“the talk”

Last week I had “the talk” with my older brother. Don’t know what “the talk” is? At our age, it’s talking about sickness and death. How’s that for a fun topic? In my family I have somehow taken on the role of caretaker. So now I’m responsible for making decisions related to his burial, like what type of service there will be (if any) and casket or cremation (he doesn’t care—whichever is cheapest.) We also talked about my being his health care power of attorney so that, if he is unable to do so, I will make decisions about his medical care. I’ve asked him to let me know what extraordinary measures he does and doesn’t want to keep him alive if his quality of life deteriorates to the point that what in reality is happening is just the prolonging of his death. Is this kind of talk enjoyable? No. Is it loving? I think so.

we leak

Once Dwight L. Moody was asked whether he was filled with the Spirit. He replied: “Yes. But I leak.” Those of us who have committed ourselves to follow Christ have the Holy Spirit of God within us. We’re empowered to live the Jesus way—to love, to serve, to sacrifice. The problem is that we leak. We fail to live in close relationship with the Lord for daily re-filling, and it saps us of our enthusiasm, our motivation, our joy. There is no single spiritual technique for living passionately for Christ every day. It requires that we seek daily to practice his presence, to moment by moment walk in a personal relationship with him. It’s as simple and complex as that.

my mom

My mother is 8o years old. She lives in a care facility. One of the talents she’s discovered she has is in drama (something she’s never done before.) She’s been in several plays they’ve done. Their most recent play was so good that it was asked to be in a competition. They traveled by bus from Richmond, VA to Baltimore, MD, performed, and drove back home (that’s a lot for a bunch of 80-something’s—my mom is the youngest in the group.) She called to tell me that they “beat the pants off” all the other troupes in the drama competition. That’s my mom.

moonbeam

My daughter Allison and I went camping last week in a remote national park in one of the highest elevations in Virginia. While people were dealing with the heat here in Roanoke, she and I had to bundle up in our sleeping bags during the night because our toes were getting cold. In the dark we listened to the racing of the water in the mountain stream we were beside. All of a sudden I noticed a beam of light on the side of our tent. I wondered where it came from because no other campers were near us. It was a moonbeam that had broken through the canopy of trees overhead. It was beautiful.

bitterness

I read this today: “Bitterness is a form of hate. It is anger facing backwards.” That’s no way to live. It keeps you trapped in that past. It leads to despair. Only forgiveness of the other and yourself will set you free.