"I Can Do Something"

 If you haven’t yet done so, go to YouTube and watch the longer, six minute version of the Nashville Police Department’s entrance into the Covenant School in order to track down and take down the killer of six innocent people.  You’ll probably find, as I did, the video difficult to watch, but do it anyway.

Now, I won’t say much about the seeming preponderance of these kinds of tragic events in our society in this post.  I won’t say much about the Second Amendment and all of the controversy that surrounds it.  I won’t even say much about what we should do to combat this kind of terror, at least in terms of all of the proposed “solutions” bandied about by the politicians..  My intention is to zero in on the actions of the men and women who, as the motto goes, “protect and serve,” as well as our individual responses to societal ills such as mass shootings.

Here are some takeaways from my watching the bodycam video.  I’ve never been trained as a police officer, so I cannot comment on the procedures they used.  I presume they knew what they were doing, and acted according to their training and policy.

Most striking to me is the first seconds of the video when the officer shouts, “Let’s go!” as he enters the building with other officers.  They know they are going into dangerous territory, and they know they will probably engage the shooter at some point.  They know they may be shot themselves, and possibly be killed in the line of duty.  Yet they run toward the danger while the rest of us are running away from it.

Second, they waste no time in finding the killer.  They literally run from room to room, clearing their way as they go.  And when they hear shots coming from the second floor, telling them where the killer is, they bound up the steps to engage.

Third, not just one officer, but several place themselves in harm’s way in order to mitigate a disaster and end a killing spree.  These officers apparently were well-trained.

Finally, I continually reminded myself while watching the video that this is not a movie.  This is not make-believe.  This is real life.  This is happening.  This is the way it is.  Real people have been killed.  The shooter was killed on camera for the world to see.  Families, friends, and loved ones are now dealing with the aftermath of the carnage.  The nation is again in mourning.

Just as is the case with other mass shootings, the inevitable political posturing, pontificating, and finger-pointing comes once again into our consciousness.  Everyone is an expert.  Everyone is a critic.  Everyone can say what the answer is not.

But no one, it seems, definitively knows what the answer is.

Oh, we may think we have the answer when we legislate our public schools to teach the NRA gun safety course or pass more stringent gun control laws.  We may think the answer is better mental health care at government expense or equipping school staff with firearms.  But  the truth is that none of these, well-intentioned as they may be, will fix the problem.  These things may put a band aid or two on the issue, but the underlying problem will still be there.

And for us ordinary folks, we feel helpless to do anything.  Passing gun control laws or equipping school staff with firearms isn’t anything we have any control over.  We can email our representatives, vote at the next election, and maybe even carry a sign on a sidewalk in front of the Capitol building, but that’s about the extent of our involvement.  And in any event, those things don’t fix anything in the here and now.  Mass shootings are, unfortunately, a daily occurrence.  So we go about our daily lives with a sort of a pall hanging over our heads as we ponder yet again another senseless and horrific act, wondering how it will all end.

Can I offer some advice for those of us who feel helpless and wonder when and where the next mass shooting will take place?  I don’t pretend to have the answers.  As I’ve often said, I’m not sure I even know the questions to ask.  But I do know this.  As my good friend Jennifer White has said in this famous quote generally attributed to Edward Everett Hale, “I can’t do everything, but I can do something.”  The full quote, based on quick research, seems to be this:  “I am only one, but I am…one.  I cannot do everything, but I can do something.  And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

So, what is the something we CAN do?  Perhaps it is communicating with our elected representatives and officials.  Maybe it is volunteering in our public schools.  It could be volunteering with a non-profit to help mitigate poverty and hunger or provide mental health care.  Maybe we could sign up with a non-profit to mentor kids.

And, for those of us who are people of faith, perhaps what we can do is live out our faith in our daily life and living.  Love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.  Love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  Let our speech always be showered with grace.  Offer a cup of cold water in the name of Jesus.  Do to others as we’d like others to do to us.  Go the extra mile.  Forgive others as we have been forgiven.  Do all that we can to live at peace with everyone.

