People Connect

Recently I connected once again with a high school classmate with whom I had lost contact for many years. We grew up near one another, went all through grade and high school together, and then went our separate ways. It was good to compare notes, see how our lives had changed, and how they had remained the same over the years.

I find that as I move into my "senior years", I want to re-establish relationships with people from my past life. This is especially true of people who played some kind of significant role in my life at a former stage. It's as though there is "unfinished business" that requires completion, as though the circle must be fully drawn.

This in turn brings me back to the realization, which I've reflected on in a previous pondering, that all we really have in life are the relationships we've formed. Since, as the saying goes, "There are no uhauls behind the hearse", we can take nothing out of this life except the people we carry in our hearts.

So what more important thing are you doing today than building, patching up and strengthening the connections with the people in your life?

Blessed Are They

Blessed are those who have nothing to say, and don't take all day to do it! This is one of those wise sayings that is ignored at one's own peril. So today, only a few ramblings.

We have been enjoying fresh lettuce, spinach, radishes and onions from our garden. How delicious! How much we have missed while in Texas. Makes coming back to Iowa all the more worthwhile.

Finally last evening, we finished hanging the four new fans in the condo of My Love's parents. Their children had gifted them with four new ceiling fans, one for each bedroom, one for the dining area, and another for the living room. Each fan includes a light kit, so now they have ceiling lights in all the rooms. Thanks to the help of a local guy, we have them in place and the Folks are very pleased and happy.

This weekend we will celebrate the graduation of my sister's youngest daughter, Megan. It will be another wonderful opportunity to join together with family in an event that we would have missed in Texas. The blessings of God continue to unfold.

So now it is time to finish and heed the words of the Wise Man quoted above.

Father Hank and Marriage

Gail and Marilyn, celebrating 50 years of wedded bliss, have requested to recognize and honor someone who had a great impact on the success of their marriage. I am welcoming them as Guest Authors of this blog today.

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I REMEMBER

Father Hank Schorn

November 9, 1930-April 22,1981Father Hank, 28 years have passed since you have died and joined Our Father God. This year 2009 we are celebrating 50 years of COMMITMENT to marriage. Our hearts in 2009 are still deeply etched with your own words: "You two must be the greatest sign of Matrimony that this world has ever known. If you don't LIVE your sacrament, the world will never know how GREAT coupleness can be." You, Hank, always pushed and pushed us to be GREAT...to be EXCELLENT.

Only History will judge to what degree we have lived or are living that passionate plea.

We still remember you, Father Hank, at the Eucharist- not because we pray for you or ask you to pray for us but because to us your LIFE with us and for us was and is Eucharist. You made Eucharist such a deeply heartfelt celebration. We remember you affirming and loving us as your arms embraced us-bringing us PEACE and strength and moments of conversion. We remember you as a caring person to each person you came in contact with. Status or politics didn't impress you.......

I remember your playfulness and chiding with Father Printy and the resulting deep giggles of laughter that didn't stop.
I remember you celebrating your last birthday with Father Pauly Fangman beside you. I have that picture on my Memory Board and see you every day.

You judged people by the qualities of their heart.

We miss your physical presence....however the GIFT of your passionate vision of what Matrimony can be still burns in our hearts. The Impossible Dream seems possible when you say it......

I INVITE EACH OF YOU TO REMEMBER FATHER HANK AND SHARE WITH US. HOW ABOUT A FATHER HANK.....STAND UP FOR MARRIAGE DAY CELEBRATION SOME TIME DURING THE YEAR OF 2009. EACH OF YOU CELEBRATE THE GIFT OF YOU......HE WILL COME AND ENJOY THE DAY............Gail and Marilyn Koch

The Shack

When I read The Shack by William P Young a few months back, I was touched by the insight into the personal view of God which this author expressed. Definitely outside the usual images and concepts that we associate with the Divine, this book expresses a reality that I found both challenging and comforting. The author has captured a very personal and relational vision of the inner workings of the Godhead, while also picturing that same intimacy as available to us.

