I Need Help!

Almost a year ago half of our staff was cut. It was quite a shock. Still is. Those of us that were left had to take on the workload.

I won’t lie - it has been overwhelming. We need help.

I don’t like this situation at all. I didn’t have any choice but to step up and take this on. It has been hard but I have survived so far. It wasn’t something I expected nor wanted. I had no choice.

Have you ever gotten into a situation where you needed help?

It’s a terrible feeling to feel helpless.

I have to avoid looking at the big picture. Just take it one step at a time. One day at a time and even one hour at a time. Survive by celebrating the small victories when they happen.

Many days in my situation I have said “God please help me today. Make the complicated things easy for me today and give me favor.”

Right now, I don’t see help coming. I try not to stress about it. I can only do what I can do. Nothing more. It’s not the situation I want to be in but I’m in it until something changes.

People often say “This too shall pass” but it never seems comforting to me because it never passes fast enough for me.

I read the story about the soldiers of the 2nd Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry during the Korean War in 1951. They needed help and looked to have no hope as they were overwhelmed by Chinese forces.

For two days in April 1951, a battalion of roughly 700 Canadian troops (the 2nd Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Regiment helped defend a crucial hill in the front lines of the Korean War against a force of about 5,000 Chinese soldiers. Besieged by waves of attackers, the Canadians held their position amid the horror of close combat until the assaulting force had been halted and the Canadians could be relieved.

At one point in the battle, 400 Chinese soldiers descended on a single Canadian company of roughly 100 men, but the attack was repelled. With his men securely entrenched below ground, company commander Captain J. G. W. Mills, desperate and overrun, decided to do something unorthodox, he called for an artillery strike on the position of his own platoon. He relayed the request from Lieutenant Mike Levy, who was hunkered down with his men in shallow foxholes on the hill. A battery of New Zealander guns obliged, firing 2,300 rounds of shells in less than an hour, destroying the Chinese forces on that position. Though the barrage landed just metres from Levy’s position, he and his men were unscathed.

We are helpless and hopeless until we’re not and figure our way out it. Sometimes it requires some unorthodox thinking. We can’t depend on help coming to us but somehow, we help ourselves.

In the Old Testament, David had returned home from battle with his men to discover that his town had been attacked while he was away. The town had been burned, and all the women and children had been taken. He felt helpless and the people made plans to stone him in their anger, but David strengthened himself in the Lord.

What is interesting about this is that it doesn’t tell us exactly HOW David strengthened himself nor does it give us a step-by-step plan to strengthen ourselves. The ability to get through some of the toughest things in life comes from figuring out a way to survive.

Tales of the Church: Wearing Shorts

As I get out the shorts for the first time this summer, I think back to the time in my life when wearing shorts was considered a “sin”.

Wearing shorts was a sin?

I grew up in a strict church organization which believed that the wearing of shorts was inappropriate for its members and was viewed as a sinful practice.

My dad was a pastor and was loyal to the church teachings so obviously we weren’t allowed to wear shorts. Our church denomination had something called the “Advice to Members” which stated that: “the wearing of shorts in public should never be practiced.”

We never practiced it - even during the blistering hot Georgia summers.

I once asked my parents why churches in other countries could wear shorts and we could not. I was told that it was part of their culture. I never bought that explanation. If they were part of our church how could they be allowed to wear shorts?

The shorts issue put me in a difficult situation one in high school. At the beginning of a semester, the gym teacher informed us that we would be required to wear uniforms for the class which included shorts.

My dad would have none of that.

He sent a letter to the principal stating that I was not allowed to wear shorts and should be exempt from the requirement. I was the only one in the class not wearing shorts. You can imagine the attention I got for that.

Wearing shorts is not a sin. I figured that out later.

It was quite odd in later years when I came across a photo where my dad was wearing shorts. It was weird considering how extremely strict he had been about it.

I don’t remember when I started wearing shorts but I never had a problem with it. It has been a matter of comfort not religion or abiding by some church “advice”. I also wear them in moderation and don’t go to the extreme either.

As an adult, I have had to relearn many things about the church and my relationship with God. I have learned that it doesn’t bother him if I wear shorts. He is more concerned about the condition of my heart than He is a church groups’ bylaws about wearing shorts.

Thoughts On Growing Old

I was watching a video this week which showed how people from an old TV show have changed. I found myself saying how old they have gotten then I looked in the mirror. 

The painful truth is that I am old now.

Honestly I hate it. How did it get here so fast?

I now move at a slower pace and I have pains that never go away.

A simple sneeze can pull a back muscle and a stumble on a step can cause a tumble.

Is this what my life has become now? Old and slow.

I am realizing the truth of how short life really is. I may not seem short but when you get to where I am it’s seems a blur.

The Bible says the life is like a vapor and it’s true.

I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to do a lot in my life. It seems that some can never appreciate where they are or be content with the life they have.

It’s funny how my mind doesn’t comprehend how old I really am. However, my body will quickly remind me of my limitations now.

As I am the older person now it is disheartening to see how millennials view their elders.

We never expected our grandparents to raise us or babysit us.

We visited them we didn’t expect them to visit us.

We always said yes ma’am/no ma’am and yes sir/no sir.

When we entered a room we always make sure they had a place to sit.

We were patient with our elders. We didn’t have phones that kept us from listening to their stories or valuing their advice.

We always made them feel special on special days.

Most important of all we respected and valued them.

Sadly this is not how it is now in our social media driven world.

It is what it is. I mean I am older but I don’t consider myself as elderly.

I do not look forward to when I eventually lose my independence and need someone to take care of me. I don’t want to be a burden to someone else. 

The good news is that I’m not there yet.  I’m not ready to check into a nursing home. There are still adventures I want to have and enjoy things until the time when I can’t. I’m taking advantage of the time I have now.

The universal truth is that we all get old. We should live our lives and it never should get old to treat others as we would like to be treated.