Me And The Closer

December 22, 2019 marked a big change in my life, at least in the short term. On that date, in Wichita, Kansas, at Dave and Sally's home, the hard drive in my DELL laptop died without chance of resuscitation. I had no way of knowing I would be without home Internet until March 8 when a friend installed a new hard drive and put me back on the grid away from school. Not having my laptop for two and a half months changed me in several ways. I started going to bed earlier and thus, started climbing out of bed earlier, by 3:30 AM on school days. Since I was getting up earlier, I began reading and thinking much more than I had been while Houston slept on. But there was an unexpected change as well. I began watching television again. I don't have cable or a dish or anything like that. My options are the major networks but I found out something else. The NBC affiliate, KPRC, has three more side by side channels which show nothing but re-reruns of old shows. And at 5 and 6 PM every night, channel 2.4 runs back to back episodes of The Closer. I need to confess. I'm addicted.

In case you don't know, The Closer was a TNT show, covering  seven seasons and 109 episodes. In six of those seasons, IF we can believe Wikipedia, it was the highest rated drama on cable. The show centered around the Major Crimes Unit of  the LAPD, particularly Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. The title comes from the ability of Chief Johnson, played by Kyra Sedgwick, to figure out what happened in a murder investigation and close the case, kind of like in baseball. (I don't think I've heard them actually use the term in the show.) The story lines are intertwined with the private lives of Johnson and the crew of detectives, a flawed all male and colorful group, she supervises. Since there are back to back episodes daily, and especially now that we are quarantined, I'm starting to see repeated shows. It makes me wish they had stayed in production many more years!

The funny thing is that the first time I saw The Closer, I hated it. It was five or six years ago and I was spending the holidays with my brothers in Kansas. While I was at Scott and Karen's house- they divvy me up- Karen watched the show constantly and I thought it was terrible. Being a good guest AND being the brother in law of a great cook, I kept my mouth shut! I inevitably found other things to keep me busy when The Closer was playing. But now, I can't wait till the next show and really hope it's one I haven't seen yet.

I can't really tell you why I like it now when I despised it then. My guess is that when I was at Karen's house and it was playing, I just got on my laptop. When I no longer had that option, I simply gave  it another chance to grab my attention. What I've found over time is some similarities in The Closer and my life. Each episode starts with a situation, invariably a crime. When Chief Johnson arrives on the scene, there is often confusion and chaos. There is sometimes contention over which group is or should be in charge of the rapidly developing case. There is much conclusion jumping and a multitude of possible scenarios put forward. Slowly- it is an hour show- facts become clear, motives are uncovered, suspects are both cleared and charged, and in the end, we see why and what happened. I'm often in the dark until the final few minutes.

At times in my life, I feel like I have been in my own episode of The Closer. Things happen, sometimes developing slowly and sometimes out of the blue, at least to me. I've been on the verge of despair and feel there can be no good that comes from whatever is going on. And yet, I survive. I can't say the conclusion of the matter, if anything is ever really concluded, is always to my liking but I at least gain experience and hopefully a measure of wisdom to go with the next episode of The Life And Times Of Steve. Often, in the long run, I learn the struggles I fought and even railed against have made me, "more fit for the kingdom," to quote the hymn, More Holiness Give Me. God loves me and knows what is happening in my life and yours. There is assurance that at the end, we will overcome, even if the world sees the screenplay of our lives as odd or Pollyanna-ish or even misguided. But believers know what non-believers fail to grasp: that our lives here do not end here. These are simply the opening acts. In John 16:33, Jesus told His apostles,

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

And what a week to remember His words. While we walk the sod of our earthly existence in a time of perhaps unparalleled turmoil,
we concurrently celebrate the resurrection of the One who promises the perfect life for His own in the place He is preparing. It's a place with no mortgage or rent or eviction or cancellation ever. There's no reruns or repeated plot lines. No characters are killed off and no tears are ever shed. It's the perfect ending.

Applicable quote of  the day:
You know, I grew up with brothers so I'm used to being the only girl.

Kyra Sedgwick

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
E-mail me at shawley@westburychristian.org