Having a "yes" face

This came into my in-box the other day.  There was no source indicated, so it's hard to know whether it's true.  But the moral makes it worth repeating.  Here's the story:

During his term as president, Thomas Jefferson and a group of companions were traveling across the country on horseback. 

They came to a river that had overflowed its banks because of a recent downpour.  The swollen river had already washed the bridge away. Each rider was forced to ford the river on horseback fighting against the swirling currents.  The very real possibility of death threatened each rider, which caused a traveler who was not a part of their group to step aside and watch.  

After several had plunged in and with much difficulty,  barely made it to the other side, the stranger asked President Jefferson if he would ferry him across the river.  The president agreed without hesitation.  The man climbed up behind Jefferson, and shortly thereafter the two of them made it safely to the opposite shore.  After the stranger slid to the ground, one in the group asked him, “Tell me, why did you select the President to take you across?”
 

The man was shocked, admitting he had no idea it was the President who had helped him. He responded simply, “All I know is that on some of their faces was written the word 'No,' and on some of them 'Yes.' His was a 'YES' face."

So what does a "yes" face look like?  Perhaps it's kind, caring.  Perhaps it isn't all wrapped up in itself.  Maybe the body language of a "yes" face says, "How can I help you?"  

Another approach might be that a "yes" face is one that says Yes to God's goodness; yes to Her presence; yes to Her comfort; yes to Her caring.

I'm looking forward to identifying what and who I'm saying "yes" to today!

Stand by me - worldwide

This video has been making the rounds again.  A clever sound engineer shares his vision and message for unity for the human race.

"Stand by me" reminds us that we are not alone, that no man is an island.  That mankind can stand together and go forward shoulder to shoulder.

"Stand by me" holds even more promise.  It can also serve as a reminder that God, Truth, that higher power, does stand by us.  He/She made us, loves us, delights in us -- and stands behind the quality of His/Her creation.  

She (my favorite sense of Creator)  intends for us to discover our own humanity and get it right.


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Where God shines through

Decades ago, a friend taught me this little poem.  It's a gentle reminder of purpose; how to get self out of the way; how to go forward when we're not sure.  Letting God shine his love through us is always progress.

I am the place where God shines through,

For He and I are one, not two.

I need not fret, or fear, nor plan.

He wants me where and as I am.

And if I'll be relaxed and free,

He will express Himself through me.

This little girl wasn't expecting any Christmas gifts.

A story of healing

I'm learning that you can't outline how healing comes to people. Here's one man's unique story.

It was a cool, drab February morning, just warm enough for the snow to begin melting. As I walked the indoor track at the Park District field house, a smiling man dropped his jacket on the bleachers. We introduced ourselves by first names and shook hands, and headed off on the circuit together.

Bill asked what I did. I replied, “I do spiritual healing.”
“Oh,” he said, “I believe in that.”
“Tell me more,” I encouraged him.
He eyed me cautiously, “I found Jesus.”
“I’d like to hear about that.”
Reassured, Bill smiled. This was clearly a story he enjoyed telling. And one that moved me deeply to hear. Deeply.

“Around 2000,” he began, “There was a large Mary sculpture that was going around the country on a flat bed truck.”
“Yes I remember seeing it.” While it held no emotional meaning for me, we had taken some out-of-town Catholic friends to see work of religious art in a nearby church parking lot.

Bill and his wife were in the Catholic church till about 1967. “Then I got mad about something and walked out. We went to other churches, and for about 10 years we were Methodists. That’s where I learned about the Holy Spirit. And I’m so grateful.”

Later one day at work, Bill threw a coffee cup at a colleague. Fortunately it missed her, but he had to ask himself at that point, “What am I doing?” He asked a buddy to sign him out, and he went home for the day. His buddy called Bill’s wife to give her a heads up. “Something’s wrong with Bill. He just walked off the job, and he’s on his way home.”

His wife set up an appointment for him to see, in his words, a shrink.

