All in all...

We have come a long ways from a manger in a stable on a quiet night, a child's cry ringing out to break the silence.  Stores start gearing up for gift giving in October, or even September.  We make our lists, we drive up our credit card balances, we eat more than we should, all in celebration of an event 2000 years ago that is all but forgotten in the modern fuss we call The Holidays.

I can't help but think this is not what God had in mind.  We have made Christmas about us, instead of about him.  Today, it is more about our gifts to each other than his gift to each of us.  The focus of our attention should always be on God, because he is the center of everything.  But we are drawn to things of the world, the shiny new objects sparkling before our eyes, which pull us down and take attention off what should be the central focal point.

Tending to business...

I am a micro business owner in a small town in rural Minnesota. Although it is a very tough business environment, especially trying to compete with WalMart and Amazon and online sales, we are keeping busy, and constantly looking for a niche that isn't being filled by anyone else close by. As with any business, the support of our local community will make or break us, and I am glad to say we have a lot of familiar faces walking through the door each week, which helps us keep a steady pace most of the time.

Recently, I realized I am falling behind on some of my tasks, so I am pretty excited to have hired a high school girl to work a few hours a week and help us out. But for me, this hire is not just about the filing that is piling up or paying someone else to do tasks for which I don't have time. I think hiring local kids is a vital part of the non-quantifiable contribution that local businesses make to our small community. It is an opportunity to influence our future by teaching our young people some of the most important life skills they will ever have, and build relationships that remain important long after they graduate and move on with their lives.

Judgement call....

I had one of those moments today.  You know the moment.  The one where you are pulled up short from your way of thinking, because you are slapped in the face with another reality that is completely different than what you thought, all in the course of a casual conversation.

It is so very easy for me to slip into a mind frame where someone else's facade is all there is.  They have more money.  They are more successful.  Their life is easier because X, Y, or Z has happened for them, and it hasn't happened for me.  I am not really resentful.  I am usually happy for them that they have a better life.  But I also figure they haven't walked in my shoes, so they just don't understand how I think or feel, and how I got there.

Happy birthday to me!

As most people in contact with me know, today is my birthday. I always think it will get lost in the shuffle, (I don't have any false notions about my own importance,) but just in case anyone didn't know, facebook has duly updated the world at large. And I have been overwhelmed once again by the number of people who took the time to wish me a happy birthday. It is a nice feeling to be remembered, and much appreciated.

 For the record, I am 57, and happy to be here. The best gift I will ever get is another day to wake up, because it has not necessarily been a given. I had a couple of very close calls in my thirties, and I definitely should have been gone at 40. I am a testament to the fact that a young doctor is not a bad thing. (Even if he did look like he was still in high school....)

Living the dream....

When people ask me in passing how I am doing, I usually reply,

"Living the dream."

It is an off the cuff statement, meant to be more sarcastic than serious, and in line with my usual attitude that life is hard, and then you die.  But today, for this day, I have been reminded that I am, indeed, living the dream, and I am grateful to be here for it.

Blessed to be a blessing is more than words....

Over the last few weeks, I have been playing piano in a small, rural church on Sunday mornings.  They are lovely people, warm and welcoming, and it has been a genuine pleasure to play for them.  They have been gracious in their thankfulness, and I appreciate that it comes from their heart. I am glad that I could help out in their time of need.

But, unbeknownst to them, the true gift was from them to me, and there has been a much needed lesson in this experience.  I have talked often about the impact of our actions upon others, but I now see the whole thing from a slightly different angle.  That small change is a quantum shift in my understanding which I will carry forward for the rest of my life.

Sympathies and prayers....

Mother Nature is raging right now in the United States.  Floods in Texas and Louisiana have killed dozens, and left thousands without anything other than the clothes on their backs.  Another hurricane is potentially heading for the east coast, causing fear over what to do and how to prepare.  Fires out west are consuming thousands of acres, also leaving people without anything to their name.

There are no words in that situation.  However much I wish to console, to uplift, to encourage, each one has to walk their path and take their journey through this dark time.

So I will just wish you comfort in the trial.  I offer prayers for your relief.  I have donated to help supply your needs.  Many people are thinking of you as you struggle to begin again.  You are not alone.  You are not forgotten.

With love and all best wishes from Minnesota.

