Patheos

BuddhistCatholicContemplativeEvangelicalGeneral ChristianHinduJewishLatter-day SaintMuslimNew VisionsProgressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Patheos

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube

insideourgooeyminds

Please-No! Don’t let it be for Me!!

Last updated on: March 12, 2022 at 11:39 am   by Mark Williams

Please-No! Don’t let it be for Me!! 2022-03-12T11:39:44-07:00 Mark Williams

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Please-not for me!

Williams

GOD, DON’T LET IT BE FOR ME!

Boy, I hope this sign isn’t for me! Please, don’t let it be for me!

How bad does it have to be when you have to advertise if anyone saw the person you lost?

We played….

I think as we get older, one day, we realize we are a little more brittle than we were when we were playing tackle football in the front yard when we were kids. Oh, did I mention no pads or helmets? Yeah, bad choices. But the parents just watched from the window because, well, isn’t that how you’re supposed to play? We played a form of rugby in grade school where whoever had the ball, got smeared. The rules escape me as I pen this, but I don’t think there were teams. Maybe there were teams, if for nothing else than to have someone to pass the ball to so you, yourself, didn’t get, well, smeared.

Later in life, we do other things, like drive fast, ski fast, water ski without skis. Yes, that’s a thing. How about wilderness camping in Alaska where you actually do run the risk of getting eaten by a bear?

When we’re young, we do all kinds of things. And the definition of ‘youth’ could be a pretty wide gap. It depends on the background, sex, location, all those things tell the owner of the age what they are allowed to enjoy.

I used to run.

For example, I use to run a lot for exercise. I wasn’t fast. I was kind of like a John Deere tractor plowing deep for a new field of corn. But I could run for a while if you had a clock on me. My knees and hips, well, to be honest, most of my body, just can’t tolerate the pounding anymore. So, I bike. I know an eight-five-year-old man who plays golf a couple times a week and pickle ball in between.

There are a lot of us, still dwelling on our high school days—decades after high school. Remembering the ‘good old days.’ There are a lot of people who would tell you those days weren’t so good. But we were youthful then. Our bones still broke, but they liked to bend first. Now, well now they just shatter like crystal hitting a tile floor.

But putting a sign up across the freeway announcing we lost one AND they could be driving, well, please don’t ever let that be me my family is looking for.

“Hey, have you talked to Dad today?”

“No, not since Wednesday. Why?”

“I don’t know. I was just thinking one of the three of us probably need to do a welfare check and pretend we want to ask him how his garden is growing.”

“Does he still have a garden?”

“I dunno.”

“Hey, speaking of dad, I just got a call from the highway patrol. They called because they have him at the station.”

“WHAT?”

“Yeah, they pulled him over because he was driving erratically. He was nice to them and everything. But he had one of Grandad’s old bomber jackets on, his flight helmet and goggles and was listening to Rascal Flats ‘Life is a Highway’. Remember when we were growing up and we were in the car and he played that song?”

“Yeah.”

“Remember what he said when we asked him questions about what he was doing bobbing and weaving in and out of traffic?”

“Yeah, ‘I can’t talk now. I’m flying a plane!’ He would pull up behind some fancy car and machine gun them. He had  a great machine gun sound.”

“Yeah, well he told the state trooper the same thing. They thought they should bring him in and call us.”

“Did they say he made the machine gun noise when he got behind the car? Gosh he did that well. He would machine gun them when he drove. I miss that. He made a great machine gun noise.”

“I DON’T KNOW! Our father is driving a car, on the highway. I thought we took his keys?”

“He must have had another pair.”

“Ya think?”’

Let it go.

So, while the sign, graciously saying ‘silver alert’ allowing for the grey hair to be renamed silver, assuming the person still has hair, I think we should just let them go. God is everywhere. God is with them. Eventually, they will wind up in a diner in Barstow with no money and a brief awareness something is wrong and this place doesn’t look like their townhouse. Who knows, that trip to Barstow might be of God. God loves diners. Its where His kids like to hang out-or drive to when they are flying a mission, especially later in their lives. He will pour them coffee and make sure they are fed-maybe a slice of pie. They will have conversations none of the rest of us can understand or hear. But God knows and loves us, even when we think we are lost or broken like crystal.

GOD IS EVERYWHERE!

God is everywhere and in everything. Nothing happens without Him knowing before time began. They will come back—or go Home. One of the two-as soon as the song ends and they run out of ammunition and eat their pie.

Enjoy your mission today.

Thank you Rascal Flatts for mission music!

(593) Rascal Flatts – Life Is a Highway (From “Cars”/Official Video) – YouTube

www.markjwilliams.com

About – Inside Our Gooey Minds (patheos.com)

 

engaging with God

Give thanks

God feeds us

God lifts us

God loves us

God protects us

God's devotion

God's love

God's playfulness

Uncategorized

God feeds us

God is with us

God loves us

God protects us

Previous Post



March 6, 2022

Sometimes, We Repeat Things

Next Post



March 18, 2022 Music Can Get Us There


Browse Our Archives

Select a Category answering prayer death Does God Need us? engaging with God enjoyment Faith in Chaos fear Freedom from sin Gifting Give thanks God allows suffering God and Mothers God conquer fear God feeds us God lifts us God loves us God protects us God suffered for me God's acceptance God's design for us God's devotion God's freedom God's love God's perfect plan God's playfulness God's protection God's voice Gods mercy inspires us Jesus as Christ Jesus loves us Loneliness My gift old age Our Lord has a sense of humor pain prayer rest Send me Lord Stability in Christ Standing firm Uncategorized What if Jesus Widows work

Select a Month August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021


Follow Us!

Follow Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter



TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What meal did the Israelites eat before leaving Egypt?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Firstfruits Passover Feast of Booths Day of Atonement meal

Related posts from Inside Our Gooey Minds

Family

Now, How About a Bike Ride?

Inside Our Gooey Minds

Family

What If God and I Had a Band?

Inside Our Gooey Minds

Family

Standing the Watch

Inside Our Gooey Minds

Family

You Are With Me....

Inside Our Gooey Minds

TRENDING AT PATHEOS General Christian

Methodist Central Hall and Westminster Abbey

Situated on the same square is Methodist Central Hall and Westminster Abbey. ...

57th Dove Awards Honor Dolly Parton, Crown New...

On gospel music’s biggest night, the 57th annual GMA Dove Awards honored...

The First Eucharistic Controversy: Christ’s Real Presence

For Catholics, the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian...

What a Stop Sign Can Teach Us About...

How to Make a Decision When You Can't Hear God Main point:...

Archdiocese Hosts Military Marriage Retreat in Germany

RASTATT, Germany — The transient military lifestyle, with its frequent deployments and...

Minted in God's Image

Nearly every morning, I make the drive to Detroit with my high-school-age...

view all General Christian blogs

Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Copyright 2008-2026, Patheos. All rights reserved.

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube