I have a confession. I really do like social media. I have reconnected with an untold number of friends since I entered Facebook world in 2009. Friends I had not seen in nearly 40 years have become near and dear once again. It’s also a great way to keep up with my cousins who live all over the country. And I even get to keep up with my wife’s aunts! They are too cool. Social media has afforded such wonderful…
When I was in high school, the cheerleaders were the most popular girls in our class. They were the attractive girls that dated the quarterback and the wide receivers. They inspired us at weekly pep rallies before the Friday night games. I have never really thought of cheerleaders out of that context. That changed today. Today, I went to visit a young lady in her early 20’s at the hospital. She is critically ill following a tragic accident. She was…
We see you. We grasp the courage you have to go where others will not. The courage to face unspeakable darkness. The willingness to step into the unknown. The capacity to see and smell things that most people prefer not to discuss. We see you. Thank you for your courage. We see you. You are our protectors. You protect us from evil. You protect us from our own poor choices. You protect us when our bodies are injured and when…
We don’t see you. You are hidden in a dark dungeon on sunny days while others are out playing and taking in a few rays. When their fun becomes tragic, you are the first one to comfort, guide, and instruct. But we don’t see you doing that. You are hidden. We don’t see you. A woman’s husband is coming after her in a drunken rage. You strive to calm her as you tell her where to safely hide while she…
I am heartbroken over the events that have occurred in our country over the past several weeks. My close neighbors in Dallas are grieving deeply. As a law enforcement chaplain, so much of what has occurred feels deeply personal. A lot of what I have read and heard during the course of the past week is not based on fact. It feels like an emotional reaction to what we are all experiencing. And that’s understandable. Emotions ARE running high. Perhaps…
Language matters. It really does. What we say and how we say it can be life changing. A female police officer confided in me that more than one citizen in the community she served asked if she could send for a “real police officer” to handle their concern. She took their comments in stride and proceeded to do her job, but such comments can’t help but be hurtful. At a wedding rehearsal several years ago, I was told by a…
When my oldest son was a toddler, I was called out by the police department in Wichita Falls to provide victim’s assistance and some spiritual presence to a woman that had been brutally raped by a group of men in an abandoned house. It was one of those call-outs that is still imprinted on my mind 25 years later. I couldn’t fathom that someone could a harm a woman in such a way. It remains beyond my comprehension. I am…
I am not a trained medic. But I have had enough training in basic first aid to be able to instigate a few life saving techniques. I know what to do if someone has a gaping injury that is causing profuse bleeding. All of us should possess such basic skills. It might save someone’s life. Are we skilled in a similar manner when it comes to emotional first aid? I am thinking about someone whose heart is bleeding profusely. I…
Empathy is a quality that develops with age. I am convinced this is true. When I was in my 20’s, I had a complete inability to view the world through the eyes of my mother. I had no inkling what I put her through as she raised me! I knew I was a handful, but I didn’t grasp what it did to her heart. That is a lack of empathy. My mother experienced her share of losses both as a…
Over the course of my 29-year career in ministry I have learned that churches have hidden treasures. And I don’t mean a stash of priceless diamonds hidden in a Vacation Bible School costume that has been stored in a closet since 1968. I am talking about people… Tim is one of the treasures at the church I have preached for nearly 12 years. He is a very reserved man., He served physically and cognitively impaired students in an elementary school…