2006
“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…” and so on goes the Bing Crosby song. I’m not even dreaming of a white Christmas, but I’d like to see one. I do like to dream though. One of my favorite pastimes is lying in the bed between snoozes in the morning and storing my dreams. That way, I don’t forget them so quickly. I do, at times, retrieve them later because they help me understand some of the things that are going on in my life. Dreams help me put things together or see things that I might not otherwise have seen.
The Bible promises that in last days “old men will dream dreams and young men will see visions.” (Joel 2:28) I hope our dreams are more than phantoms in the night or visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads. As much as I try, I usually don’t get many messages from the phantoms of the night.
The kind of dreams we need this Christmas and for the New Year are those that lead to concrete action. Perhaps we need to retreat to the shower or to the woods or to our favorite chair (without the television.) and take some time to dream about what we would like to become in the New Year. Reflect on them. Write them down, so that they do not flee like the night dreams; like those we no longer remember after our feet hit the floor. And, with our minds fully engaged, clothe them with action and prayer.
When Hospice of Marshall County moved into Shepherds Cove, we gave thanks for dreams and visions that became reality through faith and sheer labor. We gave thanks to those who had labored. Had, however, there been no dream, there would have been no reality. Some dreams come with great work. Some, God gives in the stillness of the night. Which ones is He calling you to bring to fruition? Did the men of wisdom of old have a dream that allowed a star to lead them to Christ? -tony
The longer I live the more I hear the malice some people feel toward others. Right, they have been hurt: Sometimes by acts of neglect, other times by deliberate acts designed to hurt.
A friend of mine has often complained about the fact that the Islamic faith does not have a philosophy of forgiveness. Christianity, he says, does. This notion of forgiveness is lived out in the life of Christ, who died that we might fully realize the forgiving nature of God. Since we all live under grace, we ought to pass on that grace to others. Frequently we don’t do that.
All too often old hurts are kind of like a toothache. We rub our tongues over the aching tooth to create pain that feels so good. Too often do we hear, “I know I ought not to say his, but I have to get it out of my system every now and then.” Perhaps it’s time to get our old hurts and pains out of our system once and for all by forgiving and moving on. Easy? No. But, with God’s grace, it is possible.
The other day my daily devotional contained this verse from I Peter 2:1: “Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation -- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
As we give thanks for God’s good gifts, may we also give thanks that he has held no malice toward us. May we hold no malice toward one another. -tony
OCTOBER 2006
I like the fall with the changing of colors, but I will miss the lush greens of the spring and early summer. Isn't it amazing how God has so wonderfully made us to appreciate the changes of His world.
Some predict a winter like winter last, with very little very cold weather and insufficient rain to replenish the water tables. Some say that we are experiencing climate change. What that bodes for the future is certainly unknown. Yet, the world is always changing. You and I are always changing, whether we're settling deeper into despair or reaching out to others and giving care to ourselves.
We tease about Alabama weather that if you don't like it today, just wait until tomorrow for it will change. It seems that the only constant is change. We generally don't like change too much. Some say the alternative to change is death, but even in death, things are changing.
Even God repented his anger toward the world, yet we can be sure in a world of change that His love is constant. Whatever happens to the weather, the climate, or in the course of our lives, we have a Friend who is forever true. I can be glad of that, even if I don't like giving up Daylight Savings Time for the winter.
SEPTEMBER 2006
I ran into a group here at the office the other day who was talking about forgiveness – or the absence thereof. We discussed forgiveness and how difficult it is sometimes to forgive a great hurt – especially if there is betrayal involved.
I talk a lot about forgiveness: accepting God’s forgiveness of ourselves; the audacity of our not forgiving our neighbors or ourselves if God has forgiven. (Just who do we think we are in all of our sinfulness not to forgive ourselves if God in all of his holiness and might has forgiven us? Are we greater than God is? Just who do we think we are in all of our sinfulness not to forgive those who have wronged us if God in all of his holiness and might has forgiven them? Are we greater than God is?)
