Saturday, December 27, 2008

Angel, Party of 2, Your Table Is Now Available

Hebrews is a curious little book in the Bible. No one knows for sure who wrote it. It obviously was written to those who were raised as Jews, but it does not address one city group like Phillipians or Galatians. Among other things, it focuses on how Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, functions in light of the law of Moses. At the end of the book, there's a bunch of random topics all jumbled together. In the NIV, they group it under "Concluding Exhortations." The second one (verse 2, imagine that) says, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." Whoever the author is, he just blurts it out. He doesn't bother to explain what that means, which leaves the reader to take it at face value or to dust off some commentary, if they have one, to see if this involves kosher food or if a table at Denny's will do.

Entertaining angels without knowing it is a startling thought! How incredible!

Now, I'm not saying we should go out and invite just anyone into our homes or such. I do believe that we should be open to what God can do, including His sending angels to convey special messages or work in special ways toward the good of us and others. It may not always come as we expect. In fact, the verse implies just the opposite; we don't expect angels in our midst. Maybe we should.

Some folks get a little obsessed over angels. They weird me out. They wear angel pins and collect books and videos about angelic appearances. They're into angel-ology, if there is such a term, and go for apochryphal teachings and such. It's almost as if they worship them instead of the One Who made them. Every account of angels in the Bible seems to indicate that angels are extremely careful that all honor and glory is directed at God, not them.

To me, angels are a cool perq that comes with having faith in God. Whenever the situation calls for one, I'm sure God will send one my way. Although, I'm not sure that I want to be in any situation where an angel is the first choice! I would much rather have an angel to dinner than need one to keep my car from rolling off a cliff, like my dad did. Regardless, God's promise to His children is clear:
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone
I know that God will protect me--using angels or any other instrument. I know that His perfect hand will cover me in season and out of season. I don't need to worry about my future. I don't need to have a plan B in case this God-thing doesn't work out. My life over the past 5 years has been one amazing rollercoaster ride that has convinced me once and for all that God exists, that He loves me, and that He can be trusted with everything I can or could control, and everything beyond my power to control. He gets all the glory!

Further stuff (& no fluff):

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Giving A Shortcut

We live in an amazing technological age! We sit and relax with ever-smaller digital players that reproduce anything that can be heard. We walk through our daily lives with Star Trek-ian communicators that all but beam us up. We drive with hand-sized computers that tell us where to turn right or left.

One of those direction finders like the "give-a-give-a-give-a-Garmin" was on my list to get for my wife. Yes, it's a wow-eee, whiz-bang kind of techy gift that has me written all over it, but my reasons for giving it were pure. Well, not pure, but right-hearted. See, I don't drive as much as I used to because of the different medications I'm on for my disability and I have trouble not acting as a backseat driver. They only put one steering wheel in a car and for some reason, yielding control of it is not something that comes naturally for me. I tend to tell my wife what to do, what lane to be in, and so on. I'm not always diplomatic about it. I thought that having a Garmin in the car would get me to shut up and keep me from arguing with my wife.

All that fell down today. My wife and I were discussing what presents we had money left for. The voice of previous experience began to speak to me, saying that if I was really going to get a "mid-ticket" item like a Garmin, I would have to determine if that really was what she wanted. The only way to do so was to "unveil" early. To my surprise, my wife declined, even when I gave her my back-seat driver explanation. She told me that the world has all sorts of shortcuts to work around building trust and relationship. She didn't want to go that way.

Proverbs 19:14 says,
Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers,
But a prudent wife is from the LORD.
Thank you, God, for such a wise mate as Karen! Slippers and fuzzy socks say much more with much less money. Amazing how she knows where she's going.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

My Favorite Christmas Carol

It's hard to believe that Christmas Eve is only a week away. Yikes! Where did the time go?

Last night, I read Tabitha's Travels aloud to my family. Afterward, my beautiful wife, Karen, asked what everyone's favorite Christmas carol was. The Little Drummer Boy was mentioned, as was Breath of Heaven and Emmanuel. Strangely, The 12 Days of Christmas wasn't even mentioned. I said that while I liked Silent Night as a little kid, O Holy Night had the most meaning for me.

It's origins are from early 19th century France. I really like Nat King Cole's version of it (listen free on last.fm). I appreciate the historical irony that the third verse of the carol is explicitly abolitionist. Had that part of the carol not been fulfilled, it's likely Nat's version would never have been recorded.

