thoughts on the news of the day: faith healing

hmmm…..

            An infant girl’s eye was threatened with blindness because her parents did not seek medical treatment.  They believed that time and God would make a golf ball sized bump on her forehead go away.  Their daughter, Alyna, now 1 year-old was taken out of the home and to the doctor for medical treatment for a hemangioma, an abnormal buildup of blood vessels. The toddler remains in the state’s custody but is still living at home with her parents, who were charged with first degree criminal mistreatment.  The trial began yesterday in Oregon City, OR.

            Trusting God for healing is a risky place to be – especially if we trust God exclusively.  When my daughter was about 3 years old, she had this bad habit of taking her shoes off.  While we were washing my car one Saturday morning, she managed to step on a piece of glass which became imbedded in her heal.  Her foot was bleeding and I was in a panic.  Trying to calm her (and myself) down, I told her to blow on the sole of her foot and send it Love.  We said a little prayer as I rushed home to decide what to do next.  In a matter of minutes, when we arrived in my driveway, I looked at her heel and the cut was completely gone.  She was miraculously healed.  True story.

            I wish that I could tell my parishioners to send their illnesses Love and that they, too, would always be miraculously healed.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen that way, at least it doesn’t happen that way very often.  God heals and sometimes God uses doctors and medical treatment to cure our illnesses.  And sometimes God chooses a different kind of healing for us – the healing that comes in peace and acceptance.   Sometimes even that doesn’t help much, but it’s the best we’ve got this side of heaven.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: mason

hmmm…..

            There are so many stories out there of victims and victories following the tornadoes that have hit much of our southern United States over the past few weeks.  One I love is about a dog named Mason.  He was swept away during the storm that hit Alabama and his owners looked everywhere for him, fearing the worst.  But sure enough, Mason turned up on the owner’s doorstep a few days later, somewhat worse for the wear, living and breathing and ready to resume life with his family.

            He is just a dog, but he has lessons to teach us.  What would compel a dog with two broken legs to crawl back to his home?  Do we have the same stamina and the where with all to stick to the vision that we have for ourselves, our families and our world?

            Where did the dog find the courage to make such a journey?  We will probably never know, but wouldn’t it be nice to discover the reason?  We could just pass it off as the instinct of a dumb animal.  But the question is, are our instincts as strong – to persevere in times of seemingly hopeless causes? Could we continue on to our goal in spite of tremendous physical pain?  Or would it stop us in our tracks?  Why would a dog perform such an impossible task?

            The virtues that come to mind are loyalty and love.  Do we have that kind of loyalty to our home, our family, our job, our church?  And do we love them enough to make that loyalty come first in our lives?

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: courage and strength

May 25, 2011

hmmm…..

            “What’s important to me is my family, the rest is just stuff,” was the comment of a victim of the Joplin tornado that hit last Sunday night.  That’s an amazing thing to say when all of your belongings have been swept away by wild winds.  Oh, sure, it’s easy for those of us who calmly sit in our cozy untouched homes to take the spiritual high road, “It’s all just stuff”.  But is another thing entirely to say it when all has been lost, probably never to be recovered.  Courage and strength is what is required to overcome so devastating a loss.

            A member of the staff at our church discovered yesterday that she has a second bout with cancer to face.  It’s easy for those of us who are unscathed by cancer to try and comfort her with the words, “It will be OK.”  But we don’t really know that.  Courage and strength is what is required to face this devastating disease.

             A recent widow in our congregation and her children are planning the memorial service for their loved one.  Pictures for the DVD display have to be found.  Hymns need to be picked and flowers chosen.  It’s easy for us who aren’t facing life without a dear loved one to say, “I know how you feel; even though we really don’t. Courage and strength is what is required to move through this difficult and painful time. 

            Courage and strength is what is required for each of these folks. My prayer is that God will grant them both.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: oprah

hmmm…..

            Yesterday was Oprah’s last show.  Her finale followed two days of partying with phenomenal celebrities from all areas of the arts.  The final show was different, though.  In a complete break from her usual interview style, Oprah stood center stage and shared her thoughts about her 25 year career as the host of the Oprah Winfrey Show.  It was like Joyce Myers, Beth Moore and Joel Osteen all rolled into one. Oh wait, those are religious leaders!  Was Oprah preaching yesterday? Well, maybe to the choir, but we didn’t care.