Before that appointment, this Mary sculpture was in the area. They were driving, and his wife asked Bill if he’s like to see it, and he said No. They turned into the parking lot, though, and she asked if he’d like to get out and take a closer look, and he said No.
Father Paul, a hands-on healer, was there, and she asked if he’d like to talk to Father Paul, and Bill said No.
Yet he found himself talking to Father Paul who asked, “How can I help you?”
Bill said, “I don’t know. I’m very angry, and I don’t know why.”

He talked and talked and talked. Father Paul put his hand on Bill’s head and prayed. As he was praying, a storm came up - wind blowing the folding chairs around, and lightning, so intense that Bill couldn’t hear the prayer. Finally the storm quit and there was peace. He felt as though a burden had been lifted.
His wife asked, “Are you OK?
“Yes,” Bill nodded. “I think I can sleep tonight.” then he added, “Wasn’t that the strangest storm!”
His wife looked at him. “Storm? Bill, there was no storm.” Bill realized it had been his own personal turmoil raging within him. No one else saw a storm.

About a week later his wife asked Bill when he had last suffered a migraine headache. These had plagued him from childhood and, though he had tried many medications over the years, nothing had helped. He realized there had been no headaches since Father Paul had prayed for him. In addition, all the anger was gone. They canceled the doctor’s appointment.

Bill went back to work and though nothing had changed, he wasn’t upset by his work environment anymore. No more Mr. Crabby.

He had never read the Bible. But his daughter, an Evangelical Christian, gave him one after this experience. Several months later he read about the Day of Pentecost. In great excitement Bill came running to his wife, “You have to read this! This is me!” He was thrilled by the description of the Holy Spirit as a rushing, mighty wind.

He and his wife returned to the Catholic church because, as she said of Bill’s transformation, “This is real. This is real.”

His story lasted about 30 minutes. We put our jackets on and left the field house together still talking. We hugged in the parking lot. “God is good,” he said as we parted. “Yes,” I agreed, He sure is.”

Who is today really about?

Ever have a day when nothing's going your way?  Maybe there's another perspective. 

Maybe life isn't all about "me"?

A higher conversation

What do you do when somebody's rude to you - for no apparent reason?  I learned last week to go for a higher conversation. 

I had gone to Home Depot for a small can of paint.  You see, I had this bathroom waste basket with a lovely blending of most unusual colors -- pale blue, green, and yellow -- and had been thinking about putting some accents in the bathroom in these colors.  

Bold, new, not so pale, accents

Wastebasket in hand for matching colors, I asked the clerk whether a toilet seat could be painted.  He answered generically and negatively.  Feeling sure it could be done, I repeated my question.  He repeated his previous answer very loudly -- which was embarrassing because there were other customers and clerks nearby.  

This conversation wasn't going at all in a productive direction.  I knew God had a better plan for our relationship.  To find out how to turn this in a useful direction, I reached out to God.  I like to talk with Her often, and not only when things get dicey.  I've learned to trust that She always has a good solution.  

Finding a sense of God, good, being in charge, and standing across the counter from the clerk, I said very quietly, "I can hear you just fine without your raising your voice."

He paused, then replied trying to justify himself, but this time his reply was equally quiet. 

I said nothing, but I did pray to love this guy.  I loved his humility -- even if it wasn't evident.  I loved his desire to serve.  I loved his expertise, his skill, his progress in his career.  

About that time he finished some puttering he was doing at the counter, looked up, and with a completely different attitude, allowed that a toilet seat could be painted under certain conditions.  This led to his asking some good questions and then offering some helpful advice.  He was all helpfulness.

He mixed the colors in enamel, and we parted on a very cordial basis.

James (in the Bible's New Testament) says, "Who is a wise man... among you?  Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom."  There is always a good conversation, always a better conversation, when God remains at the forefront of thought. 

There will be celebrating

Americans take the Bible for granted, pretty much.

