Well Played, God, Well Played

I was in a meeting last night listening to men talk about how God has been working in their lives, the difference it has made to them, and how they have become more aware of His Presence daily. All it takes is focusing and paying attention.
But let me put it to you that there are forces which act on us for our good of which we aren't always aware. I go back once more to last Memorial Day when, unbeknownst to me, an angel in human form put the effort into CPR to keep me from becoming unreachable. I did not ask for this, nor did I know it was happening at the time, but it was for my benefit. So, one more lesson has come out of that experience, an example that shows how God does things, then stands back sometimes and lets us figure out the meaning of the blessing. Well played, God, well played.

Encouragement

In the new year, and the quiet of an almost empty house, there have been plenty of opportunities to reflect, review, and reconfigure the events of 2013. But I feel enough has been said about them, so it is time to move on and look ahead to the coming year with excitement and baited breath. We have twelve months looming large on the distant, and not so distant, horizon, with potential around every corner, and things for which we will try to prepare. Planning is one thing, but there needs to be built in flexibility as a safeguard against disappointments and frustrations. With each new turn and moment, we are smart to take a lesson from our GPS's and recalculate the journey ahead.
So, all that being said, let me suggest you develop a "bucket list" for the year. Make them as diverse as your dreams. Include small things, as well as big ones. Guarantee success, and also grasp at the barely possible. Give something to someone every day, whether it be materialistic or emotional, spiritual guidance, to simple a kind word or gesture. Giving isn't as hard as you may think, and the littlest things can usually produce something huge in the life of another.
Get closer to your family, especially if relationships have been strained in the past. Hurts and slights, and wounds long ago healed over need not be opened every time you meet. Old roles and attitudes should be put aside, and the commonality of family should be shared.
Live love. It's what Jesus would want you to do.

Life is Unpredictable

Life is unpredictable. That is such an understatement, yet we are surprised when it plays out in front of us. Try as we might, there is little or nothing we can do to control what comes our way.
Granted, some of our efforts do seem to bring about the desired results, but who is to say they wouldn't have transpired regardless?
Every day, certainties are removed from our lives, so we scramble to replace them with new ones, in hopes they will last. We yearn for that stability, grasping at our human-made ideas, only to have them trumped on a regular basis. Now, before you accuse me of being defeatist or nihilistic, let me point to the authors of Lamentations and Ecclesiastes. Though these seem to be downers, I tend to look at them as the works of people who have come to realize the futility of depending on humanity, but, instead, recognize the constancy and stability of God in our lives. God, who was, and is, and is to be.
"There is nothing new under the sun" and "Vanity, vanity, all is vanity" speak to the human condition and the repackaging to old, broken ways as new, fresh, and innovative thinking. Talk about old in new wine skins (which can be as disastrous as new wine in old wine skins).
We fall on hard times due to our ignoring and/or rebelling against God's Word. Even the darkness in our midst recognizes its power and potency, so much so that there is great energy exerted in trying to discredit it. But the Truth remains, no matter the attack. As someone once said, "Truth is truth. No can't have opinions about truth."

Sixty Plus

So, my sixtieth birthday came and passed without much hoopla or fanfare, resembling a rather ordinary day. And the subsequent days have fared equally. They have been a series of mundane, ordinary things, with the occasional tetanus shot and shingles vaccination thrown into the mix. But, overall the beginning of my sixty-first year has been quite uneventful. Perhaps that is what retirement can settle into if one does not go out and seek adventure. A stubborn cold had taken up residence, but I've seemed to have shaken all but a minor cough.
So, as I look ahead to the coming year, I will strive to keep life interesting, not as fast-paced as it once was, but a such a speed as to keep me on my toes, or even on the edge of my seat. (And, oh yeah, the heart thing will keep me alert, too.)

Moved to Tears

Why are some of us drawn to songs of defeat and broken dreams? What is it about them that strikes a chord with us? Is there some lost lost, forgotten hurt or disappointment that causes the sentiments expressed to resonate within us? Could it be the language of such songs is stronger, more interesting than those found in songs of joy? Perhaps we enjoy being moved to tears, feeling the heartbreak of others, being consoled in the fact that others has experienced such things.There must be something or else the writers of these wouldn't be so prolific.

August Update and Reflections

A little over two months (as well as two stents later) after my initial heart attack, I find myself becoming more comfortable with the possibility that there may be further major changes in my life. But, be that as it may, I have been asking the proper questions, and taking the proper precautions, and I've been almost assured that in the future, I will be as active as I have been in the past. One thing it's going to take it being able to wait and see, and to recognize the small victories as they come.
I know how very fortunate I've been, and I thank God daily for the miracles that have come along, from the right people being around at the right time, all the way through modern medical procedures. With each new turn, a new part of my life's path becomes evident, and the clearer it becomes that God has had this all in hand all along.
For now, I will listen to my doctors, my friends, and my handler (my loving wife, Pat). It is all I can do. They keep me humble and on the right road. As for the rest of you, prayers, thoughts, vibrations, or whatever you believe in sending my way have helped immensely. Through your love and support I know. As I've said before, deep within my chest lies a heart that beats.....and that's good enough for me.

Reflections Further On

We are humans are such planners. We try to get our ducks in a row, to work out as many of the details that we can, to proceed in a way that will turn out to our fullest advantage. Then, suddenly, we die.

Then, on May 27, 2013, I technically died. My heart stopped.

This was not according to plan. But that one event made me realize just how silly our plans are to God. That day was filled with God’s hand in my life, centering on the heart.

How could I have planned having numerous people around me to have cell phones to make the 911 calls for an ambulance? How could I have planned to have someone skilled in CPR be there immediately? How could I have arranged for that person to be a cardiologist in town for the weekend? How could I have set it up that I knew the officer in the lead car for the 5K I was in, or to know one of the EMTs in the ambulance, and to know one of the emergency nurses? Where in my plan was, when shocked back to life, that I would sit up and laugh?

I had started that day to complete a 5K race, and ended up filled with love, concern, and care surrounded by and lifted by the prayers of my family, friends and community (and beyond so it seems).

And who orchestrated all of this? Who was behind, through, and ahead of all these things? My Creator, my Savior, my God. I cannot speak for others who have not been as fortunate, but as for me, a heart beats within my chest, and that’s good enough for me. It is a moment by moment, breath by breath blessing from my Abba, Father.