This book has at the same time caused quite a stir and fury among some believers who consider it blasphemy, heresy and unbiblical. They tend to harangue about this book with a ferocity that certainly calls into question their real fears and motives. What is it that really bothers them? Why is it that they feel a need to attack?

I have found that this group of people is made up of individuals who have a rather rigid and narrow concept of God. Somehow God is defined by their language, their concepts, their images, ideas and theology. Anything that varies from that paradigm somehow is not true, but even seen as evil.

Yet as I read the Bible, I am struck by verses such as Is 55:8-9: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways says the Lord. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts."

God is not confined to our limited understanding, nor hemmed in by our narrow vision. I don't care which religion or faith we profess, whether Christian, Buddhist, Jewish or Muslim, as soon as we think that we have a corner on and control of the Divine, we have set ourselves outside the Reality. Whether Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist or Evangelical -- or any other denomination -- our finite grasp of the Infinite is more unlike the Truth than it is like it. We have more inaccuracies in our personal view than certainties. God is totally Other. When we think that we have solved the Mystery, we are just plain wrong.

In the Old Testament, the Lord said: "I am the Lord your God...You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:2-3). Yet the Israelite people were constantly being warned and punished for making images of God which they would then worship. These were in the form of a golden calf or one of the other neighboring gods. Continually God called them to abandon this limited image of God.

In our own lives, God from time to time also calls us to let go of our encrusted image of the Divine and expand, stretch our understanding. Maybe we are not making actual physical idols. However, sometimes the idol has become our own understanding of Who God is and how God works. God then challenges us to grow, to move beyond that idol.

So when I find people defending God against supposed attacks, I am led to think that they are rather defending their understanding of God. It is their own insecurity many times that pushes them to this offensive posture. Their own fear drives them to tear down what they find to be threatening.

Somehow, I believe that God is able to take care of the Divine Godhead. It is I who need to change.

So if you are looking for a book that will stir you up, give this one a try.

Spring Lake

For the last two evenings, My Love and I have walked around the small lake on the south end of Cherokee. (Of course, I did not think to bring a camera along!) Called Spring Lake, it is a gravel pit that has been transformed into a wonderful park with shelter houses, picnic tables, grills, playground equipment for children, camping facilities for motor homes and travel trailers, several fishing spots, and a paved walking trail around the outside that takes about 1/2 hour to complete.

Swimming on the water were Canada geese with their little goslings in tow, mallard ducks with several small ducklings following, and many and varied species of birds flitting through the trees as they serenaded us with their sweet melodies.

Set off by the flowering lilac bushes, honeysuckle, bridle wreath and other blossoming trees, it is a true piece of paradise. Immersing ourselves in this reawakening of creation, it is impossible to be sad, worried, depressed or anxious. The surrounding beauty is almost intoxicating with the glory of God.

Even such a short half-hour stroll sends my heart bursting forth in praise and thanksgiving to God who encircles me every day with such reminders of the Eternal Presence. From time to time, I need these obvious taps on the shoulder to bring me again to consciousness of what is always there. Thank you, God.

Big Fish, Little Fish

Last Saturday, My Love and I took her parents to the graduation of their LAST of 34 grandchildren. Their son Don's youngest, Luke, graduated with high honors from Elk Point-Jefferson High School, near Sioux City. We were all proud when Luke delivered a very impressive speech as the representative man of the class.

In addition to Luke's excellent discourse, I was struck by two other things during the graduation. First of all, of the 54 students in the graduating class, all but one were going on to some form of higher education, be it college, community college or trade school. It spoke very loudly to me of the high value and emphasis that their families and educators have instilled in them over the years.

Secondly, I was impressed by the fact that a large percentage of the graduates were entering fields related to science. There were future biology majors, pre-dentistry, nurses, physical therapists, veterinary medicine and dietetics. This fact told me that there must be a very strong science department in that school.

I began to wonder: Is it better to be a big fish in a little pond? Or a small fish in a big pond? For years I have pondered this. I have met many people who have risen to the "top of their heap" however small the heap may have been. They have found and developed their talents and specialties until they have excelled to the point of standing out from the crowd. They may be the best in their field of endeavor.

