Reflections on things already known and possibly stored in the depths of memory are powerful instruments toward emotional response.  Reflective thoughts of the past often bring laughter or tears that may have been absent in real time.  Events that we have glossed a multitude of times, may be brought to the surface to touch us deeply. 

Sometimes it takes a while for the emotions to be released and find their way to the surface.  Think about it.  There have been those times for just about every one of us.  We thought we had fully understood some person or event, only later to see something we missed.  More than missed, what is recognized at a later time may have been blocked by some sense of personal protection.  By prohibiting complete emotional observation vulnerability is much more limited.  Thus, even clearly stated love doesn’t always mean all that it should.

There should be no doubt that Simon Peter loved Jesus.  He stated that he was ready to die with Jesus.  His words were bold.  He surely thought he meant it.  Yet, just hours later he was denying that he even knew Jesus.  His view of Jesus, even as he closely followed Him, was limited by personal perception as well as personal protection.  The bold claim of Peter had been met by the contrary words of Jesus.  So, when he met that moment of personal challenge Peter was forced to see Jesus and thus to see himself in a different light.  Then the words of Jesus spun freely in his head.  Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times (Matthew 26:75).”  So when he realized what he had done, “he went out and wept bitterly”.  Eye opening moments can be hard to take.  Those moments can easily lead to a flow of tears.

Maybe I have always been a bit emotionally touchable, but it seems that the older I get the easier it is for things to strike my emotions.  I sometime find that even Hallmark commercials often squeeze my heart and wet my eyes.  Even more, seeing the pictures of my grandchildren or watching them in person pulls at my soul.  I need not even mention the power of my wife and children in my heart.

Anyway, something caught my attention the other day, and it stabbed me deeply in my heart.  It was just a couple of days after Christmas.  I had showered and was just about dressed.  I “turned on” the television just to see what movie might be playing.  I just wanted a little background distraction. In that season, so many of the programs and movies had centered around the Christmas holiday with many of those programs taking note of the birth of Jesus.  I was not looking to watch another Christmas story that day.  I found something a little different.  The old classic movie “Ben Hur”, staring Charleton Heston was well underway on one of the channels.  In fact, it was near the end of the movie.  It had been quite a while since I had seen it.  So, I paused to watch for a few moments.  The movie had reached the part where Judah Ben Hur (Charlton Heston) had found his leprous mother and sister.  He was taking them to see the teacher, Jesus.  Unfortunately, they were a bit late.  For, Jesus was on His way to be crucified.  Their paths crossed.  Judah saw Jesus fall and recognized Him as the man who had given him water at a terrible time in his life.  Judah tried to return the favor and give water to Jesus.  Yes, I know that those events were drawn from fiction and were added for dramatic atorytelling.  Still, that scene had a powerful effect on me.  I found myself watching the depiction of Jesus struggling to drag his cross upward on some stone steps, falling in the process.  The thorn crown was on his head.  His heavily burdened actions showed an abused body that was more than weary.  At the same time, the expression on Judah’s face amplified the sadness and tension of the moment.  I was overwhelmed.  It was as if I had never pictured the scene of what Jesus had to face in His final hours.

I felt the tears as they slipped from my eyes and flowed downward across my cheeks.  I was glad I was alone.  Quietly, I said to myself, “I can’t believe He did that.  I can’t believe He did that for me.”  How many times have I read and told the story?  How many times have I shared the message of Jesus’ sacrifice?  How many times have I calmly reflected on what He did?  I can’t begin to count them all.  At that moment, I was in tears.  It was as if I had never given thought to what He had done.  I needed to feel that moment.  I needed to have the thoughts of what He did, and to have them refreshed in my heart and mind.  I needed those tears.  Yes, I know I am aging and many of the “bravado” attitudes of life are slipping into the past.  Still, all the callouses of life’s challenges stand as guardians working to hinder the feelings that result in the expression of tear-filled emotions.  And yet, at that moment they came easily and fully to the surface. 

Dressed, I turned off the television and went about my other activities.  At the same time, I carried, and continue to carry, the impact of that moment.

Some time ago, a friend who invited me to speak at an event introduced me as the funniest preacher he knew.  That guy needed a larger circle of preachers.  Still, anyone who knows me knows that I love to poke fun, laugh, and enjoy good humor.  I dish it, and it is dished back at me.  I love it.  Still, it seems there is within me an emotional child.  I’m glad to know, embarrassing as it may be, that such a child still lives within. 

