Category: Current Affairs

We've all lived it. Times when we felt numb and hopeless, for whatever reason.

Right now some of us might blame it on taking in too much of what's going on around us in connection with the 2024 U.S. elections.

Angry talk, accusations and division fill the air–and every kind of media or social platform we turn to. Even friends and family members walk on eggs around each other, afraid to voice their opinions out loud.

It's fair to say it often looks and sounds more like we are the Divided States of America.

What happened to national unity?

From the beginning every American schoolkid heard over and over that the United States was the great melting pot. This was the one place on earth where it didn't matter what your name was or how much money you had. Whether you were born here or in another country and arrived via legal immigration.

No wonder the national mindset could be summed up like this:

We are Americans! We are one!

Also in that time everyone understood the truth of what we still say today: "Nobody's perfect."

Hardly anyone argued with that, being well-acquainted with their own repeated failures to keep their good resolutions.

As one old-timer put it, "Ain't no perfect people anywhere. Anytime."

Let's get our brains in gear

Let's set aside the charges and counter-charges for a moment and focus on some unique, foundational truths about our Nation:

We the citizens have the right to vote and elect our President, Vice President, Senators and Representatives and other governing officials.

We have the right to complain about those we elect at the National, State or local level of Government without fear of being dragged off to a work camp.

We have the right to work for any employer who will hire us. Own any car we can afford. Live in any house we can pay for. In any State we choose.

We are free to form our own opinions. Every single one of us, agree or disagree. Free to worship God–or remain skeptical.

This is rare. Shouldn't that fact give us the right to be proud of these United States of America?

Is America perfect? Not by a long shot. Is America more good than bad? Yes

If we focus only on the flaws in our society and in people and in our world, we cheat ourselves, our families and the people in our lives. There is so much more.

Like most Christians, I believe God put you and me right where we are, among the people in our lives. Why? Only He knows the full story. What if His purpose is so we can speak what is true and be a blessing? Here. Now.

As someone has said, if we're alive and breathing it's a sign that God still has a purpose for us. A reason to go on.

What can one person do?

Those of us who are Christians believe we are to pray for all those who are in authority, that they would have–or at least exercise–integrity and good judgment.

We all can pray that truth will prevail, in government, in education at every level, and in the hearts and minds of the people of this Nation.

Just as importantly, let's remind ourselves that ultimately, freedom is a matter of the heart and mind. As a Christian I believe this verse points the way:

[Jesus said] "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36

For all of us, as clear-thinking adults, let's not get caught up in what is divisive. Rather, may we focus on what is good and right and true.

That does not mean constantly barging into conversations in an effort to ensure our opinions dominate. Rather, we are to be gentle and kind in our conversations with friends, coworkers and family members.

We cannot bring peace in the world all by ourselves, but we can be up-builders in the place where God has planted us.

NOW is the time!

If you have not registered to vote, do it NOW because the deadlines are upon us.

I implore you that between now and November 5 you would weigh the evidence and evaluate each candidate. Make up your own mind. Then be sure that you cast your vote–for your well-considered choices. Follow the instructions in your State, but get that vote in–and be sure it gets counted.

Let's not waste our privilege as citizens of this much-blessed Nation.

Humbly and lovingly,

Lenore
How Do We Get Through This Troubling Time?

October 22, 2024
How do we keep from giving in to fear as our hearts ache for those who live in terror and anguish? Or when we do?

Right now news broadcasts make our hearts drop–and we live thousands of miles away. Sometimes it seems the whole world is in danger of falling apart.

Does anybody care? Does God care?

Anytime it seems this world is careening toward destruction a quick glance at this photo quiets my heart. I copied it from the Internet and framed it where I can see it any time.

It comes from the Hubble Telescope gallery of stunning photos. As with many of those photos, the colors have been enhanced, but the shape of an eye is unmistakable.

NASA itself labeled this nebula "The Eye of God."

I find that fact almost as amazing as the photo.

Of course it's not really a photo of God's eye

Still, this photo reminds me of what many of us already know: God is watching over me. And you. And our world, even the most remote region of it.

