Tribute To Irene

I was surprised to read Irene’s obituary last week. Irene was 66 years old.

Irene and I were born the same week in the same hospital. Our mothers were roommates, and as a result, a lifelong friendship developed between our families. As a very young child, I remember playing with Irene. The picture above is Irene and I on the lawn of my childhood home. Later on, at the time Irene was 3 or 4 years old, she was placed in an institution for the physically and mentally handicapped. That was what was done with profoundly handicapped people back then. I never saw Irene again.

Over the years, I occasionally thought about this girl who was my own age and I wondered what had become of her. There seemed to be an unspoken understanding that none of us would talk about Irene. I became good friends with her mother, and as an artist, Irene’s mother encouraged me for years in my own artwork. I wonder, now, if my presence in her life reminded her of Irene and made her sad for her own daughter.

A few years ago, someone is the state system of the Office of Retardation, upon hearing what town I lived in, asked me if I knew an Irene who was originally from my town. Yes, it was the Irene I knew. I found out that Irene was in a wheelchair and dependent upon others for all of her care. I was told that she had beautiful snow-white hair. Just like her mom, I thought to myself. I put it on my “to-do” list to travel to see Irene even though I knew she wouldn’t know who I was. Somehow, I always felt a kinship to this early playmate of mine. But, I never got around to traveling to see Irene. Now, it’s too late!

Society changes and its way of dealing with its handicapped citizens has changed. Institutionalizing those with disabilities is no longer the primary recommendation that medical and educational experts advise.

It was 30 years after Irene and I were born, that my third child developed a serious seizure disorder with its resulting retardation. No one suggested that my son be institutionalized. There were government and educational services available to help him remain at home and be a part of his family. How thankful I am for that, because this son is a special blessing to our family. The picture above shows my son as a youngster in his snowmobile helmet with full-face guard that permitted him to play without being injured from his dozens of sudden falls each day. Over the years, the seizures lessened, and he no longer had to wear a helmet. During that time, he had wonderful special education teachers in school and excellent neurologists to monitor his medications. Now, as an adult, he lives in a group home, works at a sheltered workshop, and he has friends and activities he likes to do.

What can be said about the value of a person who had such a limited life experience as Irene or about my son who will need daily help and supervision for the rest of his life? Jesus spoke about these handicapping conditions in a conversation with his disciples. Listen to this episode from the Bible: “As Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.’” (John 9:1-3)

I don’t understand how it all works, but Jesus affirms that in some manner, individuals afflicted with severe handicaps are a necessary part of God’s way to display His works in this world. God’s sovereignty to create each human person, as He deems best, and His sovereignty to dispense to them abilities or withhold abilities is God’s right. He is the Potter; we are the clay.

I believe with all my heart that Irene was one of God’s special creations, made above all to display the handiwork of God in some mysterious and magnificent manner. Human eyes would look at her, pity her, and question her worth. But according to the Word of God, in some manner the works of God were displayed in her. What greater worth can anyone have than that?

Irene, this is my tribute to you.

Montezuma Swamp

Birds I hadn’t seen before- that’s what I wanted to see! So, I looked through my birding book and found that about two hours away from home was a mysterious sounding place called the Montezuma Swamp. It’s a national wildlife refuge and an especially important place for migrating birds in the spring and fall. Just the place for me to find new birds!

Planning to make a day of it, I hooked my small camping trailer behind my car, and off I went. I passed three of New York’s Finger Lakes and went through several good-sized towns, and finally, I saw the sign- MONTEZUMA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. After driving half an hour slowly beside acres and acres and acres of cattails, I finally found the perfect place- a small parking lot next to a small shallow lake surrounded by… you guessed it- acres and acres and acres of cattails. To get past the visual distraction of the cattails, there was a birding observation tower to climb that looked out over the lake. Actually, the lake is called a pool, Tschache Pool (pronounced ‘shocky’).

