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TheDiscipleMD

As a young boy in the 1960’s I was exposed and influenced by the explosion of “Rock and Roll” music. Today’s modern technology allows us to listen to almost any song or singer we desire ad nauseam. With the touch of our finger we are able to access the finished product of any type of music or artist. But, back in the day, we depended on records made of vinyl. They could be bought in an album size, or as a single song that was called a “45” record. Forty- five was the amount of revolutions it would make in a minute on the record player, thus the name, the “45”.

Recorded on the “45” record were two songs, but most everyone called the record a “single” because the record usually contained one “hit” song, which was the reason everyone bought the record. However, on the flip side was recorded another song by the same artist, but it was a song that most of us never listened to, because it was supposedly….a bad song. No record producer in his right mind would put two good songs on a single because that would have been bad business. Why give two good songs for one price when you could sell two songs for twice the price if they were sold on two different “45’s”. Another name used for the “flip side” of a record was calling it the “B” side. The insinuation was that the “A” song was the hit song. But every once in a while a “B” side song would catch on. One such “B” song was “Hound Dog” by Elvis Presley, which came out on the flip side of his hit song “Don’t Be Cruel”. With that backdrop let me relate to you an experience I had several years ago while writing this post from my father’s library.

When I write from my father’s library the river of inspiration that feeds my writings becomes richer, deeper, and more flowing. Such is the benefit of surrounding yourself with great books written by the great authors of the world. A few years ago I was in a hurry to write down a pin number of the router in his house to set up my laptop on wireless. I hurriedly asked him for a piece of paper on which to write. He glanced around his desk, picked up a note card and handed it to me. One side was blank, on which I wrote the manufacture’s model number and the router pin. After setting up my system and working for a number of hours on it, I turned over the note card, to the “B” side, and on it was a quote that my Dad had written down. It said:

“In families with spiritual perspective, yesterday need not hold tomorrow hostage”- Neil A. Maxwell

I pondered on its message. It is short but profound. Most importantly, it is true. Outside of this great message I was again reminded that oft-times we “overlook” the “B” side of life’s experience. I needed to write down some information on a note card and once transferred to my laptop, I could have just thrown away the card without looking on the “B” side. And that is where I found something of more value.

There is a “B” side to life in almost all we do. Most often it is overshadowed by the “perceived” important side of our life. But let us remember to recognize the hidden blessings that come into our lives via the “B” side. When we do so, we won’t be found guilty before the Lord of being “…nothing but a hound dog, crying all the time” about the sound of our “A” side of life, which we think is ‘cruel,’ while overlooking the “B”side that the Lord also gives to us.