ImportantThings

 The Eighties                                                                by Danny C. Wash Now that I’m on the porch of the door to the eighties (not the decade which was the worst, the age I mean). I must declare the good/bad portion of older old age. When you move into what I call “eightiesville,” you become different to all behind you on the walk of life. To them you are in a different place, a different zip code. Also thereafter, when you die, no one will say, “Well at least they didn’t die young,” which is of small comfort. You can look forward to everyone excusing your clothes. You can tell the same story again and again and no one will embarrass you by calling you out on it. You can say things like, “don’tcha know” or “when I was a kid” or “those young-uns are going to hell in a handbasket” or “I can remember when (fill in the blank).” You can tell people what stuff now, cost in 1960 and they will just smile and mentally pat you on the head. You will no longer be upset with s

The Hole in the Woods                                    by Danny C. Wash A bear in the woods was enjoying a stroll when his front paw found a deep hole. The bear exclaimed, “who dug this hole here, was it a mole or was it a trap for a deer?” “I have broken my bear foot, I do fear.” The owl from a tree said, “ I know who.” And then flew down and told what he knew. “Last night, I saw a rabbit digging tis true, it was a white rabbit with both feet in view,  as he dug his rabbit hole with furious speed, but he was not the only one who did this deed. There was a black rabbit watching and waiting for the hole to be thoroughly dug quite deep and then the dark rabbit into the hole did leap. The white rabbit also did quickly jump and follow, as both rabbits fell into the muddy hole to wallow. The bear with his aching foot looked at the owl and his foot and in much pain he did loudly howl “someone must cover that rabbit hole with dirt before some other unfortunate creature is hurt.” And then, f

 An Evening with Maddie                                       By Danny C. Wash The little girl with a blue bow in her hair was dressing her doll in her doll closet. Her name was  Maddie. Her mother was in the girl’s room cleaning. Out the window, the mother could see the wind in the trees swaying the leafy limbs this way and that while the yellow calico cat named Queenie sat on  the window sill, very still, staring out the same window. The cat was looking at another cat on the ground perhaps wondering if the cat was one she knew. The little girl said, “Mommy have you seem Virginia’s  blue shoes? Virginia was the doll’s name and her favorite. Mommy replied, “yes, I think I saw them on the bed.” The girl said, “Virginia needs the blue shoes to match  her dress because she is going to the ball later tonight.” Maddie was five years old. Her Daddy was at work and he usually came home by six each day for dinner. Maddie had several dolls in her doll closet and she played with them most of th

                           THE LAWYER’S GUIDE FROM THE LORD                                                     by Danny C. Wash                                        “ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path .” Psalms 119:105 The following verses from the Bible are instructive to lawyers that are followers of Christ or any lawyer that accepts the Bible as a book inspired by the God referenced in the Jewish/Christian Old Testament and the Christian New Testament. They are not arranged in any special sequence but are meant to be helpful in the daily practice and life of lawyers who are looking for guidance in their decisions. 1 May God bless His Holy Word in your life. 2 1.“For the Lord gives wisdom; 3 from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.  He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His Godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness and justice and

Unclothed                                                                  by Danny C. Wash   In sad moments, I sometimes dwell on sad things. Like those who I love lying there buried six or so feet in the ground with dirt over them. They are soulless, empty shells lying there. Bodies  of flesh that I loved, respected, hugged, kissed. I would not dare do so now since they have no life. It seems so strange that they are in the earth. But the real “them”is no longer there, gone like when a  caterpillar sheds its shell before becoming a butterfly. Their souls are with the Lord but unclothed without a body, as the apostle says about death and resurrection in the future when Christ returns and their souls will be clothed with a new body, when they rise from the earth to meet Him in the air.  What an immense comfort as we all walk day by day, with some trepidation, toward that unclothing and rest, while waiting for resurrection with the “clothing” of our soul with our new body. As the apostl

The Titanic                                                              by Danny C. Wash      The unsinkable Titanic sits at the bottom of the ocean as a monument to hubris and pride that goes before a fall. It was as if the ship was sent out as a fist in the air and a temptation to the sea and the elements, but it became an example of the warning to not tug on Superman’s cape. We can all have a tiny or huge “Titanic” in our lives when pride, lack of caution, or planning obscure our common sense. Remember, ninety percent of an iceberg is below the surface. And sometimes, ninety percent of a problem can’t be seen at first. Plan your heading, keep watch, steer clear, and slow down. Then,  perhaps your plan or dream will not be a Titanic failure.

The Preacher                                                    by Danny C. Wash It was a hot summer evening in southeastern Alabama in July, 1948. The crowd wandered in to sit in wood folding chairs in rows under a tent. The tent was on a grassy spot near the edge of town on the highway in and out of the town of about 800 to 1,000 people, depending on who was counting. The town had three churches, a Baptist, a Methodist, and a Church of Christ. The revival meeting was due to start around seven. There was a wood platform at one end of the tent about eighteen inches high and it had a small pulpit stand for the music leader and the preacher to use during the service.  There was a small volunteer choir of ten people from the three churches warming up to sing in a few minutes. It was getting darker as the hot sun was melting below a row of ancient oak trees lining a fence about a hundred yards west of the tent. The grass had been mowed and you could smell the fresh cut Bermuda grass that c

Man of Sorrows                                                    by Danny C. Wash “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. ...Surely He has borne our griefs and carried  our sorrows...” Isaiah 53: 3-4 Man of Sorrows bearing our grief day after day without any relief. He moved through life in suffering and sorrow to become the covering for all of the sin rooted inside our soul,  keeping us all from ever being whole. The evil in us by being “in Adam” as our portion of the human race resulted in a great distortion of our entire human body and soul, committing sin against God and our fellow man, until we are cleansed from it through the Man of Sorrows suffering the cross, so that God could righteously save us from great loss. He laid down His life and breathed His last breath as us and for us in the final suffering of His death for the worst and most evil humans, as well as the best. As the Bible says, “all we like sheep have gone astray.” Not only

  The Long Road Home    by Danny C. Wash It’s a long road home, as they say, especially if you have lost your way and while wandering went far astray. He  jumped out of the nest and flew away upward into the clouds as high as he could fly, until he hit that storm and fell from the sky. Down he went round & round toward the ground,  when he hit bottom it made not a small sound. No matter how much he was warned of danger, he knew more than all of them, except that stranger. The one who promised him fame and fortune, but led him only to deception and misfortune.  When he came to himself & realized his condition, he knew that he was in a very dangerous position. So he hit the long road back home to start over, to make amends, right the wrongs, & live slower. To not fly before learning how to walk rightly. To only move forward carefully and gently, continually living peacefully with offense to none. And to walk only by faith in the One, God’s Son.

 A Hard Day’s Work                                       by Danny C. Wash          It had been a hard day’s work and he was tired. The old man sat on the back porch unlacing his boots  and removing them. The fields where he labored in  the hot sun all day long were muddy from last night’s rain. His old dog lay by the back door and watched him beat the mud off by thumping the boots against the side  of the porch. “I’m gettin’ too old for this work” he mumbled  to his dog, who was also too old to do much but wag her tail  and lay there. The old man’s face looked like tanned leather and  his hands were gnarled with arthritis from gripping hoes and  shovels in his work. He was 72, thin as a rail, and he was slumped  over from years of bending with his digging, pulling, chopping,  hoeing, and such. He had a thatch of gray hair that stuck up in every  way it wanted and a stubbly gray beard that was in bad need of attention. His wife was gone, having passed away a couple of years before in  1