But I always have the question: How much of their ability has really been realized? As we become more proficient in any given area, it seems to always be at the expense of developing other areas of our life. Our field of focus tends to get narrower. I've heard it said of specialists: "They learn more and more about less and less, until finally they know everything about nothing."

Is it not better to be a broadly developed person, knowledgeable in many areas? A well-rounded person certainly fits in much better in more varied situations. A person who is comfortable with different kinds of folks with varying educational and developmental levels is certainly more pleasant to be around, to work with, to share life with.

For me, the answer is not simple. We only have one life to live. We can only choose one path which may then branch off in various directions. It is possible to make changes, adjustments to our course, but only to a limited degree.

When I see young people, like Luke and his classmates, I think that they have their whole life ahead of them. What an exciting reality filled with infinite possibilities! I only pray that they will make the right choices that will bring them the fullness of life that God has in store for each of us.

Hindsight Now

Yesterday on our morning Bible sharing, Gail was telling how painful and depressing it was to go through a bankruptcy back in the 1980s. In that experience, he lost his business, and their family lost their home. Then, he went on to make the statement: "It was the best thing that ever happened to us."

That set me thinking! How often don't we look back at a terrible situation and see the good that has come out of it. How many times in our lives have we not experienced a loss, illness, death or business setback only to come out of it realizing the blessing that has come into our lives. How often have we not been stretched, pummeled and reshaped by circumstances that we never would have chosen, but that life presented to us. As we look back, we see the Hand of God at work. We know the truth of Paul's words in Romans: "Everything works together for good for those who love God" (8:28).

"Faith is hindsight brought into the present" said a preacher one time. If we can look back on an unpleasant situation and see God at work, realizing the good that has come out of it, why can't we, in faith, see that Same Hand in this moment moving in the unwelcome circumstances of life? Or do we not believe that in the future we will be able to look back on this moment and see the growth that it brought about? Do we not trust that God is able to handle this struggle just as well as He handled the last one?

Faith truly changes our perspective on reality. It sets our feet on firm soil, or perhaps on a mountaintop, from which we can see our small piece of the puzzle in the broader scheme of things. From that vantage point we are able to breathe in the fresh air of freedom since we are able to let go of our self-pity, our pain and our misery. What peace comes with that! After all, "if God is for us, who can be against us" (Romans 8:31).

Where is Home?

It was nearly three years ago when My Love flew out to California to bring her cousin, Catherine, to live in South Texas. At 94 years of age, her son had died and she was desiring to be closer to family members. Her remaining son lived in Texas.

As we settled her into the apartment we had arranged for her in a residential care facility, she said: "Thank you. It is very nice, but it will never be home." I felt sad for her as I did not understand what she was saying.

Last year, we lost our home in the hurricane and have moved back to our family roots in Iowa. After living in the small apartment that we have rented for the past 10 months, I now have a better grasp of what Catherine was saying. While our place is very comfortable and quite adequate for our needs, it will never be home. In fact, My Love and I have come to the conclusion, and peacefully so, that we will never have another home. Never again will we live in a place in which we invest so much time, energy and emotion.

When we purchased our home 12 1/2 years ago, neither of us had ever had our own home. We had always lived our lives to that point in someone else's dwelling. Having our own place in which we could invest our hearts, our funds, our time and our energies was a key priority for us. We did that. We made our South Texas ranchito into the small corner of paradise that fulfilled that desire for both of us. And we enjoyed it for 12 years.

Now that it is history for us, we appreciate it for the gift that it was. We also recognize it as past as we have come to see the truth expressed in our faith, that we are only pilgrims on this earth. Our true home is not here, so why should we be like the apostles on the Mountain of Transfiguration and want to build "three tents" and stay here forever! (Mt 17:4)

As My Love is wont to say: "Home is a Love you can count on." That is wherever we are, for it is the love of one another which reflects the Love of God drawing us to our true home.

Glorious Spring!