Most anybody who wants to can buy, borrow, or read a Bible, not only in King James English, but in any of dozens of translations that take advantage of recent scholarship and research to add insight and accuracy.

And, yes, these translations are also in English. And with what reverence and enthusiasm do we (you and I) read the Word?

The Kimyals in West Papua, Indonesia, are thrilled to be receiving translations of the Bible in their own language. They raise the bar for joy in being able to read their BIbles.

I found their celebration very humbling.

No limit on friendships

Love has no limits. In spite of what we're taught to believe, valuing, respecting, and caring for one another is natural.

Is God trying to tell you something?

“The Color Purple” aired on Public TV the other night.  Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover -- what a cast Steven Spielberg assembled for this beautifully directed movie, which debuted 26 years ago.  I watch very little TV, but remembering this story as worthy of five stars, set aside the time.  So glad I did.

Let's focus on the old fashioned Gospel song near the end of the movie.  Here’s a tiny bit of background to set the scene.

Rural Georgia, early 1900s
Celie (Whoopi Goldberg) - main character
Albert (Danny Glover) - Celie’s abusive husband
Shrug - popular jazz and blues singer with dubious reputation

Shrug has been trying to reconnect with her daddy -- a local preacher who turned his back on her years ago.  When she’s in town, Shrug sings at the local bar which is within easy earshot of her daddy’s church.

Albert has beaten his wife and told her she was worthless since she was fourteen.  Celie believed her beloved sister dead, when actually Albert had cruelly hidden her letters from his wife.  Finally as Shrug helped her recognize her self-worth, Celie found and read the cache of her sister’s  letters, gathered the courage to leave Albert, and has returned years later, financially independent, to inherit her father's home and land.

This particular Sunday morning, Shrug is singing to a full house at the bar. Her words, “So let me tell you somethin’ sister...” are interrupted by the Gospel choir across the little river, countering with their own message, “God is trying to tell you something.”  Shrug used to sing this same song in her daddy’s choir, and it speaks to her heart now.

Leading the bar crowd down the road and right through the front doors of the church, Shrug counterpoints with the choir -- as only classic Gospel can do -- with an affection and hope that God is trying to tell them all something!

Finally her daddy gets the message and embraces Shrug as she tells him, “See Daddy,  sinners have soul too.”  Albert sitting alone on his front porch also gets the message and uses a stash of hidden cash to set in motion a chain of events which will soon reunite Celie and her sister.

God’s message may involve a change of heart, a willingness to forgive and go forward, or maybe to repent and go forward, or maybe something else and go forward.  Sometimes, like the characters in the story, we need to pay attention.  We might well ask, "What is God trying to tell me today?"

Here’s a wonderful clip of the Gospel choir and Shrug’s joyous moment.

The power of being a friend

This email has been making the rounds again.  It's a story with a good message.

One day when I was a high school freshman, I saw a kid from one of my classes walking home from school.  His name was Kyle, and it looked like he was carrying every book he owned.

I asked myself, “Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?  He must really be a nerd.”  I, on the other hand, had quite a weekend planned -- parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon -- so I shrugged and went on.

In a moment, a bunch of guys ran towards him, aggressively knocking the books out of his arms, then tripping him so he landed in the dirt, laughing as they moved on.

Kyle’s glassed went flying.  As I walked over, there was terrible sadness in his eyes.  Handing him his glasses I said, “Those guys are jerks.  They should get a life.”

A smile lit his face.  “Hey, thanks!”  Together we gathered his stuff, and it turned out he lived near me.  He’d just transferred from a private school, and that’s why I hadn’t seen him walking before.

As we talked, we hit it off real well.  He was a cool kid, thoughtful, bright, funny.  I invited him to play football with me and my buddies the next day.  And he accepted.

We hung out a lot over the next four years.  In fact we became best friends.

