Planting the Future

Tuesday evening I was gifted with more than an hour with My Love helping her plant more "goodies" in her garden. Together we put in potatoes and onion sets (red, white and yellow). Yes, I know, the potatoes were supposed to be put in on Good Friday, but they only arrived this week from the seed company. Apparently, due to the economic slump, there are so many people planting their own food this year that the seed companies cannot keep up. Isn't that a wonderful thing! Think of all the quality time that people are taking to get back to the basics of life.

I couldn't help but think of my Dad, who always had a garden. When he would come home from work at the end of the day, he would go out to pull a few weeds, or water, or pick some vegetables. It was his time alone, time for peace and quiet before coming into the house to deal with us children. Somehow we knew enough not to disturb him during these precious few moments alone.

Anyway, instead of Good Friday, we celebrated Great Tuesday. It was a great feeling to get my hands into the soil and experience the hope and anticipation of the harvest as we placed each small onion and potato. In Texas, we tried one year to have a garden, but the heat was too intense. We needed to water the plants early in the morning before going to work, and then again after we came home in the evening. Then we only harvested some scrawny little vegetables. It wasn't worth it, especially when we could go 1/4 mile down the road any day of the week and buy fresh fruits and vegetables off the back of a truck.

As we were finishing our task Tuesday evening, a few drops of rain began to fall. Throughout the night and yesterday all day, we continued to receive on-again off-again light showers. It was truly God blessing our efforts! I am reminded of Paul's words in 1 Cor 3:7: "Neither he who plants nor he who waters is of any special account, only God who gives the growth."

Isn't that the way it is with everything in life? We are planting seeds, or watering what others have planted. Maybe we are even harvesting what others have labored over. But all of it is a gift from God who has given it to us.

What are you doing today? planting? or watering? or harvesting? Do it with a grateful heart.

O Great Ones

On several trips to Africa in the 1970s and 80s, I came to understand and appreciate how the people of Tanzania honored and revered the elderly in their society. When a man reached an age that we would call Senior Citizen, he would be given an honorary title of "Mse" (pronounced "Umzay"). This is a title which cannot readily be translated into English in one word, for it means something like "O Great One", or "O Most Honored One", or "O Wise One". It is truly a title of distinction and reverence.

Perhaps this was so noticeable to me because it is something which has disintegrated in our own culture and society. With our cult of youth, we view the elderly in our midst as a burden, if not a down right disposable commodity. My eight years experience working as a nursing home administrator underscored this reality only too clearly. Many people were delivered to the care of our facility only to then be forgotten by their families. It was sad.

For this reason, it is such a gift for My Love and me to be back here in Iowa where we can be close to our parents. We have the opportunity to be in contact with them on a regular basis and to be of assistance to them when they need it.

In fact, I am so very proud of My Love and the care that she is providing for her parents. Not a day goes by that she isn't in touch with them. Most days she spends several hours with them, cleaning for them, shopping for groceries, taking them to doctor's appointments, taking them on outings, playing games with them. Some days she is with them all day doing whatever needs to be done to make it possible for them to stay in their own home comfortably.

She would say that this is no big deal, that it is a gift for her to be able to be for them at this time in their life after all they have done for her in previous years. But that is just the point: it is a big deal because it is not being done today in our society by younger generations. Most of our society would be more in tune with the Eskimo tradition of putting the elderly on an ice floe and letting them float away until they are frozen to death or eaten by polar bears.

Yet, here we are because of God's hand and direction in bringing us back home. Each day gives us more reason for gratitude. As I've said in an earlier blog, it's all about family!

A Special Picnic

On Thursday temperatures climbed into the upper 80s -- a record-setting day. Even though it was a bit windy, My Love decided that it was time for the first picnic of the year. So, she packed up the hamburgers, hot dogs, cookies, drinks, charcoal, lighter fluid, and her parents and headed down to Spring Lake.

While she was preparing the fire for the grilling, her folks went down by the lake to sit on a bench where they could watch the geese. Two were nesting nearby, keeping a wary eye on them lest they present some sort of threat to the eggs, which the setting goose faithfully turned from time to time. Other geese, and even a pair of mallards, skimmed across the water, honking and splashing as they took off or landed in the beautiful sunshine.