How wonderful is Spring! If I were a poet, I would certainly spin out mellifluous lines about the beauty around me for there is no end to it. But, woe is me, I'm a prose man, and so you are stuck with reading a prosaic observation rather than a poetic one

Last Saturday, I spent the afternoon in the garden with My Love. It is so exciting. We had not been out there since the previous Monday because of the many rain showers throughout the week. What a pleasant surprise! The leaf and head lettuce were standing proudly in their rows. Beans, peas and kohlrabi were stretching up to take advantage of the bright sunshine. Spinach and cilantro added a deeper green to the pattern. Even the onions and corn were far enough out of the ground to be able to distinguish the rows. The only plants not yet up are those that we just planted a week ago.

We spent the time laying down black material between the rows to prevent the weeds/grass from taking over, while still allowing the rain to soak into the ground. According to the plan, this will save us a lot of time over the coming months by eliminating some of the weeding.

At home, we are enjoying orioles, goldfinches and wrens perching on the feeders that the neighbor downstairs has out. They have to fight with the purple finches, as well as the sparrows who want their turn. Of course the robins and black birds are busy searching the lawns for some tasty morsels. Every now and then, a blue jay gets into the fracas to add a note of disharmony.

The flowering trees and shrubs are more full and colorful this year than I can remember. It seems to me that there are so many more of them around than when we lived up here before. Flowering crabs, lilac, Eastern redbuds and many other types are bursting with bright hues and delightful fragrances. It's a pleasure just to drive down the road and experience the collage of colors.

Perhaps we are appreciating this explosion of Springtime more because we have missed it for the past twelve years while living in Texas. The coming of this season in South Texas, while welcome, was definitely less of a contrast with winter than here in Iowa. We are grateful to God for this opportunity to bask in His beauty.

Witness to Love

Our friends, Gail and Marilyn, whom I've written about in a former blog, will soon be rejoicing as they celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary. May 18th is the actual date, however they are planning a family gathering to share their gratitude to God with a week of festivities in July in Idaho, where they reside. They are opening their home and their hearts so that others can join them in thanking God, but also so that they can express their gratitude to their friends and family for supporting them with love, encouragement, prayers and faith throughout the years. Without that, they realize that they would never have made it to this historic moment.

My Love and I have been blessed to know Gail and Marilyn these last five years. We met them through Reliv, but it was only a short time before our connections to them broadened into a believing and supportive faith community. Through their instrumentality, we were invited into, and joined a Leadership Bible study with another couple, Greg and Teri. That group has now expanded to include a fourth couple, John and Clar. For nearly four years now, we have joined together by phone on a conference call each Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday morning for one half hour of Scripture sharing. What a gift and blessing this has been in our life, My Love and me.

Through this Bible study, I have come to appreciate the deep faith that Gail and Marilyn have shared over the many years of their life together. In trials and tribulations, joys and sorrows, ups and downs, they have ultimately found their strength and direction in their coupled faith lives and the support of the believing community. They are a true witness to the faithfulness and love of God who "works all things together for good" (Romans 8:28). Gail and Marilyn's support and prayers were especially key in our lives during the hurricane last year and the ensuing uprooting and moving to Iowa. We are very grateful to them and for them.

In tribute to their love and faithfulness to one another and to God who has blessed them, I am dedicating this blog to them. May those of you who read it find edification and encouragement through their witness. May you also be led to reflect on the way Gail and Marilyn have touched your life.

I invite those of you who know them, family, friends, neighbors, business associates, to go to the comment section of this blog (directions are in the left column) and add your own comments and reflections on Gail and Marilyn's impact in your life. Please also invite others to add their thoughts by referring them to this blog. As the time for the July celebration draws near, I will compile all the many (hopefully) comments for presentation to them.

"I am sure of this, that He who has begun this good work in you (Gail and Marilyn), will carry it through to completion right up to the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).

Then Came the Angels

Part 2 of the story (at Marilyn's request) of the hurricane/flood that brought us to Iowa. For Part 1 see And the Waters Came.

Although a deep peace settled in our hearts with the decision to uproot our lives and move back to our home area in Iowa, we were faced with the reality of dealing with a home and property buried under several feet of filthy water. From the very beginning God sent hovering angels to assist, encourage and uplift us.