I hope I can always be touched and brought to tears.  I hope we all can.

Russell L. Dyer

January 8, 2026

There is a saying about looking back.  It is not the one about turning into a pillar of salt.  It is the idiom claiming, “hindsight is 20/20.”  Frankly, it is easy to understand past events or decisions clearly after they have happened.  The future is, to say the least, murky.  The truth is that the future is subject to unexpected change.  The future is not yet written as is the past.  Obviously, the future has not happened yet.

The Old Testament story of Lot, as he escapes the destruction of the place that had become home to his family, is challenging, to say the least.  One of the provocative moments is when Lot’s wife longingly looks back toward that former home.  He and his family had been warned, by messengers of God, not to do so.  So, in an act of God, Lot’s wife became only a chunk of salt.

Frankly, it is impossible to live life without at least a few backward views.  Unless affected by a mental problem or illness, memories of what is behind us are simply a part of who we are.  The past goes with us wherever we go.  Even the youngest of babies draw from their past to gain what comforts them. 

There should be no doubt that backward views can sometimes be uncomfortable.  A song by the late Toby Keith offers the struggle of looking back, by pointing to the comfort of naïve ignorance.  He aptly titled the song, “Wish I Didn’t Know Now”.  Consider the lyrics, “I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.  I wish I could start this whole thing over again.”  Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, we don’t get to jump back in time and change what was done or not done.  There will remain those words we wish we had said or not said.  There will still be those deeds we did or didn’t do.  Choices of the past will remain what they were.  As discomforting as these backward views may be, they do provide the learning challenge to avoid repeating regrets.

From a little bit of a different viewpoint from the foregoing thought might be the old “ignorance is bliss” saying.  There is a kind of comfort in a lack of growing knowledge.  In certain respects, it seems that a significant proportion of individuals make minimal efforts to acquire affective knowledge.   Well, it may only appear that way.  Being stuck without learning is being the pawn of whoever or whatever may come our way. 

It may be that there are notable voices who have tried to remind us that a backward view is best when it is about learning and adapting to what is learned.  The common quote, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” is most often attributed to Winston Churchill.  There is also the statement by George Santayana, who wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.  A very pointed and a bit pessimistic quote is by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: “We learn from history that we do not learn from history.”  Looking back to our own past is best when it helps us shape the present and point us toward the best possible future.  Striving to return to that past is a wasted effort.  Outside of science fiction, time only moves in one direction: forward.

It may be the common disease of the maturing individual to spend a lot of time reflecting on the past, and maybe even refusing to let it be what it is, the past.  A dear old friend shared what he saw as wisdom from his father.  He told of his father completely retiring at the age of seventy-five.  He justified his retirement with the explanation, “Younger men are always looking forward to what may be.  By the time a man reaches seventy-five years of age his tendency is to be always looking backward.”  He may have been right for the majority.  I have to admit that I spend a lot of time thinking and talking about what used to be.  Sadly, I am only in my seventy-fist year.

Amid all those moments of looking backward there is a common phrase.  Many of us have literally stated it.  It’s sure we have heard it.  “If I had only known …” There are circumstances in our lives that we wish to be different.  There are words spoken.  There are unspoken words.  There are actions taken and untaken.  There are relationships that shouldn’t have been, and those that should have been.  The thought is, if we could go back in time, with the knowledge we have in the present, we could avoid the bad choices and mistakes we made.  It sounds like a great idea.  So, it is just a matter of inventing a time machine.  If H.G. Wells can imagine it, we ought to be able to do it.  Sorry, it just will not happen.  We cannot reverse the tide, and we cannot turn time backward.  There is no real “Quantum Leap” to engage the past.  Simply, but also profoundly, what is done is done.

Before we allow the unchangeable past to burden and depress us, there is a realization that we be best served to absorb.  It is obvious.  Still, it may be overlooked.  Here it is. “Without your past, you would not be here.”  Understand, and look around you. It is important to realize that all the experiences of the past, good and bad, are the things that have brought you and me to where we are.  What is realized today is what is learned from where we have been. 