The birds on the lake were a long ways from me, and even with my binoculars, I didn’t have any idea of what I was seeing. At last, a very elderly gentleman climbed the tower with his tripod and spotting scope, and he gave me a guided tour through his spotting scope of what I was looking at. The most exciting thing to see was four bald eagles! I was actually looking at real, live bald eagles! There was an adult eagle with its distinctive white head, and three of its offspring with their first year, all-over brown plumage. One of the huge juveniles took off and soared through the sky to my delight!

I was thinking about how I had to go to where the birds were, and especially to where the bald eagle was in order to see it. Because I was desperate enough to see new birds, I had to go to the Montezuma Swamp.

At the same time, I’ve been thinking about people who say that they don’t know about God- what He is like- but they want to know Him. In addition, I’ve been thinking about Christians who say that they just don’t seem to be able to live as Christ Jesus would want them to live because they feel defeated and spiritually powerless. These kinds of people say they are desperate for a deeper, more meaningful spiritual life. However, they are not alone. I’ve also been thinking about how I can get into a slump, and Christianity seems sort of ‘ho-hum’ to me. I know that isn’t right.

At those times, our actions show whether we are really desperate for more of God. Let’s think about it. If we want to buy some socks, Tylenol, and a CD, do we know where to go? Certainly! We go to WalMart. If we want to get a new car, do we know where to go? Certainly! We go to the car dealer in town. If we have an abscessed tooth, do we know where to go? Certainly! We go to the dentist. If we are out of bread, do we know where to go? Certainly! We go to the grocery store. Why then, when other people and I are spiritually hungry, are we mystified about where to go?

Jesus said, “ Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) Therefore, if we want to live spiritually- really live spiritually!- then we need to be feeding on the word of God. We need to go to the Bible and read it. Through God’s Word we see God clearly and hear his heartbeat of gracious mercy that He is bestowing upon mankind. Through God’s Word, we see who Jesus is and hear His promise to satisfy spiritual hunger.

If we are desperate for more of God, we need to look steadily and carefully at what we are reading in the Bible. Sometimes we even need a wiser and more spiritually mature person- one who eagerly studies the Bible himself or herself- to come alongside to point out and identify what we are reading. It’s just like the elderly man who identified the birds that I was seeing yesterday. I asked him why he kept coming back for so many years to look at the birds. He said there was always something new to see and learn. It’s that way with reading the Bible if we are desperate enough.

It’s simple to understand. Where do we go to see birds? To the Montezuma Swamp. Were do we go if we’re spiritually hungry? To the Bible!

Monster Swells and Crashing Waves?

It was a sunny, pleasant day at the state park next to Lake Ontario. There was a gentle breeze and just a hint of fall in the air. Canadian geese and seagulls flew overhead. Only one sailboat could be seen on the horizon. Small waves lapped the shore.

As I meandered along the beach next to the water, I spotted a piece of driftwood that was worthy of a photo. I sat in the sand just above the water line and aimed my camera at the driftwood; I was waiting for just the right background wave to complement the driftwood in the foreground. I watched the swells of water out a ways, trying to judge the biggest and best one that would crest at the right moment for my photo.

As minutes passed, I studied the waves more and more. Then, I set down the camera and picked up my binoculars to aim at the swells and cresting waves. Whereas, before, I was perfectly content to be just a foot away from the water, suddenly, fear gripped me at the frightening magnitude of the oncoming swell and the force of the crashing wave in front of me. By looking through the binoculars I was sure I was about to be overwhelmed with a Tsunami and be swept out to sea!

Quickly, I pulled the binoculars down to look and be sure I was still safe above the water line. I remembered a verse in the Bible that says that God set the boundaries of how far the waters of the seas can come up on the land. Once I got that thought in my head and decided I could trust the truth of it, I looked through the binoculars again and began to enjoy the magnified illusion of frightening, monstrous swells and violently crashing waves before my eyes. God was not going to- all of a sudden- violate the physical laws of nature and let the water come up and grab me! As a result, I felt safe to continue to enjoy the adrenaline rush of being frightened.

Since then, however, I’ve wondered what it was within me that wanted to continue to “feel” scared by looking at the illusion of monstrous swells and crashing waves through the safety of binoculars. I wonder if it is like the thrill of riding a roller coaster- a frightening, but safe experience.

