Tag Archives: observation

Jesus Heals All Afflictions

14 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by in healing

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In a study of the people Jesus healed, I noted eleven different afflictions: demon/evil spirit possessed, paralytics, blind, fever, leprosy, dying, hemorrhage or bleeding, raised from the dead, seizures, bent over, deaf/mute. Though these have their specific stories, it doesn’t mean they were the only diseases or afflictions that Jesus healed. Thousands came to Him and He healed all that asked.

It may be that the woman bent over for 18 years is the one that captures my attention the most. Her story is told in Luke 13:10-13 and, depending on the Bible translation, she is described as bent double, hunched over, bowed together, twisted and bent. All translations agree that she could no longer stand straight. I have seen a few people like this and thought how terrible it would be to live bent over, how restricted one’s life would be because of it. Her story captures my attention because of the immediate parallel I see with mind state. With this woman’s physical condition I think of others who, though not bent over physically, are certainly bent over emotionally. They seem to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, as we are inclined to say. I remember a friend who lost her young son in a car accident. Her hair turned to gray overnight and she rarely smiled. Her sorrow had weighed her down and in my mind, I saw her as bent over from the loss of her beloved son. She was never quite the same.

Then I began to look at each of Jesus’ healings with new eyes. Those who could not see remind me of those who wander into wrong relationships. They don’t want to see the warning signs and so they close their eyes and involve themselves in situations that will cause eventual heartache. They are blinded by emotions.

Those with leprosy were outcasts. They were judged as unfit and shut off from society. Many of us have had times when we felt unwanted and shut out. We might not suffer from a terrible skin disease, but the isolation is just as painful in its own way.

The healing that Jesus did most by my search was that of the demon or evil possessed. They suffered in horrific ways. Chains wouldn’t hold them. Some were thrown into fire or water. Some tore off their clothes. Others fell to the ground in convulsions. These people lived lives out of control. And, of course, this makes me think of those who are addicted to alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, on and on. Addiction is one of the hardest things to bring under control. Because of the stronghold addiction has on an individual’s life, much is thrown into a kind of fire. Marriages, families, careers, health—all are destroyed by the demons of addiction.

In every healing of Jesus, I am reminded of something in the mind state. Some of us need physical healing and some of us need healing of the mind or emotions. Whatever our need, Jesus is able to heal. He is a God of compassion and He cares about our brokenness.

When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Matthew 14:14 (ESV)

“Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.” –Matthew 11:28 (NLT)

 

My appreciation to Flickr for free photos.

Behavior Speaks Louder Than Words

28 Monday Nov 2016

Posted by in communication

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Now it was time to wait. I had come to receive treatment for a newly diagnosed eye condition. I was alone and with nothing to distract, I began watching and listening to the people around me.

My eyes moved around the waiting room and took in the canes, walkers, and wheelchairs; the patients accompanied by family or friends. I thanked God that I didn’t need walking aid and was able to drive myself to the clinic. I wondered about each person there. Was theirs a longstanding situation or were they dealing with a new diagnosis as I was?

One lady sitting in a wheelchair across from me seemed asleep, but then she suddenly began saying to the two ladies with her that she wanted to go home. Did she want to go home because she wasn’t feeling well? Was she dreading what she might hear today? Her companions didn’t seem too concerned and barely acknowledged that she had spoken. They appeared to be working from a list of people, calling each one to leave a message of concern and express their love for them. Yet here was this lady right there with them receiving little of their attention. Isn’t it the way with people; we look for some good act to do when there is an immediate need right in front of us?

The staff moved about through hallways and doorways at a fast clip. Each one was focused on the work that was theirs to do. They were professional and friendly, having no side conversations with one another that didn’t involve patient care. Their demonstration of being highly skilled in patient and family interaction was impressive. They had either been hired well or trained well. Most likely, both had occurred.

I’m a people watcher by nature, but I become even more so when I’m in a healthcare environment. For more than 25 years I worked in healthcare and that has made me overly sensitive to staff that isn’t professional. In fact, I was at this very clinic because the first ophthalmologist I saw had a staff that interacted playfully with one another but very little with their patients. The physician was rushed into each room by staff and it felt somewhat like I was on an assembly line. After three visits, I determined to find a better fit. This was my eyesight we were dealing with and I needed the utmost confidence in every player involved with my care.

Did you know that over 90% of communication is considered non-verbal? What a person “hears” involves body language, tonality, and attitude. When I began teaching communication techniques in 1984, Dr. Herbert Benson, a cardiologist and founder of the Mind/Body Medical Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, graded it as over 90% even then. That old adage of “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care” is sound advice.

