Month: September 2020

He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal, took him to an inn and took care of him. Luke 10:34

In medical circles, the word triage is defined as the assignment of degrees of urgency to wounds or illnesses to decide the order of treatment of a large number of patients or casualties. The triage consists of three degrees of cases; emergent, urgent, and non urgent. When a person arrives in the emergency room, the first step is assessment by a triage nurse. The nurse them evaluates the condition and determines the patient’s priority for admission to the emergency department and for treatment.

I began to picture God as the triage nurse in our lives. He sees each of us and assesses our state of need, then He admits us to His love and care and helps us through it. His triage is a place to stop the bleeding in life. No matter the severity of the need, He is like a doctor in a triage unit fighting to save us and never giving up.

Just like the Good Samaritan in the scripture above, we are all called to provide a triage for those among us who are hurting, not only physically but spiritually. It’s easy to pass on being the Good Samarian or the one to bind up wounds and care for others, but it’s something that’s required of us as Christians.

There are different kinds of wounds going on all around us in this strange new world. There is the wound of loneliness, the wound of isolation, the wound of enabling, the wound of depression, the wound of abuse, the wound of a debilitating disease, even the wound of an unforgiven past.

We might ask, “What can we do for these wounded? We are all wounded in some way ourselves.” That’s exactly the point. Because we are all wounded, we can offer the gift of understanding.

Luckily for me, I have only been in the ER a few times in my life and each time turned out to be a minor event. However, there are people every day in a triage with doctors and nurses tirelessly trying to save them. These people are the heroes of this day and time – the Good Samaritans.

My nephew is a resident at UAB, and he recently wrote something that moved me because it gave an inside look at what medical personnel face daily. It also shows the power of the Good Samaritan in us all.

“I experienced something new for me recently. I’ve been in medicine for eight years now. I’ve seen many patients die. I’ve seen many doctors, including myself, orchestrate the preceding events in the room surrounding a patient’s death. This is the first time I’ve seen a physician in that role ask the room of disheveled and exhausted people who just spent the last hour trying to prolong a person’s life if he could pray for the patient. He prayed for God to be present with this patient and to usher him into the next stage with peace and to give that same peace to his soon to be grieving family. I am thankful for his example and hope that one day I’ll have a doctor who does the same for me, and that I can be a doctor who is bold enough to do the same for my patients.”

Sometimes we tend to give up on ourselves and on others. No matter how bad things might be, we should never give up too soon. If we keep trying and don’t give up on ourselves and others, God will make us paramedics of His love, mercy and grace. God hasn’t give up on any of us and neither should we!

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave; Weep o’er the erring one, Lift up the fallen; Tell them of Jesus the mighty to save. Rescue the perishing, care for the dying; Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save. Fannie Crosby

Thank you to all our heroes!

None is righteous, no not one.  Romans  3:10

My Mama used to love to find words with which she was unfamiliar and research their origin and meaning.  I think she would have loved a word which I happened to run across this week, Atelophobia.  Atelophobia means fear of not being good enough.

How many of us spend our lives thinking that we are not good enough to be the recipients of all God’s blessings, and love for us?  We simply can never be good enough to justify all He has given us.  So, instead of spending our days punishing ourselves for not being good enough, what if we just took each day and looked at it as God’s gift of grace and began to see His grace in all the things around us?

Grace is defined as the love and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it not necessarily because we have done anything to earn it. I like the abbreviated version which says Grace is God’s riches at Christ’s expense. (copied)

What kind of person lives seeing the grace in everything?  This is the kind of person who sees grace all around them every day and daily sees grace in the good and the bad.  Miss Dorothy Summerour was that kind of person.  No matter when you called her or asked how she was doing, she would always say, “We do just fine over here”.  She never seemed to have a bad thing to say. and she saw everything in every day as God’s grace in action.

In this world of tragedies, viruses, fires, hurricanes, political and social unrest, and everyday stress, there is always grace.  Grace comes all the time and in the most normal of days.  It comes as a long time friend who calls just to check on you to see if you need anything and if your family is okay.  It comes from a neighbor who just wants to be sure you still have electricity after a storm. It’s grace when a friend sends a meal or a card in a time of grief.  Grace comes in the face of a service man, fire fighter, police officer, EMT, nurse, doctor, who are there when they are most needed.  All this and many more examples should be labeled as grace in our lives.