No matter how alarming or dismal the news, whether it's world news or happenings within our own lives or those of people we love, God never takes a break and gets preoccupied with something else.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. Proverbs 15:3 ESV

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalm 32:8 ESV

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. … 1 Peter 3:12 ESV

Remember what makes any of us "righteous" is that Jesus died for us and canceled out all our sin.

Breathe deep and be at peace

Yes, God's eye is on us, but he looks at us with eyes of love. Remember this verse?

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 17:8 ESV

The best antidote to fears that nag at us is to go back to basics and spend some time reading the Bible, God's written word to us.

I've found it makes a big difference if I read with a "How does this apply to me?" attitude.

God's creation all around us speaks to us and quiets us, too. Sometimes I just need to look out the window with eyes that see.

When I do, when I take a moment to focus on the trees or distant hills or look up into the endless sky, I hear this verse in my mind:

Be still and know that I am God … Psalm 46:10 NIV

David, writer of Psalms, never doubted God's loving, watchful eye

For many years he lived in danger and counted on God's protection. He wrote these beautiful words:

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.   Psalm 17:8 NIV

He will not let your foot slip–he who watches over you will not slumber … The LORD watches over you–the LORD is your shade at your right hand; The LORD will keep you from all harm–he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121:3, 5a, 7-8 NIV

God speaks to us through the Word. Reading the Bible is a bit like resetting our internal compass to true north and we get back a right perspective on life.

It reminds us it's not our goodness that's a ticket to Heaven, but Jesus' death and resurrection alone. Knowing that turns our anxiety to peace.

We remember again how small we are in the scheme of things and who God is

So why do we let the TV newscasts and talking heads raise our blood pressure?

History is full of strife and struggles–and wars, whether "declared" or not. Elections come and elections go, always to the accompaniment of boos and cheers. Economies rise and fall, over and over. Medical problems inevitably come with being human. That's life.

Yet this little planet we live on keeps spinning. Every morning the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

The One who was there before the beginning and will be there after the end remains in charge.

For you and me, if we trust in him it is safe to let go of fear. God's got it all covered, so we can live in peace and calm.

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!  Psalm 118:1 ESV

He never takes his eye off us, so let us relax and rejoice!

Blessings,

Lenore

Find calm in the midst of fear and chaos

February 25, 2022
We're grieving the loss of what we believed America is all about.

That a mob would batter their way into our U.S. Capitol building makes us heartsick. "This is America!" we want to scream. "That does not happen here!

Except it did. On January 6, 2021.

Many of the folks in that mob no doubt considered themselves "good people," who were upholding truth, justice and what is right.

Reportedly, many were Christians. Yet everyone with even a smidgen of Bible knowledge knows that Jesus taught his followers to obey the laws.

Standing to show support is one thing. The actions of those who stormed the Capitol went way beyond that, to breaking the law.

The Apostle Paul got specific about how Christians are to relate to those in charge.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.   Romans 13:1-2 ESV

Paul offered no exceptions such as "unless you don't agree," or "unless you didn't vote for them" or even "unless you don't like the way they exert their authority."

Our call as the people of God is to "be subject" to those who were elected or appointed to their positions of authority. They are where they are because our all-knowing God put them there.

(It also doesn't matter if we can't figure out how or why.)

Freedom always carries risks

Freedom and democracy only work if we citizens govern ourselves first of all and live as law-abiding people.

President Abraham Lincoln said it long ago:

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

If the citizenry as a whole becomes cynical and trusts no one in Government or in any position of authority it will erode our Nation from the inside.

It's the same for us as individuals. If we become bitter and distrustful we begin to die on the inside. Our call as Christians is to live by what we say we believe, what the Bible teaches.

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.  2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

Where do we go from here?

President John F. Kennedy offered timeless good advice:

"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democrat answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."

Whether or not we realize it, we're part of what the future will be, not only for ourselves but for the people around us. Let's be up-builders.

Jesus summed up how we're to live:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. this is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:37-39 ESV

It's time to refresh and refuel

A steady diet of TV news or Internet articles causes malnutrition of our hearts and minds.

