Promise Keepers and flowers

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to a Promise Keepers meeting in Cincy with 12 other guys from our church. I have always been very skeptical of Promise Keepers for several reasons but I decided to go becuase I wanted to get to know some of the guys in our church. We went to a Friday night session and then back on Saturday until around noon. I can't possible communicate in writing what a weekend it was. It is utterly impossible to go to these things and have any sense of pride, ego, etc. left when you are done. There is an amazing thing that happens when 10,000 people come together to sing and worship to God and to learn more about him. I came back with a new attitude about a lot of things, most importantly of which was simply joy. I did get to know some of the guys better. But, mostly, I know that these men have my back. No matter what happens, there are 12 other guys who all committed to not only a deeper relationship with God and their wives and family, but also with each other. So, it was a very good weekend and I have changed my mind about Promise Keepers.

If you want to test me on the joy thing, here is an example of what I am talking about. Several weeks ago, we ordered a new clematis to plant behind the mail box and hopefully train to grow up the mail box post and give us lots of pretty purple blooms to see. When the plant came in, it was about 3 inches tall with a couple of dried up leaves on it. It looked near death at any moment so any hope of this thing growing seemed impossible to me. I was ready to give up on it up and send it back to the grower before it ever made it to the ground. But, I planted it, watered it, and hoped for the best. My wonderful wife kept me from sending and email to the company and just encouraged me to let it grow. A truly amazing thing happened the week we were in Chicago. This little twig of a plant shot up, and in what I believe to be a miracle of nature, wound itself around the fishing line that I tied to the mail box post. How does it know to do that? It ain't evolution my friend. Every several inches, new leaves grew out and up it went. On cue with some of the other vines in the neighborhood, it pushed out some little buds which all opened within a day of each other. The little purple flowers on this plant are just beautiful. The plant has become my favorite plant in the garden. So, if I find this much joy in a little plant, just imagine how I feel about my wife and kids and life in general. Well, here is a picture of the little plant. Oh, and if you think flowers aren't manly, ask yourself why God put Adam in a garden of all places to start with.