It may be that from time to time we play the little game of pondering the question of what life would have been like if we had made a different choice at some earlier point in life.  Maybe it would have been a different career.  Maybe it would have been a different range of study.  Maybe it would have been a different place to live.  Maybe it would have been a different …. (whatever). What would life have been.  Yes, it would have been different. 

Again, look around you.  It is often easy to see the things that you wish were different, the things that are not at you had long ago hoped they would be.  Look again.  See the good things.  Maybe it is that you do have a job and you do it well.  Maybe it is that there is food on the table and a home in which that table is found.  Maybe it is that you have friends for whom you care, and friends who care for you.  Near the top of the list, maybe it is family.  Maybe it is the children who frustrate the daylights out of you and yet are still the ones whom you love and the ones who love you.  Perhaps you would not have the things that are precious to you.  Yes, there would be other things and other people.  Sure, we would not miss what we never knew.  But we do know.  All those “blessings” are a result of the past events and choices in our lives whether they were good or bad, as we see them now.

On the personal side, I do not want to imagine a different life.  I do not want the life that does not have my wife, our three children, their spouses, and those ten amazing grandchildren.  Not even one of us in that group is without challenges.  At the same time, all are immeasurable blessings.  Beyond family, there are all the wonderful people who have been a part of our lives in every place we have lived and worked.  Why in this world would I want any of those things to be different?

The old church song carries the reminder, “Count your blessings.  Name them one by one.  Count your blessings.  See what God has done.”  If we do, we just might come to a better state of appreciation for where we are.  So, instead of thinking, “If I had only known”, we might simply say, “I’m glad I didn’t know.”

Russell L. Dyer

December 31, 2025

Pets, especially dogs, have been a part of our home almost since our marriage began.  Some of the dogs were pure breeds, and some were a mixture of a wide variety of breeds.  Generally, we enjoyed each of them.  Beside the dogs, there were cats, birds, hamsters, turtles, and even a squirrel.  Some were with us for years, and others for much shorter times.  In reflection, of all the pets, it is dogs that seem to have the most recognizable place in our memories.

Allow me to tell you about Jasper.  Jasper is our dog of the present time.  We acquired him when he was a little over two months old.  At the time, we had lived without a pet for about seven years, and it always seemed that there was a little something missing in our home.  The children were all grown, married, had children, and even had dogs of their own.  Our house was empty, except for the two of us.  While not having the responsibility of caring for a pet was nice, there was still an empty place in our lives and home.  My occasional overnight absence brought my wife to mention being more comfortable when there was a dog present to be on guard for her.  Her comment stirred a renewed desire to have a dog in our home.  So, the search began.

Through something of a process, we settled on seeking a Collie.  It might have been that there had once been a Collie in her life, or that Lassie had always seemed to be the ultimate dog to own.  Whatever turned our attention in such a direction, it was where our search was pointed.  We quickly learned that Collies are not as popular as they once were, and maybe even less so in our part of the country.  In her search, Paula found a local breeder on Facebook.  After a few communications she learned that he still had a pup that he would be willing to sell to us.  His offering price was far more than we wanted to pay for a dog.  We almost let it pass.  Then he offered to sell the puppy at half price if we would forgo the registration papers.  Really, we only wanted the dog for a pet.  We did not intend to breed or show him.  So, we accepted the breeder’s offer.  The appointment was made.  The money was gathered.  Then on January 15, 2016, we met our dog.  At that time, He was just a small bundle of soft white fur.  It was love at first sight.  From that day forward to the present, Jasper has been an important part of our lives.  He has grown into a friendly, beautiful, White-Sable Collie, with penetrating blue eyes.  Rarely do we take him places that we don’t have strangers tell us that he is a beautiful dog.  We do love him, and he is devoted to us.  Well, the story to this point is just background.  Without doubt, just about any dog lover has just as good a good story about gaining a new dog.  So we relate.  As these words are being written, a nine-year-old Jasper is quietly resting in the entrance hall, next to the front door.  

So, it is my purpose here to share a few of the things I have learned from Jasper.  My conclusion is that any of us could all learn some good characteristics from our dogs. 