I joined them for lunch and enjoyed the refreshing outdoors with its brisk breeze, leaves beginning to pop out, and the wonder of the birds singing. After the long winter, it was easy to appreciate the beauty of spring once again.

I was reminded of the difference I had discovered many years ago when I went to Africa for the first time. There I saw people who had small, simple shacks that they called home. Yet, as I observed them, I realized that they lived outside, and sometimes they went inside. That is, they cooked outside, they worked outside, they visited people outdoors, they shopped in the outdoor market. Then, at night they might go inside to sleep.

We, on the other hand, live inside, and sometimes we go outside. Most of our life's activities are accomplished inside the walls of our home, our office, our church, etc., and we only go outside to go from one inside to another. Maybe that is why it is such a treat to enjoy a picnic, or go camping for the weekend, or spend a day fishing at the lake. There seems to be a hunger within us to get outside, plant our feet once again on real soil and come in contact with our roots.

Yet, on a spiritual level, the opposite seems to be the case. When it comes to our own person, we prefer to live outside while ignoring our inner hungers. We busy ourselves with all sorts of activities and noises so that we cannot hear the still, small voice within. We distract ourselves with activity in order to not notice the cravings in our heart.

Then, once in a while we venture inside ourselves, but that is not where we are primarily comfortable. It is only for a rare picnic that we take a trip to our inner sanctuary. But we prefer not to stay too long.

Where would you rather live?

Sunshine Over Me

Yesterday was a beautiful day with bright sunshine, temperatures in the mid 70s, and only a light breeze. It was actually too nice a day to be inside working, which I was doing. In fact, I was thinking of having My Love write a note to excuse me from work so that I could go outside to play!

Then I began thinking (always a dangerous thing to do). Why is it that I (and it seems like most of the people around me) feel so much better on a pleasant day than on a gloomy, overcast one? Why is it that I have more energy and am so much more ready to get things done when the weather is so uplifting?

At that point, I recalled my travels to Germany in the 1970s and 80s. Often times the weather was rainy, overcast, dreary and cold. I remember thinking on more than one occasion that it is no wonder that European history is so replete with wars, conflicts, skirmishes and struggles. If I had to live in weather that was predominately depressing, I would probably be fighting with someone also.

From there, my musing moved to the question of who/what is really in control of my moods and emotions. Weather is one of the things in my life over which I have absolutely no control. No matter what I say or do, I will not make the sun come out on a cloudy day, or encourage the wind to cease blowing. Why am I wasting my energy on something so useless? Or more to the point, why am I giving something so unpredictable the power to control how I respond to everyday life around me? The only thing that I have control over is my own reactions, my own responses to the realities around me. That brought me back to my Dad's favorite prayer again, the Serenity Prayer.

The bottom line question for me therefore is: Who is the Lord of my life? If I say that Jesus is Lord, then something so "outside myself" as the weather should not be able to have such an effect upon my moods and feelings. I really cannot surrender control of my life to the Lord while portioning some of that control to the forces of nature. Besides, it is much more enjoyable being in a good mood every day!

Carry-ons Only

Back in the 1980s, I traveled to India several times. It was my practice to pack one change of socks and underwear in my carry-on bag along with my shaving kit, passport and other essentials. The rest of my clothes and travel accoutrements would go in my checked luggage.

On one of those journeys, I arrived in Bombay (now known as Mumbai) only to be informed that the bag that I had checked did not arrive with me. Since I was catching a connecting flight in country, I could not await my luggage, but went on without it.

Arriving at my destination, I went to the marketplace and purchased another change of socks and underwear, and one more shirt. With this limited wardrobe, I traveled for three weeks very comfortably. Each evening I would wash out my shirt, underwear and socks, hang them up in my room, and by morning they would be dry. This routine continued throughout my entire trek.

Finally, on my way out of the country, I passed again through Mumbai, picked up my wayward bag and went home.

Because of this experience, I realized that I could travel a lot lighter than I had previously. Many of the items that I considered "necessities" were actually only added weight for the journey. Without them, I passed much more rapidly through customs, waited less time at my destinations, and arrived much more refreshed.

Secondly, I discovered that I did not need to be a slave to fashion. Not once in all my travels did anyone comment on my wardrobe and say: "Oh, you're wearing the same outfit as yesterday!" Even if they were thinking it, never did it become an obstacle.

