I finally got the grass mowed. Actually I mowed Nathan and April's front yard first. It seemed only right since I was borrowing the lawn mower from them. We still haven't bitten the bullet and bought a new one. I just wish I knew all the ins and outs of small engine repair. There is probably something simple involved in fixing ours, but I have no idea where to even begin beyond changing a spark plug and cleaning out the little foam filter thing. And the grass was really high. Lots of weeds and clover made it extremely thick. In fact I ran out of gas before I finished. That doesn't usually happen. I used our broken weedeater to edge the front yard. It doesn't have one of those guards around it, so you have to be very careful not to get slapped in the leg by the cord as it spins around. Really hurts. Not that I have ever been zinged myself, of course. I forgot to even take it into the back yard. Guess I was so focused on sweeping the front sidewalks this time that it slipped my mind. Last time I mowed I forgot to sweep afterwards. Grass stuck around for weeks.
I made it to Jahcin's baseball practice for an hour or so right before home group. Kel asked me to help him coach, and this was the first time they had access to the pitching machine for batting practice. I discovered that Hitchcock's Little League fields are right next to a huge retention pond. That equals mosquito swarms. Needless to say I had no spray with me. Neither did any of the kids. I guess they are used to it or something. Not me. I'll remember next time we practice there. We have several kids on the team who have never played before. Not machine-pitch. Not t-ball. Not anything. They don't know how to throw. Or bat. Or catch. Pretty basic stuff there. Lots of fun to work with because they don't have any bad habits yet. Problem is, there are also a few kids on the team who look like they have been playing for years. And they are big. We made one minor adjustment to one guy's swing and he was smashing balls into the outfield. Gotta be careful when he's up or someone will get hurt.
It was kind of weird how our Bible study at home group last night was on death, when we are headed to a funeral tomorrow. Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. And the discussion was more spirited than it has been in a while. I thought people didn't like to talk about death. Guess we've come a long way. Or maybe we have an unusual group. I know that's true. Here's the question of the night: If Jesus knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, why did he weep? Why wasn't he fighting to keep the smirk off his face like a little kid does when he knows a surprise is about to be revealed? We came up with some good answers. He really loved Lazarus (that's what the people in the story said). He really loved Mary and Martha and was sad to see them in such grief. He was sad that the people had such little faith. Or my personal favorite, he hated to bring Lazarus back from the eternal life he was experiencing, knowing that he would just have to go through death all over again. Dying twice. Ouch.
Hebrews 9:27-28 says, "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."
Father, thank you for that "die once" thing. Once is enough. Amen.
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