And pray.  Petition the God of the universe.  Be persistent.  And be at peace with His response, whatever it may be.  And while we are praying, maybe we need to offer thanks to God that there are some in this world who will run toward danger in order to eliminate it while the rest of us run from it in safety.

 

Blessings,

Who Are Your Friends?

 

Good morning.

 I had a couple of visitors this week at the office.  Visitors I don’t see very often, but truly enjoy seeing when they are in the area.  We converse, laugh a bit, catch up a little on what’s going on, and generally enjoy being with each other for the brief time and brief visits we share.

Now, one would think that as someone well beyond Medicare years, I’m talking about others in or close to my age group.  But I’m not.  These visitors are both girls…sisters.  One is 12, “Soon to be 13,” as she says, and the other is 10.  They live many states away and only come to Kansas to see grand parents once in a while.  This week was spring break for them, so they made the trip…by air…on their own…to Kansas.

One of the grand parent units works at RiverWalk, so they will often accompany him here to the building for whatever reason while they’re staying with him.  And when they do, they head for the office, appear at my door, come in, plop down in the chairs, and we visit.  Our conversation is nothing important in itself, and they only stay a few minutes.  But those few minutes are golden, at least for me.

To tell you that it does my heart good to see them and visit with them is a great understatement.  My day has just become much brighter following their visit.  I bask in the glow of that visit for days after.  These girls are bright, witty, comfortable in themselves, and seem to have a good handle on what is important in life.  They remind me yet again that not all young people are self-centered, into-themselves drones living in the cyber-world to the exclusion of reality.  They remind me yet again of the importance of inter-generational relationship and communication.  They remind me yet again of the importance of human contact and the value of fostering friendships, especially with people who aren’t at all like me.

I don’t know who watches this video.  I don’t know who you are, and I certainly don’t know who is in your circle of friends and acquaintances.  But I do know some things about friends and friendships, just based on my years of life and living.  It has been said that if a person has four other people who they can truthfully call a friend, that person is blessed.  Many people have no one who they can count as a true friend, and many others have but one or maybe two.  Many don’t even count a spouse or life partner as a friend, which I have great difficulty understanding.

Additionally, it is good to have intergenerational friendships and connections.  Such relationships tend to broaden your view of the world today and promote a better understanding of varying ideological, social, philosophical, and religious viewpoints.  To interact only with people who think like you regarding politics, religion, or societal issues is, in my view, narrow-minded and it inhibits mental and emotional growth.

I only need to remember that these girls who occasionally visit, and who I occasionally hear about via social media, have always known of smart phones and instant, world-wide communication, and that for these girls, 9-11 is a distant historical event.  They’ve never known of a president other than Mr. Trump or Mr. Biden.  They may have heard of Mr. Obama, but aren’t old enough to have much information about him.  Flat-screen TV’s had already been around awhile when the older girl was born.  Truly these young people have a world view that is markedly different from mine.  So, the fact that they seem to want to see me, and I them whenever they’re in town seems all the more remarkable to me.

I can, and do learn from these kinds of relationships.  I think they make me a better person.  I think they help my physical well-being as well as my emotional well-being.  And I think that having relationships such as this benefit society, even if only in a small way.

A suggestion I have for you is to take stock of those with whom you have a relationship.  Who are your true friends?  Who are acquaintances?  Who are those who are of benefit to you and you to them, and who are those who are a detriment to you, and you to them?  Maybe it’s time for you to do some house cleaning, so to speak, turn over a new leaf (as the saying goes), and work at developing and fostering relationships that are mutually beneficial.

This post has no overt Biblical teaching; however, friendships, relationships, and good teaching regarding those subjects permeate Holy Scripture from Genesis through Revelation.  Look for them when you’re doing your daily devotions or study.

 

Blessings…

We Are the Ones

 Over the more recent years, many of us have been participants in social media.  Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or whatever may float one’s boat, many of us take part in one or more of these social get-togethers.  I myself do only Facebook.  I know that platform is quickly becoming an “old person’s” platform, but I don’t care…I’m an old person.  And, I’d rather not have to be conjuring up the different platforms daily to see who I might miss or who may have tried to contact me.  One does nicely for me, thank you.