After all, on a more practical side, who is carrying the load of our failure to forgive and bitterness? The one whom we fail to forgive is not carrying the load and weight of the hurt; we are carrying it.
One whom we sometimes need to forgive when we have experienced great hurt or loss is God. God doesn’t need our forgiveness, but we need to forgive God. Sometimes when tragedy has wracked our lives, we hold God accountable with the question, “How could God allow this to happen to one… so young… so good… in the prime of life… with so much promise?” We are not great like God. We cannot see his reasons. So that we don’t go through our lives holding a grudge against God, we need to forgive Him. It’s hard. It’s hard to forgive Him for millions of children who die in Sub-Sahara Africa each year, for bloodshed that kills millions, for those who hate.
The basic truth we learned with that early table grace is true: “God is great. God is good.” Those two facts about God seem sometimes to be in conflict. We have to forgive Him because He cannot be understood. We need to forgive Him because He loved us so much He gave that which was dearest to Him. -tony
AUGUST 2006
Isn’t this weather dry! I had a little surgery, and I can’t carry water to some of my plants, so they appear to be dying. I’m going to have to get a longer water hose, I reckon. It is amazing how quickly things dry up when we have just a few ninety-five degree days. We have some plants on the front porch that don’t get any rain even when it comes, so they always have to be watered. We used to water them about every other day, but now they require it daily.
Sometimes we go through “dry times” in our souls. Crises, simply getting too busy and stressed out, all sorts of things can come between us and the source of our soul strength. Like the plants that need water, we too need a constant watering and feeding of our spirits and bodies, else we become dried up and numb, if not actually dead.
I allowed my mums, last fall, to go too long without watering. I watered them in their pots, but the water ran through. The soil had become so hardened it would not take the water. I finally revived them by submerging the pots in a large pail and allowing the soil to soften. Regular watering would have prevented that.
The Psalmist says, “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.”
Like the Psalmist, I believe we need regular watering and refreshing by the spirit of God. Take some time away from all the things to allow him to bathe your soul in the peace that only he can give. Someone else said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Are we getting our filling regularly, or do we need to set aside a time to be submerged for a while? -tony
JULY 2006
Not necessarily a devotional note, but important notes to and about our Hospice of Marshall County volunteer chaplains.
To the HMC chaplains: Thank you for all you do and are willing to do for the patients and families of HMC.
About the HMC chaplains: There is a good assortment of you. What is important is what the chaplains do with and for the patients. One of our chaplains who had recently been trained was assigned to his first patient. He came back by the hospice office to report on his visit. He said that he prayed and prepared to go and minister to the patient and that family. Instead, he was blessed and ministered to.
For the most part, those patients who say that they would like a chaplain to call on them say they want someone to pray with them. Some say they simply want company, and they tend to trust HMC chaplains to visit. Our chaplains do those things. They also listen. They hear the hurts, fears, and regrets. They hear life stories of triumph and accomplishment. They hear of the disappointments that life has offered. They are blessed by stories of faith in the face of adversity as well as in the pure joy that life is capable of offering. They provide through the Bible and their personal experience the living Word of God that offers hope and comfort in life’s most critical and tragic time. Through that same Word, they assist patients to accept the outreached hand of God that welcomes them home. They offer words of comfort, and more important, an understanding ear, to families in crisis. They are inspired by the faith and hope as well as the simple intestinal fortitude of our patients and their families.
We are proud of the work you do. May your tribe increase. We need more of you, especially in the Etowah county and Arab areas. If you think you might like to be a part of our volunteer team, please contact me or Karen Denton at the HMC office, our number is 256-891-7724 or 1-888-334-9336. Volunteers, does your pastor need to see this request? -tony
JUNE 2006
These little bits don’t always take in the season, as they should. I missed Mother’s Day in May. Father’s Day, of course, comes up in June. Both of those days reflect life in the family.
