Have A Safe Drive

My last Wednesday night at Roseville had a most delightful serendipity… from the sweetest source ever… Lizzie Garza. Sylvia ushered this big eyed sage of little girldom to take audience with me and with a motherly whisper instructed Lizzie Bug, “Tell Dan…” And in her sweetest voice yet bolstered with one part performance and two parts mischief Lizzie clearly instructed me, “Drive safe on your trip and please… don’t run into a pig (big smile).” Let me explain. In the conclusion of my last sermon on Sunday I retold a story I had told in my very first sermon. It seemed not only fitting but allowed me to rib Vaughncele Kiser who maintains that she remembers the first sermon I had preached at Roseville. I told the audience that she didn’t have that good of a memory but what she did remember was the following story.
Brothers and sisters I don’t know if you are familiar with the road between Ukiah where we now live and Interstate Five but there are parts of it that are ribboned with hairpin curves. While driving here and approaching one of these curves a car came screeching around the corner with a woman leaning out of her front window waving her arms and yelling, “Pig! Pig! Pig!” Well, being a man of the cloth and in full control of my faculties I slammed on the brakes and hopped out of my car and shaking my fist at her I yelled, “Swine! Porker! Snout bearing McSnorter! Arrrrghhh! Then I got back into my car and drove around the curve and ran into a pig! So, you see that Lizzie did not want me to hit any pigs!
Besides being the best going away gift that I received it really set the tone for making the transitions that Pam and I will be making in leaving our home of several decades to start a new adventure on the Oregon Coast. We are going to make it our motto not to hit any pigs or squeal about how hard it is to leave family and friends or root around for any opportunity to lament the past. Our eyes are on the future and how God will use us for His kingdom. We have planned and long for an opportunity to live permanently in our little house by the sea… so, here we go full speed ahead with great expectations for what lies around the curves of life!
And Lizzie… we’ll try real hard not to run into any pigs! -DAN