God Provides

 Good morning!

 Tomorrow, I have a dental appointment.  I had been to the dentist a few days ago for a routine cleaning and checkup.  Of course, they found something in the checkup.  I have a tooth that has decay under it’s crown.  That means they’ll have to remove the crown and take a better look at it to determine treatment.

Treatment could consist of removing the decay and replacing the crown, a root canal, or possibly extraction and implant.  Of course, I’m hoping for the most conservative of these…the removal and replacement of the crown without the root canal or the extraction.  I don’t know yet what he will decide to do.

Most people don’t like to see the dentist.  I get it.  I have I don’t know how many root canals and crowns.  I also have two implants.

I’ve been seeing the dentist ever since I was about 9 years old.  Back then we had an older gentleman in town who did dentistry.  We didn’t have much money and dental insurance wasn’t a thing.  So I only saw him when absolutely necessary.

I won’t tell the entire story, but one of my front teeth got broken back then.  We went to this dentist to try to get something that would work for me.  He evidently didn’t do the porcelain-infused metal crowns, so tried to put a giant filling on it.  Of course, it wasn’t at all permanent, and I had to regularly go back to have it re-glued.

Each time he did that, he’d grind on my tooth without anesthetic, telling me it didn’t hurt.  But it did.  I’d about come out of the chair.  Finally at age 12 I was taken to a dentist out of town who did modern crowns, and he fixed me up with one that worked, and used anesthetic as well.  I had that one replaced 12 years later with one I still have.  That one is over 50 years old.

So, I get my distaste for dentistry honestly.

Of course, dentists now use all manner of aids to lessen the stress and discomfort.  However, I still get that turning in my stomach whenever the time for the appointment approaches.  And during the procedure, often there are sounds of grinding or other noises that, although they don’t bring discomfort, still they tend to create images of what may be going on inside my mouth.

So there’s that tomorrow.  Hopefully, something will go right and I’ll be able to be back in business in a very short time.  However, if extraction is called for, I can do that too.  I’ll ask for a referral to the oral surgeon who did the other two extractions a couple of years ago.  He’ll also be the one to set up the implant.  He did a great job.  Very little discomfort.  Very little complication.

But in the event I’m laid up for the day, I’m doing this Thursday Thought on Wednesday and am making it public right away.  So at least you’ll know.

In other news, we’ve had to curtail our non-member benevolence recently due to funding.  In June and earlier this month, need was greater than we’ve ever seen before.  Utility bills were the primary driver of the need.

We do our best to “tithe” or set aside ten percent of our donations for non-member benevolence.  We far exceeded that by the first week in July in this budget year, so we’ve had to not only cut back, but just eliminate that service for a time until the budget catches up with the actual expenses.

I don’t like to have to do this.  I realize the need.  I get the fact that there are many homes in Wichita who have no electric service or water service because of non-payment.  And I get that it’s hot out there…that many times there are children living in the house, or perhaps an elderly person or someone with medical equipment of some kind.

I go back to my friend Jennifer White when I think of this.  “We can’t do everything,” she says, “But we can do something.”  We can’t fix all the ills of the world, or even the ills of those who come to our door or call our phone number at the church.  But we can do something.  We can do what we can do…we can use what God gives us.  I believe we are doing that to the best of our ability right now.

We’ve not stopped all benevolence.  We have members of the church who are in need who we are helping right now.  The needs of our members are not subject to the suspension.  We’re doing what we can right now with what we have.  And prayer is a very necessary part of this.  We pray for wisdom.  We pray for circumstance and situation.  We pray for guidance.  And God provides.

 Thanks for listening.

Blessings.

This Week

 Good morning.

 This week has been rather long and sometimes rather intense.  We’ve had to curtail our non-member benevolence for awhile because of so many who have needed help, and we just don’t have the funds in the budget for now, so I’ve had to explain to many over the past couple of weeks that we could not provide them with help with an electric bill or put gas into their vehicle.  Sometimes the conversations were relatively short, but sometimes the person wanted to talk, knowing we couldn’t help them.  They wanted to tell their story to someone who would listen.  And so we put aside what we were working on and just listened, asking pertinent questions at times to help fill in the gaps.

Additionally, we’re working with a couple of women, one of whom is a member and one who knows several in the congregation from past encounters.  Each of these women has sustained deep trauma.  Each has endured extreme emotional and mental pain…and sometimes physical pain.  Yet the ways we can help are very limited because we are not mental health professionals.  We are not counselors.  We don’t operate safe houses or provide long term child care.

I’ve told you before, but will say it again, “We can’t do everything, but we can do something.”  We do what we can with the resources we’ve been given.  One of the resources that we have lots of is time.  We can listen.  We can pray.  We can validate their humanness, treating them with dignity and respect.  And we’ve done all of that with these women…multiple times over.

