Jesus and the Alphabet

(I jotted this down a few weeks ago at a housechurch meeting of some friends of mine. It was originally supposed to be a response to a scripture reading, but it kindof turned into a mini-essay about my father. Go figure, see what you think.)

My dad lead a hundred kids a week to Jesus and the alphabet. Through carefully chosen words and righteous stubbornness. Though he told me not to do the same I took what I did from his life's work, which was has branched in recent years, farther than we expected.

For several years he drove me to his grand endeavor in a Chevrolet, which was printed in large block letters on the tailgate, looming above some tattered bumper stickers, proclaiming that he loved his wife and that the nobler pursuit was to save the babies, and not just the whales. True statements, both. They were given respectively by a large read heart icon ("I ♥ My Wife" to be specific) and a smiling baby whale, who even at a young age, acknowledged his belief that the human race was more important to preserve than his own.

Now that I think of it, they were statements that may well have shaped the way I now think about life. Love your wife. Save the babies. Amen.