Death Is Waiting

A good friend’s brother recently penned a poem for his friend nearing the end of a terminal illness.  I thought is was profoundly simple and it brought great honesty and dignity to death. Here’s John’s poem with permission:


Death is waiting, I'm at peace,
God please grant me sweet release
From the burdens and the pain,
Nothing left to lose or gain.
A long, long  journey it has been
But I go now with a grin.
To those whom I will leave behind
Please remember me in kind
For those of you who went before
I am knocking on the door 
Please let me in so I can see
The beauty of Eternity.

John E Lamb, Sr.
July 26, 2012

Go Team USA!

We Remember Aurora

                                Pray for the saints at FBC, Morganfield, KY as they begin an ambitious, future-focused and much needed capital improvement campaign aimed at reaching their community and helping Christ followers grow.  Humbled and excited at their invitation to be part of their kickoff.  Looking forward to being with old friends and making some new ones!

Buried or Informed Heads?

What does it take to shake you up?  What gets your dander up?  I’m not talking about having to wait in line at your favorite restaurant, or the inconvenience of having to go to a different grocery because yours is out of your favorite cereal.  The truth is that most of us are so immune, or anesthetized to shocking stories that we hardly react anymore.  For the most part we are numb to world and cultural pain unless it affects us directly.  We reason there’s not much we can do about it so we are quick to open a different webpage, or change the channel instead of reading, or hearing another tragic, or sad story.  Consider just a cursory glance of a few of this week’s potentially troubling stories:

• West Virginia man accused of holding wife hostage and torturing her for over a decade
• Syrian Government continues to kill innocent citizens (one of many similar stories)
• U.S. Olympic Team to wear uniforms made in China
• U.S. government can’t say how much of the $51-billion U.S. tax dollars used to rebuild Iraq has been wasted, but the Inspector General’s office says it is “substantial”
• Penn State leaders and coach sat on Sandusky accusations of sexual abuse for years

And this barely touches the surface of the pain, heartache, suffering, danger and pure evil occurring in our world.  No, we can’t personally carry the weight of every injustice and pain caused in the world, but we can be aware of them.  We can choose to be informed and arm ourselves with more information instead of ignoring it and hoping it will go away.  There are some proactive things we can do too.

We can write various authorities or leaders and voice our displeasure and disagreement with various policies, actions, or situations.  We can write newspapers and blog posts addressing such wrongs.  We can pray asking God to bring justice, healing, peace and comfort to those who suffer. We can give financially to helping various causes that seek to address issues such as child slavery, domestic violence, government waste, etc.  We can cast “informed” votes that seek to address various issues through political action and/or, policy.  We can do a lot, but we can’t do anything if we bury our heads in the sand and play ostrich.  One day we may be the victim, patient, or one suffering at the irresponsible/malicious hands and actions of others.  And then I guarantee we will care if someone else is paying attention and acting.  There but for the grace of God goes any of us!

I’m Freezing!

99+ degrees outside and I’m freezing!  The stifling heat of summer has AC units working overtime.  Flowers are wilting and the grass is fading.  The lakes are like bathwater and ice is melting as quick as it flies out of the icemaker.   But I am freezing.  No, I’m not freezing like Super Man at the Fortress of Solitude, or Mr. Freeze from the old Batman TV show.  My soul is cold.  Here in the “dog days” of summer I am experiencing what theologian Martin Marty dubbed the “winter of the soul”. 

30 years ago, Marty, professor emeritus at the University of Chicago Divinity School wrote a best-selling book entitled, The Cry of Absence.  The book followed the death of his first wife and chronicled the winter season of the soul with meditations from the Psalms.  Writing for people struggling with grief, suffering and the aches of the heart he writes:

“There is no point in being literal about the condition of winter in the soul.  It occurs whenever the tongue is heavy, the jaws are clenched, and the impulse to play is stifled.  Even then, especially then, there is reason to cling to the promises of God and, perhaps in the quiet chambers of the heart to sing of them.”

Many of God’s favorites (okay so your not supposed to say that) experienced winter seasons, or desert periods in their walk.  From David on the run from a mad king, to the weeping prophet, Jeremiah, the sadness of Jacob over losing a son, and Paul’s great declaration of faith in Romans 8, we find people of great faith with honest struggles. 

I’ve been here before and most likely I will be again.  The key to these wintry seasons of the soul is to cling to God.  Lean into His words and promises.  Reflect on His past blessings, deliverance, healings and favor in your life.  The winter of the soul is tough, but it is not a hopeless place.  Hold fast, lean in, and pray!  The promise of God through the psalmist (Psalm 30) notes that joy may not always be easy, but our hope is not empty:

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

you have loosed my sackcloth

and clothed me with gladness,

that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Happy B-Day America

Happy Birthday!









Flag pic courtesy of American Manufacturing
http://www.americanmanufacturing.org/blog/sen-sherrod-brown-fights-keep-american-flags-made-america