Essential?

During the past couple of snow and ice events in Lexington, some of the large institutions in town have said that the non-essential employees did not have to come to work at their regular times.  When I heard this announcement, I wondered what makes one employee essential and another non-essential.  I made the assumption that essential employees are those who kept the institution functioning, ex., answering the telephones, paying bills, cleaning the sidewalks, etc.  Their announcement also made me ponder the question of whether or not I was essential.  I'm a Counselor and Spiritual Companion, so how essential is that?  I guess my question was answered by my clients and directees.  Some showed up for their appointments and other called in to re-schedule.  I did, however, go to the Center early on those days to clean our sidewalk and steps so, perhaps, I'm more essential than I sometimes think.  

Sometimes Help Is Necessary

We have a Case Conference monthly at the Counseling Center where I work.  Today, I talked about a difficult situation with which I was involved as the Counselor.  The answer was obvious except that I was so close to the situation that I wasn't able to see it.  My colleagues were very clear and helpful.  It is sometimes difficult for me to admit that I need assistance.  Yesterday my wife was flying to northwest Arkansas but due to mechanical problems with aircraft her flight was delayed then cancelled.  She spent the night in Atlanta.  We talked about the next morning, getting a new boarding pass, etc.  She arrived in Arkansas and was very grateful for me support.  Anyone can get involved in situations in which help is needed.  Asking for and accepting help is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of healthy self-esteem to ask for assistance.

The Washing Machine Was Spinning Out Of Control

 Yesterday our washing machine began to make strange noises, acted differently and seem to be spinning out of control.  The washing machine may be a symbol that sometimes life seems to be spinning out of control. We've had four friends who have died in the past couple of weeks.  Two are part of my wife's extended family whom she grew up with in a small Oklahoma town.  I was the Pastor of the other two for more than 20 years.  All four were my age.  These deaths made me think about my own mortality.  Another friend from the church had a cancer diagnosis that caught all of us be surprise because he seemed to be in excellent health.  He had surgery and is doing well.  I try to take good care of myself and seem to be in good health.  Nevertheless, you never know what may happen.  Life can seem to spin out of control quickly and unexpectedly.  This is a reality check that reminds me again that I'm not in control as much as I think I would like to be in control.  My life really hasn't "spun out of control," even if there are moments that feel that way.  Even if life feels like it has spun out of control, but not out of God's presence.  The lesson seems to be to take care of what needs my attention, even if it isn't what I had planned.  

He rules the world with truth and grace

One of the favorite Christmas hymns is "Joy To The World."  This marvelous hymn was written by Isaac Watts (1674-1748.)  One of the lines is "He rules the world with truth and grace."  Watts believed that God rules with truthfulness and graciousness.  I agree.  Those first century people didn't recognize Jesus/God as any type of ruler because they were expecting something else.  Perhaps they were looking for a political King, a military leader, a financial wizard, a theological teacher, a miracle worker or something other than a helpless infant who grew up to be a wandering teacher with a small following.  I suspect people today don't recognize Jesus/God anymore than those in that first century.  Perhaps, it is because we are like those first century folks who expect something more from God than ruling the world (and our lives) with only truth and grace. 

Christmas, God shows up

25 years ago my wife and I were scheduled to go to the Middle East for a six weeks mission trip.  She was to help the Hospital Administrators with their new computers and system.  I was to be a "Pastor."  We were to leave in January.  Friends had questioned whether or not we should make this trip.  Our plans were really put in jeopardy when the Pan Am flight was destroyed over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December--25 years ago.  My wife was daily reading in Isaiah and I was reading in the Psalms.  One day she was reading Isaiah 41, when verses 8-10 caught her attention.  Those Isaiah verses read, "You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth and called from its remotest parts, and said to you, 'You are my servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.  Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you for I am your God, I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous hand.'"  On that same day, I was reading from the Psalms, when Psalm 121, verses 7-8 jumped off the page for me.  Those two verses read, "The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.  The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time and forever."  We made the trip to the Middle East and developed some marvelous friendships and memories. 

Maybe this isn't a Christmas story but, again, maybe it is.  Christmas is about God showing up.  Church people, like to use the big word, incarnation.  In Bethlehem, God showed up as a new born and helpless infant, who was birthed in an out-of-the-way place by a seemingly insignificant couple whose pregnancy was suspect.  God seems to continue showing up in unexpected ways and places.  God spoke to us while we were reading the scriptures, not especially looking for anything in particular, yet wondering about a trip to a country we didn't even know about until we had received an invitation.  It is a Merry Christmas because God keeps showing up.

 

"God's more-than-enough"

I rarely go to the malls.  I'm not a shopper because I don't like big crowds and long lines.  I'm grateful for on-line shopping.  Nevertheless, I ventured into a mall recently.  I neither stayed long nor purchased anything because I was "turned off" by the noise and the crowds.  This morning my scripture reading was in the 3rd and 4th Psalm.  I've been reading from Eugene Peterson's The Message. The ending of the 4th Psalm is paraphrased by Peterson as "Why is everyone hungry for more?  'More, more,' they say.  'More, more.'  I have God's more-than-enough, more joy in one ordinary day than they get in all their shopping sprees.  At day's end I'm ready for sound-sleep, for you, God, have put my life back together."   I think I've heard a Word from God for me this 2013 Christmas season.  My prayer for this Christmas is simplicity accompanied with more attentiveness to God's presence which is more-than-enough.

Emotional Intelligence

Recently I've been reading some of Daniel Goleman's work on Emotional Intelligence.  It is certainly important and not just because of the type of work that I do in counseling.   Goleman writes that emotional intelligence, or EQ, among other characteristics, has a lot to do with knowing one's emotions and being able to manage those emotions.  For example, some individuals seek counseling because they have an anger management problem.  Some are even sent by the courts to learn how to manage their anger.  Did you notice the phrase used to describe their situation; it was "anger management."  The ability to be aware of one's anger and, then, managing that anger or energy is an important skill.  The Bible says we are to "Be angry, and yet do not sin." (Ephesians 4:26.)  There are things in life about which we need to be angry.  I'm angry, for example, about the injustices in our world such as blaming the economic problems on the poor, racial and gender prejudice, global warming, etc.  To be angry is one step, but the next is how to manage that anger or energy as a way of trying to make a difference.  I think one of those managing ways is to speak up--"Don't let the sun go down on your anger" as Ephesian 4:26 completes the prescription.  Lord, may I not loose my voice when I see or hear injustice, but speak in a truthful manner and tone that "Lays aside falsehood and speaks the truth." (Ephesians 4:25.)  I like truth when I see it in a respected researcher such as Daniel Goleman and the scriptures.