I went home last weekend. . .

By Craig Emerson Strain

I went home to where I was born and raised. This is not intended to reflect some bad connotation to all of my friends that still live in the town that we grew up in. It is not an implied "put down" to the town that gave us our heritage. I look back with fondness to the friends, teachers, and mentors that molded our character.

The town was huge back then. I would hop on my bike and ride over to Bruce Pitman's and then we would go over to Tom Ferguson's to play some serious basketball. Denny Pitman was no match to Fergy when it came to dribbling.

But as my wife and I got near to the town, I noticed that you could see the whole town from the interstate. The corn fields couldn't hide the fact that 15,000 people could live in a town that was only 4 miles across. Oh, the Courthouse in the center was still tall, but the grain elevators were taller. Maybe people driving by on the interstate might mistake the grain elevators for huge office buildings of some huge city in the night.

Friday, I took my wife to see "The Milky Way" on Washington Avenue. It hadn't changed a bit. I asked for an orange sherbet and got just what I wanted. It hadn't changed at all. It was good 35 years ago and it was good last week. Some things never change.

I showed her where we would take our sleds when the snow got deep. Just along Kyger Street on the golf course. It was one of the largest hills in the town. We pulled our sleds "for miles" to ride on that huge hill. It was one of the fastest in town. After each run, we would pull our sleds back up the hill only to ride again. It was fantastic!

But this time it looked different. Oh, the hill was the same. Fairway number 5 as best I know, but from the highest part of the hill to the lowest was only 7 or 8 feet tall. It sure seemed taller back then. It was fast back then. It was a real challenge just to climb back up the hill to ride again.

And what about the field that we would play football in. Just to break away from getting tackled by Hunt Curran and running the whole length of the field was so cool! But now the "football field" and sometime softball field was only about 30' by 40'. The same field, the same fence, but I remember it was impossible to throw the football that far, and it was even harder to hit a home run out of the park. But looking at the dimensions now told me otherwise.

Those challenges we faced back then were impossible feats of courage. It took all we had to climb up the hill on Sally Kimble's front yard. To ride our bikes all the way around the block at breakneck speeds was all that our strength could muster. Especially trying to round the fourth turn without running Jim Hurtibise and A.J. Foyt into the outside wall. Tonnaleia Robinson was the turn marshal just in case there was a spin coming out of the short chute.

These challenges look like small potatoes now, but not then. Our challenges that we face today seem impossible to us now. But someday we will look back on these trials and think, "was that the hill?"

The Bible talks about the trials that we face today as this.

Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

And even thought we can not see how in the world we will make it through what we are having to face today, we know the Bible tells us otherwise.

1 Cor 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Several years ago, Linda and I built a Log home in the mountains of Virginia. An true to my nature, I cleared out a sled run out from the woods into the back yard, down beside the house, under the quarts yard lights, into the front yard and finally down the long drive way. I knew it was nearly 100 yd. in length. I knew it dropped over 40 feet in height. Why so big? I only thought it was as big as the hill on Kyger street. Why so long? I only thought I'd built it as long as the Hill on Camp Cullam. Why do we challenge ourselves so much today? It is because we know that we did it before. Why not do it again.

Some of the class mates will challenge themselves to see if they can "twist again, like we did last summer". Some of us know that last summer is over and gone. We know that that is "Yesterday" and all those troubles "seem so far away".

Here we are in our 50's. Some of us look to what we did and look to see what we can do better. Some will acquire wealth, gain fame, make production, gain weight, loose weight, get strength, get hair, cover grey, get teeth or soothe feet. And some of us will climb another great hill; that when we will look back later, we will see that once again, it was just a little hill made big in our own eyes.

Paul the Apostle stated, Phil 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Phil 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Phil 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

In the National Homes section of town over near the High School, lived Susan Brown, Susan Burton and Phill Weida. I remember a huge mound of dirt left by the construction crews. You and I now both know that this "huge mound of dirt" was probably only 5 feet tall, but it was huge to us then. We were playing "King of the Hill". But as we were playing the game, it became obvious to us that instead of being "King of the Hill", it was more fun to help each other to the top of the hill and see how many we could get on the hill together. Wouldn't that work great again now? Who can we help climb a mountain?

Gal 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Gal 6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
Gal 6:4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

We can teach others that no hill is too great, but only if we have climbed the correct hill.

Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Wiser? some of us. But we all have a new day to start again.

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