Direction

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”

“I don’t much care where –”

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”

Alice in Wonderland

English novelist, poet, and mathematician, Lewis Carroll, was born on this day in 1832 (died 1898).

With all due respect to Mr. Carroll, which way you go does matter quite a bit.

But perhaps he was showing us the fault was with Alice who just wanted to go somewhere…else.

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We’re all going places. Some faster than others.

Some have better destinations than others.

Some of us are even going places we don’t want to go, but life is sending us there anyway.

It’s Throwback Thursday so I’ll toss in a couple of high school references.

At some point or other we probably all have had that poster “Life is a Journey, Not a Destination.”

There’s truth in that of course. But there’s also value in knowing where you want to go in that journey.

Also in high school, I was on the committee to select the theme for graduation. With a few others, I lobbied for the Theme From Mahogany.

Alas, Do You Know Where You’re Going To? was considered to be too grammatically incorrect by some of my classmates.

We took a different…direction…so to speak.

David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On a more somber note, today is also Holocaust Remembrance Day, recognized on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. We pause to remember the six million Jewish victims and the millions of other victims of the Nazi regime.

Some forty-five-ish years ago, I had two occasions to visit Yad Vashem in Israel. The experience sticks with me to this day.

We must never forget.

 

 


 

THINGS YOU SHOULD READ

Original “Charlie Brown” Voice Actor Dies At 65
Country Music Family

Joe Biden’s kindly uncle routine has always been a facade — he’s dangerous
New York Post

ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY

1885 – Jerome Kern, American composer and songwriter (d. 1945)

1921 – Donna Reed, American actress (d. 1986)

1936 – Troy Donahue, American actor (d. 2001)

1940 – James Cromwell, American actor

1955 – John Roberts, American lawyer and judge, 17th Chief Justice of the United States

WHAT I’M READING


 

BENEDICTION

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:20–21

 

Tapestry

Hallstatt, Austria

“It will be very interesting one day to follow the pattern of our life as it is spread out like a beautiful tapestry. As long as we live here we see only the reverse side of the weaving, and very often the pattern, with its threads running wildly, doesn’t seem to make sense. Some day, however, we shall understand.

In looking back over the years we can discover how a red thread goes through the pattern of our life: the Will of God.”

Austrian-American singer, Maria von Trapp was born on this day in 1905. (died 1987)

I was about seven when I first saw The Sound of Music. I went with neighbors to see a matinee. I have loved the film since that time.

I’ve seen several stage versions, some better than others and, of course, the live television production. We won’t talk about that one.

You know the story. If you don’t you need to get out more.

The theatrical version is not exactly true to life. I mean, there was no escaping across the Alps in the middle of the night. For one thing, that route would have taken them into Nazi Germany.

Instead, they crossed the railroad tracks behind their villa and boarded a train for a “vacation” in Italy where the family also had citizenship. The Austrian borders were closed the next day.

Perhaps our first clue that the story wasn’t exactly true to life could have been the sisters complaining about

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Maria singing in the Abbey…while singing in the Abbey.

Like the real Maria, the theatrical Maria says the most important thing is “to find the will of God, and to do it.”

So for each of us there are countless threads that run through our lives. We can’t see the entirety of the picture that is being woven. But the master weaver can.

We are the sum of many parts. Some good. Some bad.

We’re the sum of the people we’ve known and interacted with.

There are days when I look at my life and think that it’s just a tangled mess.

But the tapestry is not finished.

Knowing that is one of my favorite things.

Photo by Hasmik Ghazaryan Olson on Unsplash


 

THINGS YOU SHOULD READ

How American Authors Helped Push an Agenda of “Temperance”
Literary Hub

Methodist Theologians Convene in Historic Summit
Juicy Ecumenism

Virginia Democratic State Senator Demands End to Mask Mandates in Schools
National Review

Youngkin Aims to Restore Process Over Politics
Shaun Kenney at The Republican Standard

ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY

1880 – Douglas MacArthur, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1964)

1925 – Paul Newman, American actor, activist, director, race car driver, and businessman, co-founded Newman’s Own (d. 2008)

1946 – Gene Siskel, American journalist and film critic (d. 1999)

1955 – Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 2020)

1958 – Ellen DeGeneres, American comedian, actress, and talk show host

WHAT I’M READING


 

BENEDICTION

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:20–21