I left the clinic grateful to have found a physician and staff that care about how they represent themselves to patients.  That lets me and the others I watched in that waiting room relax into their care. We can come with confidence that highly skilled people are taking care of us and that goes a long way in how well we deal with our particular healthcare situations.

What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say. –Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sundays of My Childhood

29 Monday Aug 2016

Posted by in Memories

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In the sweltering heat of southern summers, there was somewhat of a Sunday afternoon tradition at my grandparents’ house of putting small children down to nap on a pallet. A pallet was a homemade quilt folded over once or twice, depending on the number of grandchildren needing rest. Nearby, would be an oscillating fan, giving off a cool breeze as it turned your way. And while children napped, grownups would spend the afternoon in conversation until time for supper.

The Sunday noontime meal usually included both fried chicken and country ham. Mama and Papa had chickens and a smoke house where Papa cured hams. The table was heavy with bowls of vegetables from their garden. Desserts came in threes and you didn’t have to choose. Mama brought you a plate with some of each one; maybe two kinds of pie and a slice of cake. Once when Mama proudly brought a plate of desserts to a guest eating with us, he shook his head and said he couldn’t possibly eat all that and to please just give him one of the desserts. I can still see Mama’s face as she looked from him to the dessert plate in puzzlement. Foolish man to turn away the wares of a champion baker!

Before nap time and conversation, the table was cleared and the food carried from the dining room back to the stove. There it would be covered and put in the oven or left on top of the stove with the pot’s lids covering the “vittles,” as my grandfather called them.That wonderful repast would wait there for us to enjoy again for supper. And we didn’t always warm it up; rather, it might be spooned onto plates and eaten at room temperature. There was Sunday night church to attend, you see, so tasks were kept to a minimum. Mama’s cooking had gone on the day before or very early Sunday morning.

The memory of my grandparents’ table groaning with food and a fan cooling children on pallets are treasured memories. If I close my eyes and listen intently, I can almost hear the hum of that fan as it traveled from left to right and feel the cool breezes it provided on a hot Sunday afternoon.

As children of the 40s and 50s, we enjoyed simple pleasures and much security. We felt with our parents and grandparents in charge, no harm could come to us. We were protected from things we did and did not know. We played uncomplicated games of jack rocks and marbles, hop scotch and jump rope. We might search for four-leaf clovers or make necklaces and bracelets by typing clovetogether the long stems of the white clovers. My grandparents had an elephant ear plant that was profuse with huge leaves and long stems. Mama would break one off for each of us and we would pretend the leaves were umbrellas to fend off the sun or rain. Imagination in that day was a part of every game we played.

I think we need these memories as we age and that accounts for why we reminisce so much in our senior years. Rituals like Sunday family dinners and naps on pallets gave us uncomplicated days. Their recall brings smiles and appreciation for what we then took for granted.

Whoever thought things would change like they have? Ours was a world that made sense and gave hope for our futures. Maybe it is sheer foolishness, but somehow I believe that if we could take our children and grandchildren back to the way things were when we grew up, they would actually enjoy and want it. What do you think?

Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.

                                                       — H. Jackson Brown, Jr. 

 

Remembering Papa’s Faith

11 Monday Apr 2016

Posted by in death and dying

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Sometimes I think about the day my grandfather was told he had a terminal illness. Daddy had called to let me know Papa was being admitted directly from his doctor’s office to the hospital. I told Daddy I would meet them there.

When I got to Papa’s room, he was sitting on the side of the bed, still wearing his hat. He looked so tired and I encouraged him to lie down. He did without a word of protest, but with his shoes still on. I slipped them off his feet. My grandmother stood quietly by, grave concern etched on her face. Mama and Papa had been married 65 years—since they were 16 and 18.

We didn’t have to wait long for Papa’s physician. He came into the room, sat down in a chair near Papa’s bed and gave us a diagnosis we didn’t want to hear: acute leukemia. Papa’s physician said that without treatment he would live maybe two months. With treatment, he might live two years, but there would be no quality of life and he personally could not advise that route. If Papa wanted treatment, he would refer him to a specialist.

Without hesitation or questions, Papa said “I’ve lived a good long life and if it’s my time to go, I’m all right with that, I’m ready.” It was a clear statement of his faith; he had no fear in dying.

A picture made Papa was so sick. One of the few times he was out of bed.

A picture made when Papa was so sick. One of the rare times he was out of bed. Mama stands between their two oldest children, J. B. and Louise.

