Revel In the Blessings

 I had an appointment today to see my primary care provider.  Nothing serious…just something she needed to take a look at.  A couple of days ago, I needed to go to the dentist to have an adjustment made to a temporary appliance.  A few weeks ago, I needed to see my oral surgeon for the fitting of that temporary appliance I mentioned.  A week before that, I had to see my PCP for a different issue, again, not serious, but needing attention.  And the list of appointments I’ve had with various medical providers in the past months just goes on and on.

 Today, I caught myself saying that I was tired of having to see medical people.  I rather quickly, though, re-evaluated that statement.  I know that it is sometimes taxing and tiring to have to make and keep various medical appointments.  It is also sometimes difficult to remember and keep straight all of the specialists one sees.

 Let’s see.  I have a cardiologist, an ENT physician, a urologist, a dentist, an oral surgeon, a dental hygienist, a physical therapist, an eye doctor, an audiiologist, a podiatrist, a chiropractor, and a pharmacist in addition to my primary care person.  I’ve also been to a neurology clinic for testing as well as having received tests and scans for various possible maladies.  Who knows what specialty will come next…maybe the undertaker?

 But the fact that this stable of medical professionals is available to me…the fact that I have insurance that will cover the lion’s share of the costs…the fact that these people are close by and I am able to drive or be driven to see them…those things are blessings that by far the majority of the world’s population does not have.  Even in this nation, physicians and providers are sometimes few and far between.

 Check out how many dentists are practicing in Western Kansas.  Check out how far some veterans have to go to get to a veterans hospital.  And while you’re at it, check on hometown pharmacies in smaller communities (as well as larger cities)…how many have closed their doors in the last 20 or so years.

 And while we’re talking about blessings, we can always speak of the blessings of retirement checks that come monthly, our transportation needs and wants being met, the food that is in the house, the coolness of air conditioning or the comfort of heating, depending on the season, instant communication and information gathering via the Internet, stable electrical service, clean water, sanitation services, public education, public libraries, and a host of other things which we take for granted, but for many are only pipe dreams or perhaps an occasional blessing.

 Then we have the gall to complain about having to see yet another medical provider, or we gripe when the Internet is a little slow.  We complain when the electric bill goes up or the public library stocks a book we think shouldn’t be there.  We rag on public schools for seeming to always need more of our tax dollars.  We’re disrupted and even angry when the air conditioning doesn’t work.  We are indeed a thoughtless and ungrateful people.

 Ungratefulness is just one arm of those characteristics of humanity that we call greed and self-centeredness.  We think only about ourselves…work only for our own self-betterment…push other things and other people out of the way so we can have what we want.

 We’re very willing to schmooze others, deceive others, lie to others, and fake-friend others in order to get what we want for ourselves.  And when something happens that is outside of our control, such as a natural disaster, an illness, or even a loss of transportation or utility services, we immediately think of what that event is doing to us…how it is affecting our ability to get ahead or complete a task.  Others are not in our thoughts, or are expendable.  It’s just us.

 So, the next time you find yourself complaining because of some kind of disruption in life, whether that be a medical appointment, a power outage, an illness, or some other thing, thank God for the blessings.  Revel in His care and providence.  Let go.  Think of others.  And with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.

 Blessings,

Best News of All

 Good afternoon, and welcome to another Thursday Thought.

 This past week has been a hodge-podge of events, thoughts, and just things in general that have found themselves sort of swirling around in my head.  Sometimes we all, I think, get these times when things just seem to be a combination of randomness, unexpected, surprising, and even sort of out of control.  It’s almost as if one is some kind of a sidelines observer watching all of this stuff happen, except that all too often, that same observer is also a participant in some way of most, if not all of what one is observing.

As I write this, I am trying to gather my thoughts into something rather coherent that will be of some benefit to both you and me.  So, let’s just begin and see where this goes.

I really don’t want to get into politics first thing out.  However, that seems to be first on my mind.  I know some pretty much stay away from anything political.  Others dabble in it from time to time, and still others are immersed in every campaign event, every election, and every decision made by politicians both local and national.  I’m not sure where I fall in that, but I know I am more interested in the local than the national, because it’s the decisions made by the locals…the city councils, the county commissions, and the school boards that most impact my daily life.

I’ve had my stint in local politics, having been elected twice to the Harper, Kansas city council in the 1990’s.  I have no interest in serving on any boards, commissions, or the like, but I do try to foster relationships with my representatives, and have had some success with that.  This is a busy season for many, as the elections are coming up in November, and many are up for election or re-election.

