The Fall Garden

If I’m going to do it, I had better get it done soon.  What’s that?  My fall patio garden, that’s what.  I’m about 10 days past what I think is the ideal time to start a fall garden, but I’m hoping that if I can get it going today, I can still have some fall spinach, radish, and other assorted crops that I grow in my bag of Miracle Gro.

I don’t know why I’ve been putting it off so.  I enjoy doing it.  It’s just, I guess, that I haven’t had the opportunity to go by and get a bag of soil and seed.  But that should change today as I will whiz right by the garden center on my way to/from an appointment that I need to keep.  Now, if I can only remember to stop…

Do you catch yourself forgetting things that you really want to remember?  Or do you find yourself writing more notes to yourself or putting more things on your reminder phone calendar?  As you get older, are you finding it more difficult to remember where you’ve put something?  “It will be in the last place that you look, dear.”

Something seems to happen to our “rememberers” as we age.  They just don’t work quite as well, apparently, unless we’re trying to recall something that happened 40 years ago.  Then they work quite well.  It’s almost as if they want to go back to the past and live there when the body that they’re in is definitely living in the present.

I think, though, that having those kinds of issues with memory as we age is a blessing compared with those who suffer the effects of dementia of some kind.  There is something organic…something basic that causes some of us to pretty much not be there anymore.  Folks with dementia present in different ways, but the end result is often the same.  Dementia is one of the most hideous ailments known because it takes away the personhood of the individual and replaces it with a body that has no apparent soul.

On a spiritual level, I haven’t a clue whether the person is “still there” or not in cases of severe dementia.  No one has ever been cured of the illness to be able to tell us what happens during the period of dementia.  Do we perceive, but cannot respond appropriately?  Do we not perceive anything?  Is there any logical functional process during this time?  Or are we “not there,” as it seems to those on the outside?  No one knows.

So while I’m flustered by not being able to remember where I put those keys, I am grateful that at least for now, I have the “normal” forgetfulness of aging and not the beginnings of dementia.  That may come later…who knows.  Until then, I’ll do my best to remember to stop at the garden center to pick up my bag of soil and see if they have any seed packets left so I can get in that fall garden this year.

Revel In His Majesty

This time of the year, I like to go out and see what is flying around the flower beds and other flora in the yard.  We don’t have a lot of that kind of thing.  We have a small, mixed annual flower bed in the front, some rose bushes, a fish pond with some assorted plant life growing around it, and a few bushes that flower.  But the wildlife that comes around seems rather amazing to me.

I’ve seen several kinds of butter lies and also dragonflies.  I don’t know much about either species.  I just know they are beautiful to look at and can do some amazing acrobatics as they flit from flower to flower and plant to plant.  Nor do I know where they come from.  Maybe they come from the park behind our place.  Maybe they fly in from the neighbors.  Or maybe they are migrating somehow from one place to another far, far away.  I just don’t know.

What I do know is that there is an incredible diversity in animal life, whether butterflies or mammals or bacteria.  I know that each has a place in the ecosystem, and each has a job to do.  And I know that each was placed where it was by Someone who knew what he was doing when he designed things many eons ago.

You might try going out into your yard one day and just look around to see what you can see.  How many different kinds of grass and weeds are growing in your yard?  What do you see flying around?  Turn over a rock and see what’s under it.  Dig a shovel of dirt and look through it.  How many colors of flowers do you see?  What about those things that are flying around your porch light at night?  How many different kinds of them are there?  Do you see any spiders?  Toads?  Lizards?  Snakes?  They’re there…if you look.

Find some niche places in your yard and plant some things that attract butterflies, birds, insects, or other animal life.  The area doesn’t have to be large; nor does it have to be intensively cultivated, fertilized, etc.  Plant some milkweed and watch for the monarchs as they migrate. Plant some butterfly bushes, trumpet vines, or other eye-catching flora.

Set out a hummingbird feeder.  Feed the other birds in the winter when food is scarce.  You’ll see cardinals, juncos, and other winter birds flock to the feeder.  Buy a good bird identification guide and use it.  If you’re a photographer, get a camera with a long zoom and maybe an inexpensive tripod and take photos.  Use a free program on your PC or tablet to fix and enhance those photos, including cropping.  You can get some marvelous shots that way.

But above all, find some way to enjoy God’s creative glory.  Whatever you do and however you do it, revel in the majesty that is His for us to enjoy.

We Are Called

I went to the hospital first thing this morning before I stopped in at the office.  A member had been admitted for observation the evening before, and I told him I would be stopping by.  As I was walking the hall from the parking garage, I passed a younger woman.  She smiled at me and said “Good morning.”  I smiled at her and returned the greeting.  It’s a little unusual for a younger woman to greet an older man she doesn’t know in a mostly deserted hall.  Most of the time, everyone looks straight ahead and goes on.