The way to nourish and uplift our spirits is by making time to read our Bibles and pray. Pray for our loved ones and ourselves and also asking God's guidance for our leaders and that there will be peace within our Nation.

Here are three Bible verses to keep close to our hearts:

[Jesus said] "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me." John 14:1 ESV

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 ESV

The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. Psalm 28:7-8 ESV

How shall we live from now on?

First, we're to remember who we are as Americans and even more, as God's people.

Beyond that, we're to speak and work for the good of our family, our community and our Nation. Once again, the Bible tells us how:

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  1 John 4:7-9 NIV

Now's the time to let the anger and sadness melt away in God's love. If we are Christians through the love of Jesus, let's live that way. Let's rejoice because we know HE has the last word.

Our merciful God was there before the beginning of the world and he will be there after the end. It's all in his hands and we are safe.

Right now many of us are mourning a deep loss

January 8, 2021
(I wrote this on Veteran's Day, November 11, 2009, but it's still true.)

Today is one day after the Texas Memorial for the twelve Fort Hood soldiers gunned down at the Base. (One civilian also was killed.)

These dead, too, were killed in a war, the one that remains nameless.

I watched the memorial service through tears. Perhaps you did, too. When family members processed past these soldiers' photographs, they stopped at only one. Some touched their loved one's photo, some held on with both hands, some wept openly. Their faces weren't shown, but I felt our watching world intruded on what should have been their private moment.

Every November 11th, one word screams at me: pain. The pain endured by those who serve actively and how it changes their lives. Those who love them and pray for their safety and wait for their return live with pain, too. Sometimes that pain never leaves.

Each Veteran's Day reminds me of a handsome cousin I never knew who was killed in World War II. My aunt and uncle had four younger children, but that didn't cancel their grief at losing one. Years later her eyes would tear and she took on a misty expression whenever she mentioned his name or looked at his photograph.

I understand that better now

Two of our granddaughters have served in the Navy, one in Intelligence, still serving. The other served a stint in the Medical Corps with the Marines, with one tour in Kuwait and another near Baghdad. She came home with memories that still haunt her.

My husband and I are very proud of both of them–and we still pray every day that God will keep them safe. Our entire family breathed a collective sigh of relief and thanks each time either of our granddaughters was safely back on American soil.

The tragedy at Fort Hood reminds us all that being in the Armed Forces and stationed here in the States does not guarantee safety.

I think we all need Veteran's Day, this annual reminder that Freedom is not free

We need to remember again that preserving the freedoms we so casually take for granted carries an extremely high price tag.

One U.S. Marine Corps chaplain expressed it well:

"It is the soldier, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag."

~Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, Sergeant, USMC

May we never forget that

And may we honor those who serve now, as well as those who have given of their lives in service to America

Next time you and I spot someone in uniform it will mean the world to that individual if we take time to shake their hand and say, "Thank you for your service. May God watch over you."

That may seem a small thing–and it is–but they need to know we honor them and their sacrifices for keeping America free.

None of us know what comes next. With the world as it is, let's pray every day for God's protection and preservation of this United States of America and for all those who serve you and me, at home and overseas.

God bless America and may God bless you!

Lenore

Let’s hear it for the wives! And the husbands! And the children! And the parents!

November 11, 2016
By now it's old news that the Fifty Shades of Grey books and the recently released movie are big hits.

So far the Fifty Shades books have sold over 100 million copies and first weekend movie audience broke records.

People who track such things say most book buyers were/are women and it's estimated 68% of that initial movie audience was female.

All I can say is, I don't get it.

A thumbnail sketch of the plot

I haven't read the books or seen the movie–and don't intend to–but probably everyone knows the general plot of this fiction: The handsome "hero" is named Christian and he was sexually abused as a teenager. Supposedly that accounts for his twisted views of sex. He vows he will always be the Dominant.