Of course, the national stage is all abuzz with the recent events of the party conventions and the changes in nominees.  It will be interesting, to say the least, to see what happens there.

In our church family, we’ve had a couple of funeral services recently.  Last week, we served a family who no longer is part of our church family, but has roots and history in our fellowship.  Today, we laid to rest a dear woman who was part of our church family until the day she passed.  Ruby had a golden heart and didn’t, it seemed, know a stranger.  She was a great hostess, cook, and friend.  She will be sorely missed here at RiverWalk, even though for the past months, she couldn’t attend services.

This kind of thing always prompts me to do some deeper thinking about the more serious side of life and living.  We are all mortal.  We will all die.  We will all one day find out with certainty just how real God, Jesus Christ, heaven, and hell are.  There is no way out of that.  And that, friends, can be a bit unnerving to someone who likes to be in control…to know what’s coming.  I’m one of those.

I’m still recovering from a Facebook account hack of some weeks ago.  I don’t have all of my friends back that I want back, and am slowly working on that as I can.  Having one’s account invaded seems like a personal invasion of one’s space.  And in a way, it is.  One feels violated somehow…more vulnerable…and becomes more suspicious and watchful about other parts of one’s on-line life.

I’ve gone in and changed some passwords, activated two-factor authentication, and some other things of that kind…just to be sure.  And there is no such thing as “being sure” anymore.  No matter how much one tries, someone else will, if they want to badly enough, find a way in.  It’s really kind of a crapshoot anymore…one is luckily ignored, or one could well be the victim of multiple hits.

And finally, it’s already beginning to change over from summer to fall.  Oh, it’s still hot outside.  But the environment is beginning to look a little more worn.  Nut trees are beginning to drop mature nuts onto the ground.  Prairie grasses are beginning to head out seed pods.  Days are getting noticeably shorter.  Birds are migrating.  It’s changing out there.

Wasn’t it only a few weeks ago that the spring rains brought out the beauty of tulips, iris, and roses?  Wasn’t it just a short time ago that the woods were filled with birds of all kinds…both those who were settling in for the summer and those who were just passing through?  The days were warm and the nights were cool.  The weather was perfect for sitting on the back patio just taking in the beauty…the sounds…the sights of the creation.

I’ll end this thought with something I said in a sermon I preached last Sunday.  I was speaking generally about how we tend to divide into sides…politically, socially, playing games, in war, just about anything having to do with humanity.  And we always, it seems, want God to be on a side.  We seem to always want to put God on one side or the other of any conflict, whether that be a conflict of ideas, ideology, or even physical conflict.  And we tend to think that we have to help God accomplish what we just know He wants to get done here on earth…that God somehow needs us to accomplish his purposes.

 

Here’s what I said about that.

 

God isn’t limited to be on one side or the other of some kind of human conflict, whether that conflict is a conflict of ideas or a conflict of physical aggression.  God is perfectly capable of seeing to it that His will is done without having to choose sides, and without relying on humans to get it done.  God chooses to work however he wants and is not accountable to anyone or anything for what he does or how he does it.

 

If you don’t get anything else out of this, get that last statement.  God is perfectly capable of seeing to it that His will is done without having to choose sides, and without relying on humans to get it done.  God chooses to work however he wants and is not accountable to anyone or anything for what he does or how he does it.  Get that.  Understand that.  Understand too that even though God doesn’t NEED us for anything, God WANTS us for relationship.  So much so that he paid the price in order clear the way to have that relationship…His son Jesus Christ on a cross.  And that, dear friend, is the best news of all.

 

Blessings,

Gut Feelings

 Good afternoon, and welcome.

 Sometimes, the days start out very routine and ordinary.  The plans one has for the day fit right in with how the day is going.  Things get done and are checked off of the “inbox” list.  One feels a real sense of accomplishment.  Then, especially for the church I work at, there comes a visitor to the office door, and things suddenly are much different.  Priorities are shifted.  Things that seemed important aren’t so important anymore.  The day has changed.

Today was one of those days.  A couple of hours ago, a man came to the office door.  I didn’t know him, so we visited for a bit with him outside and I at the door opening.  It seems the man had been working construction for a company that had a job in South Dakota.  The man was from Garden City, Kansas.  A day or so ago, he found out that his family in the Garden City area was involved in a bad traffic accident, and he was trying to get home.

He obtained a bus ticket from South Dakota to Wichita…because Wichita is the closest place that bus service goes to Garden City.  He needed to get on to Garden City to take care of family business, but none in his family could come after him due to the accident, and a friend in Garden City was unable to come for him either.  So, he found himself let off at the bus terminal here and was left to wander the downtown Wichita streets trying to figure out what he would do next.  He had approached a few churches downtown that didn’t answer their door, and eventually found himself at RiverWalk, where we did answer the door.

