Blog - Latest Letters

November 25, 2025

Subject: Reading Glasses Or Binoculars?

Dear Alexis, Ian, Noah, Anna, Eli, Josiah, Emily, Levi, Isaac, and Mathias,

All of my life I have looked forward with great anticipation to what lies ahead.  When I was in elementary school, I couldn’t wait to “graduate” and join with the elementary schools from two other towns to form our school corporation’s Junior High School.   I was just sure life would be much better.  The girls would be prettier, the subjects more interesting, and the activities more exciting.  Then, no sooner had I settled into my new school than I was looking forward to High School and all the grown up benefits that came with that.  I would be able to drive to school as well as tons of activities.  There would be dances, band concerts, ballgames, student government, clubs, and so much more.  But, after just a year of high school, in the fall of my sophomore year, I was invited to go to a college football game at Indiana University with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.  From the moment I stepped onto campus, I knew that college was the ultimate goal and I absolutely couldn’t wait to get out of high school.

This same pattern continued after I started college.  Not long after I arrived, I was looking at ways to finish quicker so I could join the working world and make “real money.”  Then, once I had graduated and started working as an engineer, I was constantly looking for a new job where I could advance my career and make more money.  

Binoculars are a great tool for looking at things in the distance.  The only problem is, when you’re looking through them, you miss everything that is happening right under your nose.  In hindsight, I can now look back on all I missed because I couldn’t see the good things right in front of me due to looking through binoculars at things in the distance.

Some people say that with age comes wisdom.  I’m not so sure it has anything to do with age because even into retirement I continued to search for a better life.  Shortly after I retired at age 52, Gramma and I sold our home, packed up all of our belongings into our storage building, and began traveling, partially as means of exploring the country in search of the very best place to retire.  You know what?  We never found it.  Every time we thought we had found the perfect place, eventually we would discover something about it that we didn’t like.  It was too cold in the winter, or it was too hot in the summer.  The crime rate was to high.  Taxes or the cost of living was too high.  The roads were bad.  There weren’t good restaurants or shopping.  People were unfriendly.  Traffic was too bad.  Something about each and every place made it undesirable for us to retire and build a home there.  We simply could not find the perfect place.

What I realize now is that wisdom doesn’t come with age.  It comes with experience and the ability to learn from those experiences no matter what age you are.  I’ve learned two lessons from this realization:

1.) Instead of using binoculars to look into the distance, I need to use reading glasses to focus on what is right in front of my nose.

2.) I will never find paradise on earth because it isn’t here.

The Bible actually has quite a bit to say about both of these.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (ESV) He is saying, “Stop worrying about tomorrow.  Enjoy today and tomorrow will take care of itself.”  And Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (ESV)  In other words, God made today; be happy and enjoy it. 

  As to the second lesson, Hebrews 13:14 is pretty clear when it says, “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.” (NLT)  And, “Our citizenship is in heaven…” (Philippians 3:20a ESV)  In other words, we don’t belong here.  Not until we reach heaven will we find the perfect place and feel at home.  We will never be at home here because it simply is not our home.  In comparison to eternity, we are only visiting for a short time.

So does this mean that we should not try to improve our lives while we are here on earth.  I don’t think so.  I think it simply means we need to understand that this is not all there is.  Something much greater is in store for us when we are believers in Christ.  When we come to understand that, then we can learn to be content with what we have whether it is a lot or little, knowing that it is only temporary.  The Apostle Paul said it best in Philippians.  “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” (Philippians 4:11-12 NAS)

This is probably one of the hardest lessons to learn in our lives as Christians.  I wish I could tell you that I have learned it and I am always content.  But the honest truth is, I still enjoy searching the internet with the phrase “Best Places to Live.”  However, at least when someone asks me, “Out of all the places you have lived, where is your favorite?”  I now can answer, “All of them.”  In spite of continuing to search for something better, I now realize I may never find anything better than what I have and therefore I have found what I’m looking for – contentment.  I pray it does not take you 70 years to find it.