Papa left that hospital bed for one at home where his children and their spouses took care of him, never leaving Mama to do it alone. He lived shy of a year—nine months I believe it was, but longer than the two months predicted. His doctor said it was his strong body that gave him added time. Papa had been so healthy all his life; he had never seen a doctor for anything but the annual renewal of his barber’s license.

To remember Papa is to remember how tender his heart was toward God. I never heard him pray without crying. He just couldn’t get to the “amen” without emotion spilling over. Both my grandparents deeply loved the Lord. Jesus was as much a resident of their home as Papa and Mama. They trusted God implicitly and gave God all the thanks.

When Papa died, Mama wrote in her journal “Jim went home to be with Jesus today.”  Simply and accurately put. They never doubted where they would spend eternity. And to their credit and as best I know, none of us, children or grandchildren, has doubted either. Jim and Dulcie Spencer made sure of that.

Mama and Papa 001

Jim and Dulcie Spencer, my cherished grandparents.

So, when I remember Papa, I remember first his love for the Lord and a faith that let him say, when it’s my time, I’m ready. I give thanks for this man’s life and the rich heritage he gave to me.

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.  –Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)

                                                                   

 

The Loaves & the Fish, the Storm-tossed Sea

14 Wednesday Oct 2015

Posted by in God's faithfulness

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Scriptures in Matthew 14:13-21 and Mark 6:30-44 tell the story of how Jesus fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Only men were counted in that day, so we know significantly more than 5,000 people were fed. We can be sure that Jesus didn’t leave the women and children hungry. And after each person was filled, there was enough bread and fish left to fill twelve baskets.

Let’s think in the fullest sense of this miracle and not hurry over a story we have known since childhood. The truths of God need to settle into our minds and hearts and form a solid foundation of faith for the trials that come to all of us. There is less sting in our trials when we can immediately reflect on who God is and what He can do.

Scripture tells us after feeding of the thousands, Jesus immediately sent the disciples on ahead by boat while He went alone to a mountainside be in prayer. We know He was there for hours because scripture talks of “when evening came” (John 14:23 and Mark 6:47). Then we see another reference to time when it says Jesus went to the disciples “during the fourth watch of the night” (John 14:24 and Mark 6:48). The fourth watch of the night was between 3 and 6 a.m.

morgueFile IMG_6369a

The disciples were far out on the sea when it became storm-tossed. The Greek word used for measuring distance was stadia–an eighth of a mile or 660 feet. Some Bible translations say “many stadia” or “over a mile.”  My intention here is to have us see how physically far away Jesus was from the disciples when they found themselves in trouble  and how they probably thought Jesus was unaware of their plight. Surely, they must have felt alone and without hope—just as we sometimes feel today. Yet . . . Jesus knew! There is never a distance so great that we are separated from the Lord when we are His children.

These stories reveal to us quite a few things:

  • God has great compassion for every child of His.
  • There is nothing He cannot do.
  • We need quantities of time alone with God: to ponder what He has done for us, to give Him more than a nod of thank you, and to be strengthened for future trials.
  • Time alone with God should be a priority, as it was with Jesus.
  • We should not rush our alone time with God, but rather, linger as long as we can.
  • God is never skimpy with His love. When His answers come, we can count on added blessing.
  • No one is overlooked with God. He has no partiality with stations in life as man does.
  • We are not to waste what God has given. Our leftover fish and bread may be in sharing the struggles of our life and how God saw us through. Never fail to share how God provides.
  • We are never alone; He always knows where we are and will come to us at just the right time.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  — Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)

The Interceding of the Great Physician

30 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by in healing

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Yesterday our pastor told about a man in our church family who went in to have an upper body x-ray, and for whatever reason, the x-ray camera was positioned lower than it should have been. Because of the error, an abdominal mass was found. There had been no symptoms of cancer in his body and except for the misalignment of the x-ray machine, the malignancy would have gone undetected.

The daughter of a close friend wasn’t even a year out from her first breast cancer surgery when she felt a lump under her arm while showering.  She had been closely monitored by several specialists yet she was the one who discovered a cancerous node. One physician told her he was amazed she could feel it.

The husband of another friend repeatedly had high PSA’s indicating the likelihood of prostate cancer.  There were several biopsies and none disclosed malignancy. Even so, he couldn’t let go of concern and decided to go to a cancer center for a more extensive biopsy. An aggressive form of cancer was found and had, in fact, escaped the walls of the prostate.