I eventually asked the man inside and visited with him more.  I knew of no easy way we could get him to Garden City, and besides, although our church does provide benevolence in several different ways, we normally do not buy tickets for transportation, or pay for motels or meals.

To shorten the story considerably, we were able to find him bus service to the Newton, Kansas Amtrak station and got him a train ticket to Garden City.  We also put him up in a motel near the bus station as he needed to be there shortly after midnight to catch the bus to Newton.  We also gave him some snack food and water and transported him to the hotel.  All of these things, except for the food and water, were things we normally do NOT do.

You might ask why we went ahead with these things, and whether his story was true or not.  Here’s what I can tell you.  I don’t know with certainty if his story was true or not.  I do know from over a decade of listening to stories of those needing help that they sometimes are incomplete…sometimes unintentionally…and sometimes with purpose.  Many times, I also know when things don’t always add up…when one part of the story doesn’t parallel or compliment another part.  And then I just look at a person’s demeanor…his attitude…his way of carrying himself…his comments perhaps not having to do directly with the story.

And it ends up being a gut feeling based often on nothing more than the plausibility of the story itself, appearance, non-verbal cues, and just an “Is this the right thing to do?” thought.  Those are often the reasons why we decide whether to help, how much to help, and what kinds of help to give.  That’s it…a gut feeling.  That and our philosophy of erring on the side of helping if there are any questions.

I know I just said that it’s just a “gut feeling,” but I truly believe many of those gut feelings are generated by God Himself in real time during the encounter.  He hears, He knows, and He intercedes “on the fly,” so to speak as we are working with someone.  If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t be doing the benevolence here at RiverWalk.

I don’t know with certainty if his family was involved in an accident in Western Kansas or not.  Nor do I know with certainty that he came from South Dakota.  But I do know that, had we not stepped in, and if his story is truthful, he would have spent the rest of the day wandering the streets of downtown Wichita, in a place where he knew no one, did not know the lay of the land, so to speak, and would be looking for someone who could help his situation.

I don’t know what you would have done in that circumstance.  Nor do I know what we will do if presented with a similar story at some future time.  Each encounter is different.  Each individual is different.  Each story is different.

If all works out, this man will be leaving Wichita early Friday morning with a different feeling toward the city…toward churches…and toward those who work with churches.  I don’t know what his faith tradition is, and didn’t ask.  I believe he was in no frame of mind to discuss his eternal fate today.  Perhaps some day, because of what we did, he will be…either with us or with someone else.  And that would just be icing on the cake.

 

Blessings,

This "Dignity" Thing

 A couple of days ago, my friend Jennifer White posted something on Facebook that got my attention.  Her comment?  “No matter what people are going through, they deserve dignity.  Always.”

I agree, and might expand on that just a bit to say that human beings ALWAYS need to be treated with dignity and respect, just by virtue of their being human.

I don’t know what prompted Jennifer’s comment.  What I do know is that indignity can take many forms…some of which are not even apparent at first glance.  That was brought home to me just the day after I saw that post in an encounter I had here at the church.

That day, I received a call from a social worker at the public school we partner with.  The lady at Franklin Elementary had called the church asking if there was any way we could help one of the paras who was having a difficult time financially.  She didn’t need much in the immediate time…her fuel tank was almost empty in the vehicle she drove to and from work.  She couldn’t afford to put gas in it, and consequently would not be able to come to work after that day.  She was not able to find a ride, and the public transportation was pretty much a non-starter for her due to where she lived.

I asked the woman in need to come to the church and visit with me, and we would see what we might be able to do.  She did so, and we ended up filling her tank with fuel at a local Quik Trip.  We also gave her a little cash to get by until she got her first check from the school district.

Let me now tell you a little of the backstory.  Paraprofessionals are the backbone of the schools in the 259 district.  They wipe noses, provide individual instruction, work with the physically, mentally, and emotionally challenged kids, help keep order in the classroom, supplement the teacher’s instructions as needed, and generally provide the services of an aide to the teacher.  They are well-trained, intelligent, and intensely love the kids they have in their care…even the difficult ones.

But paraprofessionals, unlike teachers and some others, are paid only nine months out of the year.  They are mostly women, many of whom are single, and receive no pay in the summer months.  They have to go it alone in some way.  Additionally, paras don’t make much money per hour, and their pay is on an hourly basis.  When that May 31 check comes in (and that check isn’t full pay as the school year ends before the end of the month), that’s it until August 31.  And they also receive no pay during school breaks such as Christmas vacation.  Yet, they are expected to come back to work in August to again wipe noses and provide individual attention to those most needy.

