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Personal Stuff
- Chris Fabry
- Married to Andrea since 1982. We have 9 children together and none apart. Our dog's name is Tebow.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
I said it out loud and to no one in particular during the NCAA tournament. “I miss Billy Packer.” It wasn’t because I didn’t like the commentators, necessarily. It wasn’t because Billy Packer was always right about all of his analysis. I remember Billy Packer and Jim Thacker announcing ACC games when I was a kid. Billy Packer was the first person to introduce me to the intricacies of basketball. So I miss Billy Packer because of his connection with my childhood.
I miss Adrian Rogers. You can still hear him on the radio, but I miss his voice talking to me on the phone. “Hello Chris,” he would say with that deep bass of his. “And how is your family?” He said “family” “Famly.”
I miss the sound of my dad's tractor early in the morning.
I miss the excitement that sports used to give me. How exciting opening day of baseball was. How exciting the pennant races. They don’t hold the same fascination with me that I had as a child. Maybe because I don’t have my father to share those games with or Joe Nuxhall, the old left hander, rounding third and heading for home.
I miss Donald Cole, Radio Pastor at Moody. Pastor Cole had the warmest, kindest, least-hurried delivery of anyone I’ve ever known. He was a second father to many of us. He would parse Hebrews 6 or speak at a fundraiser with the same intensity. The same resolve. And I miss his wife, Naomi.
What we miss says a lot about us as human beings because human beings long for things that last and, in this life, nothing does. Tiger Woods looks old and he’s still a kid.
I miss the covered bridge in my hometown.
I miss playing records at the radio station. I miss how everything was done live and how not much of anything is live these days. I miss singing hymns in church and all four stanzas in four part harmony. (That doesn’t mean I hate worship songs, it just means I miss hymns.)
I miss being able to have an opinion about something and then having to think through whether it’s worth it to express that opinion in fear of a lawsuit.
I miss Mike Sullivan. Mike was an outstanding student and athlete at my high school. Everybody wanted to be like Mike. Until he was diagnosed. And he lived his final days well. I didn’t talk to him after high school, but I miss Mike Sullivan. Tim Alford, too.
I miss hearing people on the radio and wondering what they look like and then seeing their pictures and saying, “That’s not you.” First time I saw Larry King I was shocked. You can’t be like that anymore.
I miss pushing a stroller and watching people make faces at my children. I don’t miss diapers and runny noses and having to tie shoes over and over again, but I would probably endure that for another chance to parent better.
I miss the wide-open expanse of life that seemed to stretch out forever and go on past the hills and across rivers and lakes. I live in a time-ravaged world now and I miss the one that had no such limitations.
I miss the illusion that everything, with enough time, is going to work out okay. Because everything does not work out okay, at least in this life. You lose your health or your mind. Friends betray. Lovers wound. And even worse, you’ll do the same. You won’t live up to your own expectations, and if you do, you’ll have aimed way too low.
I miss the blissful ignorance of youth, where all you needed was a little air in your tires and a bottle of pop and a candy bar.
I miss Chuck Colson.
I miss the silence between people before smart phones. Now there’s silence but no connection, just heads down and living somewhere other than where we are.
What do you miss? And what does that hole in your heart say about you and the world around you and the God who is there?
I miss Adrian Rogers. You can still hear him on the radio, but I miss his voice talking to me on the phone. “Hello Chris,” he would say with that deep bass of his. “And how is your family?” He said “family” “Famly.”
I miss the excitement that sports used to give me. How exciting opening day of baseball was. How exciting the pennant races. They don’t hold the same fascination with me that I had as a child. Maybe because I don’t have my father to share those games with or Joe Nuxhall, the old left hander, rounding third and heading for home.
What we miss says a lot about us as human beings because human beings long for things that last and, in this life, nothing does. Tiger Woods looks old and he’s still a kid.
I miss the covered bridge in my hometown.
I miss playing records at the radio station. I miss how everything was done live and how not much of anything is live these days. I miss singing hymns in church and all four stanzas in four part harmony. (That doesn’t mean I hate worship songs, it just means I miss hymns.)
I miss being able to have an opinion about something and then having to think through whether it’s worth it to express that opinion in fear of a lawsuit.
I miss hearing people on the radio and wondering what they look like and then seeing their pictures and saying, “That’s not you.” First time I saw Larry King I was shocked. You can’t be like that anymore.
I miss pushing a stroller and watching people make faces at my children. I don’t miss diapers and runny noses and having to tie shoes over and over again, but I would probably endure that for another chance to parent better.
I miss the wide-open expanse of life that seemed to stretch out forever and go on past the hills and across rivers and lakes. I live in a time-ravaged world now and I miss the one that had no such limitations.
I miss the illusion that everything, with enough time, is going to work out okay. Because everything does not work out okay, at least in this life. You lose your health or your mind. Friends betray. Lovers wound. And even worse, you’ll do the same. You won’t live up to your own expectations, and if you do, you’ll have aimed way too low.
I miss the blissful ignorance of youth, where all you needed was a little air in your tires and a bottle of pop and a candy bar.
I miss Chuck Colson.
I miss the silence between people before smart phones. Now there’s silence but no connection, just heads down and living somewhere other than where we are.
What do you miss? And what does that hole in your heart say about you and the world around you and the God who is there?
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10 comments:
I miss the "Blue Laws" when all the stores were closed on Sundays and practice for organized sports was unheard of. We dressed in our Sunday best for church and visited with family all day. Sunday was a true day of rest and it had a special feel to it.
Jeanmarie in FL
I lost my parents 8 weeks apart from one another about a year and half ago. I miss them very, very much. Also I miss the job that I had when my mom got sick. I gave it up to help take care of her and my dad.