            She definitely used the “God” word.  She said that a great team and Jesus were the two reasons for her success.  She gave God all the glory at the end of the show.  Two pretty “preacher-ly” notions if you ask me.  But most of the show was more of a spiritual nature than a religious one.  There were many concepts that she covered and one that struck me as profound was the idea of our being “worthy” which she said is different than being “deserving”.  They are very close in definition but worthy means valuable or precious; deserving means admirable or commendable.  Deserve has to do with earning something and worthy just is. 

            I guess that’s about grace.  We are all worthy in God’s eyes.  No matter what we do or have done, no matter where we go from here, we are worthy of God’s love.  Oprah may be gone.  Someday she may even be forgotten.  But God’s love and acceptance will never die.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: smells

hmmm…..

            There is a small town in California that is suffering from a horrible stench from a neighboring landfill.  Turns out that Mecca, California is not such a Mecca after all.  School children have suffered from nosebleeds, stomach aches and headaches because of the strong odor that seems to be coming from a waste facility about two miles from the school.  The problem is a sticky one because the facility is on tribal lands and authority to do much about it is cloudy.

            We have our own odor problems at our church.  For several years now, on random Sunday mornings, we have come into the sanctuary to the smell of rotten eggs.  The odor is not there all the time, it comes and goes.  One expert determined it was because of damp, moldy vents in our concrete floor, so we filled in the vents and installed a new heating and cooling system.  It wasn’t cheap, but we were expecting it to solve the problem.  Unfortunately, the smell came back, almost stronger than ever.   Resolving the problem has been the top priority for our Building and Grounds Committee, but the smell continues to baffle us.  I have jokingly said that perhaps it is an evil spirit and we need an exorcist!

            Smells can’t be seen; they can’t be heard and can’t be touched. Like the spirit, they waft in and out of our lives.  So once again, as smells come and go, we are reminded of how much is out of our reach, out of our control.  And once again, we lean on our Maker to make it all right.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: baggage

hmmm…..

            A member of our church who travels quite a bit talks about her dream vacation.  It would be a trip beginning in a vehicle and she would pack nothing ahead of time—you know just jump in the car and go.  Everything for the journey including clothes, toiletries and other needs would be bought as needed at the local Wal-mart or wherever a store could be found.  No worries, no cares, no encumbrances, just a trip to a destination that hasn’t been determined.

            I was thinking that’s how it is when we die.  We take nothing with us – not even a toothbrush.  We are on a journey to a place we haven’t been before but it is a destination nonetheless.  It’s been on my mind today because another member of our congregation passed away last night after a brief illness.  He was a backpacker and loved to go on trips where he could explore nature.  There are lovely photos of his trips arranged on the walls of his home.  I am almost certain that he always packed light.  He would love the metaphor of a journey without even a toothbrush as our way to heaven.

            What would you pack for a trip to heaven?  Would you take along the memories of loved ones and their affection for you?  Would you bring courage and stamina for what might be a long journey?  Would faith and hope be packed into your spiritual tote bag?             

            What would you take along with you?

            hmmm.....

           

           

thoughts on the news of the day: volcanoes

hmmm…..

            Looks like the volcano in Iceland has erupted again.  The event sent a plume of smoke, steam and ash into the air as high as 12 miles.  An air traffic controller said that the Keflavik airport was closed early this morning and no flights were landing or taking off.  The plume covers Iceland but doesn’t seem to be heading toward Europe.

            Remember when this happened in April of last year? I have a friend whose trip to London with her husband was cancelled because of it.  After five days of clogging air space, the volcano finally subsided, the air cleared and air travel to Europe was restored.  My friend’s vacation was delayed but not cancelled.

            Do you remember a time when you thought a problem was resolved, only to find it crop up again?  Health problems, relationship problems, money problems are not always solved the first time.  They reappear like ashy volcanoes in Iceland.  So what do we do about that?

            We have choices.  We can pretend or forget that the problem never happened the first time.   We can ignore it the second time.  Or we can look at the circumstances and see if we can determine why the situation has occurred again.  I think the third choice is best.  Facing our problems squarely and honesty results in the best outcome most nearly all the time. 

            Volcanoes erupt in our lives, sometimes over and over again.  That doesn’t mean we have failed, it just means we have more to learn.

            hmmm…..