Waiting on a Check Up

 

Within the Metropolis of Brookneal there is one store wherein are traded food stuffs that some call Groceries.  It came to pass that after work one day, I passed to this location on an Errand of Mercy.  For, I went with three silver pennies and a little more money besides, to purchase a gallon of milk.  Without this, my family would have suffered the terrible fate of drinking water.

It is perhaps surprising considering the size of Brookneal, but I often see people at this Market of Groceries who I know.  There are times when I even see an individual who is a patient at the office where I work.

On this particular evening, I met a man in the Dairy Aisle.  He was one with whom I am acquainted, and he did not seem very pleased to see me.

As I greeted him, he cast a rueful glance upon his shopping cart and I could see that it had within its confines Soft Drinks, Chips, and even a Couple of Packages of Oreos.  I felt within my heart that perhaps he too, was on an Errand of Mercy.

And yet, I said nothing.  For, I am no Angel of Judgment to whip my patients into shape when I am not with them.

"Good to see you," I said to him, by way of greeting.

"Good to see you," he told me in return and then grudgingly said.  "I think it's about time for me to come down and see you again.  Only, I need to get things into shape a little better first.  I'm afraid of where my numbers would be right now if you checked them."

I bestowed on him a smile of the rosiest nature.  "You know where to find me," I told him.  "Don't wait too long."

I am a Medicine Man, but I have also been a patient.  I know the desire that each of my fellow citizens has to get a Good Report and to hear the words, "Well Done, Good and Faithful Patient!" 

I know too, that honesty is more important.  It is better to get a real evaluation of where your health is, than to get a glowing report based on six weeks of Better Than Normal Behavior.

I am afeared that many believe the same thing about church.  It seemes clear that many believe the idea that churches are buildings wherein amazingly Holy lords and ladies go to celebrate their marvelous purity of character.

While this is a widespread belief, the reality is totally different.  I am a sinner, Saved by Grace.  This is true for every Christian.  If, Christians experience holiness, it is because of Jesus' work in our lives, not because there is some intrinsic Awesomeness that brought us to the Foot of the Cross.

While it might seem important to clean things up before setting foot in church, it is better just to go.  It is the sick who need a doctor.  It is sinners who need a Savior.

Jesus knows who we are and came to bring us Life, regardless of how dirty and stained we feel ourselves to be.  It is easy to put it off till we improve things a little bit.

Still, He calls us.

Don't wait too long.

Spaghetti and Joy

 

One evening, it so passed that I returned to my place of abode and my sundial showed that it was about six hours after noontime.  And behold, though it was a pleasant spring day, I found within my dwelling place much weeping and wailing, so much so that I wondered if my beloved wife had departed for some western state like Ohio, for to seek her Fortune.

On reaching the kitchen, I discovered my Beautiful (if a bit Frazzled) wife trying to Whip Up some spaghetti for our evening meal.

As I began to explore the reasons behind each of my children’s angst filled voices, I found different reasons, none of which seemed too terrible to me.

One child had a paper to write and was having a Hard Time starting on it.  Another child just had “Too much Homework!”  The youngest member of our household had foregone her nap in favor of a Full Helping of Misery.

To top it all off, one of our five Two-Legged-Sunbeams had decided that she Hated Spaghetti.  This was a singular development as spaghetti is close behind Apple Pie, Baseball, and Beef Jerky as something all true blooded Americans like.

So it was that our supper meal was a Mournful Affair with a sense of relative despair over the Small but Terrible things of this life.

I considered well the angst with which my family was afflicted.  Fortunately, not every evening is so filled with anguish, but it seems to me that this is simply a manifestation of a lack of joy.

Joy is that essential characteristic that allows humans to weather the small things and the large trials of life with a sense of hope.  As Nehemiah told the people, “This day is holy unto our Lord:  neither be ye sorry; for the Joy of the Lord is Your Strength.”

Many times I have experienced a lack of both Joy and Hope.  This is never because of a lack on my Father’s part, but only because I let the trials of life cloud my vision.

God is faithful and can provide Joy for every situation.

He even provides sufficient Joy to deal with Spaghetti for Supper.

"You're Not the Boss of Me!"

 

One day, in the country west of the city of Gladys, the weather became somewhat warmer and the Frosticles upon the eaves began to melt.  I bethought me to go out from my dwelling place and prune my fruit trees.

Now, it so happens that I have several fruit trees and even now their number approacheth and in fact is, seven.  Each year, I desire to taste their fruit and each year they Let me Down Hard.

For the frost cometh at the wrong time and weather does not Cooperate.  While there are many buds in the spring, there few fruits in the fall.

Yet hope, as has been said, springeth eternal.  With this thought in mind, I decided to prune those trees of affliction.  Yea and I even went forth to spray them with Horticultural Oil.

To this endeavor, my youngest daughter set out to accompany me.

As I lopped off crossing limbs, Elise went walking through the yard saying in a voice like a Spring Storm, “You’re not the boss of me!  You’re not the boss of Elise!”

Wise father that I am, I knew that Elise had heard this statement from her older siblings.

"You're not the boss of me!" is a statement replete with sentiments of rights spurned and liberties violated.  It is a statement of a Coming Revolution from an Oppressed Individual.

Perhaps even as I was pruning my fruit trees, they too were crying out wordlessly with my daughter, “You’re not the boss of me!”

It is often true that this is a human response to others who speak truth into our lives.  It would be a Sad State of Affairs if we were unable to receive correction or outside input into our lives simply because we are too afraid of giving up liberty.

There are many reasons for us to allow ourselves to be bossed by other people.  It may be better for our physical or spiritual well-being.  More than that, we may simply bear more fruit.

Perhaps the best thing to say would be something like, "You're not the boss of me, but I choose to hear the truth you speak and will endeavor to learn and grow from it!"

Living with liberty is worth far less than living a fruitful, victorious life.

Of Vertigo and Empathy

 

One evening, as I began to clothe myself for my bed chamber, the world began to spin.  Of course, the world is always spinning, but normally I do not feel it in this way.  It did not do this because of the quaking of the earth, nor was it because I had taken part in some intoxicating beverage.

As I have been a Medicine Man for others, I put on my Thinking Cap and diagnosed myself with the dread malady “Vertigo.”  That was all the further than I got.

While I have heard many times the Proverb “Medicine Man, Heal Thyself,” I have found diagnosing myself about my Max.  I cannot say that my diagnosis brought me either joy or comfort.

All that night I did turn, even without moving.  Yeah, and my stomach was Queasy as All-Get-Out, even to the point of Nausea.

The next morning, I was a little better and so I improved a little bit by little bit for the space of a week.  Then I was as good as before, but more conscious of the blessing of something called Equilibrium.

I have seen patients with Vertigo before in my office, but till now, I had little concept of how miserable it was.  Now, I know.

It was for this sort of situation that the Apostle Paul wrote, “If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation, and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.”

Truly, there is no sympathy like the sympathy of one who has walked through the same trial you are experiencing.  Though people may be linked by blood or friendship, yet some are connected by the maladies which they share.  So it is that for some diseases there are meetings for encouragement called Support Groups.

It may be that the most important thing for someone dealing with a Trial is to know that they are not alone.

When we walk through a Hard Experience, we must remember how we felt during it so that we might encourage and sympathize with others.

Even if we experience so small a thing as feeling a spinning feeling when lying very still in bed.