Hi Chris, I to miss many of the things you write here. There are so many things I miss. I think most of all I miss a simpler time that seemed to be shrouded in sunshine,and endless hope seemed to abound at every turn. I see very little of that now. Everything is so hard.
I miss Reagan!
I miss Dr. J Vernon Mcgee (sp?) as well as Dr. Donald Kole. But mostly I miss the sweet, early years of becoming a Christian. I miss the wonder and excitement of learning about Jesus, the joy I had about life in general, the hopes I had that my family would come to faith, the thrill of going to bible study to discover God's word. I miss that early wonder, seems I have lost it as I've aged and wish I could recapture it...
Today for the first time in life I miss my home - everything and everyone that constitute the concept of home. I woke up this morning with strong yearning for home. I have called almost everyone in my contact, some multiple times. This comment is a way to relief the heaviness in my heart. I am from Nigeria and I went home last November.
I missed the quietness and tranquility of the village life. I missed the communal life where everyone is related one way or the other. I even missed the craziness of Lagos life today. I misses the faces and voices of my brother, sisters, nephews and nieces. Above all, I missed the voice of mother praying almost all the time (voice over the phone not the same). I missed my dad calling me just to pray for me... I know I will meet him again at Christ feet.
God bless you and your ministry.
Janet
Thornton. IL.
I resonate with many of the things you miss Chris. I miss my dad, gone home ten years now. My mom, who joined him in November but was never really here since he left. I miss my kids, how we were when...I miss the simpler times, the together times and even some of the hard times, but mostly I miss the ones I shared the times with, but no longer can.
I miss my Dad who died when I was 7. That was back in September of 1968. I miss the times of Bible Studies, Christian Coffee Houses, Keith Green, and the passion of wanting to be more like Jesus. I miss the missed opportunities with my children and wife to be a more Godly man. I miss Promise Keepers and relationships I once had with other men.
I miss my father-in-law, Edward Joseph Kelly II, who died Friday, May 8 about 7:15 p.m. But, I love his son and grandson (also 'Edward Joseph Kelly'). I love his granddaughter, Margaret (named after his mother, who I also miss).
I miss him helping my husband with projects and telling jokes that my husband repeated. I miss him bringing personal pan pizzas for lunch and m&m's for dessert. I miss him charging an "opening fee" to my kids for opening their bags of m&ms.
I miss him calling me "General" because I was in the military. I miss calling his house asking to speak with his wife and him saying, "Erika who?" I miss hearing him lovingly calling my mother-in-law "Rick."
I miss the wooden toys he made needy children at Christmas time. I miss him painting my house in shredded paints that made him look like he burst through them, like the incredible hulk. I miss hearing my mother-in-law complain about those pants.
I miss him asking my husband for advice and for help. I miss being admirably jealous that my husband's parents wanted to hear my husband's opinion and knowing my parents would never treat me with that much respect.
But, I LOVE hearing my mother-in-law, husband, brother-in-law, and children talk about my father-in-law and laugh. I LOVE that he did not suffer long. I LOVE that he taught my husband to be giving, to work intelligently, to be an involved father, and a serving husband. I LOVE that because of him my husband changed diapers, did dishes, did laundry, and wanted to be my "partner" and not my dictator.
I LOVE that he allowed my mother-in-law to be the lovely and successful business woman she is. I LOVE that he dusted and did the vacuuming so that my mother-in-law's allergies would not be affected.
I LOVE that my husband and children have his intellectual abilities. I LOVE that he wanted us not to worry about "who we are like" but to boldly be "who we are."
I LOVE Edward Joseph Kelly II as I LOVE the III and IV Edward Joseph Kelly. I LOVE his mother's namesake, Margaret (my daughter). Thank you, God, for my wonderful father-in-law and the legacy he left in my family. I believe I will see his influence even in my grandchildren who are yet to be.
I miss working for Moody Broadcasting. I miss hearing Joe Stowell and the kindness of both Bob Neff and John Maddox. I miss the spiritual memos of Wayne Pederson--they always seemed to be just what I needed at the time. I miss Pastor Cole too. I wish Moody had compiled all his columns from Today in the Word. What a treasury of reason and Biblical understanding we'd have! I miss keeping up with you and Anita and the kids! I miss my SHARE co-hort, Scott Keegan. I miss Mike Bingham's visits to the station during SHARE. I miss Phoebe, Pam, and Jennifer Atkins who helped me so much when I started as Office Administrator in 2002. I miss Amy. I miss the prayer support I had from everyone when I was going through chemo. I especially miss people like Benjamin C. who faithfully prayed for me, as he had had the same cancer and was acutely aware of what I was going through. I miss my Moody family at WKES. My position was one of those affected by the recession in 2010. Though I do see Mike G. and John S. and Ruth Dinwiddie at church and Bible Study, I don't see Pierre or others. Why am I admitting all this now? I've been sorting through and organizing my personal home files and have come across a few things I've saved from my time at Moody Radio, so a flood memories came rushing back. Unfortunately, as I organized I began to look for something you sent me, but didn't come across it. I used to refer to it often, therefore I know (hopefully) it's misplaced and not gone. It was what you wrote concerning how to discern "if" what you desire to do is really what God is calling you to do. You then gave all the "ifs" why it may be. Do you remember that? I will always be grateful for my time at Moody Radio. Had I not worked for Moody, I may never have had the opportunity to go on a missions trip to Russia. Had I not worked for Moody, I may not have had the opportunity to play a supporting role in a movie :>) Had I not worked for Moody, I would not have grown in my walk with the Lord. Had I not worked for Moody I would not have the heart to miss all those I've mentioned, who, though they may not have known it, played such a significant role in my life. Annette DiMarco