THEY SERVED

MEMORIAL WEEKEND — a time to honor those that served to protect and preserve our freedoms and served to give others the opportunity to be free.  Thankfully, most soldiers came home to their families.  Sadly, too many soldiers gave their lives. 

My father and father-in-law served during WWII.  My brother and two nephews served and now two grandsons are serving.  To each I am eternally grateful.  Their service allows me to worship and speak and live in freedom.  I pray the freedoms so hard fought for will never be taken from our country.

I honor, respect, and appreciate the service of all in the military.  I also honor, respect, and appreciate the others who served.

THEY ALSO SERVED

During the wars, soldiers departed in groups from every small town and city across the USA.  During peace time, soldiers depart, one, two or three at a time, to go to basic training.  At the end of training, the families come to see them graduate and the soldier moves to the next assignment.  During COVID, soldiers were sworn in, went off to basic, and graduated as their families watched from home.  Today, please read the following as if loved ones could be there in person.

Every soldier, who boarded a bus, a train, a ship, or a plane to begin their service, waved goodbye to those that also served. 

Standing proudly, trying to hold back the tears, stood a mother and father waving and smiling.  Their pride could be seen as they stood there, back straight, head held high, and each being strong for the other.  Then they would slowly turn and go home.  They would open the door and realize there would be one less at the dinner table.  They would go on with their day.  The father would go out and mow the yard.  He needed to do something.  The mother would stand in the doorway to an empty room.  She needed memories to give her strength.  They also served.

The young woman asked for one more hug.  One more kiss.  She waved goodbye, turned away, and allowed the tears to flow.  Her husband — a word that still seemed new — would return.  She knew that.  She had to hang onto that word.  Return.  She also served.

Trying to keep the children close to her, the woman bravely told her husband they would be fine.  Yes, she would remember to rotate the tires.  Yes, she knew how to change the fuses.  Yes, she would remember to buy that mitt for their son’s birthday and the bicycle for their daughter’s Christmas.  Christmas.  Would he still be gone at Christmas?  As she tried to hide the tears from the children, she took their hands and they walked to the car.  She also served.

Being strong, he touches the cheek of his bride of ten years.  How hard it was going to be to go to bed that night.  Her side would be cold and empty.  He had a feeling the kids would often occupy that spot.  They will miss their mother.  They understand why she has to go and are already talking about the packages they will send.  Soldier….  his wife is a soldier.  They both have fears.  He fears for her safety and prays that those she stands beside, will stand beside her.  Women in the military ..  but she felt called to serve her country.  And he is proud of her.  She fears he will not hear the alarm and the kids will miss school.  She knows he will have a hard time telling them no.  And he will be lost helping them do math.  She could do math … One more hug and he and the children go home.  He also served.

Child after child..  sons and daughters … watch as their parent waves to them one more time.  Their lives are about to change and they do not totally understand.  They are proud of their parent, but they will not be there to see them dance or play ball or run in the door with all A’s on the report card.  They will not be there when they are bullied or happy or having a birthday.  They are scared.  Will their mother be able to be a mom and dad?  They throw one final kiss and turn away.  They also served.

And every day wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, and children will pray they will not see two officers walking toward their front door.  They also served.

And every day wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, and children will see their loved one running toward them.  What a beautiful sight.  They also served.

MEMORIAL WEEKEND

a time to honor those that served

AND

those that also served.

FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART

THANK YOU

 

 GOING TO THE DOCTOR

Going to the doctor -- boy has that changed!  Mom used to send us to the doctor ONLY if we were about to die.  Other than that, we would go to the doctor’s office with a dollar – yes, $1.00 – and get either a package of green lozenges for a sore throat or a package of half blue/half yellow capsules for a cold.

Just thinking about those lozenges makes my throat go numb.  I think my throat got better out of self-preservation.  The blue/yellow capsules came with instructions to take two immediately and then one at the prescribed times.  Those first two gave that ole cold a double whammy.  I do not know what was in them, but the cold packed its bags and left.