As I got into the elevator, an older woman got in with me.  As we were going up, we exchanged pleasantries, again, somewhat unusual.  I could tell from what she said that she was a “veteran” of the hospital and knew her way around.  I could only surmise that a friend or relative had some kind of chronic issue that mandated her familiarity with the hospital.  As she exited the car on her floor, she said, “Have a good one.”  Normally, I wouldn’t think much of this phrase, but coming from her and what I presumed was a life that as of now revolved around a hospital and an illness, it was indeed unusual.

There was a third incident.  No words were exchanged.  But it was “interesting”, nevertheless.  As I went down the hall toward the room, I met up with one of those floor cleaners that the operator rides on as it goes down the hall. The cleaner puts down a small amount of water, scrubs the floor, then vacs up the remaining liquid.  The operator was running the cleaner as close to the wall as he could, but there was about a four inch space that he couldn’t get with the machine.

To solve that problem, the operator, who was riding on the machine, had a wet mop in his hand that was closest to the wall, and was dragging the mop over that four inch space behind the machine.  A novel way, to be sure, to clean that small area (if not necessarily the best way).

Normally, I don’t see much when I visit a hospital that evokes comment from me.  But all three of these incidents stuck in my mind as I processed the morning and my visit.  Someone I didn’t know, and who possibly was having a very eventful day wishing me a good morning.  One wishing me a good day when they possibly could be having a very tough day.  And one ingenious guy finding a better way (at least in his mind) to do things.

These people have made my day.  They don’t know that, but they did.  And hopefully, I can make someone’s day today (and every day) just by being friendly, civil, or courteous.  I’ll never know it either, but it’s certainly worth the effort.

Jesus told us to be salt and light.  We normally think of that as some kind of big missionary effort or some big service project.  But for the most part, being salt and light in this world can well be a smile, a greeting, or even the putting into practice of a thought or idea.  It doesn’t have to be world-shattering.  It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. And it doesn’t have to affect 10,000 people.  One person can easily make a difference in the life of another.  And THAT is what we are called to do.

Living Without Fear

We’re getting ready for a vacation later on this summer.  Already, I am becoming a little nervous about it all, even though we are going somewhere that I chose and pretty much planned the schedule.  I get mild anxiety whenever there is anything that happens that is a little out of the ordinary for me, and this is no exception.

I think many people get a tinge of the anxiety when new things or things not in the ordinary come along.  Most of us can function just fine.  We go on and do what we need to do and no one knows otherwise.

But some of us have anxiety that disables us and makes us non-functional.  We break out in sweats.  We get chest pains.  And we become literally paralyzed.

Why is that?  Well, if I knew the answer to that, I’d probably be richer than Bill Gates.  But I don’t, and I’m not.  The fact is, I don’t think anyone really knows the root causes of anxiety, whether mild or severe.  Fear of the unknown, fear of what might happen, fear of failing and other fears may well come into play.  Of course, there can be organic causes of the ailment as well.  Who knows?

What I do know is that in the Bible, Jesus told us to not fear several times that have been recorded for us, and probably many more that haven’t been written down.  The concept of living without fear is a big one in the Christian faith.  Yet it is, I fear (there we go again) it is one of the most difficult of things to do.

So, if you’re one of those who can hide his anxiety and carry on with life, good for you.  If you’re one of those who becomes paralyzed by anxiety, don’t feel like you’ve failed yet again; rather, continue searching for ways to cope with the syndrome in your life.

And, this may seem like a platitude, but hear me out.  Whatever your anxiety level, you can truly cast your cares onto the One who can deal with them all.  If not in this life…then in the one to come.  And you WILL indeed live without fear.

The Little Things

A couple of days ago, I ventured in to the park that is behind our home.  Now, that normally isn’t a big deal, but this was in the evening, and there were several reasons why it may have been unusual.  First, we’ve had lots of rain and the mosquito numbers are enormous.  Second, because we’ve had lots of rain, there’s lots of mud in the paths of the park, which is a nature park of woods, native grasses, etc…not a park like children play in.  Third, the creek that runs through the park was flooding due to heavy rains.  So it was a bit unusual.  In fact, I saw no one else in the park.  I probably was pretty much on my own.  My purpose was o check out the swollen creek, so I sprayed on lots of DEET, put on some old shoes, and went in.

I did view the creek.  It wasn’t out of its banks where I viewed it, but the channel there was about 12 feet deep, and the creek had risen to within a couple of feet of the top of the channel.  Normally, it’s just a relative trickle in the bottom of the channel.  But it’s the other things I found that made the trek sort of special.

As I looked around, I took notice of several small things that were around me.  A snail no more than an inch long at the edge of the path happily munching on dinner.  Small, flowering plants with delicate flowers nestled alongside native grasses.  One flower no bigger than a dime had a bug on it munching away.  The bug had to have been no larger than a small peppercorn.  Pathways in the woods that seemed to be especially lit in the evening sun.  Hundreds and hundreds of some kind of moth that evidently liked the cedar trees.

