Jeff Hampton – Page 105 – Jeff Hampton, Writer

November 24, 2020

A Whale of a Year

For Wilshire Baptist Church

Thanksgiving week is here and it’s like walking out on the beach and seeing a big whale spread across the sand. We know it’s there because it’s so big, and we want to say something about it but it’s so obvious to everyone that we doubt we could say anything new or interesting about it. Especially in a year like this, when we have so much to be disappointed in and sad about. Like with that whale, there’s a heavy odor that has overwhelmed just about everything this year.

November 17, 2020

On Bended Knees

My hips and ankles were sore after spending an hour on my knees. Not in prayer, but in repairing my lawn edger. The blade had quit turning and I figured out what was wrong and ordered a new part, and while I was waiting for that to arrive, the yard was looking as shaggy as the hair on the back of my neck. The part arrived on a Sunday afternoon – a rare reason for an “alleluia” in these troubled times – but I waited till Monday to install it. I’m not sure if that was reverence for the sabbath or fear-based procrastination.

November 10, 2020

Lost Maples and Found Memories

For Wilshire Baptist Church

A trip to the Texas Hill Country last week was sort of a Plan B for us. Every fall for the past few years we’ve visited a national park, but with COVID-19 putting a damper on flying to distant parks on our short list, and a nine-hour drive to Texas’ two national parks too time consuming, we settled on state parks a few hours away. The result was anything but settling, and not so much a Plan B after all.