One of our church leaders scolded us clergy in his last weekly e-mail. He reminded us that we could hold our families in too high a place. I guess he is right. I have always put a high priority on my family. I recall that most members of my great aunt’s family left the church she preached in. She was always away in revivals or some other kinds of meetings when they were growing up. Her husband had an affair and they were divorced. Of course, all of that was not her fault (or was it?). My Bible tells me that family is very important.
Two of the Ten Commandments deal directly with the right to a stable family relationship: “You shall not commit adultery” and “Honor your father and mother.” Of course, families break up despite those words that surely reflect the will of God.
One reason for the existence of the hospice movement was that folk thought that families were important to the sick and dying and should be near them. It sometimes seems odd that those who might be drawing closer at such times may be growing apart. Everyone wants (I choose to believe this.) what is best for the patient, but everyone cannot decide what that is. It is sad to see families pull apart in such times of crisis, but it happens. There is so much stress that even the best tempers may flare. Sometimes, even in the midst of disagreements, whether over care or any other issue, we need reminders of how much we love each other and how much we might miss one if that one were no longer with us.
Those on the inside need to realize that the things that connect are stronger than the things that pull apart. In so doing, they must forgive. Those on the outside need to see the hurt and the stress, and in so doing, they must be gentle. -tony
Rhonda Osborne forwarded me an e-mail of some Bible verses some months ago. I followed up and subscribed to the service. Along with the Upper Room devotional, it makes for good reading. One day as I read the Bible verse e-mail, I discovered that I could also subscribe to the joke of the day. Now, every day I receive by e-mail Bible verses and a few jokes. I don’t always get around to reading them, but they are there for me.
I am convinced that a big problem in our world is a lack of good humor. I picked up the following quote the other day: "A sense of humor can help you overlook the unattractive, tolerate the unpleasant, cope with the unexpected, and smile through the unbearable.” [Moshe Waldoks, Rabbi and Humorist]
It is amazing to me to discover the laughter of some of the patients served by Hospice of Marshall County. It would seem that knowing that the best prognosis of their physicians say that their death is near might be so sobering that there might be no room for joy, but not always so. True, humor can be used to hide fear and nervousness, but there is a joy that comes from within that is actually healing. Norman Cousins, when diagnosed with a crippling disease, rented video tapes of comedies so he could laugh out loud. It got him out of the bed and on his feet again.
Little wonder then, that the writer of Proverbs says: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” [17:22] and, “A cheerful look brings joy to the heart.” [15:30]. As we deal with persons in pain, we might be careful how we try to cheer, but we want to be bringers of joy and hope rather than doom and gloom. -tony
APRIL 2006
I suggested to my wife that we not feed the stray cat that appeared on our deck. It was a rainy night and the cat did appear hungry. My wife insisted that she call my daughter to bring cat food over to feed it. I was able to veto that idea by telling her that we could give the cat buttermilk to tide it over until morning. A shelter had to be provided as well.
I guess you may know the next part of the story. We have spent, thus far, over sixty dollars on the darned animal. We made an appointment for a spay, but that is another part of the story. A couple of days before the due date for the spaying, the cat turned up appearing to have had a run in with a Mack truck. We carefully put her to bed and watched over her, offering her whatever she might eat. (We didn’t want this stray, mind you.) She finally ate, and then, on the night before the spaying appointment, she left again.
Food goes out every day. Occasionally the food is eaten. Last night she showed up with a broken tail and other signs of having met that truck again. We failed to get her in a pet carrier. She was gone again this morning. If I can catch her, we will take her back to the vet. We are concerned about her condition. This is a cat that obviously wasn’t wanted somewhere, and I certainly didn’t want it. It chased our dog until they chased each other. We named it freckles, though it is a dark cat with light spots. (“Selk cerf” might be a better name.)
I think about how much we think of and want to care for this stray that we agreed that we didn’t want. Then, I think of how much more God cares for me, whom he did want and whom he created. We come and go. We are less than faithful. We are a drain on the spiritual economy. He cares for us non-the-less. Ain’t that Good News! -tony
When I was in high school (I won’t say how long that has been exactly, but we’ve had our forty-fifth class reunion.), my American history teacher prognosticated about many things. One of the things he said was that if man continued to cut the trees in the jungles of South America certain things would happen as a result. The trees are being cut and the jungles cleared. Things are happening.