For example:

• Jasper is loyal and committed to (us) his own family.  He may never call us by name, but every approach he makes toward us tells us that he knows exactly how we are connected to each other.  Wherever and whenever we go, he wants to go with us.  He even seems happy to wait in the car (weather permitting) while we step into a store for a few minutes.  Really, the time he spends waiting doesn’t seem to faze him. 
• Jasper is open and friendly to just about everyone.  He never seems to meet a stranger.  New people or animals are greeted as friends he just hasn’t yet met, even the growling ones.  There may be a bit of sniffing, but in a very short time he is ready to share his company.
• Jasper doesn’t care what he looks like, or what you look like.  People often comment on how “beautiful” he is, but he doesn’t know it.  No matter how dirty he is, how shaggy he looks, or how he smells, Jasper is just as he is.  The way people look or are dressed means nothing to him.  Any friendly gesture is met with a friendly desire to touch and be touched.
• Jasper doesn’t hold a grudge.  Being a dog, he doesn’t always do the right thing.  Personal boundaries are not recognized.  So, when he is corrected, or even disciplined, he humbly accepts.  Then, whether immediate or long term discipline is applied, he is always ready to partner with you again.  The past may not be forgotten, but it sure doesn’t prevent having a full relationship with anyone.
• Jasper loves to “go” but always seems to be glad to be home.  He seems to always recognize when we are preparing to go somewhere.  Wherever we go, he is ready to go.  He seems to enjoy staying with other dogs in the family, whether the stays are short or long.  Then, when returning home, he seems to relax and find his comfortable place.  Home is where he is at his best.
• Jasper enjoys resting. He naps whenever he can.  Whatever else may be happening around him, he will lie down, close his eyes, and nap.  He rests without worrying that he needs to be doing something or that something will be missed.  He knows how to simply “let-go” and relax.

There are probably several more qualities that could be stated here, but we will stop with these.  For, these things may be enough to not the better qualities of a dog like Jasper.  Sure, he requires care.  We must feed, bathe, take him to the Vet, open and close doors to let him in and out, and just generally take care of him.  Still, if he is in the house when I come home, he is the first to greet me.  When he does greet me, everything from head to tail shows that he is excited to see me.  It is hard to be stressed when I have such a greeting.

If only we humans could be filled with the spirit that lives in Jasper, what a change it would make in each of us, and the world at large.  In most ways, Jasper lives in a small world or limited life.  Even so, the nature of that world is better because he is in it.

Again, the world, any of us, could use a great infusion of the qualities that are common in the loyal companions we call “our dogs”.  I know I am biased about Jasper.  Still, I think I need to work on having the character that seems to be natural in him.

Russell L. Dyer

December 30, 2025

Perhaps it is the passing of time and the reaching of those senior years.  Whatever the reason, reflections of people from the past can bring the fondest of memories.  In a life of just beyond seven decades, there have been an unrecognized number of special people whose lives have intermingled in some way.  Unfortunately, many of those people are buried in the recesses of memory and rarely brought to active thought.  Fortunately, on the other hand, the benefits of what each person brings to another person’s life has at least some small measure of shaping who we become.

 John Lennon captured much of this same idea in his song, “In My Life”.

 “There are places I remember – All my life though some have changed – Some forever, not for better – Some have gone and some remain. – All these places have their moments – With lovers and friends I still can recall. – Some are dead and some are living. – In my life I’ve loved them all. “

Among those passing people who had a timely and memorable effect was a guy that came to mind today.  Just call him Dave, though that was not his real name.  In memory, Dave was a stocky man in his thirties when my friends and I were young boys.  He was friendly and likeable.  He was not handsome but had a pleasant appearance.  Interaction with Dave would leave the thought that he was a working-class man who knew what it was to do a job and do it well.  In his younger days he had been a tough and vital player for the football team at the local university.  All the boys at church loved to see Dave.  Each would run to him and stick out a hand.  When Dave took each hand, a battle would begin.  Dave had a powerful grip, and the boys loved to see if any could out-grip him.  None could.  He had a presence about him.  When he was present, it was easy to know he was there.  Sometimes, he was given the chance to lead a song at a church service.  He almost always led the same song; “Revive Us Again”.  It may have been the only song he knew well enough to lead.  He didn’t know music, but when he sang, everyone one wanted to sing with him. 

A description of Dave would not be complete without noting his tender heart.  A guest speaker, who had done some mission work in a third world country, was speaking to a group of men from church, and telling of his experiences.  The speaker related meeting a young girl, who was not quite twelve years old.  He said she was pregnant with her first child.  Almost immediately, there was a sniffling sound.  We all turned to see Dave, who had tears running down his face.  The tough old football player was “cut to the heart”. 