First there was our neighbor, Beno, across the road. When Janella stopped there to ask if she could park our car in front of their house because we could not drive in and out of our property, he not only agreed, but went on to say that he had an empty apartment available right there where we could stay. This would also provide us with a handy location to store any of our things as we moved them out of the inundated house. The apartment even had a refrigerator/freezer included.

We began late Thursday afternoon floating things out to the road in three large, plastic garbage cans that we had in our garage. We started with all our food items from our refrigerator and freezer. After floating them out to the road, we loaded them onto our pickup, which we had fortunately driven out of the yard before the water made that impossible. Then, we drove across the road where we unloaded into the apartment. This was to be our pattern, with some adaptations for the next two days.

On one of these journeys late Thursday, as we were attempting to lift the garbage cans onto the pickup, another pickup stopped behind us. Three big, burly guys got out, came over, and asked if there was anything they could do to help. They were oil rig workers who were on their way to check on a well nearby. (So they said! We know they were really angels!) We told them that we would really appreciate their assistance in hauling a mattress from one of our beds to the apartment across the street so that we would have a place to sleep that night. They proceeded to follow us up to the house where we showed them one of the mattresses that was not yet soaked. They picked it up with no problem and delivered to our temporary haven.

The next morning we called our friends, Chuck and Lou, to ask if they could come with their sons, Jose and Dan, to help us. They became our archangels. They arrived with a friend of theirs and began organizing the move of all our salvageable belongings. They stayed with us throughout Friday and Saturday as they oversaw the transfer of our life from one side of the road to the other. At one point, Chuck commented to me: "You know, everything you move out of here, you will have to move back in." My response was: "Not if we don't move back in."

Throughout Friday, many people (angels) stopped along the road and asked if they could help. At one point we had 12 people assisting us, most of whom we did not know. One man who was helping, asked us, in Spanish, if it would help if he went home and got his small fishing boat. Then we could load things on the boat and pull it out to the trucks that we were loading on the road. He brought the boat, and we used it until Sunday. By Saturday evening, we had everything worth salvaging out of the house and across the street in the apartment.

It was late Friday afternoon when Lou invited us to stay with them in their home as long as necessary. It was like a light in the darkness because I don't know how we would have been able to survive if we had stayed in the small apartment, faced with the piles of our stuff that had been placed all over. We accepted their hospitality, which allowed us not only to enjoy the comfort of their home and a bit of normalcy, but also to share faith as we moved through this experience.

The following week was spent going through things in the apartment, deciding what we wanted to keep and take with us, and what we wanted to let go of. We planned and held a yard sale the following Friday and Saturday, right out in front of the apartment on the main highway that passed by. During that yard sale, we were assisted by two more angels, Judy and Phil, our friends.

Meanwhile, My Love had talked with her sister, Annette, in Iowa and asked her to look for a place for us to rent. She was another angel as she spent several days running around, talking with realtors, and scouring ads. But she was also a successful angel for she found the wonderful two-bedroom apartment that we are now renting, at a very reasonable and affordable price.

At the same time that all the packing and sorting was being done, we were busy deciding what to do with our home and property. We met with two friends who were involved in real estate, investments and financial planning. One of them, Rudy, had just been brought into our lives about six months before. He turned out to be another angel. He knew someone, Algis, who was a contractor who was looking for a property like ours. On the following Sunday, we met with Algis and his expectant wife, Daniela, in our water-soaked house. She immediately fell in love with the home. He fell in love with my shop. So, through Rudy, an arrangement was reached whereby Algis would fix up the house and move into it. With this arrangement, we were able to leave with a peaceful and joyful heart knowing that someone else would be enjoying our home as much as we did.

With that taken care of, we then proceeded to rent a U-haul truck which we loaded with all the remaining articles of our life together. Finally, on Wednesday afternoon, August 6, we began our trek north with our little caravan of truck pulling a car carrier followed by My Love in our car. On the car carrier was our pickup filled with stuff, as was the car following. We proceeded as far as Denton, TX, that night where we slept for a few hours. Rising early, we journeyed on, arriving in Cherokee, Iowa Thursday evening about 8:30 pm.

