Grace
Perfection is the enemy of good.
Attributed to Shakespeare and Voltaire
I’m beginning to wonder whether summer will ever come. Memorial Day is the traditional start of summer, but rain and the chill of spring just keep hanging on in K-town. We label spring freezes as dogwood or blackberry winters. But as I pen this essay, it’s late May and I’m still waiting for summer’s warmth. If it were not for Al Gore and global warming, I might yet freeze to death.
I think highly of marriage, the institution created by God, as the best arrangement for a successful and happy life. Life as a couple is not the only way, but a rewarding arrangement. Almost every time I read or hear about an individual, I want to know if they are married and have a life partner. I feel for those not so blessed or who have lost their beloved.
Nonetheless, marriage is an arrangement that requires “the art of the deal,” to quote President Trump. I’m more cold-natured than my wife. Early in our marriage, Becky and I negotiated when the electric blanket would go on and off our bed. October through April was the compromise.
Perhaps Al Gore, Greta Thunberg, and the climate change loons are not aware that we are in an interglacial period known as the Holocene Epoch, which began about 10,000 years ago. Our planet has gone through several periods where the entire earth was frozen for millions of years. And there have been times when the Earth was much warmer with higher levels of CO2, which promotes plant growth.
Actually, I’d rather it be warmer than colder. More people die of cold than during warmer periods. Enough said, but if you want to read more, I recommend a factual book called “Inconvenient Facts” by geologist Gregory Wrightstone. Needless to say, this scientist does not think much of Al’s carbon hockey stick illusion.
As I was checking door locks and turning out lights the other night, Becky reminded me to leave the porch light on for the Amazon driver. We had just ordered a book for my “egghead” book club and received a text that it would be delivered to our door that night by 4 a.m. The same thing happened about a week ago with another order, so this was not an isolated occurrence. I don’t know how brick and mortar stores can compete against such service.
Like old doctors, things become obsolete. In 1976, I was an intern at the John Gaston Hospital in Memphis. Becky and I lived in Midtown, and there was a Sears regional distribution center down the street from our house. Becky loved being able to place a phone order and then walk to the store to pick it up. Pretty soon, the FAA will be regulating deliveries with drones in our neighborhoods rather than just at airports, over military bases and New Jersey.
Like many, I’m impatient for Trump to fix the mess Biden and the Progressive Democrat Socialists have created. Arguably, Americans are a demanding, drive-through culture and chafe when we have to wait. We want the best, to pay less and have it now.
Americans overwhelmingly voted for change last November because we’ve lived with the disastrous “hope and change” since Obama. The first Trump presidency stopped Hillary, but was shackled by the Deep State of non-elected bureaucrats, Covid, the corrupt media and impeachments.
Trump 2.0 is wiser, has surrounded himself with extremely qualified people and has learned how to think and act like a politician. It is sad that he has to get in the mud to persevere in the Washington pigsty. The old saw advises not to get in the mud with pigs because you’ll get dirty and the pigs love the mud.
It’s too bad that there are still anti-reform, unelected bureaucrats throughout the government, crooks in Congress and judicial activists aplenty who are obstructing the critical reforms of the duly elected president.
However, we should be relieved that President Trump loves his country and his wife and is dedicated to MAGA, Making America Great Again. Case in point is his “big beautiful bill” which is not perfect, but is better than what Democrats and RINOs propose. Likewise, Abraham Lincoln’s approach of limiting and ultimately abolishing slavery was less than perfect but was wise and pragmatic.
Trump has endured calumny (word of the week), lawsuits, attempts to destroy him and his family financially and has survived two assassination attempts by people incited to violence through the vitriol of Democrats. I am not a member of any political party. But with what we now know, I would be utterly ashamed to admit that I was a Democrat. And that goes for Harold Ford Jr. and Mayor Kincannon.
For weeks, Democrat media operatives have continued their pseudo-apology tour, which is actually a cover your booty tour. They were not duped by Biden’s staff. Anyone who trusts them or their screed (second word of the week) is a fool. They are not ashamed of betraying their profession, the American people or even their honor. They’re just sorry they got caught.
My Fellowship Group is reading the latest Phillip Yancey book, “The Scandal of Forgiveness.” I’ve read a dozen Yancey books and most emphasize God’s grace. Once, Yancey used the metaphor of a circus performer on a tightrope, representative of mankind traversing life, above a safety net of Grace. It is scandalous (shocking) that we are forgiven despite our mistakes.
Even the murderous Apostle Paul is spared, writing in Romans 8:38-39 that “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” But does that mean we are free to commit heinous crimes against children, lie and cheat others or defame presidents with the expectation that a price will not be paid?
Some weeks ago (5-12-25) I wrote about theodicy, the concept of divine justice. Ultimately, I believe an accounting will occur, justice will be done, and hopefully, Grace will be sufficient.
However, while on this earth, consequences must remain. I understand the ideal concept of forgiveness that we are to strive for and may actually be necessary to safeguard a victim’s soul. I may rationally choose forgiveness, but I live in the real rather than the ideal. In this world I will demand justice and consequences, trusting God with ultimate Grace.
