Lord, I'm one, Lord, I'm two, Lord, I'm three, Lord I'm four...
Just past the turn of last century, I walked into my local newspaper office-throat in mouth and file folder in hand. It held ten 500-word columns and a proposal to write a new one each week.
When I left the editor's office , I walked out a faith and life columnist, under the heading "Sunny Side Up." (I suspect Neil Thom's quick agreement had less to do with my writing than with my solemn pledge never to miss a deadline. I never have.)
...Lord, I'm 500 columns down that road!
With God's help, in five hundred words (or so) a week, I've shown readers how faith intersects with simple, everyday life. Along the way, I've revealed much about my family, my friends, my faith, and myself. I've tried to keep things positive and real. But...
"Are you surprised I made it to 500?" I asked the Preacher.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because, well..."
"Well, what?"
"Because you're quite often...(throat clear)...well....(squirm)...not sunny."
"Examples, please," I demanded.
"I can't recall any, not off the bat."
"Negative about life? Negative about people? Negative about what?"
He shrugged. "Never about other people...but ..."
"Am I negative about you? I know I nag. But you so often NEED nagging!"
"There," he sputtered. "And I'll refrain from saying, 'nuff said.'"
Milestones spur reflection. There followed a rather serious discussion about what it means to live out a consistent, authentic, Sunny Side Up faith on cloudy days. About letting the Son shine in-and out-where it matters most-at home. After years of practice, I'm still working on that.
I thank God for a spouse who loves me enough to tell me the truth. I need nagging too-the Preacher let me off easy.
Some weeks when I've submitted my column, I've felt that it should have a different title: "Over Easy," maybe. Or, "Hard and Stepped On." Even, horrors, "Scrambled, Fluffy, and Irrelevant." (My readers have been gracious!)
Nevertheless, of all my writing assignments, Sunny Side Up has brought me the most joy. God-who alone gets the credit for any helpful words and for milestone 500-has spread it far beyond my long-ago hopes of simply sharing my faith, Christ's hope, and his love in my own community. People have responded from Japan, India, Britain, and elsewhere.
The responses of my readers-wherever you are-always amazes me. You have inspired and challenged me. Without your encouragement, Practice by Practice, the gift-book compilation of some of my earliest columns, would never have been published earlier this year.
This year, along with gratitude for God's multitudinous blessings, I thank my Sunny Side Up community; those I write about (especially my family) and those I write for. I couldn't have done this without you, and I'm richer because of you. Let's stay in the Son!
(P.S. Practice by Practice (Word Alive Press) is available through Amazon, and at many bookstores.)
