A Place of Common Sense

A PLACE OF COMMON SENSE

Steve Gammill, Monument Presbyterian Church, July 4, 2013

Is there a place we each go where we can get back to common sense, where we can understand things, where we can actually look at ourselves and parts of our lives with common sense? I think so. This is a place where perhaps the worries of the day can be resolved or reviewed or revisited just by quiet thinking and allowing a little common sense to appear.

Scott Farnsworth picks blackberries. He’ll spend an entire day or more picking blackberries so that some neighbor can serve blackberries at a party. He gets no “pay” as such. Why does he do that? If you know Scott, he’s an extremely busy professional plus he’s committed to his family and his church for lots of his time.
Here’s what he says.  

"Sometimes I ask myself the same question. Here are my top four reasons:

• They taste good.
• They're free; you don't even have to grow them.
• I love the challenge.
• I get back to common sense when I'm out there in the blackberry patch.”

Where is your place, that place where you “get back to common sense?”  I know I love to mow the lawn on Saturday. There’s something about me and the lawnmower all by ourselves with no one else there and with enough noise from the mower that I can talk to myself without worrying that someone will think I’m nuts.

My son-in-law, Ben, was visiting us when we lived in a much larger place with some acreage and some trees. A few of those trees were pretty old and needed to be removed. Ben actually went to the store one day and purchased an axe. He said it was for us. But, he spent lots of his time chopping those trees and once they were down he’d chop-chop some more until we had a ton of small logs and kindling. He loved to do that. He found a place to think about important and unimportant things, to get and stay in shape, to get removed from his daily stuff, to get back to a common sense place.

How about the guy who goes fishing in beautiful mountain lakes and streams yet never fishes. He just takes a can of beer and sits there staring at the water and surroundings. Or the guy who goes deer hunting in the mountains but only during archery season. You see, during that time of the year, the weather is beautiful, warm, and the deer are still red or brown—not yet winter gray. So, he sits there enjoying the quiet and the place. He may carry his bow, but he may never draw an arrow.
My wife, Jan, used to spend summers on the Grand Mesa working at the Easter Seal Camp. She quickly found her “favorite” spot to sit alone and do her getting back. She showed me the place, but not until she was sure I was worthy of knowing about it.

Think about your “place” and let’s hear some feedback by commenting below.

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