This is a back-to-school story for  teachers and coaches.

My sister has been involved with the Pecos swim program for a very long time and is seriously flunking retirement now with her continued passion for the sport and the kids.

Many years ago, there was a young swimmer whose family could not afford some of the “extras” that other families could.  (Actually, this happens more often that you might think.)  As coaches and teachers do, she quietly provided such things as team tee shirts for this boy who promised he would pay her back one day.

The swimmers do a lot of dry land training in addition to the hundreds of hours spent in the pool.  Weight training plays a part, and after about 30 years, this bench was seriously in need of repairs.  Joannie posted this picture on the Pecos community site and asked if anyone had any used ones she could buy for the team.Very soon, she received a message from that “boy” and his wife who are now busy raising a family of their own in San Antonio:

“Coach Capshaw, I think those benches were there when I was. We would love to help. If you will post (or message us) a picture of what would work best, we can order it on Amazon and have it shipped to you or up to the pool. Tim”

Two brand new benches are now on the way.

You never know what you may be modeling in the classroom or on sports fields.  Maybe a handwork ethic.  Maybe to be kind and have a generous heart.  Maybe to see the needs of others and do something.  And when you have a student who grows up to exhibit these qualities, you know it was worth it.

Remember something over a year ago I swore off TV news?  I have back-slid just a little, but am ready to come to Jesus again.  There’s always a last straw.  Again.

I just heard some pundit refer to people who fly drones as “the drone community.”  Give me a break!

This time tomorrow, I will be able to say I have been network news clean for one day.  Is there a community for me?

What is it with all these signs I see in the “home decorating” department of my favorite store?  

I guess one could get confused upon returning and need a little direction .

I always try to make it clear that, although I am not a person of faith, I am a devout practitioner of my religious heritage.  Everyday, my own understanding of what that means expands and clarifies.

This morning, I will be attending the services at my own parish church, a large Episcopalian congregation with lots of music, followed by a pot-luck meal.

For the past month, I have been attending services at the Methodist Church while visiting my family in a small West Texas town.  Sometimes there were eight of us in attendance; sometimes twenty.  One week, the minister was away with the youth group on a mission trip.  On that morning, the able lay leader did an admirable job.

Last Sunday, the pastor was back in the pulpit.  Actually, he holds forth from the center aisle.

This wasn’t the crux of his sermon, but by this little story, I was deeply impressed.

It went something like this:

Little children were asked to present symbols of their faith.  Respectively, such items as a menorah, a rosary, and a bible were held up.  I probably would have held up a hymnal.

Then a little Methodist boy held up his mother’s casserole.

Yes!  Absolutely!  For me this is not a joke. This is sacred.  It represents the most valid aspect of religious practice: Community.  Hospitality.  Fellowship.  Sharing a meal.  Delivering food to a shut-in.  Taking cans to a food bank.

I may not be a person of faith in any traditional way, but I will continue to practice my lack thereof  in my church community all the days of my life.  I have been preceded by a cloud of witnesses.

Here endeth the lesson.