However, there are times when adrenaline-producing experiences aren’t safe. Some people like to live on that edge. They like to push themselves beyond the point of safety. Some examples might be- people who participate in extreme sports, people who push their bodies beyond the point of exhaustion to get rich, people who get involved in street drugs, people who have the money but won’t replace bald tires on their car, or people who assume pornography won’t hurt their marriage. Those are only a few situations that quickly come to mind. There are a multitude of risky behaviors we engage in-or have engaged in- if we stop to think about it.

TheBible talks about these things. God’s personality is such that He cares intensely for the welfare of all mankind. For that reason, when people deliberately put themselves in harm’s way and presume upon God’s kindness to watch over them, it is called “putting God to the test”. Jesus said, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Jesus said he came to earth that we could have life and have it abundantly. I've been thinking over the difference between living abundantly and living by putting God to the test. Sometimes it's not easy to know which of those we are doing. We probably ought to think about it and ask God to show us which we are doing- living recklessly or living abundantly.

If you need wisdom- if you want to know what God wants you to do- ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. James 1:4,5

Finishing What Is Started

You are no doubt asking yourself what this is. Let me explain.

Shortly after 9/11 while I was having pizza with my daughter-in-law at DeSalvo's in Warsaw, an idea came into my head for a book. Most of us were still trying to understand the events of the terrorist attack against the US, and I had been doing the same thing. The idea that came to me concerned how Christian young people living in a country completely devastated by enemy occupation could have their faith nurtured if Bibles and churches were outlawed. The idea seemed full blown in my mind as an adventure story like the Hardy Boy books we've all read. Yet it was to be far more. It was to be a lengthy allegory explaining the person of Jesus. Having been a Bible study leader for years, I recognized that the idea came by God's nudge through the Holy Spirit. I grabbed a napkin and scribbled down the main ideas of the book's plot, and then I returned to eating pepperoni pizza.

As the days went by, I thought more about the book I was to write. I knew I had to do watercolor paintings to accompany the storyline and I'd need models to draw from. I bought six artist's manikins and began making faces on them by using light cardboard, freezer tape, acrylic paint, and fuzzy pieces of hair. Then I sewed clothing appropriate for each character. As I did all of that, I thought a lot about each character's personality and how they would fit into the story line. These 'people' became very real to me.

Now, eight years later, I'm on the third major revision of the book. There are forty three chapters, 150,000 words (more or less), sixty watercolors and an appendix of over three hundred of the names of Jesus that are in the Bible. I have plans to self publish the book later this year. The book's called AFTER THE DEVASTATIONS- THE JOURNEY.

I've had a lot!!!! of computer problems in the process of writing, formatting, scanning pictures, etc in the last eight years. It was early this spring that more computer problems brought me to needing high-speed Internet, and as a result of exploring those opportunities, I starting experimenting with writing blogs accompanied by my photos. I have enjoyed this activity and in the future I hope to continue writing more blogs.

However, in the meantime, I need to do something else. As I study the Word of God, I am becoming more and more convinced that the days ahead will be full of great tribulation for Christians before the soon return of Jesus Christ. I really need to get the book finished and published as soon as I can; it is meant to be a source of encouragement to Christians going through hard times. Bibles and gatherings of Christian believers are being outlawed in more and more places in this world. These difficult times are most likely to come upon us here in the United States, too. Believers need to know the person of Jesus better as they face these times. The book I've written is not only an entertaining adventure story, but it highlights the excellency of who Jesus Christ is. The book needs to be finished.

This morning I read in the Bible, God's admonition to us of what we are to do as we begin to recognize the signs of Jesus' soon return: But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Luke 21:34,35

Being weighed down with dissipation- that phrase spoke to my heart. Writing blogs is dissipating my time and energy. I've been scattering my mental attention and efforts. Writing blogs is not sinful. But for me, at this time, it is taking away my focus from publishing the book about Jesus. Revising, editing and formatting a book is incredibly hard, boring work! No wonder I've enjoyed the easier fun of blogging. But I need to finish the book that I started.

