Saturday, January 31, 2009

Real Dads of the Darker Nation Part II

Warning -- this is not going to be pleasant.  


There are dads out there who are nothing more than 20th and 21st century Johnny Appleseeds.  They spread their seeds wherever they go, many of them sprouting.  While these sprouts get some kind of nourishment, they get very little nurturing from their male planters.  The Johnny Appleseed types don't stick around to provide nurturing, and contribute little to the sprouts' nourishment, hence the need for motions for contempt in family courts across the nation.  


Many of the little sprouts, despite their lack of proper attention from their dads, grow to be not just big and strong, but mature, responsibile, compassionate, caring and considerate adults -- like the 44th POTUS.  Other sprouts grow to be big and strong too, but they become drug dealers and/or abusers of drugs, their women, children, and anyone unfortunate to cross their paths, oftentimes perpetuating the abusive behaviors of whomever planted their seeds.  


And then there are those who are chameleons, taking on whatever persona suits them at the moment.  These are the ones we should all stay away from.  They are very dangerous, and any contact with them can be lethal.  One minute they can be the most righteous, holier-than-thou, Bible thumping, first-row-in-the-sanctuary-sitting, always-shouting and raising holy hands men, all the while wondering why no one else feels what they feel, and grieving over the seeds they planted that grew into those who are the exact opposite of the 44th POTUS.  The next minute they can be as cold, dispassionate, uncaring, and sociopathetic as any rightfully convicted serial-killer-death-row inmate.  They can parasitically suck one's resources of every kind and character dry, lay waste to lives and think nothing of it, even as they counsel others, employing Biblical principals to help them live theirs better.


Dealing with the first two "dad" types -- the 44th POTUS and the exact counterparts of same, is no big deal.  Why?  Because, basically, WYSIWYG is the catch phrase of the day for them:  what you see is what you get.  But beware of the third "dad" type -- the chameleon.   You will never know what persona he will take.  What you will learn, however, is that no matter how wrong he is about any situation, everyone under the sun will be to blame -- but never him.  He will break the law and try to justify it.  He will lie to the courts and hide behind some duped or duplicitous or just plain old greedy lawyer.   But take heart:  as my dad (see Real Dads of the Darker Nation Part 1) was known for saying -- 

  • time will tell
  • you might get by but you won't get away

So a word to all the chameleon types of the world:  your time is coming.


    

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Good Shepherd?

You know the Bible story, don't you?   A man, on his way from Jerusalem, traveling on a road to Jericho, is beset upon, robbed, beaten, stripped of his clothing and left half dead.   A priest and a Levite, rather than stop and render aid, pass him by on the other side of the road.  Along comes a Samaritan -- you know -- a not-so-desirable person -- who sees to the needs of the victim.  What of the priest?   The Levite?  Well, you know, some folks just don't merit their attention.


Fast-forward to the 21st century.  A woman in distress, concerned for her family, attempts to seek help from a local church.  She's not asking for a handout.  She doesn't want money.  She is asking for counsel for her family.  She feels justified in contacting this church because her family is part of that congregation.  No messages are acknowledged.  No calls are returned.   No responses to her urgent letters materialize.    She takes it one step farther and writes directly to the shepherd of the flock.  Again, no response.  


Yet, there he is, entering the sanctuary amidst a raucous noise that substitutes for real music.   In the preferred seating section are local celebrities, just behind the shepherd's row.  For a fleeting second the woman sees a glimpse of her family among the congregants as she watches on her laptop.    There he is again, standing in front of his congregation, speaking a word of prosperity in the New Year, blah, blah, blah.  Folks are in a frenzy, running down the aisles, laying offerings on the steps leading to the platform.  Watchers via the internet are encouraged to text/e-mail/tweet their prayer requests.  Whoop-de-doo.   The new year comes in the middle of the shepherd's prayer asking God to do everything (as usual):   heal the sick, visit the prisons, mend broken hearts, broken homes, broken marriages, do this, do that ad nausem.  The shepherd of the flock is escorted away, his entourage swarming like flies on a fresh corpse.   "A corpse" thinks the woman:  "a perfect way to describe my family."


The woman has a final thought:  why are they protecting the shepherd?  Isn't he supposed to protect the flock?   Doesn't it matter that one has gone astray?  Obviously note.  But it matters to Jesus.   


Back then -- and now -- they all matter to Jesus.   Thank God He didn't send a priest, a Levite, or a 21st century shepherd of a flock so well-numbered that he is sequestered from them.   Unless we are rich, famous or both, we would all be going to hell with no chance of redemption.  


God, help me to remember that You are the Creator of us all, and that You love all of us as much as You love any one of us, and each of us as if there is only one to love.

