check. Now, I instantly communicate with all of my family and friends via email and multiple chat platforms.

I used to go to the store! I went to clothing stores, sporting goods stores, and book stores to buy what I needed. Now, I pick something out unseen online and it arrives at my front door in a day.

A paperboy tossed a morning and an evening newspaper to our front door. We learned about current world events and local happenings by paging through these daily publications and black-and-white television news programs. Now, headlines are pushed to my phone before I wake up in the morning.

The only music we listened to was from AM radio stations and my parents’ collection of vinyl records. In high school, I bought a few 33’s of my own. But in college, my friends introduced me to so many other artists and songs, all on LP’s. Stereo systems included tuners, amplifiers, speakers, turntables and cassette decks. I currently own zero CDs. All my music is streamed via the internet.

We went to the movies to see a movie. I remember laying in the back of our station wagon at a drive-in theater watching The Sound of Music and Bye Bye Birdie. I have a few DVD of favorite movies, but for the most part, I stream all movies on the internet.

Four times a year, I brought home a handwritten report card from my teacher. As a parent, I logged on to a portal to find out how my children were doing in school.

In my profession as a parish pastor, I preached to a room full of people. Until Covid. I quickly learned how to preach to a video camera which streamed my message to the congregation watching at home. I led and and attended many virtual zoom meetings from the comfort of my home, an impossible task without the internet.

I used to call a travel agent to book a flight to wherever. Now I plan my travel online.

If I need to learn how to do anything, I watch a video online. Before the internet, I called my dad. “How do you…?” He always knew.

Before the internet, I went to a venue and bought tickets at the gate. At a baseball stadium or a concert venue, tickets were available. Now, I get my tickets online, with a parking pass as well.

If I wanted someone or anyone to read my writing, I don’t even know what I would do. Now, I simply post something like this on my blog. Done.

Posted in Life

5 Simple Joys: Morning Sparks Happiness

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Emma Simpson on Unsplash
Daily writing prompt
What are 5 everyday things that bring you happiness?
View all responses

Waking up.

    I’m a morning person. An early bird. No two ways about it, I love waking up in the morning. Somehow my body knows the time, and I almost always wake up at 5:55 am. Depending on the season, it might be dark, or the sky may be light. But that’s when I like to wake up, and I like to wake up. Rarely do I sleep in.

    Waking up and walking the dogs.

    This has long been a part of my morning routine. After feeding the pups, I put on their leashes and we’re out the door. We walk around the block or around many blocks. It’s quiet. The air is still. I can hear the sounds of traffic and trash trucks off in the distance. I think it’s the best time of the day.

    Waking up and walking the dogs as dawn colors appear on the horizon.

    As we walk, the sky slowly turns from night to day. As it does, many hues of orange paint the sky, especially if there are clouds. It’s magnificent. How can there be so many different kinds of orange? I’m impressed by the Creator’s work up above.

    Waking up, walking the dogs, watching the brightening sky, and hearing the birds singing.

    When we leave the house, it’s quiet. But not for long. One bird starts singing. Another responds. Pretty soon, my ears are filled with birdsong. I whistle back, participating in an antiphonal chorus. They probably aren’t fooled, but I like to think we are singing together.

    Waking up, walking the dogs, watching the brightening sky, hearing the birds, as ideas show up in my head.

    This is when I think of some of my best, most creative ideas for writing and storytelling, The rhythm of my steps and the tempo of my breathing stimulate my right brain. I speak my ideas into my phone, messages I’ll see later. I don’t want to forget.

    Everything about the morning brings me happiness, from my first step out of bed until I get back from the walk. For me, it is a magical part of the day, regardless of the weather, the day’s agenda, or how I slept that night.

    Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

    Fifteen more years

    Posted on by William Douthwaite
    Photo by Carl Tronders on Unsplash

    A “through the bible” devotion from 2 Kings 20.

    What would you do if you knew when you would die?

    When King Hezekiah gets sick, the prophet Isaiah tells him to get his affairs in order. It’s terminal. He’s going to die.

    After Hezekiah prays and weeps, Isaiah comes back and says, “Good news. God is going to give you fifteen more years to live!” (2 Kings 20:6). As a sign to Hezekiah, God makes the sun’s shadow move backwards. Yes, Hezekiah, it’s for real.

    How would you live if you knew you had fifteen more years ahead of you? I think that much time makes the question a little harder to answer. It’s one thing when the doctor says, “Three to six months,” or perhaps another year. Fifteen years is a long time.

    Would it take you fifteen years to get through your bucket list? Or would you coast until you got to the last year to tie up loose ends?

    Would you still try to take care of yourself? Or would you cancel the gym membership you don’t use and eat whatever you want? For a while – exactly fifteen years – you’re immortal.

    At what point would you begin to sweat? When would you start to worry about your demise? What would you think about in year fifteen? After all, you don’t know how you’ll die, just when.

    I believe it’s better not to know. The psalmist prays, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Embrace your mortality, accept the uncertainty of life and death, and make the most of today.

    Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

    It’s not just about the rules

    Posted on by William Douthwaite
    Photo by Dave Photoz on Unsplash

    A “through the bible” devotion from Deuteronomy 6.