Grace in our lives can be a game changer.  It can take us from what we once were to what we can be.  I never will forget a scene that played out on the steps of our first church in the little community of Starrsville, Ga. in 1976.  Randy’s Daddy had come to visit and attend church that day.  As the people greeted him and told him how happy they were to have us there, his Daddy replied to their kind words by saying,  “Thank God for His grace.  There was a time when Randy’s Mother and I were worried he might end up in prison!”  A bit of a stretch, but a testimony to God’s grace none the less.

Grace is the key to the Christian faith. If it weren’t for grace none of us could qualify for heaven for there is not one of us who is good enough. Our problem comes because even though we might believe in the theory of grace, most of us have trouble believing that God will forgive us. We cling to our guilt instead of letting it go and letting God’s grace take hold. Randy’s Grandmama used to say that she would take all her problems to the altar and give them to God in prayer. Then, before she left, she would grab them all up again. It’s hard to leave our problems and fears, but Grace makes it possible.

Instead of walking around this week trying to pronounce the word, Atelophobia, and wrestling with the fear of not being good enough, why not use the week to look around and see the grace God is pouring out all around us even in the midst of all our problems?

This hymn describes the Christian doctrine of faith and justification by faith, the title is: Grace Greater Than All Our Sin, and the third stanza is: Marvelous, infinite matchless grace, Freely bestowed on all who believe; You that are longing to see his face; Will you this moment His grace receive? Grace, Grace, God’s Grace; Grace that will pardon and cleanse within; Grace, Grace, God’s Grace, Grace that is greater than all my sin. Julia Johnston

I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he die, he shall live. John 11:25

During my growing up years in school and even during the first few years of my own classroom teaching, it was required that the teacher call roll every morning. Now, in my small town, a teacher could easily look around and know who was absent, but they called the roll each morning anyway. I found it comforting to hear the well known voices reply, “here“, because it signaled that everyone was well, present and accounted for. If someone didn’t answer roll call, it affected us all.

In the old days, if a student were absent, the teacher would immediately reach out to the family to make sure that the student did actually have a reason to be absent, and that the parents knew about said absence. It was always important to know that nothing bad was going on at home.

There always were, of course, those with chronic absences no matter how many folks tried to help them or their family. The thinking was that it just wasn’t that important to be in school when there were other things to be done and they were needed at home. Nobody was surprised when on many occasions, they didn’t answer “here” when the roll was called.

Just like Christians who know there is a heaven and that it’s important to learn about Jesus now, some of us just don’t think it’s important enough to practice the things we know the Bible asks of us.

The old favorite hymn When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder was inspired by disappointment. James Black, the writer, was calling roll one day for a youth meeting at his Methodist Church. One name didn’t answer -young Bessie, the daughter of an alcoholic. Crestfallen at her absence, Mr. Black was heard to say, “Oh God, when my name is called up yonder, may I be there to respond.”

The important thing here is that sometimes we might miss roll call on earth such as in a classroom or a job, but we want to be sure we are able to answer “here” in heaven.

In order to make an investment in heaven, we must suffer losses of things we covet here. Things like anger, resentment, hatred, jealousy, unfaithfulness, greed, and so many other sins we harbor in our hearts must be given up. Even though others might call giving these up a sacrifice, we know another whose love has been proved by the greatest possible test, and He now lives in heaven and prepares a place for us. If we call ourselves Christians, we have a vision of something far beyond the difficulties and disappointments of this life. Our journey is one that leads to fulfillment, completion, and an enriched life.

Years ago in my first year of teaching, I taught in a school which was in a very “rough” neighborhood. There were gangs, drugs, and abuse in the homes all around the school. I was 22 years old, newly married, oblivious to a life other than the one I knew, and beginning my first teaching assignment. One morning on my way to school, I heard on the news about a shooting which had resulted in the death of a young man whose name I recognized as the brother of one of my students, Nancy. When I arrived at school, the bad news was confirmed. I was so ill prepared for the events of that day.

