Thursday, February 12, 2009

Seeing beyond the me, myself, and I tunnel vision.

Good morning class and welcome to some more tantalizing tidbits to help get you up and running on this Thursday, February 12, 2009. Today we recognize the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday. We thank God for this man who, as President, helped shepherd our nation through one of the greatest challenges we have faced.

I’m sure many of you have more important things to think about than trying to make sense out of my discombobulated ramblings but that’s why we have the TV remote control or the fast forward on our dvd players. You can switch the blog off or scan down to the bottom and move on to the issues you also have to deal with today. That’s one thing that has impressed me throughout the hurricane saga, our dear Bro. Milton’s traumatic health crisis, and our daily challenges is how that we are not only not immune to having troubles, BUT we are very much not alone. You need only visit the ICU to know just how true this is. You need only visit with someone who has been totally left holding the bag after their insurance company failed to help them. We often are quibbling on the margins while others are dealing with their own catastrophic crisis. It does help one to get away from the ‘why me?’ funnel and broaden our vision to see the breadth and depth of suffering being experienced by others.

I heard a man talking about how that you really don’t know exactly how another person feels about a tragic situation unless you’ve been there and done that. A cancer survivor knows much more how to minister to a new cancer patient than someone who cares but doesn’t have the experience. I know first hand what it means to deal with an insurance process that wears you down, wears you out, and challenges every iota of your strength and intestinal fortitude. However, I do not know what to say to people whose insurance carrier chose to go out of business instead of honoring their claim. They have walked a different road than I have and I should be sensitive to their plight. My mom is currently in a rehab facility trying to regain her strength after her latest bout with pneumonia. She told me yesterday that her attitude was not very good when she arrived but having seen so many pitiful patients, she had chosen to thank God that she was as well off as she is.

Reality has a way of smacking us up side the head IF we are paying attention. We can become so narrowly focused, so self absorbed even in dealing with legitimate needs that we lose a sense of what others are going through. Hurting people. They are all around us. They are in our offices or out on the shop floor. They attend Church with us. They are at our kid’s sporting event. They are everywhere. We all wear blinders to a certain extent because we have our plates full but it does make a difference when we choose to set our stuff aside long enough to not only see the other fellow, but also to reach out and care in whatever way we can. It may only be a word of encouragement or a prayer on their behalf but it tells them and us that we understand how difficult it can be in this life. May God help us all to care enough. Amen. …More later.

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