The Back Table

When you go to the beach, do you at some point pace the shoreline looking for seashells? Do you only collect the prettiest ones? If they're broken, then they aren't leaving with you. If they aren't perfectly whole, if even a sliver has been broken, it isn't making the cut, right? Every time I enter into this well-worn tradition, the same thought invades my mind, "I'm so glad God isn't like me."   I'm glad that God doesn't choose to only love and work through those who are shiny, perfect, and unbroken. During my most recent expedition, a question hovered close behind those thoughts. Is it about more than shells? Is this simple art of shell hunting revealing something about the human heart...my heart? Is most of our time and energy being used toward the wrong things? Have we replaced God with the good things He gave us to enjoy?  The Lessons I Learned From a Conch Shell As I searched for the perfect shell, more specifically, the perfect

Did you ever witness the ever-familiar scene of a dad in a pool stretching out his hands for his son to jump into them? I've found myself poolside several times watching this very event unfold and the same things seem to come to mind. "Why is it so hard for him to jump? He's right there. If his arms are stretched out any farther, they'll turn into limp pool noodles floating in the water." I try to imagine what is going through their minds. If I'm the dad, I probably start off enthusiastic, encouraging him with confidence, boosting courage-injecting words to help him leave the edge. After a while though, I might feel a little hurt. I'd start asking myself, "Why won't he trust me? Does he really think I'll miss him or let him drown?" I'd start backtracking to moments where I might have let him down or missed him before. And then I try to imagine what the boy is thinking. He's probably thinking about all the air in between where he

A couple weeks ago, I went to the doctor to get my test results regarding my cholesterol. I have to tell you I went in feeling pretty confident. I was pretty sure he was going to tell me that I was fine, and I could keep doing what I was doing. One of my biggest weaknesses is food. I love being able to eat whatever I want to without gaining any weight. (I can hear some of you snarling at me reading those words, but hold your snarls. They may soon turn to chuckles.) My worst fear became reality as the doctor unpacked the report that I would no longer be able to eat whatever I wanted to whenever I wanted to. As he handed me the pamphlet of the do's and don'ts of eating, I started having an out-of-body experience right there in his office. If he was talking, I didn't know it. I was...gone. Flashes of floating rice cakes, lettuce and bran muffins were popping up everywhere. Was I really going to have to start eating those things some of my friends were trying to get me to eat

A few years ago, I thought it would be a good idea to try out snowboarding. Thinking back on it, I never understood why I would desire to do such a thing and why others live for it. If you think about it, it's totally crazy! You voluntarily lock your feet and ankles into a slippery, narrow board and slide down a mountain of snow and ice, filled with boulders, trees, and other humans while standing up. Fun!  When I first starting learning how to snowboard, the instructor emphasized one thing over and over, "Lean forward." He must have said that at least a hundred times. Leaning forward though was the last thing I wanted to do. When you're standing at the top of a mountain with both feet locked into "The Oval of Death" and you're looking down, the natural thing to do is to lean back. Leaning forward was the John Wayne thing to do, and I felt more like Betty White.  The whole process of just learning how to turn, stop, and not fall was tiring, humili