The strength of the song to me is that we how we all suffer the weight and needfulness of sin and how the birth of Jesus breaks the effects of sin like the sunrise breaks the darkness of night. The supreme contrast of the King of all kings lying in a lowly animal trough, the praise rightly due Him and the beauty of the Nativity all fit into the song. The music is serene and yet powerful. It can fill the largest church or the smallest spaces.

Like all good songs, I have a specific memory tied to this music. One night, my dad and I were driving through Denver, close to Christmas. As the homes decked with lights rolled past, I asked my dad what his favorite carol was. When he told me, we started singing it. Two deep baritones sang a capella in our family Jeep. Forgive the notion, but it was a very sweet experience.

Here are the full lyrics to O Holy Night:

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
Please comment in with your favorite carol, if you'd like.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Disablogger Post

I just put a post up on Disablogger titled Dark Humor And Blue Vests. Go check it out.

Dark Humor And Blue Vests

Last weekend, we were at Wal-Mart.

That should say it all. Less than two weeks from Christmas, going to a major retailer in suburbia, especially the blue and white scourge, can be is an exercise in frustration. The handicapped spaces are all occupied. The electric carts are all checked out and when you do happen to find one coming available, the battery is practically dead. So, instead of whistling alongside other shoppers, you're creeping along like the lady on the cell phone in the right lane with her left blinker on. Everybody else wants to pass you but they're afraid to try.

This last weekend, we had no choice. We had to go that day, and we were not alone. At Target, we found a scooter, but it was dead. Not to be deterred, my wife walked behind me and "assisted" the scooter. When we got to Wal-Mart, all the scooters still functioning were out and the blue vests weren't about to let my wife push from behind. They feared liability. I hate that.

They radioed the other entrance and they said they were bringing one from there. Not a problem, except that when it arrived, it was a wheelchair with a tray. I'm 350 lbs. There's no way I'm going to fit inside a standard wheelchair seat. I obliged a try, but I could tell that if I continued to force myself into that chair, I would need a small army to pull me out.

So after waiting for ten minutes or so, a scooter came back in, limping and puttering. I allowed the officious blue vests to--I'm not kidding--turn the scooter around for me so I could drive it back inside the store from the entryway. As we made our way through the store, we bumped into the greeter who had brought the wheelchair.

"I'm so glad you found one!" she said.

"Yeah, so am I!" I told her. Then, with an air of confidentiality, I said, "By the way, you might want to check on an elderly lady on the floor on aisle 5. I think she's okay, but I had to push her out to get the scooter."

Her face registered a look of disbelief then horror. I told her I was joking, of course, and she resumed breathing. We all shared a laugh over my little joke and it made it worth the wait.

Frustration with your situation or your disability can really be a bummer. But if you can loosen things up with a little humor, dark or otherwise, it makes life lighter and maybe a bit easier to handle.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Searching For A Diagnosis, Searching For Hope

If you have chronic pain like I do, you know that doctors look for a physical cause, some test or some sign that gives them the basis for a diagnosis. They refer, they suggest, they offer possibilities, but they don't diagnose without concrete proof. In the meantime, the patient waits for months or more likely years, suffering the symptoms without bonafide relief from the pain.

My own undiagnosed pain went on for years. One doctor would look at the degeneration in my back and say that I really shouldn't be hurting this much. I would ask them then why I was hurting so much. What I felt like saying was, "Look, I'm not crazy. I really am dealing with something here!" Yet without a diagnosis, doctors didn't know how to treat me aside from painkillers and antispasmodics.

After doing a lot of research between my wife and I, we got an appointment with a new specialist. We came to the appointment with an agenda. We wanted to rule out a few different diagnoses of what we thought it could be. Among them was Fibromyalgia Syndrome, and that was what it turned out to be. The day we had our diagnosis was not a horrible day; it was a good day. At last, we knew what we were dealing with and we could treat it with the things known to help with FMS. We could go to doctors and tell them I wasn't crazy, that it was more than just osteoarthritis, it was Fibromyalgia.

There are a lot of myths and notions about Fibromyalgia, even among doctors, and educating people about FMS, what it is and is not, etc., ends up being a lot of what we do. But we have a voice and people are listening, even doctors... the good ones anyway.

I found my story to have striking similarities to Cynthia Toussaint. Her story is encouraging. Please take some time to read it, and if you know a woman who suffers without a diagnosis, she has a friend in forgrace.org.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

I Need A Recharge

I've been off for a little while lately, looking for God to do something with me, something like what happens to the people in this commercial.



I don't know about you, but I think I might pick up an Interstate battery next time I need one.