Yes, I also message on Facebook.  Yes, I text on my phone.  Yes, I email sometimes.  And I even make the occasional audio phone call, surprise, surprise !!  It’s enough for me, and on some days, it’s even a bit too much so I just ignore one or more of them.

Social media has received a lot of vitriol, Congressional investigations, lawsuits, and other assorted criticisms lately.  Some of it, I suppose, is merited.  Some is not, I would think.  Yes, algorithms steer one to places where one may not be edified appropriately.  Yes, children can be especially vulnerable.  I believe, however, that in at least some of these cases, one makes one’s own bed (so to speak) by leading the algorithm, purposely or not, to believe one really wants to see the stuff that’s presented.  And insofar as children are concerned, most kids have parents who are supposed to look out for their welfare, including where they go and what they do online. That old adage of “garbage in…garbage out” certainly applies here. 

YouTube is a great example of that adage.  You want to see police chase videos?  Just click on a couple of them and 138 more will show up on your page waiting for you to click on them.  Want to see old fashioned four-part acappella harmony hymn singing?  Just find a couple of them and click on them.  You’ll get a whole drawer full of similar videos to choose from.  Want to see videos of judges getting angry in a courtroom?  Click on a few and see what happens to your feed.  Like railroad videos?  You know the drill…just click on a few of them and lo and behold, about 353 more show up.

But one of the best things about social media, and I AM talking Facebook here, since that’s the only one of these kinds of things I use, is that one can be in contact with friends and relatives who are physically far away, but on line are as near as one’s phone or laptop.  We have the amazing ability to laugh, cry, celebrate, pray with, be concerned about, and generally take part in a friend or loved-one’s life to the extent that they will allow us to do so through posts, photos, memes, and messages.

I have several Facebook friends and relatives that I will, in all probability, never physically see again in my lifetime.  I cherish those relationships, however, almost as much as those relationships borne out of physical proximity to one-another.  Through social media, I have both given and received comfort, advice, counsel, news, and whatever else that can be transmitted through the written word or photos.  I have walked with dear friends that I hadn’t seen in decades as they bravely fought…then succumbed to terminal illness.  I have received great advice in life and living from those I love through social media.  I have shared celebrations, weddings, children, birthdays, tears of joy as well as sorrow, and a host of other emotions and thoughts through the Internet.  I have followed individuals and families as they moved from one location to another, one job to another, one tragedy to another, one joy to another.

Just as is with anything else, social media is neither right or wrong…neither good or bad.  It just is.  It’s what we do with it…how we use it (or abuse it) that is the thing.  Just like Fentanyl, it can be used for good…for comfort and healing…or for bad…for tragedy and death.  Social media is, in large part, what we make of it, in my humble opinion.

All too often, I think, we blame the thing for our societal ills and ailments rather than blame the ones who make the thing the way it is…ourselves.  We are quick to say, “Not my fault,” and point our ragged fingers at someone or something else rather than take a long, hard look at the part we played in making some thing like Facebook or YouTube what it is.

And while we’re pointing fingers, let’s also understand that we are the ones who have made government dysfunctional, chaotic and deeply in debt.  We are the ones who have made our schools reel under the weight of having to do so much more with our children than teaching the three R’s.  We are the ones who have made relationships with other humans toxic and abusive.  We are the ones who have made our society greedy and self-centered.  And we are the ones who have made our world an often difficult and dangerous place.  Yes, we are the ones.

We are also the ones who can take to heart the universal command to do unto others as we would have others do unto us.  We are the ones who can take to heart the universal command to love one-another.  We are the ones who can take to heart the universal admonition to be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.

The finger is pointing right at you, my friend.  For what reason is it pointing in your direction?

 

Blessings,

Sonya's Story

 I have a friend who I’ll call Sonya.  Sonya and I have known each other for over ten years.  We first met shortly after she got herself clean from dope, exited a safe house to get away from an abuser, and set up her own apartment.  The woman who operated the safe house put me in touch with Sonya because she needed to have some repairs made to her apartment that the landlord wouldn’t do.  At the time, I was doing things like that for people who otherwise couldn’t afford to hire someone, working through people like the safe house woman.