I can remember walking into the doctor’s office.  The nurse knew my name, where I lived, what grade I was in, and if I had gotten into trouble at school.  (Gotta love small towns.)  She would take the dollar and hand me the little white envelope.  The doctor might not be in.  He could be off on a house call or delivering a baby.  If you were about to die and had an appointment, you would either wait or come back the next day … if you were still alive.  Yes, I am stretching that a bit, but only a tiny bit. 

Oh, how simple it was!

Going to the doctor – boy has that changed!  I am writing this while I wait to get in for my annual wellness check.  Now why would you go to the doctor if you are well?  Makes no sense at all.

First hurdle is to reach the office.  Everything is done through a call center or online.  I hate call centers!  The person answering the phone has no idea who I am or anything about me.  And I pray I never forget my birth date!  Why can’t the local clinic answer their phone?  Since I am on a roll about the call centers, why do I have to receive a call, followed by a text or email, to remind me that I have an appointment?  I WROTE IT DOWN!  I KNOW I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT!  I WILL BE THERE!  AND I DO NOT GET TEXTS ON MY FLIP PHONE!

Heaven forbid I try to get a prescription without seeing the doc.  Even if I have taken it before and describe what is wrong in easy to understand words.  Look at my chart – oh right.  This is the call center.

They always ask, “How are you feeling today?”  I want to say, “I feel terrible or I wouldn’t be here.”  Then there are three pages of questions.  The same questions I answered last time.  Couldn’t they have a form that says nothing has changed?  Finally, I am taken back to the room.  Where the nurse goes over the questions just to make sure I answer them the same.  And then the doctor comes in…..

Going to the doctor has changed.  I am very thankful that I have a doctor who cares about me.  Who listens to me.  Who allows enough time so I do not feel rushed.  Who answers all my questions.  Who smiles at my answer to the question:  Do you snore?  My answer?  Hubby says I do.

But sometimes, I wish I could just take a dollar and get a package of those throat numbing lozenges or blue/yellow capsules from a nurse that knows my name, where I live, and if I have been in trouble lately. 

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There are many kinds of healing and today’s medicine has ended a number of diseases.  For that, we should all be grateful.  Hopefully, the future will hold the cure to many more.

BUT.. we often question why one person gets better and one does not.  We ask why a loved one is sick.  We ask God why am I sick.  Why me seems to be the question when anything bad happens.  Should it be?

I wrote Why me Lord? for my very first lay speaking class.  The basic ideas were:

Why me Lord?  Why did an illness take my loved one?  Why is a mind lost in time?  Why?  Why?  Why?  What I realized is that I was asking that question in the wrong way.  I needed to ask, “Why not me?”  At birth, there was no toe tag saying, “Nothing bad will happen to this child.”  I am no better than anyone else, so why would I think only bad things should happen to other people?

I also realized I was asking this question at the wrong times.  I began asking why me Lord when I was given a special blessing.  I am no better than anyone else, so why am I so fortunate?

Why me Lord? – When do you ask this question?

 

 

AND I DIDN’T TELL THEM

I love to see families enjoying and celebrating each other.  Parents totally focused on their children and children actually enjoying being with their parents.  Siblings sharing inside jokes.  Phones are somewhere.  No iPads.  Just family.

I see this often at our local swimming pool.  I will watch as a mother teaches her son to swim or as a father watches his child do yet another crazy dive.  And I remember times with our kids and grandkids.  We swam in the rain.  We swam in the dark.  Our daughter learned to jump off the diving board because she wanted her turn at catching the Frisbee.  Our son was part fish.  I was totally drenched as I stood under the bucket with a youngster too young to stand there by himself.  And I floated on my back as the kids swam under me. 

Memories popping into my heart as I watch families being together.  Enjoying life.  Making their own memories.

It is then that I walk over and tell them, “It is such a pleasure to see families focused on each other.  Your children are enjoying being with you.  You are giving your children valuable gifts – your time and attention.  You are being wonderful parents and I just wanted to tell you that.”

I have done this a number of times and the parents always smile.  A very big smile, as they stand a bit taller, with surprise in their eyes, and say, “Thank you.”

Until the other day.  Three young children jumped right in the water.  You could tell they were friends and instantly knew this was not their first time at the pool.  They were quickly joined by their mothers.  The mothers got wet.  They threw the basketball and, much to the delight of the kids, they missed.  They played with them.  They smiled.  They watched their kids having fun.  It was a pleasure to see children being more important than a phone or a book.  More important than worrying if they would look silly to others.

