Entitlement Trap

 Good morning.

 Most of the time we go about our days, and everything works normally, as planned.  And then there are the other times.  Most of these “other” times are first world issues, I will readily admit.  Even so, sometimes things just seem to be a bit weird.

Case in point.  Yesterday, I went to Wesley hospital to visit a fellow church member who had been there for a day or two.  I know my way around Wesley, and mostly know how to navigate the sometimes complex hallways and buildings that comprise the campus.  So a visit like this was nothing unusual.

I managed to find a parking spot not far from the southeast entrance.  It involved parallel parking, which I practiced long years ago and can still do reasonably well.  I managed to put my little Ranger into the spot and went into the building.  The patient was in building 4, so I made my way to those elevators.

Someone had already pushed the “UP” button, so we just waited for a car to appear on the first floor.  After a minute or so, one became available.  Three of us went into the car.  A woman pushed the “6” button.  A man pushed the “10” button.  I asked for 8 to be pushed, which the woman did for me.  All of the buttons lit up properly.

The door closed, and we started up.  When floor six came, the car stopped.  The door opened, and the woman left.  The car resumed it’s trip up to the eighth floor.  The car stopped, the ‘8” button light went out, and the door opened.  I left the car and went toward the patient rooms.

Looking at the room numbers, I was confused at first.  Room numbers in building four begin with the number of the floor they are on.  The room numbers all began with a 7.  I went to the nurses desk and asked if I was on the 7^th floor instead of the 8^th.  She confirmed.  I told her I know that I thought the elevator had let me off on the wrong floor.  She said that things had been a little strange all day.  The phones went out for awhile.  Her computer was acting up.  I wondered if whatever was happening with other electronic equipment may have affected the elevators as well.

Now, you might tell me that I was just mistaken…that the 7^th floor button was also lit and the elevator just naturally stopped there first before going on up to the eighth floor.  Or perhaps someone was waiting for a car on the 7^th floor and pushed the button on the outside of the elevator.

I will agree that while it’s possible someone on the outside had pushed the button asking for an elevator on the 7^th floor, no one was there to get in when the door opened.  Additionally, the 8^th floor button light went out when the car arrived at the 7^th floor.  And I know that the 7^th floor button inside the elevator was never lit.  Putting two and two together, I will always, I think, believe the elevator car stopped on the 7^th floor, thinking for some reason it was the 8^th floor.

Well, after my visit with the woman at the nurse desk, I wondered if I really wanted to get back into an elevator that didn’t know what floor it was stopping on.  I readily would have taken the stairs if I had known where the stairs were.  I didn’t, however, so I called for an elevator car, got in, pushed the 8^th floor button, and hoped for the best.  This time, it did deliver me to the 8^th floor, and I was able to complete the visit.

The way back down was uneventful.  I was with two other people, both employees.  I figured if they were willing to trust the elevator, I could too.  We made it to the first floor without incident.  Not the 2^nd floor.  Not the basement.  The first floor.

Now, all of this, if one will step back and look at it as I said at the beginning, is a first world issue.  The vast majority of people in the world today have never seen an elevator.  They’ve never been to a hospital such as Wesley.  They don’t have the transportation to get to a hospital even if one is nearby.  They have no money or insurance to pay for health care, even if health care is available, which is a tenuous proposition in many parts of the world.

Yes, I could complain about the elevator not providing me the service I requested.  But doesn’t that seem rather petty when considering the plight of most of the world’s population?  I am reminded of Job in the Bible, how, when everything he owned and had was taken from him in the first chapter of the book, his wealth, his family…all were taken from him…even then he fell to the ground and worshipped the God he served saying, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.  The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

Be careful during those times when you feel like complaining and griping about something that has happened to you that you think was unfair or not deserved.  Falling into the entitlement trap is a dangerous place where you don’t want to be.

 

Blessings,

An Ever-grateful Heart

Good morning.