The Value of One....

Facebook these days is a mishmash of cartoons, political statements, advertisements for whatever you last googled, (am I the only one out here in reality world that finds that creepy?) photos of people's kids, dogs, spouses or meals, and very occasionally, a post that is truly inspiring.  I read one of those posts today, written by a mom who wanted to give heartfelt thanks to someone who had made a difference in her child's life.

She is, rightfully, proud of her child, and for all the right reasons.  But she also wanted to recognize the role played by her child's teachers, because she understood they were crucial to her child's success, and more importantly, to her child's sense of self-worth.  She has no idea how right she is.

I have been thinking about that post all day, because it hit a chord down deep inside me.  I have always been... shall we say... athletically challenged.  I cannot make sense of a ball, whether it is in my hand, on the ground, in the air, or anywhere else.  If I run too hard, I get exercise induced asthma and cannot breathe.  I broke my foot playing soccer in elementary PE because I am a klutz.  I can't dance, I can't jump without losing my balance, and I am hopeless at games of any kind.  I am uncoordinated and I can't Just Do It, no matter how much I may want to, or how hard I try.

Remembrance....

The ads have flooded the mailbox, sales await eager shoppers, barbecue grills are loaded and ready to go, food is purchased, potato salad is made, and people are swarming the lakes and byways of the country, ready to celebrate another federal holiday.  Although Franklin Roosevelt declared we would never forget the Day of Infamy, in fact, in just a generation or two, we have almost completely forgotten what it meant to lose young men and women by the thousands over a nightmare vision of how the world should be.

Far from the focus on those who left and returned only to be buried in their hometown cemeteries, or harsher yet, never returned at all, we have sanitized and white washed and almost completely forgotten what Memorial Day really means to those who have fought for our right to eat burgers and brats in a swimsuit by the lake with the beer flowing and tears no where in sight.  And more importantly, who upheld the values enumerated in the Constitution - life, liberty, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to gather and protest and vote - all the rights conferred upon us simply by being American citizens.

Faithful....

Faithful is big word.  It is defined by Merriam Webster as:

"Steadfast in affection or allegiance, firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty, given with strong assurance and true to the facts, to a standard or to an original."

No one on earth better exemplifies this than my Aunt Marian, who passed away yesterday at the age of 95.  For every single one of her many long years, she was faithful to God, to her family, and to herself.  What an immense legacy she has left to those of us who mourn today.  It is difficult to even find words for all she has accomplished in her quiet life.

Joy in the morning....

Anyone who knows me, at all, knows how passionately I love my dogs.  They are my family, a lifeline in a crazy world, and I would do anything for them.  They are both almost 14 now, so getting on in years, and have definitely aged.  Their coats are still smooth and there is still a spring in their step, but they are graying around their faces, their hearing isn't as acute, their vision is obviously fading and their muzzles are becoming grizzled.  They have health issues, but they still enjoy their lives, although it is a slower, quieter version.  Which is to say, they are much like me.

On life and death....

Sixteen years ago today, I nearly died.  Because we live in a random universe, and bodies are imperfect, and sometimes, for no reason at all, they go wrong, I ended up in a hospital fighting for my life, battling an infection that had exploded unseen until it was far too late.

The wrong side of history.... If we live that long....

This country was once a beacon of hope to the disenfranchised. It provided a safety net to displaced people around the world. It looked past the exterior and understood that people are not the sum total of their governments, and accepted those who were at risk because they didn't fit the mold of the totalitarian places from which they came.

On this day, of all days, when we are supposed to remember the losses of The Holocaust, when we are reminded of what we must never accept again, we, the United States of America, have shut our doors to the very people most at risk on this planet. It is shameful, and I feel ashamed. It is wrong. It is horrifying. It is immoral. We have given up who were trying to be for the last 250 years in order to be something so much less than we should be.

The terrorists have won. And make no mistake about it, they are celebrating this day. Because it will light the fire of extremism in places where the flames were not even flickering, and will fan the inferno further where we were already struggling for control.

All things considered...

Just something to consider. If your news source just keeps validating everything you already thought, if it is telling you exactly what you want to hear all the time, if it isn't regularly challenging you to think in different ways or to question your own conclusions, maybe your source is flawed. Because where else in your life is everything exactly the way you think it is, all the time?