The Secret

Some things stick with you over the years. This old poem by Ralph Spalding Cushman has been one of those items.

THE SECRET
I met God in the morning
When the day was at its best,
And His Presence came like sunrise,
Like a glory in my breast.

All day long the Presence lingered,
All day long He stayed with me,
And we sailed in perfect calmness
O'er a very troubled sea.

Other ships were blown and battered,
Other ships were sore distressed,
But the winds that seemed to drive them,
Brought to us a peace and rest.

Then I thought of other mornings,
With a keen remorse of mind,
When I too had loosed the Moorings,
With the Presence left behind.

So I think I know the secret,
Learned from many a troubled way:
You must seek Him in the morning
If you want Him through the day.

The right choice

When your young and green and ready to find a mate, you sometimes look for the wrong things. How often do we ask, how will this person's character and personality work over the long haul? Especially, when that long haul includes "for better or for worse."
I've always known what a gem I got when Barb said, "I do", but more recently that diamond like character of hers has become even more clear. The words I use to describe her, (pardon my sentimentality), would be: encouraging, unselfish, determined, giving, tender, thoughtful; in brief 'a rock'. God sure knew what he was doing when he fashioned her, and certainly knew what I needed when he allowed her to come my way.

Perfect peace

"In high school I was far from God. I had come to faith as a 12 year old, but I lacked any spiritual support. So after a couple of years I began to want to join the 'crowd', and turned my back on what I had found. However, by the time I entered college at UK, I began to realize how deeply empty my life had really become. (I had a good job in a well-known band, my dating life was fine, I had been a member of one of the social clubs in high school, but there was still a huge hole inside.)

I was definitely in a seeking mode. At that time there was a book that had become a best seller. Today I wouldn't say it was a very deep book, but it had some of the basics that I needed. It was Norman Vincent Peale's, "The Power of Positive Thinking." There I began to see how faith and prayer were a reality. I began also to notice differences in what was going on in and around me when I prayed. Gradually, God was drawing me back to himself.

The rest, for me, is history. A young pastor drew me ,(and our band leader), into his small congregation. (It is now Centenary UMC with over 2000 members.) From there came a call, Asbury College, meeting and marrying Barb etc.)

What drew me back to this story was seeing the verse again that was a part of one of Peale's booklets. It's the verse:"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you..."(Isaiah 26:3) The promises of Scripture have great power. In good and bad times, when we keep our minds fixed on him, his power, and his love, peace naturally follows. Keeping our minds there will take work, but it is more than worth it.

Why not me?

It's easy to join the crowd that asks, “Why me?” But I’ll have to say, I have never really asked that question. When I look at all the affliction and oppression, of even children, in our world, I have to say, “Why not me?” It's a broken world we live in. I’m convinced that our health problems come from pollution or poor health habits, genes or germs, or even mistreatment by others; not some divine conspiracy. I’m assured of this by the character of the One who we know came to save and not to destroy. The real question then becomes not WHY, but HOW? Which leads me back to a verse that has guided me again and again for over 50 years :”I am able for all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13) It is still true.

It is said that, "A brave person dies only once, while a coward dies a thousand times over." My wife says I have a vivid imagination. You see, it's too easy for me to picture things that can happen in the future. The result is that I tend to be a 'thousand times over' kind of guy. Of course, that amounts to a spiritual cul-de-sac.

It's a matter of focus. What are we going to look at and concentrate on. Better, on Whom will I fix my attention each day.

Frances Havergal, who composed the old hymn, "Take my life and let it be...", wrote two months before composing that piece, "I just yielded myself to Him, and utterly trusted Him to keep me."
I think that's what it takes...and the "Take my life" , (body and soul), is certainly a daily step.

Deeper joy

I used to drive my college roommate crazy by hopping out of bed each morning and quoting, "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." He would moan from the top bunk, probably trying to think of how he could get even.

It's hard to be joyful when things aren't going well. But I have found that joy isn't about outward circumstances. It isn't happiness as we usually define it. Joy is something deep within, a fruit of the Spirit, that stays even when things get tough.

Somebody has said, "Joy is a choice." I hope I can keep on learning that lesson.

A Touch of Kindness

In the past few weeks, when I was speaking with someone, I occasionally would tear up slightly.
I imagine they thought this might be from fear or from self-pity. What was happening, though, was that I was being deeply touched by the kindness of that person. It moved me that they cared about the situation.

It is amazing how much just a touch of kindness can make a difference in people's lives. No wonder it is listed as one of the 9 fruits of the Spirit, along with love, joy, peace, patience, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Life changes, but....

After you get over the initial shock of hearing that you have a progressive disease, you want to let your loved-ones and close friends know about it . You want their support through love and prayers. However, soon you realize that you don't want to stop there. That is, you don't want to just be tagged as that 'person' who has a particular illness. You really want to get back to the routine of just living your life as normally as possible.

A close relative of mine has set a great example for me. Upon learning of a the presence of symptoms of a serious disease, he proceeded to go forward with his life as usual. That was around ten years ago. He has gone on to new heights in his career and in his plans for a family.

This takes courage, (and, of course, a whole lot of support from friends and a dear wife.) Christ give us reason in all kinds of situations to keep going forward, when he says, "Be courageous! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

Day-tight compartments

A friend told me recently, that when his loved one was seriously ill, one of the biggest battles they had to fight was the battle with "What if". It is so easy to let our minds wander to pictures of the worst case examples of our particular disease. And it is a daily fight.

How important the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:34 have become to me lately. "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today." He preceded this with a reminder of how God takes care of all creation, and would certainly take care of us.

What seems so simply said becomes profoundly true as we test it out in our lives. As E. Stanley Jones used to put it, "We need to live in day-tight compartments."

Daily help

It seems like each day the Lord provides something of encouragement through his Word. Today, my wife, Barb, shared this verse with me that had spoken to her in her morning quiet time.

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid for I am your God.
I will strengthen you; I will help you with My righteous right hand."
(Isaiah 41:10)

Even when our own hands cannot hold on tight. His will be sufficient.

A reason to start

A few days ago a friend of mine suggested that I begin a blog. He felt that since I was going through some potentially serious medical changes in my life, blogging could be helpful to me, and even for others. There are bound to be new challenges and discoveries that come during these next days and months.

I imagine, I will mainly share some personal reflections, along with items from others that have been helpful to me in dealing with the day to day. I'm not sure whether this will be daily or occasionally, but let's see where it goes from here.