As I began the day knowing how sad all the children and us teachers were, we were instructed to make the day as normal as possible for these fourth graders, so I started by calling the roll. When we got to Nancy’s name, I hesitated, but called her name. From the doorway came her voice answering “here.” As she walked in and looked at all the familiar faces, her face turned from fear and tragedy into joy and love.

Nancy’s mother had sent her to school because she knew we were all waiting there to offer her acceptance, sympathy and love. As I moved toward the door and hugged her in my arms, I began to feel one after another of the children all wrapping arms around us and each other. It was as I would imagine Jesus hugging each of us when the roll is called for us.

That is the kind of reception we can all look forward to when we answer the roll in our eternal home. Two things are certain, our Father’s house is our home, and He is present there. Roll Call will be a joyous celebration!

The great weight of eternity hangs upon the small wire of time. Thomas Brooks

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more, And the morning breaks eternal bright and fair; When the saints of earth shall gather over on the other shore, And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter to be with you forever. John 14:16

About six years ago, our nineteen year old dog, Buck, died suddenly while I was out of town. This dog, which we inherited from Ashley on the occasion of her departure to college, was loved dearly. I didn’t have a clue that Buck had died until I came home, and Randy met me in the garage. Now, this is a suspicious occurrence because Randy never meets me in the garage, so I knew something had happened. I was devastated at the news to say the least.

After my breakdown, as we were walking into the house, Randy said, “Before you open the door, I have a surprise for you, but if you don’t like him – I can take him back.” I wasn’t ready for this! Inside was a sweet little puppy named Rocco, who jumped into my lap immediately and kissed me all over my face. However, it was not the time for me to welcome a new dog, so I pushed him aside and continued to be sad and grieve.

The special thing about Rocco is that he seemed to understand my grief and would not let me grieve alone. Everywhere I went, he was beside me offering comfort until I was able to love him back. These days, he is my third child!

Rocco was a rescue who was abused in his first six months or so of life, and maybe because of this, he seems to have an innate sense that tells him when someone needs comforting. He knows when people are sad, he knows when we are hurting, he knows when we are sick, and he knows when someone needs him. I’ve seen this dog walk over to a perfect stranger who had obviously had a stroke, sit at his feet and lick the man’s hand. I’ve seen him jump into a friend’s lap who is suffering and lick his face until he is laughing. I’ve seen him sit quietly by a grandchild with a fever.

I often wonder why we have to experience sorrow, loss, hurt, hopelessness, addiction, depression, cancer, or any other great pain. The answer has become a little clearer to me as I realize that before we can be competent for the mission of comforting others, we first have to have experienced the pain. God must equip us to be comforters. At that point, we can tell others how we have suffered with that same thing and how God comforted us.

Comfort isn’t given to us when we are lighthearted and cheerful, but rather after we have traveled through adversity and experienced comfort ourselves. John Henry Jowett said, “God comforts us not to make us comfortable but to make us comforters.”

When my sisters and I were little, we shared a bedroom with three twin beds all in a row. At night, Daddy would push the beds together, and we would sleep with me in the outside bed, my middle sister in the middle, and my younger sister on the end against the wall. I didn’t realize it then, but it was a great comfort to know that the other one was close.

For each of us there are people to whom we naturally go in times of trials and sorrow, sickness or grief. These are the comforters who always seem to say just the right words and those who can give wise counsel or direction. These are probably people who have been through the same valley and understand our need. God is the great comforter and when one has been through the healing with Him, then they become co workers with Him in helping to comfort others.

Just like me however, many times we push the comforters away. We think we can do it all on our own, but most times, we need the comfort these comforters can offer.

I’ve heard it said that God never sends his rod without his staff. The staff He sends to support, give rest, and be a guide. The rod He sends as protection and a symbol of love. That is what a comforter is to me – someone who provides all these things.

Just like Rocco, we all need someone who is not willing to let us go through things alone, but rather will be there offering the comfort we need.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

This is dedicated to all our sweet family dogs who loved and comforted each of us. We miss you! Thank you, Buck, Chief, Cota, Cole, Velvet, and Beau.