Andrew Hedges's blog

What began as a multi-family Thanksgiving celebration turned into a big moment. My family and I had joined Cara’s for the holiday at her grandparents’ house in Pennsylvania. (Cara was my girlfriend at the time, but we’ve been married now for over a decade. In other words, the story turns out well!) With so many relatives in town who hadn’t seen each other in a while, I thought I could just slide into the background and enjoy the moments I had with Cara. Her father, however, had different plans.

Steve is the type of person who does his best thinking and listening while he’s walking.

I’ve heard stories from my grandparents’ generation about family times around the table. Such times happened periodically in my childhood, but they were not the norm. We ate quickly, in shifts, or holding the food in front of the television. With a routine of that nature, it would have been difficult to find a good time to insert a question or conversation about God.

As I listen to families today, it seems the pace has only quickened. Not only do families rarely eat together, they may not even eat in shifts at the same house.

Age catches up to you at some point, and it tends to start in the mind. Although, I might say my brain has been “old” for quite some time. You’ll understand if you’ve ever walked into a room to say something to your spouse and the only thing on your mind when you get there is a blank white screen. Or perhaps you’ve searched everywhere for those sunglasses only to give up and see in the mirror that they are on your head. If these were the only things forgotten we would be in good shape.

“I’m a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess.” So goes the “Men Anonymous” pledge from the Red Green show. It’s difficult for anyone to change, but I suppose it may be especially difficult for those of us representing the masculine gender. Red Green can fix anything with duct tape, and most men would agree that duct tape is the best. The only thing duct tape isn’t good for is ducts. Regardless, men love to fix things. If the car is broken – fix it. If the faucet leaks – fix it. If your wife has a problem – fix it.

It has been a rather mild winter in Ohio. The sun is shining and the ground green. Though the physical season is winter, it looks a bit more like spring. It is almost like a gift to me because I find myself in a spiritual spring right now. As such, I am about “springtime” activities to prepare and cultivate my soul for the seasons to come.

In spiritual winter, you feel a sense of dread. Life seems hopeless, lost, and bankrupt (Psalm 88). Loneliness is the theme though you may actually be surrounded by people who love and care for you. You want to be alone, but you fear the silence.

Men don’t mind getting their hands dirty. Even if we don’t know what we’re doing, we’ll put our hands under the hood, under the faucet, and under the dirt. It’s how we learn. I’ve rarely learned more from a lecture than I have from actually getting my hands on a project. It doesn’t matter if his interest is mechanical, artistic, historical or otherwise, a man has evidence of his work on his hands.

I’m fascinated by things we find in the earth. A highlight of my trip to Israel was an opportunity to be a small part of an archaeological dig in The Shephelah.

In four years of training and over a decade in youth and family ministry, I’ve been given so much information on how to attract a crowd. I have constantly tried to find some way to bring in more students and reach out to the unbelieving community. I can’t begin to imagine how much time and effort I’ve put in to creating something amazing that would be the magic magnet – drawing students into a relationship with Christ.

If I was once enthusiastic about the smells associated with grass freshly cut by my efforts, I’m over it. My family formerly lived in a rental property with extensive land. My “half” took about 3 hours to mow on my landlord’s John Deere. The bouncing, spine-jerking mission was always at the bottom of my list, yet duty compelled me to get on the horse.

My girls were excited about the tractor. I took them with me on rides periodically, and the times were filled with mysteriously uncontrollable giggling while I contemplated an extensive fire to the land.

God loves us, but most of us have no clue as to what that means.

When we think about love, we all tend to be on the same level – teens and adults alike. Love is defined by specific times, feelings, and actions. When a cute girl pays attention, the boy falls “in love.” The man who plans a weekend away with his wife is said to be showing love. Dating couples who break up explain that they just don’t love the other anymore. Married couples do the same. In all cases, “love” is restricted to times, feelings or actions.

The same is true in our life with God.

I grow tired of the debates we have in many of our Christian communities (if you can call them that). People who call themselves followers of Christ seem to find the most incredible things to fuss over. We complain about the size, temperature and color of the building. We question whether “so-and-so” should be reading Scripture or singing in the choir. We fight over whether the pastor should preach about Christian living or focus on biblical prophecy.

From the outside looking in, we must look ridiculous. People don’t even know who Jesus is much less what Zechariah had to say about Him.