Dave was a good, fun guy that would have been remembered, but there is one special event that remains imprinted in my memory.  It was the summer of 1974 (If I remember correctly), and a group of us were playing softball in a summer church league.  I don’t remember who we were playing, or even if we won the game.  I do remember a couple of innings during the game.  I felt good and had hit a deep ball or two, but nothing worthy of note.  Dave had batted well, earlier times at the plate.  So, he stood in the warm-up circle taking practice swings to be ready to go again.  As he prepared to step to the plate, someone hollered, “Knock it out of the park!”  He turned and said he would try.  The first pitch was knocked foul.  He readied for the next pitch.  Dave drew back, looking like a spring that was ready to suddenly unwind with force.  He swung.  He connected with the ball.  The ball sailed extremely high and landed well beyond the outfield fence.  We all hooped and hollered as he trotted around the bases.  As he came back to the bench, Dave acted as if it wasn’t a big thing, but he was smiling.  He looked at me and said, “Your turn.”

As I began my walk to the plate, I turned to my friend, John, and told him I was going to do what Dave had done.  The first pitch was a ball.  The second pitch looked great, and I swung the bat with all I had.  I connected.  I knew it was a good hit, but didn’t know how deep it would fly.  Heading for first base, I knew it did not sail as high as Dave’s hit.  I was ready to stop at first base or even go back to the bench, but as I watched the ball it cleared the right field fence with just a few feet to spare.  It was the first time I knocked one out of the park.  Truly, it was the only time I knocked one out of the park.  It was just a small-time softball game with a bunch of amateurs in summer league.  Still, it was a special moment for me.  For a short time, I was the king of the softball field.

In reflection, there is wonder.  What brought me (a mediocre ball player) to think I could knock one out of the park.  I am sure that it was Dave’s influence.  If he had not been the fun, encouraging guy that he was, I would not have even tried.  Yes, it was only one time at bat.  No one else would even remember the event.  Dave probably had no idea what his influence was on that day, or what the memory of that moment meant to me.

Again, it might be age and the passing of time that bring special moments from within mental memory books.  For sure, there are many other small moments in our journeys that have brought us to where we are.  There have been too many people to begin to count them all.  Some are dead, and some are living.  Some are far, and some are near.  Perhaps we should tell them how they have affected our lives, or maybe expressions are not really needed.  For maybe it is enough to simply know that every connection with another person makes a difference.

Today, you may well be making a memory that influences the life of another person.  Make it a good one.  “Moreover, I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease” (2 Peter 1:15).

Russell L. Dyer            

October 16, 2025       

There are always changes as time moves forward.  Many people come and go.  To the point, things that are precious today may well be gone tomorrow.  In spite of unstoppable change, there are people and things that we would like to keep with us indefinitely.  

There are plenty of warnings and reminders about the nature of loss and destruction.  Yeah, it may seem to be depressing and even morbid to think about loss. For even as the often-quoted adage reminds us, “This too shall pass.”  The old song from “Showboat” likens the passage of time to the flow of water as the lyrics state, “But old man river, he jes’ keeps rollin’ along.”  The good, the bad, the indifferent, they all flow to the past.

When I was about ten or eleven years old, my father gave me a watch.  It was not just an ordinary wristwatch that could take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’.  It was an old watch.  It was a pocket watch.  It was my father’s watch.  It had been his father’s watch.  I loved that watch.  I had seen it and admired it for some time.  My father had kept it in his top drawer, and I would often take it out of the drawer to study it. 

The watch did not have a pop-up cover.  The time was always obvious through the glass crystal on the front.  A small second hand had its own place on the lower part of the face.  The winding stem had a simple “u” shaped connector over it.  Attached was a short chain with a “buffalo nickel” at its end.  On the back of the watch was the engraving of a train engine.  The back could be unscrewed so that all the workings could be seen.  Many times, I removed the back, simply to watch the spring rock the wheel that caused all the other wheels to move in their separate motions.  I loved watching the watch work.  I showed it to my friends and carried it in the “watch pocket” of my jeans. 

That pocket watch was special to me for two main reasons.  Number one: It was a gift to me from my father and it had been his.  Number two: Before my father owned it, the watch had been the property of my grandfather.  It had been given to my father by his father.  Being the third owner in the family was a point of pride to me.

