A Merry Heart

"Dad," my son, Vince, asked me. "Why don't fleas like it when dogs go to their circus?"

"I don't think that's the way you told this joke earlier," I said.  Vince had discovered a book called Stupid Jokes for Kids and had delved into it the way a diamond miner tackles a hole in the ground in South Africa.

"Because he'll take all the fleas with him when he leaves!"  Vince cackled with the hilarity of this joke.

"I thought," I said.  "That the joke was 'What happens when a dog goes to the flea circus?' and the answer was 'He steals the show.'"

"That's what I said," Vince told me.  "What do you call a band who kill germs?"

"I don't know," I said a little resignedly.

"The Bleach Boys!"  More cackling.  Even Victoria was giggling.  Apparently she thought Vince was the funniest nine year old out there.

I don't think any of my children have futures as comedians.  For one thing, they can't remember jokes at all and standing up, reading from a joke book is not generally entertaining.  For another, they have no sense of timing.  That's OK -- there are plenty of careers which don't involve standing on a stage trying to make people laugh.

The sound of children laughing uproariously can get old sometimes, but I still hope that they will keep merry hearts and a love of humor.  The Book of Proverbs says that "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."  It really makes a difference when we are surrounded by others who keep a sense of joy about them, even in the darkest moments.

There is a time and place for everything and certainly there are times when joking just isn't in order.  Even in those situations, hope and joy can often make a difference to lift the spirit when the worst of news has just been delivered.

I know that my children's sense of humor will change over time.  They will not always think that "What did the Bee get when he stole the calendar?  Twelve months," is funny, but I hope they will be able to see the humor in every day situations and laugh -- even at themselves.

Sometimes the only thing that will heal a wounded heart is joy.

Fatigue

"How are you today?"  The older woman asked me.

"I'm pretty tired," I said.  "Otherwise I guess I'm fine.  And how are you?"

"Well," she paused.  "Frankly, I'm pretty tired too."

I think tiredness is part of the adult condition.  I'm sure there are a few wealthy souls who sleep nine hours every night, never waking up until their alarm clocks go off to invite them down to a leisurely cup of coffee and southwest omelette.  They certainly don't come to see me at my office.

My patients are often convinced they have thyroid conditions.  If you google "Medical Reasons I'm tired," I think that must be the first thing that pops up.

In medical school, I was convinced I had leukemia and even made my mother (who is a family doctor) run a CBC on me to make sure I didn't have it.  I was just so tired.  Fortunately, I knew that once I was done with my residency training things would get better.

Think again...

My experience is that when you are an adult and you have children you are always a little fatigued.  I live on six hours of sleep a night and often that is broken up by a mixture of phone calls and the occasional sick child.  I didn't know how good I had it back when I was twenty-one and could sleep as long as I wanted to on weekends.

There are many Scriptures that speak of strength in the face of adversity, but one always stands out to me, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  (Gal 6:9).

This summer, because we were moving, we did not plant a garden and we have no harvest.  While others are picking their tomatoes and watching their pumpkins turn orange, we are thinking about next year and the things we hope to plant.

Everyone of us will get tired -- maybe from working on our gardens, or taking care of our children when they have stomach bugs at night, or even delivering babies.  The question is whether the things which we are investing ourselves in are good and worthwhile.

Only then will our harvest be worth reaping.

Joel Osteen

Joel Osteen entered the news again a couple of weeks ago.  For those unfamiliar, he is a pastor of a church in the Houston area.  He is best know for writing a book that espouses the idea that you can live "Your Best Life Now."  Apparently after Hurricane Harvey moved into the Houston area, there was a period of time where he didn't offer his church as a haven for flooded out refugees.  As one can imagine, this became a twenty-four hour discussion on Facebook and other social media platforms.

I hesitate to say anything about that situation.  Certainly it would have been difficult from a logistic standpoint to not only open the church, but also to get staff and support in to care for the people in need.  Certainly in the end, the church was opened to the displaced people of Houston.

I think people struggle with Joel Osteen for a number of reasons.  It isn't that he is worth 40 million dollars or, that he feels just a little fake as he shares his messages with adoring fans.  The problem is that his message doesn't connect with most of us.

The bigger problem is that his isn't a Christian message.

I have read the Bible through many times and Pastor Osteen is right that the Bible says clearly that God loves us.  What he is totally wrong about is that a loving God will give His children whatever they want and ask for.

