Thank You Al Gore (or Whoever)

I’ve heard so much negative about the social media lately.  Although I have both a Twitter and a Facebook account, I don’t use Twitter.  But I do regularly check FB.  And, yes, there are things there that are not good.  This election cycle has brought out a lot of posts about this politician or that, and I admit I’ve been a part of that.  Recently, however, I decided it was not only futile to post, but was a turn-off as well.  So, I’m foregoing all of that, and I haven’t posted anything political now for many weeks.

And yes, there’s the bullying thing that goes on.  Then there’s the sex stuff, and all of the other rot that is part of society in general.  FB is an image of society.  Why would we expect it to be anything else?

But the good, if it is used correctly, can be gratifying, informative, and just plain fun.  One can find old friends, make new friends, and keep up with the goings-on of people in far away places.  The things one learns probably won’t shake up the world; nor will they cause any great changes in how we live, but nevertheless are, to use a well-worn phrase, “cool.”

For example, this morning my cousin posted that her husband was beginning to cut into their bedroom wall sheetrock to repair a leaky pipe.  She said something about hearing a power saw working and ended her post with “hmm.”  Nothing earth shattering, but I enjoyed knowing about someone I knew who was working on a household project.  I could relate very well to what was going on there.

I posted back that maybe she should peer over his shoulder.  She responded that she did, and found that he hadn’t put down something on the damp carpet to catch the sheetrock dust.  Oh, can I relate to that!

Those kinds of interactions are both enjoyable and connecting.  I had lost track of this cousin years ago, and only recently at a funeral were we able to reconnect.  She is a joy to see on FB, and I relish the connection we have made there.  She is the last of her line of the family and has no children.  So when she’s gone, that part of the family will be extinguished.  That’s not a bad thing…it just makes the connection we now have even more important.

That, friend, is what is important.  Not the sheetrock dust.  Not the plumbing problem.  The connection is what is important.  You might say that connecting like this is unfulfilling and isn’t nearly as good as face to face.  You’re right.  But without FB and the technology, this particular connection wouldn’t happen at all, because they live in Texas and we live in Kansas.  I have many FB friends who would not connect with me at all were it not for social media, because they live so far away.  FB brings us closer.

So, there ya’ go.  While I still like to send cards in the snail mail, and even write something once in a while to send that way, I also like the immediacy and the reach of the social media.  I can immediately connect with friends the world over, enjoy their good times, and encourage them in the bad times.  With apologies to Al Gore (sorry, I couldn't resist...all in good fun), THANK YOU to whoever invented the Internet!

Bringing to Focus

I’m not sure where to go with the blog this week.  There have been a couple of ideas kicking around in what’s left of my brain the past couple of days, but nothing much has gelled yet.

Let’s see.  Yesterday was the culmination of having a broken tooth for several days, and having to make adjustments to how I ate and carried on some of life’s normal activities.  Then there was the man I saw at a Quik Trip that was truly a big man…broad at the shoulders, quite a bit taller than I, and a nice person who excused himself as he and I arrived at the entrance approximately together.  He reminded me of that old Jimmy Dean song, “Big John.”

Then there was choir practice.  I’m in a choir that will be doing “The Messiah” in about 6 weeks.  The music is challenging; the emotions are running high; the message of the oratorio is thrilling.  And there was the storm of storms off the East Coast…we have no relatives out there, but know some people who were in the path of the storm.  And of course, there is the election and all of the politics, haggling, maneuvering, and posturing that goes with all of that.

So, all in all a truly mixed bag of things spinning in my head, trying to make an exit of some kind.  And I’m in a kind of quandary regarding whether to give any of them more than the cursory time of day.  Sometimes, you see, all of these things just don’t seem to matter all that much when compared with the things that we can’t see…the things that are eternal…the things that really matter (according to Jesus of Nazareth).

And maybe this is one of those times…when the weight of the things of life sort of take a back seat to the things that are ahead…the things of the life to come.  After all, I’ll spend a lot more time, so to speak, in that next life than I ever would in this.  The things that I’ve worked so hard for in this life really won’t do me any good in the next, except for the deeds I’ve done and the Name that I’ve called upon for salvation, protection, and rest.

Which sort of brings broken teeth, storms, and old songs into focus as things which may or may not be good…yet are a necessary part of life in the here and now; but really have no weight when I think of my eternal destiny hanging on my appeal to the cross of Jesus Christ, and of His recognition of me as a forgiven and adopted Son of the living God.

And therein lies the entirety of it all.

The Heavens are Telling

The Heavens are Telling

From “The Creation”

The heavens are telling the glory of God,
The wonder of his work displays the firmament;

Today that is coming speaks it the day,
The night that is gone to following night.

The heavens are telling the glory of God,
The wonder of his work displays the firmament;

In all the lands resounds the word,
never unperceived, ever understood.

The heavens are telling the glory of God,
The wonder of his work displays the firmament.

—Author and Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn

These words may not mean a lot to you.  It is the closing number of part one of The Creation by F. J. Haydn.  It is translated from German, so the English rendering may appear to be rather stiff and stilted.  But the meaning is clear.  It is taken from Psalm 19.  Of this, Wikipedia says the following.

The text is based on Psalm 19:1–3, which had been set by Bach as the opening chorus of his cantata Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76. Haydn's century, following on the discoveries of Newton, had the view that an orderly universe—particularly the mathematically-governed motion of the heavenly bodies—attests to divine wisdom.