I want to thank all of you who have encouraged me in my blogging efforts. Your kind words have meant a lot to me. God willing, I'll return to blogging by the end of the year.

But in the meantime, with God's help I'm going to finish what I started.

Birdwatching Honesty

Double Crested Cormorant

I wanted some kind of excuse to be walking more. Not just walking anywhere, but outside in the woods and fields, the places I loved to roam as a child. So I took up birdwatching last summer with the intent of making colored pencil sketches of the various kinds of birds I spotted. (I allowed myself the liberty of using bird ID pictures to draw from once I spotted a bird in the wild. A picture in a book sits still long enough to draw from!)

In the early part of summer, I had managed to spot in my back yard and draw the common birds: a robin, a goldfinch, a house sparrow, etc. However, as time went on, I knew I had to visit other habitats to find more birds to draw. That endeavor found me and my son strolling alongside the Silver Lake outlet on an old railroad bed. We had our binoculars with us, but not our cameras or bird ID books.

Suddenly, across the water, I saw a large darkish bird on a bare tree branch that kept stretching its neck up high. It had light stripes of feathers on its breast, and it kept fluffing its feathers on its back and nervously jerking its tail. I clearly saw a crest on its head and a large bill when it turned its head sideways. Its feet looked yellow-greenish. My son and I watched the bird for quite sometime until it took off and flew past us, a large and dark bird.

When I got home I poured over the bird ID books. No bird quite fit the description, but at last I decided to settle on the bird being a Double Crested Cormorant. That bird fit most of the features I saw. Quite a rare water bird for our area. I was thrilled to make a sketch of the bird.

Bird watching books warn birders that they have such a great desire to spot new varieties of birds to add to their Life List, that they are tempted to claim to make a sighting when in fact, a clear identification isn't possible. Well, that's what I did! I was dishonest with myself. Because I wanted so badly to draw another bird in my sketch book, I deceived myself that I had made a proper identification. I had done what the Bible talks about- The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it. Jeremiah 17:9

The next week my deceitful heart was revealed to me. I found that my motive of desperately wanting a new bird to sketch made me dishonest with the facts right before my eyes.

Juvenile Green Heron

The next week I spotted a huge, snow white bird take off from a marshy area next to the parking lot where I was standing. The bird flew right past me! A magnificent stately bird with its neck tucked into an S curve and long legs trailing out behind it. Of course, when I got home I looked up what kind of bird it was. There was no mistaking its identity; it was a Great Egret.

However, in the process of identifying that huge, white bird, in my reading I discovered that the dark bird I had seen the week before next to the Silver Lake outlet matched the description of a different bird than I thought! What I had really seen was a Juvenile Green Heron with its yellow-green legs, not a Cormorant, a bird with webbed black feet. (I had chosen to ignore the color of the feet.) Besides that, the Green Heron was far more apt to be found in the wooded, watery location where I was, whereas a Cormorant is found in more open waters of the Great Lakes. (I had chosen to ignore the fact of the habitat I was in.)

To those of you who are reading this blog who are not bird watchers, all these details have, no doubt, been more than you ever wanted to know about birding. However, a birder reading this account would identify with me how easy it is to deceive ourselves when wanting to identify a new bird.

In the same manner, I think it is very easy to deceive ourselves in our motives in almost all the things we do. We might be doing something very nice thing for someone else, when in reality our true purpose is to get that person obligated to us (to owe us a favor). We might give large amounts of money to a popular fund raiser, when in reality we don't care about the cause, but we want to be regarded as generous in the eyes of the public. We might sing praises to the Lord in the church choir, when in reality our motive is to show off before others. We might be friendly to others ,not just because its the right thing to do, but because having other people like us boosts our ego.