Trauma doesn’t disappear overnight.  It’s a long, slow, bumpy, and sometimes scary road to take.  Yet these women and countless others we have no knowledge of are traveling that road in some way, shape or form.  Their courage and strength are incredible.  We’re just here to do what we can to keep them on the road and try to encourage them to move ahead.  They are the ones having to do the heavy lifting.

Some do it better than others.  Some fall off the road and have to find their way back.  Some stop in the middle of the road, frozen in fear or doubt.  Others are the encouragers, encouraging themselves even as they continue to encourage others on the road to recovery.  Most of them by far are women.  I have no doubt that men have much the same issues; however, they seem to be more reluctant to both admit it and seek the help they need.  And I think…my opinion, now…it is at least some of these men…men who refuse to get the help they need, who then traumatize, or further traumatize a woman already suffering trauma, by abusing, neglecting, or physically harming that woman.

On a more positive note, tomorrow is Friday.  I normally don’t work at the office on Fridays and tomorrow is no exception.  I plan to go to central Kansas with son Michael and grand Sterling to see the Big Boy Union Pacific steam engine as it makes its way across Kansas.  It will stop in Wilson for about 30 minutes, giving us and everyone else who shows up the opportunity to get a close-up view of the behemoth.

Steam engines are notoriously inefficient and consume lots of fuel, water, and man-hours of maintenance and care.  It is easy to see why diesel engines replaced the steam engines.  However, there is a certain nostalgia and wonder when it comes to those machines.  Their sheer size, noise, and power are a sight to behold and experience.  Especially for those of us who remember steam engines on daily runs pulling trains of cars, it’s a time of remembering and appreciating the day.

The Big Boy is the largest steam engine in the world, I believe, that is operational.  Union Pacific is passionate about its steam program and has another operational engine, the 844 “Living Legend.”  Considered the fastest steam locomotive in the world, it was delivered to the UP in 1944 and has never been retired from service.  The railroad sends these engines along with a car makeup regularly along its lines as roving ambassadors for the railroad.  It seems quite a success as there is a lot of time, energy, and money devoted to these trips.

So, we’ll be doing that tomorrow, the Lord willing.  I know it is forecast to be hot, but with the Big Boy around, it will be even hotter close up to the engine.  And it should be a good day.

Thank you for staying with me these years as I continue this video thought on most Thursdays.  I know I may sound like a broken record sometimes, but that is because I talk about life and living from my perspective…from my world view.  Everyone has a different way to see things, and I’m just giving you mine.  I respect yours, but have my own just as you do.  That’s what makes the world an interesting (to say the least) place.

Thanks again for listening.

 Blessings

Think About That

 Good morning.

 It is the unusual day at work when I do NOT have a request to be seen for some kind of benevolence.  Those requests come usually on the phone, but sometimes the one needing help comes to the building and asks to meet with me for a few minutes.  As you may already know, I work with the benevolence ministry at the church, among other responsibilities.

Sometimes, we are able to provide some kind of help for a need.  Other times the need is beyond what we are able to work with.  Or it could be that what we have to offer is not what they have need of.

Regardless of whether we are able to help or not, I always try to engage in conversation, asking about their current situation.  I try to keep the conversation centered on them, encouraging them to talk about both the difficulties they face as well as some of the better parts of their daily lives.  Most people usually respond positively to the conversation, and several have thanked me for just listening, even when we couldn’t help them in a material way.

One commonality I have noticed over the years in the lives of these people is the incredible difficulties they have in just getting through the day or week.  Living on the edge requires hard, difficult work.  It is physically, mentally, and emotionally draining.  It is complicated.  It is demanding.

Accessing whatever services that may be provided can be a mountain to climb rather than a molehill to step over.  They have to fill out forms…mostly online now…ask for an appointment time with a caseworker…and somehow find transportation to and from the appointment.  They may eventually be approved.  They may be denied.  They may need additional information that they don’t have readily available…a birth certificate, a government ID or the like.

They are put on waiting lists.  They stand in lines.  They have multiple needs and multiple issues to address.  They may have children who need constant supervision.  They need to find food, deal with a landlord who won’t fix the plumbing, enroll the kids in school and somehow find clothing and school supplies for them, obtain diapers and formula for an infant, and not miss a court date on the protection from abuse order they want issued to an ex.  And in the middle of all of this, they are expected to stand in line, spend hours on the hold on the phone, and navigate the sometimes incredibly complex world of government and even non-profit services.  I am amazed at the resilience of many of these people.

I was recently visiting with an immigration attorney in Wichita.  I asked her if she could quantify in just a few words the state and status of immigration in the nation.  She looked at me for a second, then she said three words.  “Confusing,” “complicated,” and “exhausting.”  I have no idea what it is like to work with immigration issues and the fact that the law is in many respects anything but clear and concise, but I do know that besides those descriptors, if someone uses legal services, it’s also expensive.  My guess is that relatively few who need an attorney can actually afford one at the standard rates.