Lastly, I learned the freedom that comes from not being focused on the material measures of my person. "Clothes do not the man make", as someone once said. I was free to place my energies on the point of my trip - to meet with and help other people.

In these times of economic stress, all these lessons have continued to serve me well. Voluntary simplicity brings great freedom to life. The truth of Jesus' words echoes loudly in my ears: "Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap...yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?...See the lilies of the field. They do not work or spin, yet not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these...Stop worrying then over questions like 'What are we to eat, or what are we to drink, or what are we to wear?'...Your heavenly Father knows all that you need." Matthew 7:26-34.

Traveling lightly with only a carry-on makes the journey of life much easier. Since we are only pilgrims passing through this world, why do we let ourselves become burdened down with excess baggage?

Bicycle Brakes

I was ten years old when I got my first bicycle, a sleek red beauty that went faster than the wind (or so I thought at that time). My parents had allowed me to pick out the bike I wanted from Montgomery Wards, but they also required that I earn the money first to pay for it. It was a lesson that still serves me well today.

One of the first things that I did after I brought the red beauty home was to turn it upside down, take the back wheel off, and disassemble the brake system. I wanted to know how it worked. So the simplest method was to take it apart, then put it back together again. From that point on, I was able to service the bike whenever it needed it.

At each stage of my life, I see the same desire to understand the inner workings of whatever organization, system, business or association with which I became connected. In college I became part of the Student Council, not as an elected representative, but as the parliamentarian -- the one behind the scenes who guided and even helped to control the workings of the body.

Later on, as a pastor, I wanted/needed to be "on top of" what was going on in the parish. Whether through the Parish Council, the School Board, the Liturgy Committee or any other organization, I wanted to keep tabs on what was happening. This was probably as much a control issue for me as it was a desire to be helpful and serve the needs of the people.

When I moved into the role of nursing home administrator, it was key for me to understand the functioning of all departments within the institution. My job description assigned me, and the law held me responsible for the total welfare of the people left in my care. This was a 24-hour per day, 365 days per year ministry which was confirmed by my administrator's license hanging on the wall. I took it seriously.

As I grow older, I find myself less able to understand everything, and certainly unable to control all things. Slowly I am coming to accept the reality that there is only One who understands everything, the same One who controls all things. Even more humbling is the realization that were I to purchase a new bicycle today, I probably would not be able to take apart and put back together the brake system.

Common Sense

In six-plus months of working in the car business, I have learned much about human nature. My previous life experience had revealed many aspects of the human species, but the automobile business underscored heretofore shaded dimensions of the psyche.

George (not his real name) came in to trade his 2003 pickup for a 2005 model. According to book values, we could offer him $11,200 for his trade in, while the vehicle he wanted was valued at $25,000. While trying to help him get financing for the deal, I discovered two problems: he still owed $14,500 on his trade in; and he had not been consistent in making the payments, thereby jeopardizing his credit rating. So, as a consequence, George was unable to purchase the vehicle he desired, and we were unable to complete a sale. It was a lose-lose situation.

Tim (again a fictitious name) borrowed money from his bank to purchase a new (for him) auto. Before the first payment was made, he brought the vehicle back and turned it in, without even having registered or licensed it. He said that he had bought it to impress his girlfriend, and she left him anyway. Therefore he did not need it anymore.

Why do I bring these incidents to this venue? Because both of them illustrate what I have known for many years, but am discovering over and over again: Common Sense is NOT Common!

It would seem to be common sense that you cannot fail to pay your bills on time and then expect to maintain a good credit rating. Common sense would dictate that you cannot continually pay more for things than they are worth while piling up debt upon debt as you charge, finance, charge and finance again and again. Common sense would tell us that we cannot run indefinitely from the consequences of our decisions and our actions; sooner or later they will catch up with us.

Yet, that is what we have done as individuals, as a nation, indeed as a world. Perhaps that is a simple explanation for why we are in the financial condition we are in.

If there is to be a silver lining to the economic cloud that hangs over us, perhaps it will be that we will once again begin to live within our means. This will happen only as we once again distinguish between our needs and our wants.

In my experience, common sense is not something that can be taught except in the University of Hard Knocks. As someone said: Wisdom comes from experience, and experience comes from making mistakes. May we extract the nugget of wisdom that is hidden in this mountain of mistakes around us. May we begin to face the whimsical side of our nature that makes decisions based on short term immediate gratification. May we instead see the long term consequences of our choices, gain some common sense, and grow in freedom.

