Out to Pastor: Who Doesn’t Like Baloney?
When I was young, my favorite sandwich was the baloney sandwich. Sometimes, with cheese and other things, but most importantly, baloney. I can’t imagine what my childhood would have been like without those bologna sandwiches.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had a simple baloney sandwich for lunch. The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage is a culinary expert specializing in making delicious meals.
We were talking about something the other night. I’m not sure if it was politics or sports, but I expressed my opinion as clearly as possible. When I was through, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage just looked at me momentarily and said, “You do know that you’re full of baloney?”
Last week, I thought about pulling a little prank on her. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I waited until she was in her craft room. I walked in and began looking around. Believe me, there is a lot to look at, and I’m not sure what I was looking at.
“What are you doing in here? Are you looking for something?”
Looking at her with a serious glare, I said, “I was just thinking that maybe I could come and help you organize your craft room. I have a lot of ideas of how you can make this a better organized craft room.”
When I finished, I looked at her, smiled, and said, “So, what do you think?”
“What do I think?” responded The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. “Let me tell you what I think. I think you are full of baloney. I do not need any help organizing my craft room, especially from you.”
I graciously left the craft room smiling and headed for my easy chair to enjoy my prank.
A few days later, I was working in my office, and she stepped in for a moment and began looking all around at my bookshelves. For a few moments, all she did was look around at my books. Then she said, “I think I can help you reorganize your office here.”
At that point, I didn’t really know what to say because I did not need any help reorganizing my books. I looked at her and said, “Do you think I’m full of baloney?”
She laughed at me and said, “Yes, I do think you’re full of baloney.” And then she left the office laughing and went back into the kitchen.
I wouldn’t say this to her, but I’m kind of thinking that might it might be that my baloney is one of the secrets of our good marriage. After all, what else is there?
The best celebration we could ever have, in my opinion, is a bologna sandwich lunch. That would make my day, but I’m not sure she could handle all that baloney. Then, of course, she’s handled me for 53 years. If she can handle that much baloney, she can handle anything.
I then thought of a verse of scripture on this subject. “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3).
Thinking of this, it occurred to me how important agreeing really is in all relationships. Yes, there are certain things to disagree about. But, the key is what do we really agree about? Those things we agree on will establish a relationship of unity.
Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 1-352-216-3025, e-mail jamessnyder51@gmail.com, website www.jamessnyderministries.com.