As sometimes happened in old watches, the mainspring broke and needed to be replaced.  My mother had it in a drawer with another watch that needed repair.  Before we could get it to the watch repair shop, our house was burglarized.  Among the things stolen were the watches waiting to be repaired.  I was angry.  I felt that a part of my history had been stolen from me.  No thief was ever going to appreciate the value of that watch.  I even imagined it being discarded as valueless when it was realized that the timepiece was broken.  Of course, I never saw that watch again.

There is an often-presented idea, reminding us that things are just things.  Maybe, at some level we accept the premise.  At the same time, we cannot fully convince ourselves.  Perhaps we even quote Jesus.  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).  Still, to infer that physical things have no value is not exactly true. 

The value of things, and much more people, should never be doubted.  Whether value is tied to actual and practical use, or is held in sentimentality, there is realized value.  The stolen watch had only a small amount of practical value.  With a small amount of money, a very accurate and usable watch can be purchased.  The sentimental value of that old pocket watch was beyond measure.

Perhaps a twist on another scripture may address the sense that is here involved.  Again, it was Jesus who said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).  So, I may have learned, a thief may take a cherished item from you, but that thief cannot take that value of the item that remains in your heart.  In other words, time and circumstances may rob us of people and “things”, but they cannot rob us of the memories.

So, when people or things are gone from our tangible living it might be good for us to cling to the words of a song often associated with the late Bob Hope.  “Thanks for the memories.”  May we always have the realized and undiminished value of our memories.

Russell L. Dyer

August 14, 2025

Several years ago, when the children were still living at home, we took a walk through our neighborhood together.  It was Mother’s Day.  We had only walked about a half of a block when we came across a ten-dollar bill in the street.  No one else was on the street, and we had no way of knowing whose it was.  So, we just took it and continued our walk.  Of course, there was shared excitement about the found money, and we talked about it.  The conversation funneled into a discussion of what we could do with the money.  It then morphed into how we had occasionally found “dropped” change in a street or in a parking lot.  It was suggested and agreed that we would make it our determined action to look for dropped money for a year and save it.  So, the “ten spot” was placed in a container to be joined by any other money we found.  At the end of the full year, we would then see how much money we had collected.  Thus, it began.  At the end of the year, we emptied the container, counted the money, and learned that we had found a total of seventeen dollars.  Note, the sum of our “found treasure” was not really a substantial amount of money.  It was still something of fun endeavor to find what had been lost, accidentally discarded, or not worthy of a search.  We did not repeat our adventure, but we still watch for change that has been lost along the way.

Run time forward about thirty years. 

Jasper, our dog, and I were on a walk on a recent day.  As we rounded a corner, I looked downward to see a twenty-dollar bill in the debris next to the curb.  No cars were near, and no houses faced the nearby area of the street.  So, I pocketed the money and figured to give it to my wife.  Jasper agreed with my choice.  It was fun to return home and hand the money to my wife, with the explanation of where I got the money.  Again, twenty dollars is not a large sum of money, but it was at least a little bit exciting to deal with an unexpectedly “found treasure” of that size.  It was unusual and made a great story to tell.

On a more recent walk with Jasper, another treasure was found.  Pausing to let Jasper sniff something, I happened to look downward and saw something dark on the concrete street.  Looking closer it appeared to be a brownish-copper disk.  Yes, it was a penny.  Scooping it into my hand, the dirty copper appearance became more obvious.  From the looks of that penny, it may have been on the street for a while.  The penny was a bit discolored and heavily scarred.  The images were heavily scarred from the roughness of the street and apparently having been pressed by many car tires.  While the words and date on the coin were almost unreadable, it was still recognizable as a penny.

Three things came to mind as I examined that little treasure.  (1) No one else had picked-up that penny. Admittedly, it might have been unnoticed. (2) Even if it was recognized, it may not have seemed worth the effort to retrieve it.  It was only a penny.  (3) It was so scarred and abused that it might not even have the value of a penny.

None the less, it was placed in my pocket, and later it found a place on my desk.