Signs of New Life

Trees and lilac bushes budding out. Robins, red-wing blackbirds, meadow larks and other songbirds singing. Grass beginning to turn green. Rabbits and squirrels chasing their prospective mates around the yard. My Love nurturing her garden seeds in small cups in our office window and waiting anxiously to get her hands in the dirt as she and her sister, Annette, plant their garden together.

All these signs of New Life we celebrated as we gathered on Easter to rejoice in the Resurrection of Jesus. Besides the Risen Life held out to us, we also thanked God for the gift of life of Annette's husband, Jim, who had a birthday on Saturday. In between the delicious food, the marble games, the naps and the laughter, My Love and I reveled again in the blessing of renewing family traditions.

Together with her mother, My Love had enjoyed coloring eggs last week, making up baskets for various neighbors, friends and family members. This tradition was revived from our days together in Texas when the two of them would play together in the kitchen preparing for the Easter feast, something which they again did on Friday and Saturday.

It was even enjoyable to witness the disappointment on niece Rita's face as she came into the home of her Grandparents on Sunday morning to realize that the Easter eggs were not hidden, but out in plain sight. As a college graduate-to-be (next month), she still looked forward to the family tradition of hiding, searching for, and finding the eggs!

All these small celebrations of life and family traditions are nothing as compared to the New Life that this Easter season presents to us in Jesus. Each of these small "resurrections" is but a reminder of the Resurrection of Jesus that is ours to participate in each day as we choose life over death, hope over despair, love over resentment. Truly, He is Risen. So are we!

Easter Greetings

How wonderful it is to be here in Iowa to celebrate Easter with our families! It is a true experience of the Alleluia that fills our lives because of Jesus' Resurrection.

A year ago we were happily rejoicing on this feast in our home in Edinburg, Texas. Friends (Denny and Linda) and relatives (Catherine and her son, Dan) joined us for Easter dinner. A great time was had by all as we ate, laughed together, and celebrated New Life.

Little did we know that our lives would be so quickly and dramatically changed by Hurricane Dolly on July 24. As we watched our beautiful home slowly sink into the rising flood waters, we knew that God was calling us to return to our roots, rejoin our families, and celebrate our new life back in the Midwest.

This year we are gathering with My Love's family to celebrate Easter Life. Also, we are rejoicing in the gift of life of my brother-in-law, Jim, whose birthday is April 11. With fine food, delicious wine, laughter and love, we will renew our faith, hope and love in the Resurrection of Jesus.

As we do so, know that you, our larger family and friends, will be present in our hearts and in our prayers. We wish you could join with us at the table. May you also find cause to sing an Alleluia in the midst of your own life.

Triduum Pattern

These are my favorite days of the whole faith year: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, or, as they are more properly known, Feast of the Lord's Supper, Celebration of the Passion and Death of the Lord, and the Easter Vigil. In actuality, they are three parts of one reality, and are called the Triduum, or the Three Days.

When I was a child, Lent would end for us at noon on Holy Saturday. We would have been doing our Lenten penance for six weeks, that is, giving up candy. All those sweets would be piled up in a box. Then at noon on Holy Saturday, we would pig out, making up for all the "suffering" we had endured during the previous month and a half. It was at that point that the true suffering would begin as we over-indulged in the mountain of sugar we had denied ourselves.

Now, Lent ends with the beginning of the celebration of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday. At that point we focus on the re-presentation of the Suffering, Dying and Rising of Jesus by moving through the three day faith celebration, culminating in the hope, joy and triumph of Easter.

I guess the reason these days are so special for me is that they illustrate so powerfully and graphically the CYCLE of LIFE. This is the paradigm for interpreting my own experience, my own Sacred History. As I look back, I see the pattern repeated: suffering, dying, rising, suffering, dying, rising, over and over again. New life, new hope, new beginnings only come about out of the ashes and agony of the dying process.

With that realization, and the opportunity to celebrate in the midst of a faith community, I feel more hopeful, more joyful, more positive about whatever the future may bring. After all, if God could raise up Jesus after his suffering and death, God can surely bring me through my death experience to a new life. What an awesome God we have!