Friday we spent looking at the new apartment, and getting ready to move in. On Saturday, another flock of angels arrived to help unload the truck and move our furniture and other things into the house. The 10 or so relatives and friends did not have an easy task of it, for our apartment is up a flight of 23 stairs on the second floor. Yet they were real troopers and got the job accomplished that day.

The final touch of God's love came through several angels who sent us gifts of money to help with our expenses of moving. When we totalled it all up, it covered exactly the expense of the u-haul rental, the gas driving up, the cost of the motel and the meals on the way. Is God wonderful, or what?

As I reflect back over this experience, I am overwhelmed at the over-arching love, care and providential direction of God which was so present through the people put in our path. Never for a moment were we allowed to forget Who was behind and throughout this movement. Never could we fail to remember the existence of angels who come when we need them.

And the Waters Came

On our morning Bible study call yesterday, Marilyn asked if I had ever shared on my blog the story of the hurricane/flood that brought us to Iowa. Since I have only referred to it briefly in several writings, she encouraged me to "tell the whole story". So, here goes!

When My Love and I moved to South Texas in 1996, we went house hunting with a realtor. After viewing about a dozen different places, we found exactly what we desired. It was a brick ranch style home with eight acres surrounding and lots of large trees, including many fruit trees. This was our ranchito and we settled in very quickly and comfortably.

Over the ensuing years, we slowly made it our own, adding an outdoor jacuzzi in 2000, a shop/garage in 2001, dogs and cats, and planting additional trees and desert plants. Our adaptations culminated in the summer of 2006 with a major remodeling project in which we totally gutted the interior, added an attached garage, put on a new metal roof, new windows, and extended the kitchen and office. Now it was everything that we wanted and desired it to be.

We enjoyed this small piece of paradise for two years. Then in July 2008, our lives took a sharp turn. On July 23, Hurricane Dolly struck the Texas Gulf Coast, coming ashore about 40 miles from us. During the night, the winds and rain pounded our area and the water began to rise. Unbeknown to us there was a break in an irrigation canal about 1/4 of a mile from our home. At 7:00 am on July 24, the water began to seep in around the foundation of our house. We started to put furniture up on blocks, on tables, desks and beds. The first thing to succumb to the water was our laminate wood flooring which we had installed throughout the home, which buckled up and floated away. By 1:30 pm, we accepted the reality that there was nothing we could do to save our house. The dirty water was now more than 12 inches deep throughout the whole structure and would remain so for more than a week.

In the moment that we accepted the actuality of the situation, My Love and I turned to each other and said: "It's time to go home to Iowa." We did not know how that would happen, but we knew in our hearts that that was where we belonged. God had closed the door on South Texas, but He had opened a window and we floated out. We were totally at peace with our situation, and with the decision that came with it.

Next: How that New Reality unfolded.

African Time

While walking down the street in an African village, I soon discovered the necessity of taking time to visit with the people I would meet. No matter what each person's destination or the purpose of their travels, the most important thing at this moment for them was to stop, inquire into my welfare (at length), and make me feel both welcome and important. Schedules, appointments, business -- all gave way to the pre-eminence of the person standing before them.

I was deeply impressed with the value their culture places on the person. The person is more important than the task at hand; the person is more important than making money; the person is more important than some schedule. This was true not just for me as a visitor, but also for one another in their world.

Therefore, time became a very fluid commodity. We would joke about African time and say "It is 7 o'clock until it is 8 o'clock," because if someone was scheduled for a meeting at 7, they might not arrive until 8. For those of us from a western culture with the emphasis on punctuality, it took some adjustment, and sometimes a lot of patience. I found this same focus on the importance of the individual to the denigration of time in the Hispanic culture, both in Bolivia and in South Texas.

Yet, as I read the story of Jesus in the Gospels, it seems that he was anything but pressured by deadlines or hemmed in by time constraints. He always had time, took time, made time for the needs of the person in front of him -- the blind, the crippled, the infirmed, the hungry. Definitely people were his priority as he went about doing the will of his Father.

If I look at the way my time is spent, what does it tell me about my priorities? Are people more important than anything else? Do I spend time with the people who are the most significant in my life? Or are work, schedules, deadlines controlling me? Is this the way that I want it to be?