On a later day, finishing my morning reading of the Bible and the local paper, that scarred penny caught my eye.  Only, in my mind, it became a representation of something more.  I wondered how many scarred and discarded lives are left in the road of life, not considered to have enough value to be “picked-up”.  I wondered how many times I had counted lives as not worthy of my effort.  Perhaps those lives had been so abused and scarred that it was hard to see much value in them.  Then I remembered the many stories of the people that Jesus touched.  He saw the value in them.  So many had faced the harshness of difficult lives.  Some were products of their own making.  Each of them carried the marring scars that were covering the possibilities of valuable life in them.  But Jesus reached for them, and the value was there.  The words He shared with some fishermen are a testimonial of the treasure He saw, and still sees, in every life, “I will make you become” (Mark 1:17).   Even a scarred and abused penny can be a treasure.

As this little is being written, Jasper and I have just returned from another walk.  Yes, again I found another heavily scarred penny, lost in the street.  And yes, I put it in my pocket.  A little later, I noticed three more pennies in the street.  The three pennies were in much better shape, and yes, I put them in my pocket too. 

Every “penny” needs to know it is a treasure.

Russell L. Dyer

6/19/2025

Everyone has secrets.  There are thoughts and experiences that are held deep in the recesses of mind.  Sometimes those thoughts are buried as deeply as possible, with the desire that even the thinker will never consciously recognize them again. 

So, as a contrast, think about the truth behind such things.  It really is simple.  For, the fact is, a secret is only a secret until it is told, seen, or in some way recognizably shared.  After any kind of recognition or revelation, it is no longer a secret.  For even when a thing is shared in confidence, if it is shared confidentially one time, what is to prevent it from being shared in confidence (even with good intentions) again and again.  It may not be in the class of gossip.  It may just be a fire in the bones, longing to “get out”.  Personal secrets are best kept personally, if they are to be kept as secrets.

Beyond personal matters, there are larger secrets of groups, organizations, or even nations.  The well used adage of security during wartime is: “Loose lips sink ships.”  The security of many people may depend on secrets being kept to never reach the ears of enemies.

When there is a secret, it means that something is hidden.  Whenever it is known that there is something hidden, there is a seemingly natural desire to uncover the secret.  So, when curiosity is aroused, its driving force is one of the most powerful motivations of the human spirit.  It may be a common saying which offers the reminder of curiosity killing the cat, and so reality boldly tells that curiosity can truly push in a dangerous or even a destructive direction.  In contrast to the negative, there is also a more beneficial side to this driving force.  Consider what has been added to the volume of human knowledge and experience out of curiosity.  Armed with curiosity, explorers launched small ships into the unknown to find new lands in unexplored parts of this world.  Further, there is knowledge of the far reaches of space and the depths of this world’s oceans.  No reminder is needed to tell of how technology has changed so many aspects of the functions of life and work.  So much of what is taken for granted in the present began in the curiosity of someone’s mind.  Nothing is thought of flipping a light switch, adjusting a thermostat, or starting a car.  When something is yet unknown, or seemingly hidden, it is a secret that an innate desire longs to uncover.

Truly, not all secrets are treasures to be uncovered.  Some of them are purposely private matters and are best to be held in such reserve.  Note, there are questions that ought to be asked before sharing a secret.  Will it do harm to another person when it is shared?  Will telling the matter breach a trusted confidence?  Will the benefit of sharing outweigh any negative consequences that may result?  Are the ones to whom a secret is revealed ready to handle what may come as a result?  There are probably many other questions that ought to be asked.  Such questions are just a reminder that revealing a secret is not always a simple matter.

Still, there are secrets and treasures that deserve to be brought to light.  There may be some pieces of knowledge that could be a benefit to many others.  Faith and love are two of the large matters that cannot be kept secret.  Love cannot be held in secret, or it ceases to exist within its unshared state.  Similarly, faith that is hidden ceases to be faith.  Each becomes like a light that is beneath an impenetrable cover. 

It must be noted though, when a secret is revealed, it cannot be un-revealed.  Generally, a secret takes a life of its own and grows uninhibitedly.  It becomes like a statement on social media.  Once it is there, it cannot be fully taken back.  At the heart of one of the pop hits of the Beatles we find two imposingly opposing questions: “Do you want to know a secret?  Do you promise not to tell?”  Of course, the hearer wants to know.  At the same time, once it is told or shown, it ceases to have the privacy of a real secret.  Well, love of one person for another should never really be a secret anyway.  Let Romeo and Juliet be an example of error.

