Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

As I look at my calendar for this coming month, it is filled with celebrations: three graduations and a wedding! That’s a lot in just a few weeks time. But, such is the case for many of us.   The months of May and June become quickly filled with events and parties that celebrate the completion of a student’s education (at least that stage of their education), academic and athletic accomplishments, and weddings that inaugurate the start of a couple’s new life together.   This is a season of celebrations. In spite of the busyness that so many celebrations can bring into our lives, I think we would all agree that celebrations are a good thing. After all, imagine life without celebrations, a life wherein one has nothing to celebrate. That picture is quite dreary. No congratulatory parties. No banners or balloons. No excitement. Nothing to look back on.   Nothing to look forward to.   That would be terrible.   Yes, we need our lives to be punct...

--> This weekend is Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of the summer. For those of us who live near the Jersey Shore, that means a lot more traffic on the weekends, especially on the Garden State Parkway. It means the boardwalks and beaches will no longer be ours alone.   It means having to pay for parking close to the beach. And, it means that for the next few months the nearby restaurants, stores, and hotels will be filled with people looking for a bit of rest and relaxation; a break from the normal pace of life; a different kind of rhythm to life.   In fact, I find that by nature summer creates a whole different kind of rhythm to life. With its longer and warmer days, summer makes it possible to go down to one of the nearby beaches in the late afternoon or evening and take a swim or just sit and watch the waves before it gets too dark.   During the summer, people seem to be much more social as they tend to be outside of their homes more often...

Now that we’re really into the heart of spring, the neighbors are all out working on their lawns cutting, trimming, weeding, and planting.   I too have been out doing my share of yard work (that is, in between all the rain!). And, I don’t really mind doing some yard work. After all, I do like the end result of seeing a freshly mowed lawn or a newly planted flowerbed.   The only problem is much of the work has to be done again and again throughout the spring and summer.   Except for the planting of the flowers, the lawn will need to be mowed just about every week, the bushes will continually need to be trimmed, and the weeds will continue to grow and need to be pulled out. But, I have found, as you may have as well, that the key to maintaining one’s yard is consistency. By maintaining a consistent schedule of cutting and trimming, etc. the yard is kept from becoming an unmanageable jungle.   I don't think I'll ever get my lawn to look like this! A...

Five years ago today we buried my father on what would have been his 86 th birthday. It was almost odd and yet somehow appropriate that his funeral service was on his birthday.   Thus, the day of his birth is in essence the day we also remember his death—and, the life he lived between those two dates.   Between the day he was born (May 10, 1928) and the day he died (May 7, 2014), my father grew up in a Greek immigrant family in the Bronx, served in the U.S. Army in the Korean War, married my mom at the age of 29, raised five children, taught high school physical education, played tennis, played the sax, and the list can go on.   Between those two dates, my dad did some things wrong (as we all do) and he did lots of things right (as we all hope to).   Between those two dates, my dad provided for his family, took care of his wife (my mom), helped lay a foundation of faith in our lives, and for the most part seemed to enjoy his life. My dad's grav...