March 8 – “Follow me”

We decided to spend the day in Houston yesterday.  The graveside service for Scott was at 10:30 in north Houston just off I45, and the memorial service was at 2:30 way over in Northwest Houston.  So we left the house early and med our way north.   The graveside service was just for family and a few close friends.  We were honored to have been invited.  Bo, Scott's son-in-law, led the service and did an admirable job.  He informed the group that Scott had written his memoirs some years before, so he promised to share some from that document later at the memorial service.  I was immediately intrigued.  Scott wasn't what I would call a man of many words.  And he had an amazing sense of humor.  I wondered what stories he must have left for his family.    The memorial service was packed with friends and family.  It was great to see people from our time at Langwood Baptist Church back in the 70's.  And stories were the definitely on the menu.  Bo read several from Scott's memoirs, and he even read the story from my blog the other day.  Several others shared as well during the "official" time, but people were buzzing before and after.  One little Scott tidbit that didn't make the public time came up in banter just afterwards.  One of Scott's favorite things to say when conversation seemed at a lull was a quaint poem:             Roses are red,             Violets are purple.             Sugar is sweet,             And so is maple surple.   After the ceremony and a long time of lingering, we headed to Bo and Nancy's house.  We had never been there, so we asked for directions.  Bo thought for a few moments, then said, "It's too complicated to tell you how to get there.  Just follow me.  I won't lose you."  Well, we lost him.  Coming out of the parking lot we got caught by a stream of traffic, but dutifully, Bo pulled over to wait for us.  That should have been our first clue.  Follow me.  But we finally made the turn and took up our place behind him.  The problem intensified as we entered the freeway heading even further north.  First it was a Ford Explorer that pulled between us and kept riding his brakes.  It was like he thought we were an unmarked police car, and he didn't want to get up to the speed limit just in case.  And the traffic was just heavy enough that we couldn't get around him.  Every so often we caught a glimpse of Bo's car ahead, though, so we plodded on.  Follow me.  Finally, the Explorer exited and we breathed a sigh of relief.  And just then a huge Hummer pulled in front of us.  So much for locating Bo.  We couldn't see around it.  By this time the glimpses of Bo had pretty much ceased.  Follow me.  In fact I was reaching for my phone to see if I had his number saved when we saw him.  Just ahead.  He had changed lanes and was waiting for us, just as he said.  Follow me.  Traffic had finally thinned out, so after all that stress and worry it became easier and easier to keep our eyes on Bo.  Even when he took an exit off the freeway that didn't exist on the map we were following.  Follow me.  I had a pencil, so I actually added the road to the map as we drove it.  It was kind of fun.  Follow me.  Their house was out in the middle of nowhere.  I have no idea how they found it, except that someone must have told them about it.  The property was beautiful, though, and their new house was very nice.  We stayed and enjoyed the company for awhile, but soon we knew it was time for us to head back to Galveston.  They texted us direction to get back to some main roads, and it was good to have those assurances.  But we didn't need them.  Now I had a map.  Anybody want to go see Bo and Nancy?  Follow me.   Follow me, indeed.  Talk about a spiritual lesson learned from that whole experience.  All we need to do to get through this life is follow Jesus.  There will be times when circumstances seem so big that we can't see him, or when people seem to deliberately distract us from keeping focused on him.  But he's always up there, ready to pull over and wait if we need him.  Sometimes the way is clear and we can see him at every turn.  That's nice.  Sometimes he takes us on unexpected roads that are not on our map, but he knows what he is doing.  He knows where we are heading.  It's a beautiful place, the presence of Jesus.  The company there is wonderful.  And once we have followed him and know the way, it's time for us to go back out and show others how to get there.  He offers us lots of assurances to keep us on track, and we even have a map, his Word.  Wow.  Follow me.   Luke 9:23 says, "Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'"   Father, help me keep my eyes open.  I know you are just ahead and you won't get too far for me to keep up.  Amen.