Wit or Wisdom

This one’s not really new, but it’s my favorite.

Behold…

Dear Friend,

You may not read this, in fact you probably won’t, seeing as how, due to what are circumstances outside your control, you don’t read my blog very often. But I figured I’d write it anyways, and if you read it, good, if you don’t, then maybe someone else will find benefit from it. Perhaps you will appreciate it if you read it, perhaps not. Maybe you won’t want to read my blog any more, and maybe it’ll lower me in your eyes as giving advice and words of comfort not worth listening to. I hope not. I hope you can find some sort of encouragement through this. I hope it ministers to you in some way.

An event recently happened in your life which shocked you. And like a real shock from electricity, I understand that it left you writhing in pain. And because you are in pain, I too am in pain. I would never claim to be able to understand what it is you are going through right now, but I will claim to understand pain. It’s not fun. You probably feel like the whole world is against you right now. When the things you had counted on, and thought you could trust, turned against you, then life suddenly became more than you could bear. That bites. As I said, I don’t claim to be able to understand what you’re going through, but because you are in pain, and because you mean something to me as my friend, I too am pained. I may not be able to understand it, but I want you to know that I cried for you. Small comfort, I’m sure, but it’s there. For what it’s worth.

I’ve been studying in Job lately, which is the ultimate book of sorrow from the Bible. Job had more tough things happen in his life than anybody, and probably no one deserved bad things less than him. You think you’ve got it rough right now, you should try walking a mile in Job’s sackcloth and ashes. Job had three of his dearest friends come and kick him over and over and over and over again while he was down. Matter of fact, starting in Chapter 4, they argued with him for a whopping twenty-six chapters until he finally told them to put up or shut up. They shut, ’cause they couldn’t put up. Man, you want to talk about betrayal? That’s betrayal right there. They didn’t even offer so much as one measly apology for their actions. And to top things off, Job’s own wife wouldn’t even stick by him. She told him to curse God and die. I mean, this woman had been with Job for years (he was kind of old) and she just gives up on him like that. ‘Long comes a little tough times and she up and tells him to cuss God out. And not only that, while he’s at it, he can just go find himself a six-foot deep and long hole to lay in. I wonder if she didn’t hear of the wedding vow: “In sickness and in health.” Guess she figured she’d get him to go and die so she didn’t have to worry about keeping that vow any more. But seriously…

Enough comparing yourself to Job. God gives each of us a road to walk, and we have to walk it without comparing ourselves to others. And our roads to other’s as well. I was reading the most beautiful Psalm in the world the other day. Well, okay, it’s one of the top 150. But it’s the most well known… Psalm 23.

1. A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

I can’t really find a way to expound upon that. I mean, sometimes, we have to let the Bible speak for itself…

Now that I said that, let me point you to the last verse again. It may not feel like you’ve got a whole lot of goodness and mercy circulating around your life at the moment, but trust me, it’s there. Well, really, you aren’t trusting me about that, you’ve gotta trust God about that one. He’s always working and moving behind the scenes. Yeah, tough to see sometimes, but if you keep your eyes and ears open, and your mouth shut, (like I really fail at doing ALL the time) you might find something. More than likely, though, if you do that, that something… evidence of God’s working, will find you. God has a funny way of having His evidence do that at just the right time.

Finally, I don’t know whether what happened can be blamed on you or not. I’m not familiar enough with the situation. I don’t know if you just got caught up in all the excitement and got burned because of that, or if you purposely decided to let your guard down, knowing there was that chance that you’d get burned, but the burn not… well, burning, any less when it did happen. Regardless, I’m sure some people would like you to kick yourself for this. Or maybe they honestly think you were stupid wrong, and you deserved it. I’m here to tell you (as the man who acts like he knows all, but really knows very little) that though it might have been partially your fault, and you might find yourself wanting to blame yourself, (that sounded really corny) don’t. It was a learning experience. It doesn’t even rate the name of mistake. You can learn from anything. Even something that you don’t understand. That doesn’t make sense. That’s why you’ve gotta turn to God. You might be tempted to push God out farther away. I’ve seen it happen to people. Don’t. No matter how little it seems you’re hearing from Him, don’t. Just keep listening. You’ll hear eventually.

Okay, that wasn’t finally. This is finally. I miss you and wish you’d come back. Don’t let this turn you into a cynic, however easy that may be. You aren’t made that way, (no one is) and there’s no reason to change into one. None whatsoever.