If  you are living a life of relative comfort…if you don’t have to stand in line, waiting to see a caseworker…if you have food in your house adequate for your needs…if you have decent transportation, a roof over your head that doesn’t leak, Tylenol on the shelf for your minor aches and pains, plumbing that works as it should, transportation to get you to the doctor and supermarket, and clothing that is clean, you need to drop to your knees and thank God for the blessings.

And as soon as you get off your knees, determine what you may be able to do to make someone else’s day a little better.  What you may be able to do to make your corner of the world a little brighter and pleasant.  What you may be able to do to ease someone’s burden just a little.

And don’t let a judgmental attitude take over your thoughts when you see someone who is unhoused, someone driving an old, beat-up car, an older man on a bicycle with a wagon attached that has all of his worldly belongings on it, or someone who is using a food card to get groceries.  There but for the grace of God, that person could be you.

And understand that word “grace.”  A better way to say that sentence would be, “There but for the totally free and unmerited favor of God, favor that has nothing to do with who you are or what you’ve done, but rather was given you by God’s choice and pleasure, that person could be you.”  In other words, you did nothing…you could do nothing…to earn or deserve God’s favor.  You’re no more or no less “special” in God’s eyes than the homeless woman on the street corner who is asking for your loose change.

Think about that this week.

Blessings,

We're Back

 Good morning, and welcome!

 Well, we’re back.  We took a week off and traveled to Illinois for our annual Plank reunion last week.  The reunion is a three-day event at a camp and retreat center in northern Illinois operated by the Mennonite Church.  We’ve been “reunion-ing” for several decades now, and have been going to this particular place for the past several years.  The camp is spread out over about 280 acres, with a large pond (or small lake if you prefer), activities for the kids, things for adults to do, a nice pool, gymnasium, and motel-style accommodations.

Twenty eight of us were in attendance this year, which is fewer than normal.  If we all show up, there are upwards of fifty of us.  Seldom, however, in the decades past, has that happened.  Usually we’re about thirty five or so.  The camp provides buffet meals, clean sheets, and plenty of places to gather and just visit.

Decades ago, following the passing of our parents, the six of us siblings decided we would do everything within our power to maintain the family relationship, including nieces, nephews, grand kids, in-laws, out-laws, and those who just sort of hang on to and around the family.  We’ve been rather successful at it, I believe.

We seldom lack for something to talk about or visit about, and we seldom, if ever talk of politics or religion.  We will at times harken back to our roots in the Mennonite church, singing songs from that era or otherwise visiting about those times.  However, we are a very diverse lot nowadays, both in faith and in politics, so we stay away from those topics.

On our way to Illinois, the wife and I stopped in Branson for a couple of days.  We’ve been there several times before, and sort of know our way around.  We stay in a hotel just a block or so from the old downtown, so we usually don’t have to travel the strip much or get caught in traffic.

We perused the old downtown…the Five & Dime, the quilt shop, a restaurant, and some other places of interest.  We also walked the Branson Landing, not buying anything there.  We toured the Butterfly Palace…the second time we’ve been there…and attended a showing of “David” at the Sight & Sound Theater.

I always leave that theater…we’ve seen several shows there…wondering how they accomplished some of the special effects that we saw.  This time it was the waterfalls on stage as well as the animatronic Goliath who was slain by David the shepherd boy.  One of these days, I’d like to get a back-stage view, but I also know that won’t happen anytime soon.

One evening, we ate at an Italian restaurant off of the strip.  The place was recommended by my brother as a good place to eat.  We went in and were seated within just a few minutes, even though they were busy.  Our waiter got our drink order and brought them for us.  We then ordered our meals and waited.  While waiting, I happened to look down the aisle at another table a couple of tables away.  I saw a waiter kneeling in the aisle beside the table, holding two meals…one in each hand.  He was motionless…just there with the meals.  I had no clue what he was doing there.  I wondered if he had dropped something, or if he may not have been feeling well.  As I watched, he just remained there in that pose.

I then looked at the couple at the table.  They were praying.  The waiter had evidently come to the table at or close to the time the couple began praying, so he knelt beside the table with the meals, participating, I believe, with the prayer, then served the meals when they were finished.

In all my years, I’ve never seen such a thing.  I’ve seen wait people just not approach a table where prayer was going on, or quietly serve, refilling drinks, etc.  But never have I seen a wait person participate in a prayer time in a restaurant like that.  To say I was impressed is a gross understatement.

All in all, it was a good week away from the routine, and a time of refreshing family relationships.  We’re back, now, in the routine of life…washing dishes, going to work, cooking, cleaning, taking care of family business, and all the other things that make up life now.

I trust your summer is going well.  May God continue to shine his grace upon you as you navigate these next days in your life.

 Blessings.