I'm not a perfect dad.  I have my struggles, but I love my children very deeply and because I love my children, I do not (and never would) give them everything they ask for.  Even if I had the money and space for all the stuff they want, it would be harmful for them to have everything that popped into their heads to want.  It would not be healthy for them to eat dessert first and forego green beans in exchange for potato chips.

God's Word makes it clear that He is a far better father than any earthly father could be and as such, He give us good things, but He also gives us hardship and trials because those are the things that build our characters and draw us closer to Him.  If I pray for a million dollars He probably won't give it to me, not because He doesn't love me, but precisely because He does.

Looking back at the apostles and great people of faith over the years, they often were quite poor and yet they constantly gave of themselves.  I can't imagine Paul or Peter praying for wealth except that they might help others with it.

I know that God has blessed us with many more things, both physical and spiritual, than we deserve.  In the end, He wants us to desire something more than this life and the things this world has to offer.  Even if we had millions of dollars, we would be empty if we didn't have Him.

Truly if we hope and pray and chase fame and wealth, we may find a little bit of them in our lives here, but we'll miss the far more important things that God wants us to learn.

It is easy to pray for God to bless us and our families, but I think such prayers are a little shallow.  I would learn to pray for God to make me the sort of man who can bless those around me and to draw me close to Him.  That is the only place where I will find true satisfaction.

Irma!

Hurricane Irma is coming barreling towards the Florida Coast like an octogenarian who has just discovered that her neighbor is cheating at bingo.  Her wrath has already wiped out dwellings on Antigua and Puerto Rico and now Florida is apparently in her sights.

The news reports are full of stories of the devastation that Irma is capable of and it is not surprising to see images of traffic jams on I-95 going north from Miami.  Structures built by humans just don't feel safe in the face of sustained 150 mile an hour winds and many inches of rain.

I suppose it is in times like this that we realize where our faith lies.  If our confidence is in buildings, in governments, or even in our own wisdom and resources then a Level 4 Hurricane headed our way will shake our very foundations. 

A story comes to my mind of a group of men who were out in a boat on the Sea of Galilee when a storm blew up.  This was in the days before outboard motors and GPS units and in their tiny craft they were out matched.  The winds and waves were just too strong.  Their skill was not enough to bring the boat ashore and they were in danger of drowning.

It was in this moment that they woke a sleeper.  "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" 

I'm not sure what they expected Jesus to do, maybe sympathize and join their terror.  Maybe they just wanted another set of hands to help bail the boat out.  What He actually did was to get up and rebuke the storm and all was peaceful.

There are many things that we humans put our trust in, but they all have limits, except for Jesus.  When everything is falling apart and Irma has come to call, we need a secure place to stand and someone trustworthy to place our faith in.

Many of the storms we face are never given a name, but Jesus has power over them all.  It is only with Jesus that we can have peace and make it through to the other side.

Why?

"It's terrible!"  Anna wailed.

"It'll be OK," I said.  "There are another 179 school days this year."

"You don't understand, Dad," Anna said, between her tears.  "The first day of school is always the best.  You don't do very much work and it's always so much fun."

It was the first day of school and Anna had awakened with a stomach virus, unable to keep anything down.  Clearly school was out of the question.

"It'll be OK," I said futilely. 

"You just don't understand!"  Anna said, bursting into tears again. "Why, oh why did I have to be sick today of all days?"

Why?  It's the sort of question that usually doesn't have an answer.

My experience is that we seldom ask the why questions about the good things that befall us.  I suppose we believe in our hearts that we deserve good things and that God really should shower us with blessings.

On the other hand, it is when terrible things happen that we break out this question.  A mass shooting, a child with cancer, or a family member in an accident seem to bring this question to the minds of many.

The problem is the underpinnings of this question.  It is really asking "If there is a good God who could prevent bad things from happening, why didn't He?"

As I search through the Bible for answers, I do not find them.  God does not reveal His thoughts to humans nor His plans to those who could not understand them.

What He does reveal in His Word are promises of suffering and persecution for the People who God has chosen, but He tells us more.  As I continue to read, I find promises of a God who will not abandon His people.

The road is hard.  We will not know the "Why?" behind many of the events that happen to us.  We can only know for certain that at the end God is waiting to welcome His people home.

And that's enough.