Living Hazzardously

Little pieces of our journey with Jesus

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I’m an odd duck…. Or am I a quack?

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When life gets messy, do you run and hide? Do you become hostile? Do you immediately switch into “damage control mode”? We all react differently in these situations and sometimes we regret the choices we have made in the past. As a Christian, what is the Biblical response to adversity? When things go south, what should we do? 

Peter in the boat cries out to Jesus who is passing them by, walking in the water… Peter leaps out at the first call from Jesus to step out in faith, but then he doubted his calling and sank.

Peter exclaims he would go to the place of death with Jesus on that fateful Friday but instead he hears the rooster crow, showing him how he failed again to have faith.

Jonah outwardly refused to do the will of God, but still ended up in Nineveh, to preach the word.

Esther complained to uncle Mordecai. Her uncle simply revealed if she didn’t do the calling on her life, God would raise another in her place.

Jess and I have been called to Sam’s Place, to serve those in need. When things get “messy” do we walk away? Or dig in for the hard push? Faith is one area God has gifted me. The truth is … it has topped my spiritual gift list for about 15 years now… prior to this it ranked in the bottom three.  I have no doubts about what Jess and I are doing.

BUT!!! This past week has put us both to the test. Let me tell you of some folks that could live at Sam’s Place. “Joe” had no family. Parents died years ago. Family is far away in a different state. Alone, lonely and tossed around from place to place. And “Bob” is a similar story as far as some aspects go… things got messy, I mean really messy, and it took a few days to get things worked out to get them better help, the system is the real mess. These two are humans that need a special kind of care… CARE!  The level of care we at Sam’s Place would love to offer but we are not set up for this level of care. We have to make decisions all the time to provide the right level of care… AND IT’S MESSY!! But we don’t quit. 

Let me tell you who we can care for: 

We can provide care for the lonely woman, living in the house or an apartment but struggling to keep the house clean, maybe forgets to take meds and would rather just stay away from people all day.

We provide care for the guy living with mental illness that just needs someone to monitor his mental health on a daily basis because he gets so busy with work that he forgets to eat or take his meds. 

We take care of the single mother that is trying to get her life together after her husband stops being part of her life, and she just needs help for a year or two.

That Vietnam Veteran down the block that looks out his window…  to make sure the kids are not coming into the yard to rip out the tulips he just planted.

That guy that’s always been an outsider in life, living in the trailer behind his mothers house when she was still alive.

The old guy that doesnt mean to make inappropriate comments but rather wants to say something nice, and always says it the most offensive way.

These are the folks Sam’s Place is looking to help, People made in God’s image, Messy people that you may not ever talk to because association with them may be embarrassing. People who may not always know what reality looks like and need a reminder that they can live a healthy and normal life, with a bit of help.

I’m reminded of Burl Ives narrating Rudolf the red nosed reindeer… Telling about the “Island of Misfit Toys” … The toys that are rejected by society for being old fashioned, odd in nature, not conforming to expectations… struggling to find a home, a place where they are just loved and accepted… A place where a Gal walks in and says “This is so much nicer than the places I’ve had to live” and she goes on to say, “Its clean!” Imagine, you just want a place to live that’s not gross! A place that’s not riddled with drugs and “drunk” smells. 

Give me your tired,

your poor,

your huddled masses

yearning to breathe free.

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

America is the biggest “dream land” in the world, folks are coming in by the 10 thousands, because it is the best place to live in all the world. It’s not a “fairytale” like Disneyland, it’s real, it’s messy, it’s home. Like America, Sam’s Place truly is the place of opportunity, for those we serve. 

Let’s get messy together! Let’s not worry about what someone “may say” . Let’s just make Sam’s Place the best community friendly, safe, loving and best place for everyone! Even if you don’t live or work there, you can still show love and compassion for the brother or sister, mother or father, uncle or aunt, veteran or orphan…

Serving others with love, sometimes will get messy. That’s ok. 

Charlie

Is Youth wasted on the young?

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The years pass by like a tornado, and the days pass by like winter changing to summer,  inside my brain, time shifts and blurs, as if the clock master is playing a game.

I heard a commentator referring to generation Z as having figured out the wisdom in making good life choices… referring to:

  • Drinking alcohol is at an all time low
  • As many as ⅓ of Gen Z not drinking at all
  • Teen pregnancy is way down
  • Food choices are far more healthy
  • Overeating is way down in this generation

The list goes on… is this generation displaying great insight and extraordinary wisdom? 

I was at a customer’s house this week, he is older than I am and has been caring for his wife for years as her memory slips away, I watched as he too is starting his own new struggles in life and things become harder to accomplish, harder to process and harder to just live the day to day stuff… does this man have extraordinary wisdom and insight?

One of our boys came to visit this weekend. I watched as he poured all his strength into turning a nut off the ball hitch protruding from his truck, a strong man, a man who became a dedicated father and devoted husband. I saw strength, I saw courage, I saw motivation, self sacrifice and a willingness to provide for his family at all costs, even to the point of giving his own life to make his family strong.

I saw myself, or should I say, I saw who I was.