I love you, my friend. Keep on serving God, and He’ll reward you. And remember the poem “Footprints.”

When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.

Love,
Harrison

Well, the time has come to explain, in detail, my support of the “other” governor from Hope, Arkansas. I’ve let it be known that I support him, but I suppose (or at least, I hope) you would like to know why.

I first heard of Governor Huckabee in one of the Republican Primary debates early on, this one hosted on Fox News. I had, to that point, been hopeful of Fred Thompson running or Newt Gingrich (One of which did decide to eventually, just like he might eventually decide to actually start talking about what it is he’s going to do for us if he’s elected, and the other of which didn’t.) I was instantly impressed by the man’s charm, wit, and wisdom. Yes, those last two were intended to be a pun, and yes, I am comparing him to myself. Of course, folksy humor alone is not a qualification for president. Otherwise, I know an old guy from our church who… oh, come to think of it, he might make a pretty good president. But he’s not running, so, alas, I am forced to turn to Governor Huckabee, with no large measure of reluctance.

Being impressed with Huckabee’s performance in that debate, I naturally decided that it was time to do some more investigating, wondering if I had found the man for me. I went to the logical place, his campaign website, to research his (public) stands on issues. I discovered, to my shock and amazement, that I agreed. I mean, not just agreed. But REALLY agreed. Here was a guy that was genuine. I mean, not just genuine, but REALLY genuine. (Okay, yeah, I know I’m getting repetitive. Hang with me.) But seriously, compared to the Plasticity of Mitt Romney, Noun-Verb-Nine-Eleven Guliani, and the Kookeyness (did I spell that right… or is that even a word?) of that unnamed OBGYN who has radical supporters that would totally spam my blog if I mentioned his name, this guy looked like somebody I could actually get along with. Well, not just get along with, but actually like. Okay, now to the two primary things that really hooked me.

First off, his face-off with said OBGYN (who, honestly, with his ideas about just about anything… I’m not sure I’d want him coming within a MILE of my kid and wife, when I eventually get both) over the Iraq War.

Folks, when I heard him say that honor was more important than winning elections, I knew I’d found my man. I posted about it shortly after it happened, and heard the standard reply: “where’s the honor in killing innocent lives.” Well, folks, you hear a lie enough times, and you’ll start to believe it. I have friends who are otherwise sound-minded individuals, but they’ve been exposed to this constant lie that the war in Iraq is “just another Vietnam.” Suddenly, we’re seeing that it’s not, but you don’t hear the “msm” reporting that. It’s sad, but true. No, friends, the honor that Governor Huckabee was referring to was that which will not allow us to run from a conflict that we created, merely leaving the country in a shambles, with a government too weak to protect itself (though that is quickly changing, as many of the districts of Iraq are being turned over to Iraqi control). Then, we have turned a whole nation of peace-loving, innocent people over to dogs, going back on our word as country. Don’t tell me that a “few people in this Administration hijacked the government for their purposes.” We elected them, folks, so what they do speaks for us. We are to be one nation, and part of one nation means being an honorable nation. We will have betrayed Iraq if we leave. That is the honor Governor Huckabee spoke of. There is no other choice.

The second video I saw that cemented my support for Huck was this one:

This man goes beyond a typical conservative, in making clear that we not only care to save a life in the womb, but to save a life in any circumstance. Folks, I know that personal responsibility is important, and I have harped on it as much as anyone. But it’s just plain American and Christian to want to help those who can’t help themselves. Governor Huckabee has no problem with doing this.

I’ve heard people say that he’s not really conservative, but I’ve also, unlike some who are all too ready to dismiss him (their motivation really being his perceived un-electability), read the responses. He’s a conservative. He’s proved it time and time again. He cut taxes over ninety times in Arkansas, and they want to crucify him for one gas tax raise, which he wasn’t even responsible for. It is popular to get after him for his pardon of Wayne Dumond. Well, folks, that’s a little thing we call grace for a man that appeared to deserve it, if anyone can. He admits it was a mistake, and let’s realize right now that no one does everything right all of the time.

In the words of Jon Stewart… “Clearly, I… heart Huckabee.”

Hat-tip to Jay at Old Ford Road for this one.