Our friendship continued over these past years as Sonya continued to climb out of the hole she had dug for herself.  She eventually qualified for and found work as a counselor for a recovery center, and continued over the years to come back into the mainstream of society.  She now is buying a home, has transportation, a good job with the county health department, and is helping others who are where she once was.

Sonya contacted me a couple of days ago and asked if I had time to talk.  I immediately called her, and found out that she had been in an auto accident the evening before.  Someone had made a left turn in front of her and ran into the front of her car.  The woman who did this did not have a license to drive, was an illegal immigrant, and didn’t own the car she was driving.  Additionally, the woman who made the turn accused Sonya of speeding when she filled out the police report, rather than taking responsibility for what she had done.

Sonya was devastated.  Her vehicle was totaled.  She needs transportation for her job.  She was in the process of buying the car she was driving…a nicer, newer car she had purchased a couple of years ago.  As is often the case, she owed more on the car than the depreciated value was.  She also tried to rent a car, but none in a price range she could afford were available.

Additionally, although she didn’t present to the emergency room, she was bruised up and sore because the air bags went off in her car and she was shaken up.  She says the soreness isn’t just muscle soreness…that it feels different.  It was a tough day for her all around.

Sonya did have full coverage with a thousand dollars deductible for collision.  And she had a rider on her policy that would pay the difference between what the car was valued at and what she owed.  She did not, however, have rental car insurance as she was unaware of its availability on her policy.

Although the owner of the other vehicle had insurance, that policy would not cover an unlicensed, undocumented driver.  Neither the owner or the driver have any resources to speak of, so Sonya is pretty much on her own using her own insurance as best she can, bruised and sore, missing work to find a rental car she can afford, and now having to look for another vehicle and starting over on paying the loan at an interest rate that is going to be double what the other interest rate was on the car that was totaled.  She has no down payment, nothing to trade in on another car, and will somehow have to come up with the thousand dollar deductible.

The woman at Sonya’s insurance said she couldn’t tell her what to do, but discreetly suggested that Sonya contact an injury attorney, which Sonya said she would do.  She also has seen her medical provider in lieu of going to the emergency room.  Sonya’s insurance has also opened up a personal injury claim for her.

OK, I tell you this story to let you know just how much someone’s actions can affect the life of someone else.  I don’t intend to make this a diatribe on immigration or illegal immigrants.  I readily confess I don’t know what to do, if anything, about that situation.  As I’ve often said about other issues of the day, I don’t know the answers here and don’t even know what questions to ask.  What I do know is that Sonya’s well-being and possibly her health were deeply, negatively affected by this woman who shouldn’t have been here under present law.  Sonya was also deeply negatively affected by someone who allowed the woman to drive his vehicle even though she had no license to drive and was not insured.

Sonya will get through this.  She’s as tough as nails as far as life and living are concerned.  She’s been through it all, and has come out on the other side as a woman who not only has survived, but has thrived.  This incident will not stop her, even though it will slow  her down a bit temporarily.

People, you probably aren’t someone like the woman who hit Sonya’s car.  But, just like her, you need to understand that the things you do affect not only you, but have a ripple effect that touches others in ways you may well never be aware of.  I’ve had a few vehicle accidents in my long driving history.  Some were my fault…some not.  I’ve often thought, especially for those accidents where I was at fault, of the additional work, time, and energy that the person I collided with would have to go through to make things whole again.  Insurance claims.  Car repair.  Rental vehicles.  Time off of work.  The list goes on.

And this effect upon others isn’t just something that happens with auto accidents.  Any time you interact with someone else, you affect their life in some way.  It may be very subtle.  It may not even be noticeable.  But it’s there.  Just be aware of that and act accordingly.  Take to heart the words of Jesus as he counseled us to love our neighbor and to treat others as we would like to be treated.

May your day be blessed.