Christian spots a lovely 21-year old virgin-by-choice, Ana, and in effect, stalks her. She's attracted to him and a relationship develops. His obsession with sadomasochism turns her off, but she's convinced love will change him. She agrees to be his Submissive and to follow his orders . . . without complaint. He introduces her to "The Playroom." (She calls it "The Red Room of Pain"–and that's exactly what it is for her.)

Here's what puzzles me:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't women say they want their real men to be sensitive?

Think how many females are passionate about empowering women and equal rights for women.

Female employees across the land frequently complain male bosses and co-workers don't treat women with equal respect, even suing for sexual harassment.

Schools and workplaces insist on regular sensitivity training, especially for males.

What's the difference?

The self-centered Fifty Shades "hero" deliberately inflicts real pain on Ana and enjoys it. How is Christian different from the boyfriend or husband who beats up or sexually abuses "his" woman?

In Fifty Shades Ana knows her lover is sick, but over and over she compromises her values, believing her love will heal him in the end.

Abused women often say something like this: "I knew he needed help, but again and again I stayed because I thought eventually my love would change him."

Why is the Fifty Shades account considered "romantic" while the other is judged cruel and inhumane?

Three questions

Would that kind of relationship appeal to you?

Would you want it for your daughter(s)?

Would you call it "love?"

The close-to-home trap

Many would say, "Aw, those books and the movie, they're just entertainment. Just for fun. I would never take it seriously."

Are you sure?

Can you wall off the words and movie images in your mind so they have zero effect on your thinking about the sexual relationship between a man and a woman?

Are you sure words from the books and images from the movie will never flash into your mind when you and your husband have sex?

Fifty Shades is an empty substitute for love as it's meant to be

Our Christian understanding of love between man and woman never even hints at whips and chains, with a Dominant and a Submissive. Here's what Jesus said in John 15:12:

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."

In Ephesians 5:21, the Apostle Paul counseled mutual submission:

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Love and the sexual relationship between husband and wife are meant to be rich and fulfilling, each one wanting the other's good.

The problem for moms and dads

"More is caught than taught" is still true.

Children learn the most when we think they're not looking. Or listening.

Whatever their ages, children don't miss a thing. They file away whatever they pick up, considering it reference material on how to live.

They do as we do–and value what we value–more than they do as we say.

Picture a mom telling her daughter she needs to value herself and insist on being treated with respect and telling her son to be sensitive and respectful toward women.

What are they to think when they hear their mom giggling and raving over Fifty Shades and the like with her girlfriends?

Which message will speak the louder?

Why should any of this matter to us?

The success of these books and the movie mean one thing: From now on, anything goes.

Fiction writers and producers and people that fund media projects need successes. The $$$ generated by Fifty Shades will affect everything we read and watch on a screen from now on.

What once might have been viewed as perverted will become "normal."

In overt or subtle ways, our society will be changed–and we Christians won't like it very much.

We live in the real world and our kids are growing up in it. All this makes it vital that we talk honestly with our children and grandchildren about healthy Christian sexuality. They need a clear understanding long before they're ready for sex. Otherwise, how can they tell the false from the true?

And who will tell them if we don't?

Lovingly,

Lenore

Related articles

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How to escape "the busy-ness trap" before it traps you
Fifty shades of not very much

March 5, 2015
You probably heard about the Utah coach who suspended his entire football team a week before their big homecoming game.

Coach Matt Labrum had known players were being disciplined for being disrespectful and skipping classes. When some were accused of cyberbullying, it was the last straw.

He decided his Union High team needed a wake-up call.

Labrum told all 80 players they were suspended and to turn in their jerseys. The new emphasis would be on building character and only those who earned the privilege to play would make the team.

He describes it as "an emotional moment on all sides."

Coach Labrum told the Deseret News, "We need to focus on some other things that are more important than winning a football game."

The players got the message. The next day, Saturday, at 7 a.m., all players turned up at Roosevelt Union High, as directed. Labrum explained that to earn their way back they'd need to perform community service. Practice hours would be devoted to character classes.

Right away the players dug in, cleaning up streets, pulling weeds and volunteering at local senior centers. At Monday's character class players were instructed to list their personal character weaknesses–and did.

