[NOTE: This was written on September 20, 2019, and appears in November 2019 Issue of Covenant Spotlight. An update follows the original article.] As I write this my wife is two-thirds of the way through her chemotherapy treatment. As you read this she should be completely finished. I am grateful. I have learned a lot about gratitude by associating with Infusion Folks. Although they are a cross-section of the community, they are individuals. Some are obviously ravaged by cancer and the infusion of toxic chemo drugs. They are hairless, thin and gray. My beloved is not one of these and for that I am grateful. That gratitude may be selfish and “me” centered but that, I have learned, is the nature of gratitude. We are grateful when we positively contrast with the lives and sufferings of others. We are ungrateful if we focused on ourselves and lament our condition. Some Infusion Folk have full heads of hair and glow with good health. I am grateful for these folks as well because of the hope they instill in the rest of us. We rejoice together in small victories. When an Infusion Folk completes their chemo, they ring a bell and […]
Category: The Spiritual
Recovery
“Recovery” is defined as a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength. I guess you could then say I am “in recovery.” At my last doctor visit, my diagnoses included Skull Lesion and Status Post Craniectomy. Also “need for influenza vaccination.” Compared with “Skull Lesion” and “Status Post Craniectomy,” the “need for influenza vaccination seems comically insignificant. It certainly seems a challenge to return to where I was before all this happened. I am being promised a “full recovery.” I am realizing that’s not enough. My God doesn’t put his child through something like this to return him to the place he inhabited when it all started. My God allows and may even create terrifying situations, medical mysteries, holes in skulls, lesions and various …tomies to place his children on higher ground. He doesn’t spin them around just to see them dizzy, confused and feeling abandoned. He wants them grateful for recovery, happy to be alive; but I have to believe He wants them happier to be alive, filled with greater purpose and bearing the scars and experience which will make them invaluable tools for the Kingdom. So sorry, docs, I appreciate the recovery but I […]
Not Making a Decision is a Decision to stay the same.
Change is tough. We become comfortable in our stages of life. Kids want to be adults, but not really. They want to have the freedom of adulthood without responsibility. That just doesn’t fly. Adults more than ever don’t want to be “responsible” adults. Being “free” seems impossible when you “tie” yourself to a mate or have children intentionally or not. Without those ties and struggles, the blessings of adulthood are squandered. “Empty nest” syndrome is a real thing. What’s a body to do when their lives have been devoted to children who no longer “need” them? Isn’t it time to stand back and watch the fruit of what God has done through your parenting. It’s too late to correct the mistakes of the past. God’s got this. My latest encounter with change is moving from the production years to the “golden” years of retirement. Those who have worked “all their lives” to build “nest egg” can’t seem to find a reason to stop building and start enjoying. The egg for many is never big enough. I’m seventy. Although I try to stay healthy, my days are limited. I know folks live longer these days but does that really matter […]
A Simple Touch
When I woke at 5 this morning, I knew my wife was still awake and had probably been awake all night. I reached out and held her hand. Five minutes later she was sound asleep. My wife has suffered from insomnia for years. She starts thinking about stuff and can’t turn her mind off. Lately, she has had more to think about. She is recovering from breast surgery and faces radiation and chemotherapy. That’s a lot to think about. We are never so alone as when we are lost in our thoughts. She needs to hear from me. She needs to know I am still here. She is still my baby and we, and Jesus, got this. She doesn’t need to hear words, not after fifty years of love and faithfulness. She needs a touch and knows all that it means. The art of touch is becoming lost. In a world of electronic communication, many of us are losing the wonder of face to face communication and the power of touch. Touch, in fact, is now viewed with suspicion, a likely “violation” of personal space. Surely random and isolated touch isn’t what I’m talking about. I’m talking about a […]
Swimming with Jesus
Recently my pastor encouraged us to find a time each day to be alone with Jesus. He has “coffee” with Jesus. He takes a cup of coffee into a darkened room and spends time with the Lord. He cited others who go into nature or have other methods of spending quality time with the Lord. I go swimming with him. I try to swim for an hour a day, six days a week. I found a waterproof iPod and ear buds and listen to music or books, mostly but not completely Christian. I recently realized that this hour often includes time with Jesus. He speaks and I listen. It’s not an audible voice. Sometimes it’s just a fresh perspective, a new approach to a problem, a peace that surpasses understanding or a recognition of something I really need to change. Recently I was concerned that with advancing age, my death or that of my beloved wife might not be far off. It’s as if I heard Him say clearly, “You’ll be together forever.” Talk about peace that surpasses understanding. I got bad news on one of my cases. After a swim, I got a clear message, “I am your […]
I Didn’t Go To Church Today – And That was a Good Thing
I missed church today. That’s pretty unusual for me, particularly recently. I like to go to church. I enjoy the fellowship and the praise and worship and I tolerate the sermons pretty well. Today, I had too much going on. So I downloaded the Wow Best Praise and Worship Songs for 2019. I don’t know how they know which are the best since it’s only the beginning of April, but the music was awesome. I listened nearly all day while I carried out my many “to-do” items. It was a special time with God, just me and him and the music. I won’t become a regular non-church goer. I could do what I did today on any day of the week and I hope I will. The problem with the church is sometimes I find that I substitute it for a relationship with God. If I go to church regularly, I feel I must be doing alright with God. We Protestants like to talk about a “personal” relationship but aren’t really comfortable with it or very good at it. I guess I’m talking about myself. Being “personal” or one-on-one with another person is hard. To do that with God […]
This is Church
Two of my church brothers spent the morning helping me with a project. It wasn’t just advice or encouragement or new ideas. It was all of that, but it was also hard work on a cold day. I couldn’t keep up with those two. I had become discouraged by the clear enormity of the task ahead. I hadn’t been able to focus on what needed to be done. By 10 am, we had accomplished all had planned for the week. By lunchtime, I was two weeks ahead of schedule and I had promises of future help and more ideas of what to do and how than I could have ever gotten from YouTube. I won’t name these guys. They wouldn’t want that. I have been teaching on the “church” for several weeks. Some good teaching based on a good book, Letters to the Church, by a wise author, Francis Chan. These guys taught the lesson better than hours of study, preparation and presentation. Church is prayer and worship and teaching and fellowship, but Jesus didn’t list those things as the identifiers of His church. That’s in the way we love. We don’t love by mushy talk or flowery words. […]
Daily Spiritual Affirmations
I enjoy reading Frank Viola I particularly enjoyed this recent writing: This year, I created 6 spiritual affirmations that I read every morning. These affirmations ground and center me as a kingdom citizen at the start of each day. I even printed out several copies to place in different parts of my home, just to “refresh” my mind in the afternoons and evenings. They are: 1) Let go of how life ought to be and find joy somewhere in whatever your life currently is. 2) Ruthlessly eliminate all expectations of how your day should be. 3) Receive everything that happens today as passing through God’s sovereign hands before it gets to you. 4) All things that take place today – including the irritations and disappointments — will work together for your good. Romans 8:28 is still in the Bible. 5) You can’t control what others do, but you can control what you do and how you react. 6) Shift the responsibility on God to change the things you cannot. It’s His worry, not yours. 1 Peter 5:7 is still in the Bible. By the way, Romans 8:28 reads, “And we know that in all things God works for the […]