Wiki continues to describe Haydn and this work.  The work on the oratorio lasted from October 1796 to April 1798. It was also a profound act of faith for this deeply religious man, who appended the words "Praise to God" at the end of every completed composition. He later remarked, "I was never so devout as when I was at work on The Creation; I fell on my knees each day and begged God to give me the strength to finish the work."

The words above may still not mean much to you…and that’s understandable.  Listen to it performed.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwqqfbinUDY

Not So Bad

Well, I knew everything was getting older, but did it have to hit me in the head?  OK, those of you who spend hundreds of dollars every few weeks, seemingly, to keep your transportation running probably won’t think much of my rant this morning.  But you see, I’m not used to having to spend that kind of money more than once in a blue moon or so.  We’ve been very, very fortunate that our vehicles have run well over the years with minimal upkeep except for the routine oil changes, occasional tires and batteries, etc.

Last week, I was driving my pickup and saw that the idiot light for the charging system was on.  As they wanted me to be certain, Ford also included gauges…of which the battery gauge was showing lower than it normally does.  I thought, “OK, what now?” as I went down the road.  I looked at the light a moment or two later, and it wasn’t on.  And the battery gauge was back to normal.

Knowing that I saw probably the beginning of something that probably won’t get better on its own, I went to the local auto electrical place where I’ve had some work done before.  I told the nice man about my problem, and said it was working now.  They thought it best to check it over, and I took it in the next day.  About mid day they called and said they found a couple of things wrong after checking out everything, and that it would be almost $400 to fix it.  I swallowed hard and OK’ed the work.

The next day, after picking up the pickup, I was going down the street, looked down, and the battery idiot light was on again.  Then in a few blocks, it went off again.  Finding it within myself to go back to the repair shop, I told the man that I wanted him to know it wasn’t fixed, but that I would try to bring it in when it was actually acting up so they could find the problem more easily.

That time came today.

The truck is in the shop now, getting another $500 worth of work done to it…with their assurance that THIS time, they’ve found the problem.  Actually, I don’t begrudge the earlier money spent, as the things they found really did, I think, need to be done.  So I would have spent that money, or most of it anyway, in any event.

It’s just a little disconcerting to think, though, that getting a vehicle repaired anymore is kind of like going to the emergency room…it’s hundreds of dollars just to get in the door, it seems.  And then there are charges on top of that which would make your head swim.

It almost makes me want to just put the battery charger on the truck each night and top off the battery…then drive around the next day on the battery.  You can do that, you know.  The battery will carry a modern vehicle for several hours before giving out, assuming one doesn’t use the lights or air conditioner too much.  Radios don’t take much current, and turn signals don’t either.  You could use those as much as you wanted and still drive all morning.  And if you have a stick like I do, you can park on an incline and start the truck with the momentum of rolling down the hill.

So, there ya’ go.  Charger at night…inclines during the day, and you’re fixed.  Of course, you won’t do that for long before you have to call AAA or the tow truck man to come get you because you forgot and didn’t park on that incline…or you stalled out at Central and Rock in the left turn lane and don’t have the battery to start it.

Come to think of it, $900 isn’t such a bad deal after all.

What Would They Say?

The other day, I went with the wife to a banquet.  It was given by the state nurses’ association, of which she is a member.  They were having their annual membership meeting, and the banquet was kind of the highlight of the weekend.  I assume my wife invited me to the banquet (and paid for my dinner) because she needed some “arm candy.”  I fill that role very well, I might say, and did not disappoint on this night.

At many of this type of function, they have a program of some kind.  This was no exception.  They had a motivational speaker, announcements, and awards.  One of the awards was induction into a nurse hall of fame for Kansas.  There were four inductees, I believe, some of whom were deceased.

For each inductee, someone read a paragraph or two telling why this person deserved to belong in the hall of fame.  For one of the deceased inductees, the last comment was this, “Many lives were changed (for the better) because she was here.”

Think about that.  I won’t go into all of this woman’s accomplishments and career.  Suffice it to say that this was an ordinary woman in ordinary work environments with the ordinary trials and issues, ordinary aspirations and inclinations, who accomplished something truly extraordinary in her all-too-brief life (she died in her 50’s).  She changed the lives of many people for the better because she was diligent…diligent to live, love, serve, and give.

She wasn’t the daughter of a great business magnate.  She didn’t have the background that propelled her into the limelight.  She encountered the ordinary and routine of life.  Yet she made an extra-sweet lemonade out of that soupy mix and caused the lives of many to be forever changed and made better.

What would someone say about you should you be nominated for some kind of hall of fame?  Could they say, truthfully, that you changed the lives of many people for the better?  Could they say that the world was a better place because of you?  Could they articulate your accomplishments and achievements as they relate to your obligation to your neighbor (as defined by Jesus in the story of the Good Samaritan), and the universal spiritual admonition to do unto others as you would have them do unto you?

I don’t know what someone would say about me.  I’m not young anymore, and have lived by far most of my years.  And, I suppose it would matter somewhat who was saying things about me insofar as what that person would say.  I say that somewhat lightly, of course.

Maybe a good exercise would be for us to write our own induction into a hall of fame.  I dare say we would have a difficult time of it, as we don’t like to toot our own horns for one, and secondly, sadly, we might not have very much to write about.  Perhaps it’s time that we used what time we have left on this earth to make some changes…as long as there is breath, there is opportunity.  We dare not miss it.