That walk in the park was a good lesson for me to notice the small things in life.  All too often (and you know where this is going), we are looking for the stupendous…the colossal…the out-of-this-world.  We fail to notice the delicate…the fragile…the slight.

It’s the same in how we live.  We crave the highs in life.  We look longingly for the next buzz.  We move quickly toward the stimulating.  We don’t appreciate the little things that are all around us and are what makes life worth living.

Little things, like a bug on a flower in the woods.  Little things, like decently clean air to breathe.  Little things, like not having to wonder where our next meal will come from.  Little things, like the unconditional love of a close friend, relative, or spouse.  Little things.

It’s the small things in life that come our way every minute of the day that make life what it is for us.  To an extent, we have control over what some of those little things are.  But many are those that are just there…placed there by a loving God who knows that it’s the little things that make life whole and good.

More Important Things

Well, it appears that the rain has stopped…at least for a time.  It’s cloudy out and cool.  Much too cool for May 30, 2015.  But that’s the way it is and we can’t change it even if we wanted to do so.

Which brings me to the topic of the day.  Suppose we could change that outdoor thermostat.  Suppose it was there, out there on a power pole somewhere, and we could just go up to it and select “heat” or “cool” or turn it up or down.  Can you just imagine the fights, screams, and outright inhuman behavior that would result?

We’d have gangs protecting the “territory” around the thermostat so no one else could get to it.  We’d have to have a federal agency to promulgate regulations so we didn’t get things too warm or too cold.  We’d have controlled access, but by whom would be an open question.  Some would like it warmer.  Others are having hot flashes and want it cooler.  And who knows what some folks would like.

Control of the outdoor thermostat would be of greater importance than what’s going on in Iraq.  Control of the outdoor thermostat would take precedence over a promotion at work or going on vacation.  Control the outdoor thermostat…and you control the world.  It’s mind-boggling to even think about it.

Someone would sell “time” with the thermostat.  For $1,000 you could set the thermostat to whatever you wanted for an hour.  And then there would be apps on your phone that would track what the thermostat was set on, who set it, and when it is supposed to be changed.  Someone would try to hack into the controls and bollix things up.

Then there would the lawsuits that would come when someone turned it too high or too low and plants froze or someone died of heatstroke.  It would be a litigation nightmare and a gold mine for lawyers.

Yes, it would definitely bring out the worst in folks.  And quickly.  I’ve often thought about what society would be like if for even a couple of days there was nothing on grocery shelves.  Or no gas in the fuel outlets.  Or electricity in the wires and lines.  Or there is no water in the faucets or natural gas in the pipes.  Just how benevolent and kind would we be toward one-another, and just how much (and how quickly) would we revert to the “everyone for himself” attitude?

We’re just a few hours away from chaos in society.  We’ve seen it in the blackouts that used to happen with some regularity.  We’ve seen it in disasters that have befallen cities and states.  We’ve seen the best; we’ve certainly also seen the worst.

I don’t know that I ever want to see what really happens.  But I do know that there are things much more important than whether there is food on the shelves and water in the pipes.  And we would do well to “think on these things,” as the Good Book says.

We Are Here

Some years ago, I would have occasion to drive through a suburban area of Wichita, Kansas City, or even smaller communities like Salina, Great Bend, or Hays.  As I drove through and saw all the newer homes, fescue lawns, and three car garages, I always thought I would never, ever have a home like that; nor would I want one.  We lived in rural areas for most of our married life, and I was raised in a small town.  I couldn’t fathom living some place where one had to drive more than a mile or so to go to anyplace one wanted to go…bank, grocery, hardware store, work, school.

And the fescue lawns were not for me.  Always they needed fertilizer, mowing, weeding, watering, attention.  Bermuda grass was my preference.  I won’t even start on the three car garages that I thought of as a symbol of excess and waste.

God evidently has a sense of humor, because we now live in a suburban area of the largest city in Kansas.  We have the fescue lawn, large garage, and there is nothing within a mile of our home that we can drive to and take care of some kind of business.  The grocery is four miles.  The bank is the same.  Work is 10 and 15 miles respectively, for me and for my wife.  Even the grandkids live about 6 miles away from us…more than half way from Harper, where we used to live, to Anthony, our nearest community neighbor.

I don’t know quite what to make of all of this.  I certainly don’t feel like a “genteel suburbanite,” but I have to play the game.  We don’t annoy the neighbors.  We maintain a respectable “distance.”  We cut our grass weekly and water it regularly.  We don’t keep junk in the yard.  Even our garbage can is stored inside the garage so it doesn’t show.  The house doesn’t need paint.  The bushes are trimmed.  I attack the dandelions regularly with the 2-4D.  And I keep the weeds out of the cracks of the drive with Roundup ™.

One thing I do know is that we are where our Father wants us at this time and in this place.  If He wanted us somewhere else, we’d be there.  So while we are here, and I haven’t a clue how long that will be, we’ll make the best of it even if I have to become somewhat more “genteel” than I sometimes have been.