And I didn’t tell them.

I try to keep my blog political free.  I am vocal enough in other areas of my life.  But at that moment – as I started to walk toward these ladies and tell them the same thing I had told other parents, I stopped.  Why?  Politics and today’s belief that everything said has a racist undertone.  I stopped because I worried about their reaction.  Would they appreciate being told how great it was to see mothers and kids having fun … making memories?  Or would I hear, “So you think black mothers cannot be good parents?”  And there is the problem.

Do I see color?  Of course!  But this time … color stopped me.  And that has never happened before.  I look at people and, at this age, know that there are good people and there are … let’s just say, there are not so good people.  I talk to everyone.  I try to judge people by their actions and honestly, I do not care what color of skin they have.  Until this time … color stopped me.  And I have felt guilty ever since. 

In that moment, I allowed the bullies that cry “racism” to win. 

 

I hope I see these mothers at the pool.  I will tell them they are giving their children valuable gifts – their time and attention.  I will tell them they are wonderful parents.

I will not allow politics and today’s belief that everything said has a racist undertone to bully me into silence again. 

 

SOWING THE SEED

Last week, I used this parable as an example:

“A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil.  It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  Whoever has ears, let them hear.”  Matthew 13:1-9

Jesus later explained the parable to the disciples.

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:  When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart.  This is the seed sown along the path.  The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since they have no root, they last only a short time.  When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.  The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.  But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it.  This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what is sown.”  Matthew 13:18-23

This tells what happens when people hear the message about the kingdom, but how does this apply to me?  Am I the one sowing the seeds?  Am I the seed and this is a warning about how I might react to the message?  Am I the bird, the sun, the thorn, or the good soil to other people?

I hate it when I over-think something, but hubby and I were discussing this and my mind took off in three directions.  Studying the scriptures is just that – studying.  Reading, contemplating, and looking up background information is my usual plan of attack.  Sometimes I just let the scripture speak to me.  This is one of those times and it is coming from three directions.

AM I THE ONE SOWING THE SEEDS?

If I am not, then I need to get my act together.  The disciples were learning so they could tell others.  They were getting insider information to prepare them to – guess what – tell others.  They would soon be the “farmer” sowing the seed.  They were also being told to be aware what could happen to the seed. I am also being told what can happen to the seed I sow.  It is easy to get discouraged. If I quickly tell a person about the showers of blessing, but do not stick around to help them understand, Satan can whisper in their ear.  How wonderful to see someone get it and experience the Joy of the Lord, but that joy can quickly disappear if they do not see my joy and receive encouragement.  Sowing the seed is especially hard to someone who is worried or does not see the need to believe.  But, then a seed falls just right.  I tell the story of Christ and the person’s ears, eyes, and Spirit are opened and they tell someone and they tell someone and they tell someone…

If I am not sowing the seeds, I need to get my act together.

AM I THE SEED?

Yes.  I am the seed along the path.  Sometimes I hear or read the scriptures and do not understand.  No matter how I try, it does not make sense.  Very easily that ole sneaky snake can whisper, “Mary, you are not educated enough.  You are not smart enough to understand.  Why beat yourself up.  Just quit.”  I am the seed on rocky ground and in the thorns.  There are times when I hear a sermon or a song or a verse and my Spirit soars.  Then the mail comes and there are bills to pay and the news tells of another missing child and I burnt the grilled cheese sandwiches.  And then my joy is gone.  I am the seed dropped on good soil.  I hear the story of Christ and my ears, eyes, and Spirit are opened. 

Yes.  I am the seed along the path.  I know the evil one will try to snatch my faith.  I know I have to stand strong so the world will not consume me.  And I have to stay in the Word so I can tell others and increase the yield of believers of Christ.

AM I THE BIRD, THE SUN, THE THORN OR GOOD SOIL?

I would rather not look at this part.  I so want to believe I am good soil.  I want to know that from the top of my head to the bottoms of my feet I am good soil.  But – don’t you hate the word but?  But I am the bird when my actions do not reflect Christ and non-believers use those actions as proof that my faith is not real.  But I am the sun when I do not want “that type of person” to enter the church and they wither.  I am the thorn when I discourage new ideas. 