 I think there comes a time in the lives of most of us, if we live long enough, that we discover that we are gradually falling apart.  We find that we have to see our medical providers more often.  We are going to the dentist more often.  We are taking more pills.  We are more careful about what we eat or drink.  We are more diligent to find time to do some sort of physical exercise.  Mentally and emotionally, we begin to prepare for the inevitable time when we will no longer be functional.  That’s just the way it is, it seems.

It is the very unusual person who has very few if any older age ailments.  Once in a while someone will be featured on social media or the news who, at age 100 ran a 5K race.  Or they climbed some mountain.  Or maybe they still are working at some job that requires physical exertion.  But that’s not the norm.  That’s the, shall we say, abnormal.

Normal is what I described a minute or so ago.  The pills.  The doctor visits.  The exercise regimens.  And so on.

At my stage in life, these things are happening to me as well.  These past few years have consisted of meeting new medical specialists, having some extensive dental work done, working with therapists on chronic aches and pains, and taking more pills than I think I ever have in the past.

Now, don’t misunderstand.  The pill thing isn’t something to be concerned about.  My medical provider knows about each one, and we regularly review whether or not they are needed.  Some of those pills are supplements…vitamins…that my provider has suggested would be good for me to take.  He has made those suggestions because of bloodwork that has come back which was less than very favorable.  It isn’t some thing where I just decide based on some TV or social media ad that I need this or that latest version of what someone is selling.

And I know that teeth don’t last forever, and that implants are sort of the thing now rather than a mouth void of a decent mechanism of chewing up food.  The problem is they’re expensive.  And they take time to bring to completion.  And did I mention that they are expensive?

There are always things that insurance…in my case Medicare…doesn’t cover which would be beneficial and result in a better state of health.  Most of us don’t have millions of dollars squirreled away somewhere, so we have to carefully consider the options and do what we think is best, given the resources we have.  Sometimes, we have to advocate for ourselves…and do so rather vigorously at times…in order to arrive at the place we think we need to be in our health care.  Most folks, I think, don’t do much in terms of self-advocacy.  They pretty much accept what the medical provider says and just goes with it.

I agree that we go to the professionals for advice on how to treat or deal with a certain condition.  However, their advice isn’t always perfect, nor is it always in your best interest, because the provider can’t possibly know all that you know about yourself.  And sometimes a provider will suggest treatment that insurance will pay for, and disregard any treatment not covered by insurance.  But if you dig a little deeper and have the means to pay out of pocket, sometimes a better alternative can be had.  It sometimes pays to ask questions.

We also sometimes listen too intently when a friend tells us some horror tale of a medical procedure or plan gone wrong.  Or we jump on social media and find all sorts of people who have had either wonderful or horrible experiences with some procedure of treatment.

Listen.  Gathering information…good information from reliable sources…is a good thing to do.  We need to have good background information in order to make an informed decision on our care and treatment.  However, hearing about a brother-in-law who had a botched implant procedure because of what he was sure was the fault of the medical professional involved isn’t necessarily productive or helpful in knowing how to best make one’s decision for care and treatment.  Just visiting with the provider, or perhaps getting a second opinion, researching reliable sources, and considering one’s own life and lifestyle are much more productive in making an informed decision.  And that word “informed.”  That’s the key.  Making an informed decision.

I don’t know where you are in life.  You may already be one of those who has more medical appointments than you ever thought possible just a few years ago.  You may be one of those very few who can still run a marathon at age 88 and only take a vitamin pill once a day.  But whatever your lot in life, remember one thing in it all.

A healthy life is a blessing from God.  Good medical and dental professionals and the interventions they can provide are blessings from God.  Old age medical insurance, or any kind of help to pay a medical bill, whether insurance, funds set aside to help those who can’t pay a bill, or any other kind of help is a blessing from God.  Transportation to and from those medical appointments is a blessing from God.  Modern medications that can do wondrous things are a blessing from God.  Modern methods of anesthesia are a blessing from God.  And I could go on and on.