Two years ago I had surgery to remove a cancer from my face.  For more than a year I had been anxious about two tiny black spots below my eye. I had the area checked three times by two different dermatologists and told the spots were nothing to worry about.  Then a cosmetologist saw them and strongly urged me to get another opinion. I went to yet a third dermatologist who biopsied and diagnosed a melanoma, the worst of all skin cancers.

As I thought about these four different scenarios, it didn’t cause me to lose faith in physicians. Rather, I saw it as the sure evidence of God’s hand in the lives of His children. He took over where man was limited: He acted through an ill-positioned x-ray, guided a young woman’s hand, prompted a cosmetologist to speak out assertively, and kept concern gnawing until the right tests were completed.

The healing miracles of Jesus’ day were dramatic. The lame were made to walk, the blind to see, a woman bent over for 18 years made to stand erect, the dead were raised. There was no subtlety about any of those healings. Yet I would say to you the situations I’ve described are no less miracles.  Where highly skilled physicians missed disease, The Great Physician, Jesus, stepped in and called disease out.

Does this interceding happen every time? No, not as far as we can see. However, I do believe it happens far more times than we realize and certainly more times than we ever give God credit. It is never wrong to pray for the sudden miracle occurrences of Jesus’ day, but we should not fail to see His healings of today that only need a closer look.

Each person in this story had a good outcome and good prognosis. Jesus is never late.  To God be all glory!

A Father and Daughter’s Communion

30 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by in communion with God

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As they slowly walked the aisle to the place where they would kneel to receive communion, the father would bend down from time to time and whisper to his little girl. She would nod understandingly, holding close to his side. Then when a place was made available for them to kneel, they went forward and did so, the father again speaking quietly with his child.

The pastor moved to them with a loaf of bread and cup of wine (grape juice) and for what was probably her first time, she took the sacraments and received the grace of our Lord. As Jesus instructed that we do (Luke 22:19), this sweet child took part in remembering Jesus and the sacrifice of His blood that redeems us.  Father and daughter lingered for a moment with heads bowed, then slowly rose and made their way back to where their journey had begun.

It has been ten or more years, but I remember those tender moments as if they happened only yesterday. Watching that young father point the way for his daughter to a relationship with our Lord was a memory worth holding onto. And if it held fast in my memory, how even more it would have held in that small child’s. She would remember that her dad lived out Proverbs 22:6 which says “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it” (NIV). I witnessed the Word of God in action.

Living in the Here and Now

18 Saturday Aug 2012

Posted by in insight

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In his book, Nearing Home, Billy Graham talks about growing old and taking advantage of life’s last leg of our journey home.  He begins the book with this quote from Vance Havner:  “The last chapter in life can be the best.”

Dr. Graham says that his wife Ruth always lived in the here and now.  He called it her realm.   He said she lived life by the simple creed to live fully in the present moment.

In Mark 14:3-11, we read the story of the woman who came to Jesus with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume and poured it over His head.  Some were indignant and scolded the woman, saying this was a waste; the perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor.  But Jesus instructed them that this woman had chosen wisely.  “The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want.  But you will not always have me.  She did what she could.  She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.”  It was an example of living in the here and now.

I recall many occasions when I have failed to live in the here and now.  I put something off because the timing didn’t seem right, the situation seemed awkward, or I couldn’t grasp the full sense of an idea that was tickling my mind.  Then when God provided more vision later on what the result would have been had I acted on His prompting, I have often grieved over what was lost.

In my last chapter of life, I want to be better at living in the here and now.  I want to be like Ruth Graham and the woman with the alabaster jar.  I want to step out in obedience to the quiet voice of God even when I don’t understand.  It will mean giving up control and sometimes walking in the dark.  But it will also mean living the last chapter of my life with peace and joy.  For those are fruits of the Spirit, the benefits of choosing God’s way over my own.

God’s Beauty Revealed

19 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in nature

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I have seen the beauty of God this week.  I’ve seen cattle on green hills, the bloom of redbud, and forsythia under mighty oaks yet to leaf.  I’ve watched the sun climb into the sky and declare a new day, as birds heralded its arrival with chirping song.   I’ve seen an abused dog made healthy again by gentle and kind fostering, and the happy play of two puppies, always side by side.  But the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in a while was the love between an elderly couple – surely in their 90s.

In a nursing home reception area, I watched the kindly gentleman push his wife’s wheelchair to a bird aviary.  There, she pointed to her favorite birds and wished them good morning.  Her husband took a chair beside the aviary and drew her wheelchair close to him.   As she talked to the birds, she would touch her husband’s arm to share her delight with their movement and chatter.  Shortly, the man took her hand and began singing softly to her.  It was a love song.   His eyes sparkled with affection and a smile gave shape to his mouth.  She leaned toward him and whispered something I could not make out, but his answer was clear:  “I would never leave you for anything in the world.”