Several said they now realize it's a privilege to wear their uniforms and represent their school. Senior running back Gavin Nielsen said, "This helped me realize, it's not all about football."

Thumbs up for parents and the community for supporting the coach. And yes, the team will play in that homecoming game.

Like a wise parent, Coach Labrum provided "tough love" along with tender love

Real life is more than football, too. More than winning awards. More than appearance or talent or cleverness or being an honor student. More than getting into the "best" colleges or making a lot of money.

Parents brag about these things, but they're not what matter most.

Otherwise we wouldn't see a steady news parade of individuals with "all the advantages" who are a mess, living out empty lives.

How do we help our kids develop right attitudes?

It starts with helping our kids grow strong from the inside out. Strong enough to make it through life even when they're away from us.

Strong enough to do the right thing, even when everyone else is doing wrong.

It takes loving them with our whole hearts. That's the easy part. The hard part is setting clear limits–and enforcing them. Every time.

Keeping that balance often feels like trying to walk a tightrope and know we need help. We'll find it if we ask. No fancy words needed. A simple, "Help me, Lord, please," is quite enough.

The sooner we start, the better. If we follow through every time, our kids soon figure out Mommy means business and they may as well obey the first time.

Finding our way through

Our call as moms is to help our children grow into people ready to live without us. That often feels like two steps forward and one step back.

It's not all about us.

A solid base of faith and being involved in a strong church which teaches Bible Truth can make all the difference. Here we'll make friends among people who share our values. So will our kids.

Children who know Jesus loves them feel more secure in a harsh world. Knowing their Best Friend is always with them is way better than a cuddly teddy bear.

As youngsters grow into adolescence hanging with Christian kids who support them in making right choices can aid our teens in staying on-track.

The Bottom Line

Being a parent takes all we have and then some. We walk in faith and pray every step of the way.

I used to think that meant I was weak.

Now I know it's exactly the right position to be in.

Lovingly,

Lenore

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Do your kids a favor and tell them life is not fair

Three cheers for Coach Labrum, who teaches us about parenting

September 27, 2013
Twenty-four hour news sounds good, but there seems to be no escape.

The bad always outweighs the good, because every journalist knows that bad news sells.
It becomes the background noise of our life and fear seeps into our subconscious.

Think of the past few months. We can tune out faraway places, but what of the terror that comes closer to home?

Movie-goers get mowed down in a Colorado theatre. School children in Newtown. Every school and college is on high alert, because some lone shooter may be ready to open fire.

Then comes another Boston Marathon and what promised to be life returning to normal, even if just for a day. Then comes more horror. Bombs, killings and a major American City locked down in fear until the remaining shooter is found.

Next a solid, unexciting fertilizer plant suddenly explodes in a quiet town in Texas. The blast kills at least 14 people and injures 200 or more, devastating a large section of West, population 2,500.

That's Life in Twenty-first Century America

Parents fear for their children. Schools are on high alert.

Experts say to proect kids from viewing the violence. Parents ask how to do that when there's nothing else on television and every break carries a "teaser" for the news.

How do we reassure our children when we're quaking inside? Where do we dredge up confidence when we have none left to give?

The real question is, How do we live with this?

I have no answers on my own, but I know where to look.

In the Bible, of course. Hope and comfort thread through it from beginning to end. Take Psalm 121 for example, here from the New American Standard Bible:

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.

The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord willprotect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this day forward.

Let's take our cues from the Word instead of the news

Imagine if we read or spoke those words every morning instead of turning on the news to see what's happening now.

Suppose every night at bedtime we quietly repeated these beautiful words to our children. Before long they'll be speaking them with us. Instead of saying, "Have a good day," we could let this blessing echo in the minds of our families.

The point is if we regularly take in fear, we live out fear. Some of us have internalized this constant low-level anxiety for so long we think it's normal.

It's even worse for children, because they don't understand it and feel even more powerless than adults.

That's not the way we're meant to live.

In case you wonder, yes, I struggle with this, too. I can build a whole scenario on "What if . . . ?"