Quite honestly, when we begin to examine our motives, I believe that anything we do has mixed motives. The motive of doing things to benefit others is mixed with the motive that brings selfish benefits to ourselves. The Bible speaks of the dilemma this puts us in. The Bible and God can see though the deceptions of our hearts to see the true motives of our hearts. For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from His (God's) sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:12,13

Our motives are a mixture of good and bad, charitable and selfish, especially when we compare ourselves with the living Word of God. God will hold us accountable for those mixed motives. Identifying a bird wrongly is of no eternal consequence. Standing before God with besmirched motives has eternal consequences. The shed blood of Jesus is adequate to forgive this kind of sin. How thankful I am for that!

Looking At The Sky

Majestic! Is there any other word that can describe these clouds?

Awesome! Light breaking through the darkness takes our breath away.

Glorious! How else to describe such a beautiful sunrise?

People respond instinctively to magnificent displays of grandeur in the sky. They use words like 'majesty', 'awesome', and 'glorious'. Yet the words we use usually fall short of the response we feel to view such splendor. And it's no wonder our words aren't adequate. Sunrises and sunsets are a reflection of God's gladness. "You (O God) make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy." Psalm 65:8b

God's majesty! God's joy! These things can be known about God through what we see in God's creation, in this case, in the skies. The Bible says: For what can be known about God is plain to them (mankind), because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in things that have been made." Romans 1:19,20a

Isn't it wonderful that the warmth of spring has arrived so that we can be outside more? We can go out doors without winter coats and boots, and we can see and reflect upon the new life God is bringing forth. In the creation we see the revelation of God's attributes, His eternal power and divine nature. Even when we look up at the skies we see evidence of His majesty. Let us be glad as he is glad!

Little Foxes

"Twenty eight, twenty nine... " the owner said. "Where's chicken number thirty? Another one's missing! What's taking my chickens?"

A week later, lots of white feathers were on the lawn. It was evidence of a struggle between another missing rooster and some kind of animal. Away from the hen house and down in the gully were more feathers, evidence that the rooster wasn't killed immediately and had continued to struggle before being killed. Unfortunately, the rain had washed away the tracks of the aggressor. What kind of animal was stealing and killing the chickens? Was it the neighbor's dog? A coyote? A fox? A bobcat? A bear? There was no way to tell. The chicken owner started to keep a sharp eye out for the culprit, whatever it was. He kept his rifle at hand.

It was a week later. The owner saw a red fox trotting up the gully heading straight for the hen house. Now the owner knew what he was dealing with. However, the fox spooked and ran off before the owner could get his rifle. None the less, now, the owner knew what he had to do to protect his flock. He couldn't be there 24 hours a day with his rifle to protect them, so he did the next best thing. Within hours, he had driven dozens of iron stakes into the ground and surrounded the hen house and field with 400 feet of mesh fence pulled down tight against the earth. Now his treasure was safe from the fox.

Foxes eat not only meat, but also grass and fruit. The Bible has an interesting verse about foxes. It's found in Song of Solomon. In that passage a lover is talking to his beloved. Using the metaphor of little foxes, the lover says that it's vitally important for the two of them to protect their mutual relationship from things that will damage it. In a poetic way, the lover says that his beloved must be especially vigilant to keep their budding relationship intact. He gives her a warning that needed to be heeded. He says to his beloved, "Let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom." Song of Solomon 2:14b, 15

What does this mean, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards? I think it means the little cutting remarks that a wife makes about her husband in his presence or when she is with her girl friends. I hear women belittle their husbands all the time, at places where I have worked and at places where I socialize with other women. I've heard church women put down their husbands just as readily as women outside the church. I wonder how a man must feel to know that the woman whose voice is sweet to him and whose face is lovely to him (that's why he married her!) is habitually bad mouthing him, allowing little foxes of contempt to destroy what is precious in their relationship.

The Bible instructs us wives how to treat our husbands. "An excellent wife who can find?...The heart of her husband trusts in her... She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. Proverbs 31:10-12 (parts) A major way a woman does good to her husband is to praise him, rather than to bring shame upon him with her words. Women who continue to belittle their husbands are as negligent as a chicken owner who would build no fence, but instead leave his flock to the mercy of a hungry fox.