Thank you, Father, for this unexpected blessing in my day.  Bless them, Lord, as long as they have breath, with the certainty of one another’s love.  Bless them with the certainty of Your love and Your pleasure in them.  May they still know unexpected joys here on earth and wear the crowns of righteousness in Your kingdom.  And someday, may I have the chance to tell them of the delight they put in a stranger’s day.  I am sure they had no idea anyone was watching.

From Corinthians 13:  (Love) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.  (v 8, 9)

A Walk By the Sea

01 Saturday Jan 2011

Posted by in insight, nature

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I have always loved the sea and some years back, I would imagine myself there as a means of relaxing into sleep.  It helped me to bring closure to lingering anxieties of the day and provided a kind of sanctuary.  There I would surround myself with the sounds of the water and think how the dampness of the sandy shore would feel under my bare feet.  There would be just enough breeze to set my hair in backward sway.  The wind would softly caress all of me as I moved along the shore.  The gentle push of the wind was welcoming and not at all a cause for resistance.  It was blissful.

I found such pleasure in my walks by the sea, and I would often return, thanking God for this incredible creation of His.  It has always been my favorite part of nature.

As time went on, I began to see more.  I noticed that I would always look first toward the right, where the waters rippled like diamonds under a golden sun.  The meeting of the waters and the sky could not clearly be distinguished, for the horizon was hidden by the brightness of the sun gathering the sea unto itself.

Then I would look to my left, to a scene of contrast.  Buildings, old and deteriorating, were there and they were without light and without any sign of use or life around them.  Dead and forbidding was all the scene seemed to be.

As I continued walking, straight ahead of me I could see a place that was like a busy and lighted city.  I couldn’t yet hear the noise but I knew it was there.  There was some kind of indiscernible activity.

This seemed to be the extent of my journey:  a look to the right, a look to the left, and a look to the place ahead. I seemed to gain no distance in my walk, ever.  And it always seemed to be at dusk, just before dark was gathered, that I mentally walked beside the sea.  Yet, this being so, how did I account for the brightness of the sun that cast diamonds over the moving waters?  Just what did all this mean?

Then, during one morning’s quiet time with God, it came to me.  I realized it was about life.  All was symbolic.

The sea is the part of nature that cleanses and soothes me most.  I find it healing and to place there was chosen for that purpose.  To walk with bared feet was to let myself feel the truth, to know reality.

The dark and dismal scene on the left was symbolic of all the parts of my life that were filled with regret, those things past and non-productive.  There was no attraction to any of it.  It was there to let me know that it was just as it looked – dead and gone.

The lighted and heavily populated scene ahead was the world, things that had their certain appeal and temporary fascination.  Because others were there, it drew my curiosity.  I knew that if I continued to look that way, I would be tempted to explore it, but there would be nothing of lasting value.  Rather, there would be ventures of wasted time and most likely the adding of more buildings to that place of darkness on my left.  It was the world and its crooked and beckoning finger, ready to take me in and produce more fruit of human confusion and every kind of mistake.

That glorious view on the right – the scene where waters and heavens met — that was the abode of the Lord.  And there I could see Jesus, laughing in joy, and asking me to come.  He walked on the waters toward me with arms outstretched.  All in that direction was beautiful and good and full of hope and love.  And it was always bright there because no darkness can ever touch Him.

The part of covering no distance seemed to say I was at a decision point, though I don’t remember that being the case.  I remember my walk by the sea as a time of reflection, of reminding myself as I drifted off to sleep, there is only one direction to ever choose, only one place where there is ever true life.   Focus on the past and all that was no longer?  No.  Focus on the world and its vain glories?  No.  Focus on the Lord and all that He desires for me?  Oh, yes!  Father, I will walk on the water (in faith) with my Lord, trusting Him through every stormy sea.  For He alone is able to see me safely on this life’s journey.  His is the voice that is strong and right and rings with a melody of eternal gladness.

Father, thank You for Your creation of the sea.  You gave us so much to enjoy in our time here on earth.  The beauty of Your nature is an incredible blessing. And Father, I ask that You cause me to always remember my walk by the sea and how clear you made everything about life.  There is only one place of focus for a follower of Christ.  He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  I thank you for Jesus, Your perfect Gift for all who would receive Him.   Amen.