Anyway, all of this was simply to be clear.  If you tell a secret, most of the time it will cease to be a private matter.  If it is not something that needs to be shared, keep it a secret.  If it is something to be shared, let it be shared.  Again, a secret is a secret only until it is told.

Russell L. Dyer

6/12/2025

How are you?  One of the first and most common questions we ask when meeting someone we know is: “How are you doing?”  Are you as you think you are, or as you answer?  The New Testament writer, and presumed brother of Jesus called us to consider the good sense of looking at ourselves in a mirror and remember what we have seen (James 1:22-24).  As he addresses the subject, he states that it is still a possibility for anyone to walk away from a mirror and forget the real nature of one’s appearance. 

One day, while going through a workout in a popular gym, my interest was ignited as I watched some of the workout enthusiasts study their reflections.  Large mirrors covered the walls in much of the area, especially the area in which people worked with the “free weights”.  As these people moved weights through their various positions, their eyes were fixed on their own reflections.  Even as the weights were returned to the resting positions, the attention of the individual continued to study the reflection in the mirror.  Some of them would even flex muscles and twist their bodies to capture a moving view of the part of the body each had just been exercising. 

An initial view of these body-conscious, workout enthusiast might lead to the thought that such “bodybuilders” are simply vain worshippers of a perception of the well-developed human form.  That thought might even be correct.  No doubt, there are plenty of narcissists who have fallen in love with their own image in the reflecting pool.    Before we are too harsh, we must admit that if honesty is recognized, it must be admitted that there is at least a little bit of narcissism in each of us.

Perhaps there is more to mirror watching and studying than the initial consideration may have ascribed.  For, if there is a goal to be achieved in any pursuit, including bodybuilding, there must be a way to study progress and examine the correctness of the actions taken toward achieving that goal.  Mirrors help us track, measure, and adjust what we do as we look for positive results.

Consider —

There are all kinds of mirrors.  Yes, it is common to picture the image of the “looking glass” when the word is mentioned.  Broadening the view of application, there may be many means of allowing a person to accurately understand any aspect of life may be considered a mirror.  The wicked queen in the Grimm Brothers’ story of “Snow White” looks to her physical mirror with the intent of being rewarded with our own beauty.  In Michael Jackson’s self-examining song, “Man in the Mirror”, there is the challenge of examining the character and actions of a one’s own life.  Quite often, a trusted confidant may be a truly resourceful “mirror” in an effort to get a clear picture of personal conduct or appearance.

Let me take the thought of the mirror to the personal level.  As a preacher, teacher, and public speaker for about fifty years, I have found a kind of “mirror” to be my most challenging critic.  By “mirror”, I am addressing the visual or audible recordings of something I have presented.  It can be torturous to listen to the recording of my/your own voice and/or watch my/your movements.  Still, it can be an excellent learning and adjustment tool.  What I have often found is that I did not say or do things that exact same way I thought I did.  Such a mirror view can really bring a person down a few notches in an opinion of self.  What is better, that same mirror can help see what needs to be changed.   Let me also say that drawing on that mirror can also show the things that are good.  Every public speaker would be wise to take time to look and listen whenever it is possible. 

Looking in the mirror is about becoming and being the best you can be.  Think about it.  Why do we tend to have reflective mirrors in our bathrooms and (often) near the doors of our homes.  You know why.  We check ourselves.  We adjust our clothing.  We comb or fix our hair.  We look for any spot, stain, or blemish that might mar our appearance to others.  Speaking generally, no matter how good looking or homely we consider ourselves to be, we want to be seen in a positive way.  Thus, we use the mirror to measure and adjust ourselves before we move forward.

There are two keys to the value of a mirror. 

The first key is that of finding an honest mirror.  If there is good to be derived from a mirror, it must give an honest or accurate reflection.  Whether the reflection is literally physical, or more of a work status kind of thing, the reflective information needs to be accurate and understandable.

The second key is that of using the information the mirror provides.  Like any information given to us, the information from a mirror must be put to use if it is to be of any value.  Accepting corrective information requires a humble willingness to apply it.

So, mirrors of any kind are not just about vanity.  They are one of the better tools for seeing self as clearly as possible.  If we want to see ourselves as we are, see our shortcomings, see where we can improve, or even recognize our strengths, mirrors are invaluable.

If you want to find the best you that you can be, take this advice: Take a look in a good mirror.

Russell L. Dyer

1/11/2025