From ibdeditorials.com

(Note, all of the characters in this post are absolutely real. The situations are completely factual, and some of my regular readers will know, or be able to guess who the character’s real names are, and what their real persons are. All characters are referred to as males for the sake of more confusion, whether they are really male or not is a mystery to you. If you think you might know, and are wondering, you can send me an e-mail. But I’d rather you just read the post and think about the lesson it has to offer.)

There are times in your life when your entire perspective becomes suddenly, or perhaps gradually, changed. I’m not talking about the ever-shifting outlook that is a part of anyone’s life, but rather, a total change in idea about some point of view, or some major aspect of life. Or perhaps, it is a change in how you react to things.

Feeling can be a terrible thing. Especially when your entire life is run by it. I know a person, we’ll call him Joseph, who runs his life entirely on whatever feeling he has at the moment. Joseph is schizophrenic. Joseph also struggles with depression, and is likely bipolar. No, Joseph is not figment of my imagination. Joseph is sadly real. Joseph was not always this way. There was a time when Joseph was loving, served his family well, and was the model of everything a man in his position should be. What happened? Well, Joseph was always a proud man. It was perhaps his biggest flaw, his Achilles Heel of sorts. The time would come, when he needed help, he would seek none because of his pride. Even though those around him begged and pleaded with him to get the help he needed, he refused, stubbornly clinging to his own twisted feelings. Joseph’s pride prevented him from getting what was a desperate necessity, until the day would come when a judge, and the officer of the law, would have to force him to get the desperate necessity fulfilled. It was too late for Joseph. Now, years later, Joseph wallows in a heap of despair, hurting all those he comes in contact with, but so hurt himself, and so much still clinging to his pride, that he cannot, and will not, see the results of his sin. Joseph never allowed his perspective, his feelings, to be influenced, and now Joseph, Joseph’s family, and the friends who still cling to naive, worthless hope, will never be the same. Why? Because Joseph refused to trust anyone except his own feelings.

Other times, feelings can be a good thing, if we learn from them. A few years ago, another friend of mine, this one we will call Andrew, was hurt by feelings. Feelings of trust that trusted too much which he should not have trusted. Why? The reason was twofold. Firstly, he had not verified the “trustability” of those he was trusting. It was not their fault they could not be trusted, for after all, they were young and naive as well. The second reason was, he himself could not be trusted. He was a dangerous person, manipulative and generally caring only for what he wanted. He was a superior actor, capable of fooling anyone he so pleased to fool. He was long viewed as a “golden boy,” a child prodigy, capable of doing anything he wanted. On the inside, he was not by definition evil, but saw only his own benefit. Then came the time when he was hurt. Twice in fact. Once, he trusted people, another time, he laid everything he had on the line for a dream. It was a tangible dream, perhaps even, in another set of circumstances, an accomplishable one. Both the people, and the thing, failed him. He was left with nothing to turn to, and one person could see it. For some unexplainable reason, this person he could not fool. Perhaps it was because he finally saw the futility of attempting to live as a fake. Perhaps he was desperate. At first, he felt pushed, frustrated by a prodding that he thought frequently invaded his privacy, feeling put upon. But he still clung to it, for his own good, though not knowing it at the time. Eventually, through the constant prayer and pointing by this mystery person in the Proper Direction, he came to understand trust, to the point where his new-found friend marvels that he understands it, or at least applies it, even better than the friend himself does. Recently, that trust suddenly became necessary. It was time for Andrew to put his feelings out there, on the line once again. This time Andrew had learned, however. Andrew had not only learned to verify whether the people he was working with could be trusted, but he himself was able to be trusted. Finally.

Andrew does not know the future. Andrew has not claimed to arrive. Yet Andrew, along with his faithful friend who taught him so much, and the people that his faithful friend have helped him to learn to trust, are still learning. Unlike Joseph who will no longer learn anything, because his mind has gone, but his pride has not, Andrew has so much ahead of him. Perhaps Andrew, along with his new friends, will succeed. Perhaps he will fail. But most probably, he’ll just learn to trust. Learn to trust with regard to his feeling, as he has learned so overwhelmingly as of late. And perhaps he will learn two greater lessons. One, that feeling can change, and we must not let pride get in its way. And second, that feeling, like everything else, must be trusted to God, and trusted to those around us. If it is not, Andrew could end up like Joseph.

I’m praying that Andrew learns those lessons.

From author John Shore’s blog, Suddenly Christian.