Sacred History

Gail and Marilyn, who belong to our morning Bible study, are preparing to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary in May. As part of the getting ready, they have been going through photo albums from their married life, picking photos for a slide presentation to be shown during the festivities. Last week, Marilyn shared with us what an awesome experience it has been to walk prayerfully through their history, and see the many ways that God has been present and blessed them.

One of the overwhelming realizations that they came to, and subsequently shared with us, was how God always seemed to be present, supporting them and guiding them, in the struggles and difficulties of their life together. That supportive presence was manifested most often and most consistently through whatever faith community they were a part of at the time. It might have been Christian Family Movement, Cursillo, Marriage Encounter, Charismatic Movement, or any number of other Catholic faith communities.

At this particular point in their faith journey, our morning Bible study is serving in that capacity of supportive and guiding faith community. For the last three years we have been sharing our faith as we reflect on and study the Bible. Their realization is that God has never left them without a faith community. At the same time, they have no idea where their life would be today were it not for the ever-present community of faith surrounding and carrying them along.

As they were sharing their insights and their gratitude for God's loving hand in their sacred history, I was struck with the importance of each one of us taking time to reflect on our own sacred history. From time to time, how encouraging and edifying it could be for us if we would spend time tracing the loving hand of God in our own lives. For it is a fact, God has always been with us. If we are not aware of God's presence, it is only because we have not taken the opportunity to peel back the top layer of our story and discover the underlying hand of God. We don't have to wait for a special occasion, like a 50th anniversary. We can do it today.

How To Flush a Toilet

The first time I traveled to Africa in 1975, it was an eye-opening experience for me. Because this was my first time outside the USA, I was confronted with many new realities, and many familiar realities viewed in a new light. There were about 16 of us traveling together in a group. We had spent several weeks in Germany, a few days in Rome, and finally ended up for a couple of weeks in Tanzania, East Africa.

When asked to summarize my experience on our return to the States, I said: "There are many ways to flush a toilet." What I meant was that throughout our travels, I had discovered that in each country, in each culture, there were differing ways of doing things. Each country had developed certain systems for dealing with human problems, issues, needs and struggles. Some of them may have worked more successfully than others. Some may have been more complicated than others. Some may have been more expensive than others. But in the end, they all seemed to serve the needs of the particular people involved. No one way was better or worse than any other.

That was a life-changing experience for me because it helped me to let go of a certain judgmental outlook on life and people. Who was I to decide that life had to be a certain way? Who was I to judge how others dealt with the issues of daily life? Who was I to say that the way we do things in the USA is the best or only way to live life?

In the ensuing years, I believe that that attitude of letting others be has broadened. I find myself more willing to let others be themselves rather than what I think that they should be. I don't find the need (as much) to shape them into my idea of who or how they should live. And what a freeing development that has been. Since I have resigned as Master of the Universe, my stress level has decreased significantly, and my level of peace and joy has risen out of sight. When I let God be God, and let others be themselves, then I can be myself, and be at peace with that.

Revealing Words

Back when I was a freshman in high school, my homeroom teacher wrote a saying on the blackboard (they were really BLACK back then!) each week. It would be some pithy saying that we could reflect on for the duration until she placed another one before us.

The only one I recall after all these years went something like this: "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." Although I have probably violated this more than a few times in my life, the message remains embedded in my memory forever.

Reflecting on these words today, several points come to my mind. First of all, we live in a world where we are bombarded by words every waking moment. Whether from radio, TV, computer, billboards, ipods, cell phone, home phone, email, texting, or whatever the latest gizmo for communicating might be, to say nothing of the voices of people around us every day. All this noise serves to render words very cheap and therefore easily ignored. Rather than facilitating communication, words tend to clog the arteries of interaction by their shear numbers.

Secondly, the words we do use reveal ourselves to others whether we want them to or not. Our chosen verbiage creates a small window to our heart, our spirit. If that verbiage smacks of loss of control, or reflects smallness of heart, or displays minimal intelligence, how can we expect to have a positive influence on those around us? On the other hand, if my words reveal humor, caring, joy, sensitivity to those around me, how much better off the world will be from my passing through it.

I wonder sometimes what my own words sound like to others. If I stop to listen to myself, what is it I hear? How do I sound? What is the message that others receive? Would I be farther ahead to heed the words of my high school homeroom teacher?