Tag: god

Of Bumblebees and Gratitude

~ Brad Sheppard ~ Leave a comment

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your faithful shall bless you….
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
Psalm 145:10, 21

I tend to notice bumblebees. They tend to be slow and take their time meandering from one flower to another. I tend to be slow and take my time meandering from one flower to another as I water them. So, I usually see the bumblebees. I also notice how the flowering plants come and go from spring to summer to autumn so that there is always something blooming from which the bumblebees can feed. I delight in how nature works that way and am humored by how pollen clings so heavily to the bumblebees that I wonder how they can fly!

As I read Psalm 145 I find myself wondering too about how the bumblebees thank God. I can honestly say that I really had not considered that question before now. Yet, the psalmist claims that all of God’s works shall give thanks so that must include the bumblebees. Maybe it’s something expressed by their buzzing. Maybe it’s how they just be as bees without worrying about anything. Maybe it’s in how they delight God in a way not so different in how they delight me.

It seems to me as it does this psalmist that gratitude is essential to who we are. As creatures we recognize our reliance and dependence on our Creator. In reality there is no more a self-made person than there is a self-made bumblebee. We simply cannot make it on our own. We belong to and depend on an intricate web of life created and sustained by God. When we can acknowledge that we can then appreciate it. And, then we realize the essentialness of gratitude.

So I am going to continue to attempt to make gratitude a habit—a practice I choose each day. Hopefully, it will stick like pollen to a bumblebee! And, hopefully, my gratitude expressed the best way I know how will delight God and bless God’s name forever. I invite you to do the same. Say thanks to God and practice gratitude in the best way you know how. I assure you God will be delighted!

All Kinds of Folks

~ Brad Sheppard ~ Leave a comment

Went to Sam’s to pick up a rotisserie chicken and a macaroni and cheese for supper—convenient and quick after getting back from a marching band regional competition at 3:00 AM. I noticed and appreciated all the diversity I encountered—the different generations, a multitude of hues and accents, various ethnicities and countries of origin. I felt a certain joy in it. I found myself thinking, “This is the America I desire. A place where all kinds of folks find welcome and home. A place where we can make and share community together. Heck, where we do the simply things like shop at Sam’s together and make space for one another as we check out the prepared foods.”

But I know this not the America everyone wants. Too many minds and mouths are full of racism, bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia and all other kinds of discrimination based in hatred and fear. Not a few of them will just as quickly profess faith in Jesus. Honestly, I simply cannot comprehend that. Now, I know the long history of Christian faith and practice being poisoned by hate. It’s just hard for me to see folks so blinded by it.

So some humble advice, be aware of how easily hate and evil can slip into your thinking about others—especially others who are different from you. And as well, be aware of folks who can as easily proclaim Christ as they can spew fear and hate and dehumanize others. Ask yourself, “Do they really know Jesus?”

Well, I must say if you haven’t tried Sam’s rotisserie chicken you’re kind of missing out on a tasty deal. And if that’s not your thing, at least take a stroll through a Sam’s or Costco, a local festival, a farmer’s market or some other place where folks gather, and find there a certain joy in the diversity we are and the diversity we ought to embrace and celebrate.