P.S.  Thank you for my shepherd.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Broken But Not Broke

There are so many ways to be broken -- spiritually, mentally, physically, financially, emotionally, politically, and the list goes on.   When you contemplate your existence, do you think in terms of the positive aspects or the negatives aspects -- or both?  And if both which do you think of first? Or do you do a "this is okay, but that really stinks" kind of back-and-forth thing?  Or worse, do you compare yourself with someone else?  You know -- "I'm in this hole but her situation is so much worse."  Come on folks -- you know very well of what I speak.  


We can all talk about the stuff of life.  It happens to all of us.   We all have our ups and downs.  Some days are better than others.   But generally there's a cycle:  we're either about to go into a conflict, we're in a conflict, or we're coming out of a conflict.  (For those of you who don't like the word "conflict," just pick one that makes you feel better about it.  Whatever word you decide to use will not change the outcome of the cycle.)


While for some of us the path is pretty well laid out straight and flat, others live on roller-coasters.  I think about a little girl I know.  Well, she was a little girl at one time in her life, and grew into a fairly decent young woman.  Despite the many challenges of childhood, the ugliness of public school and the cruelty of many of her peers, she graduated from high school (with honors), went straight to a respected university (with an academic scholarship), graduated in four years, went to work thereafter, continued the next layer of her education with a graduate degree, and a few years ago married an angel whom God kicked out of heaven just for her.   Of course, even the straightest, flattest path can have some bumps in the road, but even those did not break her.  She now devotes her career to kids whose paths have been neither straight, flat or smooth.   


That young woman's mother's path has been remarkably different.   Although a fairly good student, no scholarships paved her way to college.  Blessed with a modicum of talent, a measure of intelligence and a few skills, she has had three distinctly different careers, each ending by no choice of hers.   As has gone her professional life, so has gone her personal life.  Bruised and broken by an orphan disease for which comparatively little research is done, the prejudice of a system that denied her what she rightfully earned, the early loss of father and father figures, the realization that relationships intended to be permanent more often than not are only temporary -- or sometimes just wispy ideas that are never intended (by the other party thereto) to be tangibly realized, and the fluctuation of her ability to be self-sustaining, are just a few factors that might cause others to want to end their own lives.     


(Speaking of folks who want to end their own lives, let's digress for a moment from this woman of modest means.   Recent news reports are fraught with accountings of wealthy folks committing suicide.   What's up with that?   Society places so much importance on wealth.  The problem is, society's only measure of wealth seems to be one's accumulation of money.  Many mistakenly believe that money is the answer to every problem.  News flash:  NOT SO!!!  It is truly unfortunate because there are folks who think that their money makes them more desirable that others, better than others, more entitled than others, blah, blah blah.  There are even bigger fools who think that spending their time with monied folks somehow translates into them being better, more desirable, more entitled, blah, blah blah.)    


Okay -- back to the mother:  During a period of unrest, transition and uncertainty in this older woman's life, in a matter of days she lost the one whom she had thought would be a lifetime mate, and she lost one whom she thought was a dear friend.    Having long accepted that no one lives forever, had these folks for whom she cares deeply actually died, the pain would not have been seemingly unbearable, and instead of a myriad of questions -- espcecially the "whys" -- she would have had a measure of peace.  Needless to say these folks are still living and breathing and going on as if they just took out the day's trash.  After days of tormenting unrest, anguish, and ugliness, the woman found peace.


I asked this woman how it is that the uncertainty of her future, the loss of her husband and friend, and her present inability to sustain herself have not driven her over the edge.  She admitted to me that just at the moment when she felt most broken, she found peace.  Her situation did not change, but she saw it from a different perspective.  "And then" she tells me, "I had the pleasure of seeing my daughter, who can be so wise beyond her years, and who reminded me that even now God knows what I'm going through, and that He has always kept me and will continue to do so."   


Unlike the so-called wealthy, this woman, who for a season is broken mentally, emotionally, physically and financially by failed relationships, lost business opportunities, an orphan disease, and the prejudicially biased rulings of federal administrative judges, is not broke.  She is wealthy far beyond the measure of any of this world's wealth.   Not once has she thought of giving up on life because she is financially challenged.  And unlike the wealthy who have lost millions and are still millionaires (or billionaires), for this woman there is still much too much month at the end of the money.  Even so, she is rich with the overflowing love of the Giver of Life.  It is because of Him that she gets up everyday and works at whatever tasks are put before her.  It may be that because of him or her, husband (especially him) or friend, that her way to others may seem bleak, but it is because of Him that she can sing "His Eye is on the Sparrow" and truly mean it.  The true capital of her life does not start with a dollar sign, but with a G, an S and an H.  For God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, her Creator, her Savior and her Guide protect her, sustain her and guide her, especially when she is broken.   But because of her God in three persons, she is truly wealthy and never, never broke.


Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever.  Amen.  (Jude 1:24)

Soli Deo gloria.