    So are you a rule-keeper, a rule-bender, or a rule-breaker? Maybe you don’t want to be any of those. Rule-keepers aren’t much fun, are they? Rule-breakers are nothing but trouble. Rule-benders aren’t reliable. None of those categories sounds very good.

    Great news. You aren’t defined by rules. Read what Moses said to Israel:

    “Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. And you shall repeat them diligently to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. You shall also tie them as a sign to your hand, and they shall be as frontlets on your forehead. You shall also write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

    It’s all about who God is and who they are. God’s word, filled with commands, statues, instructions, and rules was meant to be more than a list of things to do. Instead, God’s people were to infuse their desires (heart), speech (repeat them), actions (your hand), thoughts (forehead), and home life (doorposts and gates) with these words so they could live.

    Take a board game or a card game for example. There is much more to the game than reading, understanding, and following the rules. There’s the game itself. There is luck (the roll of the dice or the hand dealt to you). There is strategy. And there are other people who bring laughter, cries of despair, promises of revenge, and shouts of victory.

    You don’t play a game so you can follow rules. The rules enable us to enjoy the game. In the same way, we’re not here just for the rules. God’s word gives us life and shows us how to get the most out of it.

    Posted in retirement

    Suddenly, life is full

    Posted on by William Douthwaite
    Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash

    We were both standing at the kitchen island, working on our latest baking projects. My wife was cutting out sugar cookies to be baked and decorated for a granddaughter’s preschool graduation and nascent cottage food business. I was giving my sourdough a final stretch in preparation for an overnight in the fridge.

    I chuckled and asked, “We had no idea we’d be doing this six months ago, did we?”

    I’m coming up on two years of retirement and my wife has been easing into hers over the past six months. I was never able to come up with a really good answer for the question, “So what are you going to do?” Or, “What’s retirement going to look like for you?” She didn’t many good answers, either.

    I think that’s because you just don’t know. You don’t know what opportunities, challenges, or people will show up until they do. In addition to baking and decorating cookies, we’re raising a Great Dane puppy, working on a wellness newsletter, and considering leading a small group. I’m going to lead an online Bible Study Fellowship group in the fall and teach a middle school Sunday School class once a month. None of these things were on the table even six months ago.

    Yesterday, the pastor was preaching on Genesis 12. As that chapter unfolds, God says to Abram, “Go,” and “Abram went.” Talk about a bold step of faith. God’s command prompts all sorts of questions, but the only answer is, “I will show you.”

    • “Go.” “Where?” “I will show you.”
    • “I will make of you a great nation.” “How?” “I will show you.”
    • “I will bless you and make your name great.” “How are you going to do that?” “I will show you.”
    • “I will bless those who bless you…in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” “What do you mean by that?” “I will show you.”

    Over the next twenty-five years and eleven chapters of scripture, God does show Abram (Abraham) how he is able to do more than all we ask or imagine. In a lot of ways, the Lord has done the same thing for us. We’ve met great people, traveled to new places, and gotten involved in new ministries.

    A lot of other people seemed to be concerned about our retirement life. I wasn’t. I kind of figured God would find a way to fill it up.

    Posted in driving

    Keep your distance

    Posted on by William Douthwaite

    If you look carefully, you’ll see that the light is red. There are two cars stopped ahead of me. And then there is this car just to my right, twenty-five feet from the intersection. As we wait, she doesn’t inch forward until the light turns to green. “Uh-oh,” I think to myself. I’ll bet she’s going to try to merge in my lane when we start moving.

    But she doesn’t. I leave room, but she makes no move. I watch carefully, but she keeps going straight, even after I turn left at another light about a thousand feet ahead.

    So, as I often do, I wonder, “What is going on here?”

    • Maybe she’s a super cautious driver. She wants to keep a safe distance from the intersection in case someone is crossing the street. Don’t you hate it when you have to walk around a car sticking it’s nose into the crosswalk?
    • She doesn’t want to tailgate. We all hate tailgaters, don’t we? Oh, wait, there’s no one ahead of her.
    • The obvious: she’s on the phone. Maybe she’s been on the phone, and still doesn’t notice that the people ahead of her drove away when the light turned green. Oblivious, she’s waiting through another cycle.
    • Did her car stall out? She could have been calling AAA at that moment. Cars break down in the worst possible situations, right?
    • Maybe she knows the people in the SUV ahead of me and was talking to them. The light is red, so she can’t go anywhere anyway.
    • She could be hallucinating. Maybe she sees two cars in front of her that no one else can see. Hmm.
    • Invisible cars ahead of her? The car’s automatic braking sensors knows there there. Stopped that car on a dime.
    • I’ve eaten in the car before. I remember driving a stick shift on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, tossing a token for the toll, and eating a cup of blueberry yogurt on my way to a class a Rutgers. Maybe she doesn’t multitask well, and a snack distracted her.
    • Was she lost? Was she trying to get Google Maps to give her directions?
    • One more. It’s an malfunctioning autonomous car. There ‘s a bug in the software, so there she sits.

    I never know what I’m going to see on the road.