Love,

Papa

July 20, 2025

Subject: Encouragers In Time of Need

Dear Alexis, Ian, Noah, Anna, Eli, Josiah, Levi, Emily, Isaac and Mathias,

It was supposed to be a time of great celebration. Our oldest son, your Dad or Uncle Aaron, was graduating from High School. Because he was also the oldest grandchild and nephew on either side of our extended family, almost the entire extended family had traveled to witness the right of passage and celebrate with us. We had a house full of people.

At the time, my dad was 64 years old and still ten years away from his passing. But, he was not in good health having experienced cancer, kidney failure and a kidney transplant, a heart attack and a quintuple bypass surgery, as well as multiple other issues including degenerative spinal issues. In short, he was a physical mess at that relatively young age.

Just as we were about to begin a pre-graduation celebratory lunch, Dad started hyperventilating and immediately laid down on the couch, clutching his upper chest. Thinking he was having another heart attack, within minutes we called the ambulance and he was whisked away to Riverside Hospital in nearby Columbus.

Wanting to interrupt the festivities as little as possible, yet still care for my father and be there for my mother, as soon as the ambulance departed, I quietly went to my office and called my friend Paul to explain the situation. I knew he would help make any changes in the graduation ceremony at Aaron’s school in the event Aaron would not be able to be present to give the closing prayer since he was class chaplain. And, I wanted to ask if he would please call some other friends to begin praying for my dad.

Following that call, I went to look for Aaron before I left for the hospital. I wanted to let him know I would be at his graduation, but needed to leave for now to be with both my mom and dad. However, I couldn’t locate him amid all the other people. As one last attempt at finding him, I bounded upstairs and gently opened the door to his bedroom. Sitting there in his old dilapidated easy chair was Aaron with tears streaking down his face, praying for his grandfather. I quietly closed the door, ran back downstairs and grabbed my jacket. As I kissed Gramma goodbye I told her to try and keep everything else as normal as possible for Aaron, then headed to the garage and the car.

Once I got to the hospital, I learned that the doctors had already determined it was not a heart attack, but they had admitted Dad for observation for the rest of the day and night. I had been in his room about ten minutes when I heard a light knock at the open doorway. When I stood and looked around the corner, there stood my friend Paul, motioning me to come outside into the hallway. I couldn’t believe he was there, in spite of having his own son, Uncle Aaron’s best friend Nate, graduating that afternoon. In fact, Paul was also scheduled to provide the opening speech at the graduation ceremony which was to begin in just a couple of hours.

As I walked out into the hallway with Paul, he held up a small Gideon’s Pocket Bible to me and said, “I thought you might need some encouragement so I brought you a Bible and wanted to pray with you briefly.” I immediately began to tear up, but not because my dad was sick. I was crying because it meant so much to me that Paul would care enough to interrupt his own firstborn’s graduation celebration to come be with me and encourage me in a time of need.

That isn’t the only time in my life that Christian friends have gone out of their way to encourage me when I’ve been in difficult circumstances. About ten years later after Dad’s episode at Aaron’s graduation, he passed away during a particularly difficult time for me in our business when we were negotiating to sell one of our companies. I was already stressed, but Dad’s passing nearly had me at a breaking point.

As I was standing in the receiving line at his visitation the evening before his funeral, I saw three of my senior staff members from our company walk into the room. They had driven a round trip of nearly seven hours to come be with me that evening and encourage me. I don’t think I shed a tear all evening until I saw them. I don’t remember a word they said. I just remember they were there for me.

The Apostle Paul has a lot to say about encouraging one another. In I Thessalonians he tells us, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (I Thess 5:11 ESV) And in Romans he says, “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” (Rom 15:2 ESV) But he’s not the only writer of scripture who exhorts us to lift each other up. There are many other verses in the New Testament, and stories from the Old Testament where we are reminded of this important assignment. For example, the writer of Hebrews says, “And let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds.” (Heb 10:24 ESV)

Until you have had someone care enough to cry along with you, or provide words of encouragement, you can have no idea how much it means. The next time you have a friend who you know is hurting, be that person who comes alongside them and “is just there.”

Love,

Papa