Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Monday November 10, 2008

If you are a regular reader of these offers, you know I love to use quotes, quotes from all over the place, some to help you and me, think. Others to help us laugh, I sure can use a good laugh several times a day, even hour. And then sometimes we need to read admonitions from responsible people about investing our time in serving the Lord or the community at large.

Serving the community at large fell my lot last week. A neighbor a few streets up reported that during the night someone had attempted to break into her house. The poor soul was beside herself, and now guns are being bought and target training is taking place.

I was interviewed as to whether I had any ideas about such and of course I did not, though I did give the investigators an idea of the type of people that live in our little enclave of the world. Nice people up here, most have at least one dog and a good number several and of course there is the ever present gaggle of cat lovers. Hey, it's America so you have to take the good with the bad.

One of our area High Sheriffs is a member of the church I pastor, so as I talked with him about the crime wave now hitting our sleepy cove, he asked me about the people in my immediate area. Now you have to keep in mind that on occasion deer will just walk down our street, and kids play in the street after school and when the band, Girl Scouts, ball teams are selling candy it can be a nightmare. Halloween? I won't even go there.

Anyhow, I told Bob the neighbor to the South is a good family, the oldest boy is in college in Florida, and other than being a soccer player, he is ok. The girls are outstanding and they have two great dogs, a Boxer and Airedale. Troy works in one of the local factories and has since Noah went by. He wife, Cheryl is a real Sarah Palin as far as her work ethic.

To the North, Lori, still has a college age daughter living at home while attending ISU. The child also works. Strange isn't it. And Lori works in a bank, so she has passed muster, but when I thought about it, she does have a cat, a nice cat, but a cat nonetheless.

To the East, Craig, a soldier returned from Afghanistan, I think he has served three hitches over there, has a house full of nice kids and the grandest Chocolate Lab in captivity. Coco weighs in at about 120 pounds and is a royal sweetheart.

The widow directly to the East, Barb, is super upper class lady, who insists on cutting her own grass and doing yard work to the point of causing the rest of the neighborhood to look like gypsies took up residence. For years I thought she was a retired Catholic Nun, and though I have bad memories and scarred knuckles from the Dear Sisters of Torquemada, I always thought Barb to be a very nice, cultured neighbor. But, during the storm last June I realized that Barb does have a dark side. For one thing she really has a thing for cats versus dogs. And then in the course of small talk with several neighbors standing right there, Barb let the figurative cat out of the bag. I was shocked but managed to hold my tongue and peace and set on a program of observing. Barb is NOT Catholic. I was wrong. But what she said that morning in the storms aftermath sent a chill into my very soul. Barb is a Presbyterian!! To visit and talk with her you would never in a million years think such a thing as she carries this affiliation with grand aplomb. I suppose the trauma of the storm caused an unguarded moment.

I am sharing this information in order that you, my dear readers, may take precautions. And also because as Judge Louis Brandeis said,

"The most important political office is that of the private citizen."

What you do with this information is a measure of the quality of your citizenship.

Larry Lilly Copyright 2008 © use with credit.

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