In our senior year we began talking colleges.  Kyle was headed to Georgetown and pre-med, and I was going to Duke for business on a football scholarship.  I felt we’d always be friends, and the miles would never be a problem

Kyle had really found himself, he had a good sense of who he was.  He’d filled out and actually looked good in glasses.  He almost had more dates than I did, and sometimes I was almost jealous. 

As valedictorian of our class, Kyle had an important speech to prepare.  I was so glad it wasn’t me having to go up there and speak to everybody. 

Graduation day I could see he was nervous.  “Hey big guy,” I said smacking him on the back, “You’ll be great!”

“Thanks,” he replied, looking me straight in the eyes with a warm smile.

On stage he cleared his throat and began. “Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through the tough times.  Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a couch, and especially your friends.  I’m here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.  And I’m going to tell you a story.  My story.”

I stared in disbelief as he recounted the first day we met.  He had planned to kill himself that weekend.  He’d cleaned out his locker so his family wouldn’t have to do it later.  He was carrying home all his things.

Kyle looked at me and smiled.  “Thankfully, “he said, “I was saved by a friend.  He saved me from doing the unspeakable.”

In the silence that followed, this likable young man told us about the lowest point in his life.  Afterward his parents hugged me and shook my hand. 

So, what Kyle said, I would underscore.  Never underestimate the power of your actions.  There is no such thing as a small act of kindness.  One kind word or deed can change the course of another person’s life.

Community after the blizzard

In the Chicago area, from what I can gather, things went rather well during the blizzard.  People had advance warning to stock up on groceries.  Most stayed home and didn’t get stuck and become part of a crisis.  Even the newscasters were commenting on how the blizzard brought people together to help each other.

Before the plows came

I pray for my condo community, which is part family, part neighborhood.  I pray for cooperation, support, fellowship, harmony, peace -- those qualities we want to see in our neighbors.  Sometimes there is no clue as to how things are going.

Johanna looking for snow to shovel

About 10 pm, Anita called from the building at the other end of our complex.  "My truck is stuck in the drive.  I've tried everything and can't move it.  I'm going inside now."

So, is anyone cut off from God’s love and care, even during a blizzard?  It cannot be.  Where God, good is ever-present, no one can be stuck outside that universal goodness.

Within minutes I saw from my window a young man running down the snow-filled drive with a snow shovel.  It turns out his brother had pulled in and was stuck behind Anita’s truck.  Both men helped her get her truck into a parking slot, and within a few more minutes, their van was also in its parking slot.  She was so grateful.

Lauren peaks the local Matterhorn!

The plows came during the night after the wind stopped, and the next morning (after the snow had stopped).  Nearly everyone spontaneously moved their vehicles so the plows could clear maximum parking slots.  Owners were chatting and laughing as they congregated in little groups to watch the plowers do their swift work.

My heart filled with gratitude to see this sense of community and good-will in action. 

Peace and silence afterward

Paul understood that nothing could separate him from the love of God -- and he had been jailed, beaten, betrayed, ship-wrecked, snake-bit, stoned and left for dead -- he had proved the oneness of God and His creation every day of his missionary life.

I was glad to see a glimpse of this oneness after the blizzard.

True progress

"The new growth in the plant 

swelling against the sheath, 

which at the same time imprisons and protects it, 

must still be the truest type of progress."

Jane Addams

Did we mention teamwork?

True, this Youtube has been making the rounds for about three years, and well it should!

Fred Astair and Eleanor Powell set a standard in this 70 year-old clip.  Teamwork, timing, rhythm, fun, precision... did we mention teamwork?

This spectacular dancing hints at another teamwork each of us can be part of.  It has to do with recognizing our oneness with our Maker, infinite Truth.  This awareness and approval aligns us with an infinite rhythm, timing, and teamwork that reveals what's genuinely beautiful and good in our lives.  Even fun.  

Our dance through life may not always be light and tappy and perfectly coordinated with everyone around us -- though that would be nice.

But as long as we pay attention to and follow the Chief Choreographer, we'll be OK.