I will not debate causes, but the ice caps are melting in the Arctic and the Antarctic. Things are changing. The warming of the oceans and the rising of the sea levels may mean some drastic changes in the nature of weather, even climate. However, things are always changing.
It is not that things ought to stay the same, but that we must be grounded in a solid foundation if we are to weather the changes. Traditions that have been around for centuries are changing. It leaves a disconcerting feeling among many people, and more disconcerting than changing climate are changing values.
Sometimes we are forced to reexamine our own values amid the change. The Apostle Paul tells us to, “Hold fast to the truth.” Frequently, people remind me that they are even unsure of what is true anymore. Perhaps a bolder statement is “Hold fast to the One that is true.” Being settled in the One whose love for us never ends is a source of strength when all else is unsettled. Storms are going to come, and things may get worse, but One who is greater than us is still in charge. We can be confident that “Nothing in all creation can separate us from His love.” (Romans 8:38, 39) -tony
I picked up a book at our Annual (Church) Conference last June entitled The Simple Life. I can’t recall the authors. It was on the dollar table. I started reading it, and then it got misplaced. I discovered it again last week. It is divided into short chapters that make good devotional reading.
There is a chapter on “Effort” that called me to an awareness of where most of us put our effort. So much of the time effort is expended in doing the urgent. The urgent is so urgent that we sometimes forget the important. Someone wrote another little book, The Tyranny of the Urgent, a few years ago. It too called my attention to how we get sidetracked from the important by the urgent.
Our relationships with family are important. Our relationship with God is important. The need to earn a living is urgent. The need to respond to the situation around us is urgent. The need to do is urgent. The need to be is important.
Some of the patients of Hospice of Marshall County have learned that the urgent is no longer so urgent. They begin to concentrate on the important. People tell me that they have been too busy (dealing with the urgent) that they have not taken time to deal with the important. Relationships with God, which are important, become urgent. Relationships with family or friends, which are important, become urgent. In our urgency to do the important, we find that some relationships cannot be developed in a hurry.
It is a wise thing to deal with the important before it becomes urgent. Take time now, away from the urgent, to talk with God, to see the wonder in nature and all of life, to mend broken relationships, to begin to live life to the fullest.
The Psalmists tells us to “be still and know that I am God.” Sometimes we also need to be still and know ourselves and to know those whom we love. Take time today away from the urgent and get down to the important. -tony
Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? I’m never sure about them. Usually, by January 5, I’ve already broken mine. The most effective resolutions I make are those that come, say, on July 5 after I have eaten far too much on the 4th. Those I can frequently keep for a month or more, or until we make another freezer of ice cream. One thing I have discovered about resolutions is that they are kept better when there is a partner.
(My son-in-law and I walked three times a week for about a year. When he had to have knee surgery, I lost my partner, and stopped walking. I have had a lot of false starts since then, but I don’t do too well alone. Old habits die hard.)
Sometimes, though, in the middle of the night, I come under conviction about something. I don’t mean when my stomach is too full or I’ve eaten the wrong foods. Sometimes in my prayer life, when I am listening, I realize that there is something going on in my life that shouldn’t be. Sometimes I remember weeks after it happened – or perhaps just the day before – that I have done something that was just selfish or offensive to someone. I can really get down on myself.
It’s in those times that I have to remember that I am not bound by what I did yesterday or last year. I am not bound by, “that’s the way I’ve always done it”. However, I am contrary about changing some things that may need to be changed.
Aren’t you glad that everyday is a new day? New Year’s Day is only one day away from New Year’s Eve. Today is only one day away from yesterday. And, Christians believe, because of what we celebrate at Christmas (and Good Friday and Easter), each day is a day for beginning again. You know, when we allow Him to be, Jesus is a great partner. -tony