I Am A Teacher

 Once in a while I have the opportunity to observe or interact with those much, much younger than myself.  We have grand kids…the oldest of whom is 16.  The youngest will be 2 before long.  I also see kids at church, or in the playground at the park behind our house.  I see them in yards playing.  I also see them on television, especially during sports reporting of local high school sports.  We have great nieces and nephews, as well as friends with kids.  So, it isn’t unusual at all for us to interact in some way with some of them.

Sometimes when I’m with kids, or observing kids, I think about what may well be ahead of them in their lifetimes.  None of them know about the black dial telephone hanging on the wall.  None of them know about having to have an operator connect a long distance call for them.  None of them are cognizant of pre-Internet days or cars without air conditioning or seat belts.  None were alive when the Murrah Building was bombed in Oklahoma City or the aircraft rammed the Pentagon and the Twin Towers.  The 1967 Israeli/Egyptian war was distant history.  Viet Nam and the military draft are likewise distant and often faint history.

They weren’t around when the polio vaccine was first introduced or the first heart bypass surgery was performed.  They have no knowledge of the first heart transplant or the first heart/lung machine that was developed to keep someone alive.  And they have that blank look when one mentions the words “iron lung” to them.

What they do know is instant everything.  Phones that do a hundred thousand times more than make phone calls.  Internet everywhere.  Instant information.  Televisions that are bigger, better, and cheaper than anything that was manufactured just a few decades ago.  Cars that drive themselves.  Routine heart, lung, liver, kidney, and other organ transplants.  Vaccines for a host of illnesses.  Work from home.  School from home.

They know, or should know about the rise of China on the world scene.  They should know about Afghanistan and the plight of women and children there.  The European Union, Taiwan, the U.S. Space Force, and a woman of color in the Vice Presidency should be in their knowledge base.

But I don’t dwell on all of this when I’m interacting with or observing kids today.  I know many of them will live to see the year 2100.  Most all of them will see most of the 21^st Century.  What will they see?  What will they experience?  What will be the state of our nation, our government, the world order, the environment, space travel, and the economy?  Will someone have dropped “The Bomb” by then and will have brought to reality MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction)?  Will we have found the secret to fusion to create the energy we will need?  What plants and animals will become extinct in the next 50 to 80 years?

I don’t have answers for any of these things.  But I often persist in asking the questions.  And as a part of this thing I do, I sometimes evaluate my role in all of this.  Do I talk of the “ancient history” of the dial telephone or the iron lung to my grand kids and any others who might listen?  Do I speak of the centuries-long animosity between the Jews and Arabs and how that affects us all?  Am I contributing to the demise of some species of plants and animals?  Am I doing my part to make my part of the world a better place?  Is it even possible for me to have some kind of positive effect on the China/Taiwan situation or the plight of women and children in Afghanistan?  Can I have any positive effect on homelessness or poverty just outside my door in my community?  Am I having that positive effect now?  Or am I coasting along just waiting to check out, leaving it to others?

If you’ll notice, I’ve not said anything of a spiritual nature so far.  But I dare not leave that subject un-addressed.  Because while I am asking these questions, I also think of the spiritual lives of these kids.  What, if anything, are they being exposed to in a spiritual sense?  Are they beginning to understand, at least intellectually, that they aren’t going to live forever?  That some day they will die, and that if the Bible is correct, they will meet their God in an afterlife?  That some of them will die sooner than they ever thought?  Do they know that God loves them, and wants them to freely return that love?

Do they know and heed the Golden Rule, the First and Greatest Commandment and the One that is Like It, and the admonition to be kind to one-another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another?  Have they, or if younger, will they some day take to heart the words of John 3:16?

Will they have the courage to do the right thing, even in the face of criticism or pushback?  Will they deal honestly, speak gently, and live uprightly?

The upcoming generations have a tall order to fill.  In many ways, I’m glad I’m not part of that.  I’ve pretty much done my life and living.  Hopefully, I have some years left, and I know I have work yet to do.  I trust our generations have taught well, led by example, and are leaving a world that will serve them faithfully as they serve others in humility.

May God bless us older folks as we continue to teach the younger, and may He bless those upcoming generations as they assume their place in the creation.

 

Blessings,