An attitude of thanksgiving and an ever-grateful heart…the best medicine there is.

 

Blessings. 

Looking Back

 Good afternoon, and welcome.  A few days ago, I began looking back over some of the older document files on my home computer.  Some of them are twenty or more years old.  Many of them are letters or notes written to someone.  Some are articles I had written for a church bulletin.  Some are articles that were published in the Hays Daily News back when it was a real newspaper and I was invited to be a guest columnist.  Some are resumés or some kind of work-related document.  It was interesting to go back and read some of the things I had written that many years ago.

I wondered as I was looking through those files if my kids or grand kids would have any interest at all in reading some of that after I have passed away.  After all, one can gain quite an impression of someone else just by reading what they’ve written in the past.  Additionally, pretty much all of my Thursday Thoughts have been saved on the computer as well.  I began these thoughts, I think, at the start of the Covid pandemic in early 2020.  I looked back and found a video from April of 2020.  I believe that was pretty much the beginning.

I started the Thursday Thought as a way to communicate with my friends and relatives, offering what I hoped was encouragement and positivity during a time of shuttered businesses, social distancing and fear of the unknown.  It kind of morphed into an every-Thursday kind of thing that has outlasted the Covid epidemic, a presidential election, and a lot of change in the international geo-political scene.

I’ve done thoughts on many topics…topics that have run the gamut from strictly faith-based to an overview of my week leading up to Thursday.  And this thought is sort of unique in that I am looking back over the past five or more years, and even farther when speaking about re-reading some of what I had written a couple of decades ago.

One thing I saw, but DIDN’T look at was a resumé that I compiled those decades past.  I intentionally didn’t look at it because even the thought of having to go out and find a job now is one of those giant UGH thoughts.  I think I’d rather have a wood splinter under my finger nail for a few days than to have to look for work.  Even looking at an old resumé would bring back thoughts and emotions that I don’t need right now.

Yes, I have a job right now.  I’ve had this one since 2012.  I coordinate many of the administrative functions at our church.  I have an office.  I have a computer.  I have a desk.  There is an office manager who answers the phone and the door among about a million other duties.  I plan Bible classes.  I prepare classes and once in a while a sermon.  I read.  I study.  I visit members.  I do all those things and more.

However, often it doesn’t seem like a job.  Mostly it’s more like, “OK, I get to do this today.  Let’s see where this goes.”  My hours are generally when the office is open.  However, if I need a half day for something, I can take that half-day.  If I want to leave early, I can do that.  I can set a medical or other appointment pretty much at will.

I get a stipend for what I do, and that’s enough.  The benefits far outweigh any lack of pay.  I’m not sitting home wondering why the clock hands don’t move more quickly.  I’m not letting my brain turn into mush because of lack of use.  I can interact with others on a regular basis.  And, I can be of service to others.  I can be  useful.  I can do my part to make this corner of the world a little better for my having been here.

Later today, I’ll leave the office and go visit a member at their home.  I don’t do this every day, but it’s not an unusual thing for me to do either.  Earlier today I started coordinating some help for an older member to move out of a larger house into a smaller apartment.  Tomorrow, I’ll order some pizza to be delivered Sunday for a meeting we’re having following our services.  I’d also like to visit a member couple this weekend…the husband has Lou Gehrig’s disease and has been having some increased physical difficulty recently.

These kinds of things I don’t look at as work.  They are ways…sometimes very small ways…I can be of help…be of service…help ease the load of someone else.

So, yes, I have a job, to go back a few minutes.  But it’s one for which no resumé is needed…nor wanted.  I’ll keep the resumé file.  Maybe my kids would like to look at it sometime.  But I have no interest right now in reviewing it.  It can remain unopened.

Thanks for coming with me in this thought today.  May God bless you this day.  And may you see and express your thanks for those blessings.