(I'm a writer, remember?)

Events of the past week remind us again that life holds risks and earthly protection sometimes fails. Our security rests in the One who watches over us and neither slumbers nor sleeps.

So we can live–and sleep–in peace.

Growing along with you and trusting the One who keeps us,

Lenore

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How do we stay strong in shaky times?

April 23, 2013
Nobody saw it coming. Catastrophes are like that.

This is the face of one woman in the aftermath of unimaginable horror, Japan's 9.0 earthquake and the devastating tsunami that quickly followed.

You and I have not lived what she experienced, but we know that face. We know those tears and those inner groans of, "Oh, please, not that!"

Our world can shake and crumble around us without an earthquake. We can be swamped and drowning without a tsunami.

All it takes is being given that diagnosis we never wanted to hear. Or a day when we wave goodbye to our husband or wife who never makes it home from work. A sports accident that turns our healthy, strong son or daughter into a paraplegic. The young adult child with so much potential who chooses a path we know will lead to unhappiness. The rumored pink slip that awaits us when we thought our job was safe. Home values that plummet and investments that tank when we thought we had saved up some money for the future.

Each of us has our own list. We watch, we cry, we pray. We scream, "Why?" into our long, sleepless nights. And we feel utterly helpless.

That's when we wear the same face as the woman in this photo, the face of fear and dread and hopelessness. She cannot escape her reality and neither can we.

But we can find refuge. Listen to the wonderful words of Psalm 46:1-3 and verse 7, followed by Isaiah 41:10:

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging . . .

The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress . . .

So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

The hard truth of life is that we have no truly safe place here on this earth. No guarantees of a perfect life in this imperfect world.

No place to run except into the sheltering arms of God, who so loved the world that he sent his only Son to earth to die on a cross and live again. For you. For me.

In His strength we weather our storms and go on, leaning on the everlasting arms.

His peace,

Lenore

Where can we go when disaster strikes in our world?

March 14, 2011
Rex Babin, cartoonist for the Sacramento Bee, perfectly captures the emotions felt by many of us during the amazing, God-blessed rescue of the Chilean miners.

I think it's because each of us could mentally step into the shoes of those waiting wives and family members. During the previous 69 days they shed gallons of anxious tears. Now their eyes brimmed with tears of joy and thanksgiving.

You and I have prayed for a loved one to be safe. We know what it's like to gaze into a beloved face we feared we might never see again. We know what it's like to long to hear the sound of someone's voice.

Perhaps some of those couples parted in anger that day. We have, too. We know what it's like to later wish we had said, "I love you, no matter what. I love you and I don't care what happened. I love you."

These joyful reunions remind us not to take each other for granted.

Last August 5th probably at least one or two of those Chilean wives waved from across the room or out the car window as their husbands went off to work. Another ordinary day like every other day. Ho-hum.

Except, of course, it wasn't.

We do that, too, don't we? After all, life is busy and we're in a rush. Family members have places to go and things to do. Kids go off to school. Nothing unusual about that. We'll see each other at the end of day.

Or maybe not.

Sure, mining is riskier than going off to the hardware store. But there's no escaping a shocking truth. We live with the same uncertainty as the miners who went down into the depths of earth.

Being alive is risky. Not one of us knows what any day will bring. None of us knows how many days we'll go on breathing.

So I propose we fix those Chilean reunion images in our minds and replay them often. Let them remind us to treasure our spouses and children and friends–and parents–while they're still with us. To understand that while they're not perfect, neither are we.

And let's be joyful in the moment we're living. One moment at a time is all we get and only God knows the number of our days. He wrote them in his book before we were born (Psalm 139:16.)

So with our perspectives freshly adjusted let's live out what we know. Each person we love who loves us back is a precious gift, not a given.

That's what we communicate when we say those three simple, wonderful words, "I love you."

And don't forget the hugs,

Lenore

Question for you: What story can you share with the rest of us? (Just click on "Comments" at the end and follow directions.)

Who needs to hear you say, “I love you,” today?

October 14, 2010
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March 22, 2010