I would rather not look at this part.  I so want to believe I am good soil.  I want to know that from the top of my head to the bottoms of my feet I am good soil.  But, sometimes …. sometimes, I am not.

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This is an excellent parable.  Read it.  Read it again.  What does this parable say to you?

 I WONDER

As I read the Bible, I often wonder what it would have been like to walk with Jesus.  Would I have understood him?  Would I have questioned?  Would I have gotten tired while listening?  I bet the disciples were glad when Jesus went off to pray or stopped to talk with the children.  A break!  Time for an extra cup of coffee.  Down time. 

Think about it.  It would be like taking Jesus 101, 201, 301, and 401 all at the same time.  With no textbook!  And no snow days!  No matter where they were, Jesus would start teaching ….

Take the parables, for example.  There sits Jesus in a boat  saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil.  It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  Whoever has ears, let them hear.”  Matthew 13:1-9

Would I have ears and hear?  Would I listen as Jesus taught?  Or would it go more like this:

“A farmer went out to sow  (Details.  I want details.  What farmer?  Was it a local farmer?  Do I know him?)  his seed.  (Wonder if he got his seed from ole Jake.)  As he was scattering the seed,  (Scattering?  Was he using a Cyclone seeder?)  some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  (Well, that is certainly not good farming practices.)  Some fell on rocky places,  (Maybe he would want to rent my rock picker.)  where it did not have much soil.  It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  (Was this guy ever in FFA?)  But  (What?  Jesus said but – I better pay attention.)  when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  (Oh, I know this farmer now.  Lives next to my cousin.  Grew up in town.  Read a book on farming.  Considers himself an expert.)  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.  (With the cost of seed, he should be more careful.)  Still other seed fell on good soil,  (Yup, it is him.  Has one corner of the north acre where there is some good dirt.)  where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  (With that yield I should have bid more at the auction.)  Whoever has ears, let them hear.” 

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As I read the Bible, I often wonder what it would have been like to walk with Jesus.  Would I have understood him?  Would I have questioned?  Would I have gotten tired while listening?  The answers --

Would I have understood him?  --  NO!  Jesus challenged everything the disciples had ever been taught.  He told them:  You are to love everyone .  You are to be kind.  You are to care for others.  You are to believe I am the Son of God.  Jesus challenges me the same way.  Jesus challenges everything the world tells me is good and right.  Jesus challenges me to love and be kind and to care for others and to trust Him.  To know with every breath I take that He is the Son of God.

Would I have questioned?  -- YES! – I am sure Jesus often wants to tell me, “Think Mary.  Listen.  Hear.”  What amazes me is that I can read a verse or a chapter and absolutely get nothing out of it.  Later, an hour, a day, a year, I will return to that verse or chapter and it is crystal clear. 

Would I have gotten tired while listening?  Did you read the “or would it go more like this” section?  I am human.  I can only absorb so much at one time.  Tired of listening, no.  But tired while listening, yes.  And hungry.  I would have been excited to see the fish and loaves being passed around.

I also wonder if Jesus ever got tired of the disciples.   Being around someone 24/7 can be a bit of a challenge.  Maybe that is why he sent the twelve off to drive out impure spirits and heal every disease and sickness.  Of course, there were rules.  (Matthew 10:5-42)  I can almost hear him saying, “A few days by myself.  What shall I do?”

I also wonder if Jesus ever gets tired of me?  Nope!  Positive Jesus would be thinking, “I haven’t heard from Mary today.  Mary being quiet usually means she is either trying to figure something out or getting herself into trouble.”

“Mary, what are you doing?”

Writing my blog.  How is it?

“You nailed the part about how you listen when I am trying to teach you something.  Your mind does seem to wonder.  I am glad you realize I never get tired of you.  Or any of my children.  Now those disciples… they could be a handful.”

Worse than me?

“I wouldn’t go that far.  Let’s just say they could be a bit dense at times.”

Like me?

“No.  Not that bad.”

You’re teasing me again.

“Am I?”