I have some familiarity with this difficulty that paras face as one of my nieces is a para and faces the same issues each summer.  She doesn’t make enough during the school year to put aside two months of income to pay the rent, utilities, and food for the summer.  She has to rely on others to help out from time to time.

My comment on all of this?  Where is the dignity in this scenario?  How much does the school district really value paraprofessionals when they treat them in this way?  Why has it come to this?

I don’t have the answer.  However, I believe this goes beyond just the notion that because they aren’t putting in the hours, they aren’t to be paid.  There is a dignity and respect part to this.  There is a "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” aspect to this.  There is a “Just do the right thing,” component in this.

I don’t know what kind of money it would take to do the right thing for the paras and any others who work for the district who are in the same boat.  But I do think it’s time to have a serious conversation about how we treat some of those who are some of the most needed and appreciated, at least by teachers and parents, and among the least paid in the school district.

And while we’re on this dignity and respect thing, those go even for those we see on the street schlepping their worldly belongings on their back or in a grocery cart.  It goes for those of other nationalities, other religions, other ethnicities, other backgrounds.  It goes for all regardless of gender, race, color, or identity.

We may not be able to fix or eliminate the things that have caused people to sleep under a bridge.  But we can treat them as the human beings they are, acknowledge their situation, do away with the notion that if they’d just get a job, they wouldn’t be there, and do our part to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and shelter the needy.

 

Blessings,

Heed That Lesson

 Good morning!

 The recent attempt on the life of Mr. Trump has brought out old memories for those of us who have lived through other assassination attempts on political figures.  My memories begin with John F. Kennedy’s assassination.  Later in that decade, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King were killed.  Ronald Reagan was shot, but survived.  Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was injured later yet.

These events, while tragic, also remind us of some things.  First, the fragility of life even when that life is protected by one of the premier protection agencies in the world.  No protection agency or police force can be one hundred percent perfect.  Humans do make mistakes.  And one mistake is all it takes for something tragic to happen.

Second, these events remind us of our common bond.  We are all humans.  We are all part of humanity and the larger society.  We may have different opinions and ideologies.  We may forcefully disagree about certain issues.  But we must develop ways to live in relative harmony with one-another and practice those ways and methods.

And for we who are Christians, we have a special obligation.  Even in the throes of chaos, violence, and disharmony, we are charged with demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ to those in our sphere of influence.  Regardless of who is the President, which political party controls the levers of political power, who is appointed to the Supreme Court, how we are dealing with refugees, or what the current law is regarding abortion, we Christians are called to be salt and light…lovers of God and our neighbor…heralds of the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ.

To that end, we are commanded to be sure our speech is filled with grace, offer a cup of cold water to one who is thirsty, provide clothing for those in need, feed the hungry, care for the fatherless and the widows, and above all be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within us.

You will notice that there is no mention in that list of divine commands to disparage, disrespect, or demonize someone who disagrees with us politically.  There is no mention in that list of divine commands to invoke a “God is on our side,” attitude in a political disagreement.  There is no mention in that list of divine commands to make Christianity a national religion.  And there is no mention in that list of divine commands that allows Christians a “get out of jail free” card if they disobey the governing authority.

I will close this thought with words from an editorial in the Christian Chronicle.  For my Christian friends...heed these words. Can you imagine what would happen if Christians funneled all of the energy and treasure we now spend on nationalism, politics, vitriol, hot-button issues, and even relatively innocent political memes into truly loving our neighbor?

 Cheryl Mann Bacon was the author of the editorial, and says this (and I quote):

 We have not mastered the lessons of history, and much less the lessons of the Sermon on the Mount. We forget that Christians with no political power whatsoever, believing in a risen Christ who never sought nor espoused any earthly power, changed the world in a generation.  They did it without a bully pulpit, without a 24/7 news cycle, without social media.

Amid war, disease and disaster, they fed the hungry, rescued abandoned babies and created hospitals to care for the sick and dying.  The Romans didn’t change. Christians loved their neighbors anyway.

 Heed that lesson.

 Your community has hungry people in it. Go feed them.

Your state has neglected, abused and unwanted children. Take care of them.

Your community has immigrants and refugees— legal and otherwise — who are frightened and lonely. Welcome them. "  (end quote)

 May God bless you as you continue down the path of life, always remembering and heeding the lessons of the early Christians in the Roman Empire, who loved their neighbors in concrete and practical ways, and in so doing changed the world.