“Strangely Dim” – let’s throw another blog on the fire!

With a leap of faith and these words, I enter the world of blogging with an aim to entertain; provoke; promote personal responsibility (the new “PR”); and above all encourage you spiritually and otherwise.

Whether you acknowledge it today or not, you have value and a purpose. You are loved. Don’t let anyone tell you any different!

Strange it took me this long to blog. I have always loved to write … perhaps it’s one of my better talents (next to humility and self-deprecating humor)? But I’m a Big Chief Tablet and #2 pencil kind of guy – not a keyboard wizard – so do I have what it takes to pull this off?

Writing can be therapeutic for some. But technology can be demonic to a baby boomer like me. I’ve found computers and smart phones to be like cats … just when you think co-habitation is possible, they turn evil and make you wish they didn’t exist!

The exercise of combining words and creative thoughts into something meaningful often steadies my ship when some storm has me off course. But equally enjoyable is reading the words of others … especially song writers/lyricists. In particular, I’m a student of the lyrics behind the soundtrack of my life (classic rock, southern-fried boogie, traditional country and gospel). The artists’ abilities to concisely tell full and wonderful stories in very few words and lines is a gift from God.

Which brings us to “strangely dim.”

Those who know my simplistic redneck view of life and country boy demeanor might inadvertently connote “strangely dim” to my intellectual capacity through works like Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd) … “Hello, is there anybody in there?” or “the lights are on but no one’s home” (Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love). Yes, there is some parallel to those classic lyrics and my still sophomoric side; however, there’s a double-meaning at play here that makes for a much-more-appropriate reason for the blog’s chosen name.

I’m an only child from a single-parent West Texas home – fortunate enough to be largely raised by my maternal grandparents (the greatest Christian influences I’ve known). If the church doors were open at Sage Terrace Baptist Church in the 1960s/early ‘70s, chances were strong we were there. But Shack and Lee Ellen Heathcoat and my mom Bobbiette openly lived their faith and loved others willingly. They practiced the Golden Rule and gave freely. Family meant something. A man’s word was his bond. Yes, we were at church a lot but it was because we wanted to be there … (okay, a truth bomb: I wanted to be there except in my hormone-raging-teen-age years when Charlie’s Angels was on Wednesday night TV pre-VCRs. That was tough!).

It stands to reason that I recognize most great gospel hymns and know many by heart. As I grow older, I find my long-term memory is often superior to my short term and therein lies a blessing when it comes to my early years. From that little Sage Terrace church, I can still hear Burle Runnell’s booming bass voice (that I wanted so badly to emulate) and Brenda Bryant’s piano playing. I recall Brenda strongly disliked I’ll Fly Away and for that very reason I picked it to be sung at every Prayer Meeting service led by our youth group. I still laugh about that and the look she gave me each time. Even then I was already fascinated with words and latched on to one particular favorite refrain that is more applicable to me today than it was 60 years ago. I sing it to myself regularly:

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.”

The song Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus was written by Helen Howarth Lemmel in 1922. It is a beautiful song that has a tremendous calming effect to believers and seekers. The first line asks a pointed question – “O soul, are you weary and troubled?” Often over the course of my life the answer to that question has been a resounding “YES!” Imagine writing a song 100 years ago that is just as – if not more so – relevant today!

Aspects of today’s world seem to grow a little darker exponentially and secular deceit is all around. Sadly, there is a power at play that’s constantly trying to drag us down and steal joy from life. Remember, you have value and a purpose. You are loved. Don’t let anyone tell you any different!

Because of the worldly deceit, I can give you no better personal or business advice than to turn your eyes heavenward in every circumstance you’re weary or troubled. The undeniable truth of a savior’s birth, death and resurrection and God’s unyielding love for each of us individually will make all the noise of this world grow “strangely dim.” When times are tough, I hope that is as comforting to you as it is me!

Those who know me best know I’ve struggled in recent years trying to identify the best public forum to more-widely share my faith and life experiences. I can no more separate my life as a business or family man from my Christian foundation any more than a world-class athlete could achieve greatness minus strenuous repetitive training.

But other than just a near lifetime of regularly “walking the talk” what should my specific mission field be? Now that I’m no longer in a daily corporate environment, things are very different. Some might suggest I’m unqualified to portray myself as spiritual and I readily admit I’m a work-in-progress and often rough-around-the-edges. I love to make people laugh and make more fun of myself than anyone else. My mouth and humor can be crude at times. Not proud of it, just honest enough to admit it and thankful for God’s understanding and forgiveness. His grace is new every morning.

One of the beauties of the Bible is it’s full of rascals, rule-breakers and other unsavory people used by God to promote His kingdom. I too am one of those characters wanting to be used more for that purpose. I know I’m not perfect but I also know as a Christian that I’m set apart and called to not adhere to worldly norms.

So, with that if the world didn’t know it before, I want it to know now that I long ago accepted God’s greatest gift into my heart and began a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as a boy and that decision has bode well for me into manhood. To those who are surprised by the words in this blog reveal, I ask for your forgiveness. I hate that I deceived you.

While I’ve certainly been a PR (public relations) practitioner my entire career, it’s more important to me now to be a PR (personal responsibility) promoter to those I’m lucky enough to interact with. I heard once that the greatest agent for change ever invented is a mirror. It can be used for serious self-reflection. After a long, hard look inside I want to do all I can to point others to the only true hope there is in this life. Lord, send a revival to this country and world … and let it begin in me! Make me a better husband, dad, son, friend and servant first – and all else will take care of itself.

It is my prayer you’ll be encouraged by this testimony and the words shared here periodically through “Strangely Dim.” Thank you Mom, Granny and Pops for loving me enough to live the truth of personal responsibility and thank you God for my Heathcoat and heavenly lineage! It’s great to be a child of West Texas grit and even more so a child of the King!

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