Measuring Things

My grandfather, Christian K. King, was a carpenter. He built many houses and other buildings in his day. One of the houses he built in Cass County, Missouri is in the National Register of Homes. There are other buildings he built which are still in use.

In this picture Grandpa is showing someone how long a board he wants, "about this long," he seems to be saying. I'm sure that Grandpa measured things most of the time with his rule, but my Father, Henry J. King, worked with his dad a lot and said Grandpa could be pretty accurate with his estimates.

We measure a lot of things from day to day. Growing up we measured our height occasionally to see how much we had grown. They still measure my height when I go to see the doctor. I don't know why they do that once in awhile, maybe to see how much I'm shrinking. I know that I'm not as tall now as I used to be. At least that's what the measuring stick at the doctor says.

Measuring things is a way of making things we work with straight, the right length, width, and height. I have at least three tape rules in my workshop and use at least one of them often. We have two yardsticks in our house, plus another tape rule, and a couple of 12" rulers. My wife does alterations and has a couple of measuring tapes in her supply of things. Yes, we like to measure things we work with.

There are other things people measure like weights of things, altitudes of planes etc., distance to the moon, etc., and how far it is around the world. I've often wondered how we do some of those things. Now we have GPS units that tell us how far it is to our destination, when to turn, when to go straight, etc. And I'm sure that there are many, many more ways that things are measured that I cannot even mention here.

The point I would like to leave in this post is that we are being measured every day, not by rulers, scales, or other devices, but by our Creator God. God knows us better than we know ourselves. He measures our souls, spirits, attitudes, thoughts, plans, and of course our actions. He knows our hearts, our desires and our wills. We will be judged for eternity by the measuring stick of God. How will we stack up under His measuring tape? How will I? How will you?

Pilgrim on the way

Family

Today was a special day for me. I was privileged to be with extended family. The Plank family, sons and daughters of my oldest sister, Estella and her husband, John Plank, with their families were here in Hesston as part of their annual family reunion. There were six children in that family (sorry Kevin, I didn't have a pic that included you), and now there is an extended family of close to 40. In addition my brother-in-law, Mervin Troyer, his daughter, Elnor, husband Don, and their son Dalton with his family were also present. And my wife, Clara, was there also.

It was a day of getting re-acquainted with nephews and nieces I had not seen for 24 years, some I had seen more recently, and learning to know some in their families I had never seen. It was a day of worship with a band of 22 from this family, and singing some of the old hymns we used to sing in the Mennonite churches we grew up in. I am extremely grateful that these people came to Hesston and invited us to be a part of their family get together.

These people are part of my family, our family. Family ties are so important in our broken world. Being with those we love and truly care for gives stability that is hard to find elsewhere. I'm so grateful for the bonds that exist in Clara's and my family. We have not found a way to come together annually, but we do come together in some way as often as possible. I hope that when I'm no longer here our family will continue to give importance to being together, and I'm confident they will.

This day has left me "spent," but its something I wouldn't have wanted to miss. Thanks again Max, Dennis, Jay, Marianne, Linda, and Kevin for taking the time and making the effort to be with your extended family here in Hesston. And God's richest blessings to all of you is my prayer. I remain

Pilgrim on the way

Green Rivers, etc.

Ever hear of "green rivers?" I'm talking about a soda fountain drink, not the kind of rivers that flow like a stream. The picture here is of our two daughters drinking green rivers at one of the very few places that serve them. That would be in Dicks Pharmacy in Arthur, IL. At our family gatherings in Arthur the time would not be complete for our kids, and grandkids until they had a green river at Dicks. If you've never had one and find a place where they serve them, try it! Plain drinks are delicious and the green river sodas are exceptional.

This picture was taken last week when my wife, her three sisters, and our two daughters were in Arthur for a Mast family reunion. One of Clara's two brothers lives near Arthur, but the other one lives in Ohio and came to Illinois a day after the reunion. This picture was taken at the R&I restaurant we used to frequent a lot when living in Arthur, and where Clara's nephew, Tim, works as head cook.

It is interesting that our grandchildren think of the green rivers when thinking of Arthur. They also used to like to walk the streets and window shop at the many shops on main street. Arthur is a tourist town now, much different than when we grew up there. The Amish community is a large attraction for tourists and many come there year around. I'm glad that I was able to finish my pastoral ministry there and that we were able to live there for nine years after that. It was hard in some ways to leave there five years ago, but we are happy that we are where we are. I hope to go back to Arthur sometime, but I'm not sure that will happen soon. I am glad that Clara was able to go and be there for the fun times she had with family.

One more thing - today, July 2, is our 55th anniversary. We are so happy to have been blessed with the family God has given us and the years we have been able to be together. We hope there will be many more. And we're glad that our children remembered our anniversary and sent us a very beautiful, and large, bouquet of flowers. We are blest!

Pilgrim on the way