Today I looked and saw a man in the mirror I no longer recognize, he has gray in his beard and shiny spots on his head that was once covered with hair that resembled Eddy VanHalen.

I saw a man with fibromyalgia, a condition brought on by years of trauma and survival. I saw a man in the mirror that used to jump and run but now he creaks and cracks. I saw a man that pulled himself up from the floor after retrieving a pen but once pulled engines with only a rope and good balance. I saw years, I saw tears, I saw pain… I saw joy.

Yesterday we had our family devotion time, via ZOOM , we talked about judgement, mercy and grace. In retrospect, we talked about generations. How can generations be so different and still have the same struggles as when time began? Youthful bliss, family dedication, desperate departures, sunsets loneliness… no escaping the seasons of change, but so much difference from generation to generation. The same but different… I remember back to my Friendship church days when our director of the Christmas play would remind us to “Always maintain a ridgid state of flexibility” (wise words Criss) That statement carries the words of truth to all corners of the earth and yet this falls on deaf ears as every generations strives to make its own unique and indelible mark on the pages of history. 

Back to Gen Z, a unique generation and definitely a generation of indelible markings… making wise choices? Thriving? Or surviving? What an interesting and honest observation of better choices or maybe it’s actually a deep moaning cry? The deepest guttural utterances… could it actually be the lack of human interactions? Back when I drank, it was mostly to gain a social advantage and starting point of relationships. How about lowered teen pregnancy? Is it because fewer people flirt and date anymore? Not enjoying a meal together could be why overeating is less prominent? Is this thriving? Surviving? Or is this not even living? All great questions, I claim no great insight, I claim no words that can answer these questions… I am simply asking…

Back to my customer, for a moment. This older man is young, in his heart, he knows what to do and how to do it. He has a vast array of tools and equipment at his fingertips, but he is no longer capable of swinging from tree to tree like he did as a young Tarzan.

In my mind?… I am still that youthful fool that went to the bar on a Friday night with a full bank account, only to arrive the very next day with only 2 nickels left for gas that week… If only I could have my youth filled days back, if I knew the pain I would endure now, I would have certainly been wiser, or would I? 

Yes my sons, youth is truly wasted on the young, so today I challenge you to be wise with your youth, learn from the countless fools that go before you, learn from those that have been on your path, we may be an “old fuddy duddy” in your eyes, but there is a day that is only a few minutes away that you too shall look into the mirror and see a stranger staring back at you. An old “fuddy duddy” with gray in his beard, shiny spots on his head and a pain in every joint that now cracks and creaks with every movement. 

Blessings on my customer, a dear friend of mine, a mentor, a good man that has new struggles in this chapter of life, God knows your challenges as well as mine and he is always ready to take our burdens, as long as we don’t refuse His help.

The youth I had was never truly wasted until I saw the man in the mirror that missed out on relationships that should have been. Charlie.

Sign-us or sinus

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This week started well and ended in a trip to the doctor.

Finally I am the center of attention!

Jess has her broken wrist, Al had his Pneumonia and finally I get to have a major sinus infection…

When I get a sinus infection it’s not just a headache, it’s not just an aversion to light, it’s not just a runny nose… nope, for me a sinus infection is laying there moaning in pain, covering my eyes with two layers of towels to block all light from entering my eyes, its a nose so raw that I start to think I have no more skin left to dab at… 

Maybe I am just a big baby?

Lets measure my pain tolerance?

When Al smashed my ring finger with an eight pound maul, I did lay down and hold my hand exclaiming great pain but never swore or shed a tear, so maybe that’s just coincidence… 

When I got a sliver that went in one side of my finger and out the other, passing by the bone which deflected the trajectory of the sliver. I looked, I saw and I said “ wow, that’s a big one!”

Or perhaps the proof of me being a big baby is when I got carpal tunnel surgery on both hands and orthoscopic surgery on my knee, on the same day so my recovery time would overlap. But a week later I was in the BWCAW, and got covid…still had a decent time.

Ya, I’m a whiner I guess. But I sure don’t remember the  “sign-up for sinus”

I was doing the math today and calculating how much time I’ve been set back because of my shifting responsibilities as a caregiver and now? I’ve lost four days to a sinus infection, and that’s not even the time it takes to catch up. did you know my pigs don’t give an OINK about how I feel, I still need water and feed them every day. Do you also know the chicks don’t give a cluck about my responsibilities elsewhere, they still need clean water and lots of grains… Minus 20F simply adds to the challenges, I don’t get to “wait until its warmer out” I just dress like I live in Siberia and fill the water, break the ice and wrestle with doors that are frozen shut… it’s all part of the beauty of our life. 

All this to say “I wouldn’t trade this life for any other”. I am blessed and I am tired. My life is full and not boring. We are serving and finding value. Life is most complete when you have someone that depends on you, for something. Finding value in serving others is one of the greatest gifts God gives us. I don’t regret how little time I have to do “nothing”, because the fact is, I have plenty of time to do what I like to do. Life will continue to wane on, and I will become less able to provide, and serve others, perhaps I can fish more, visit more and talk to those in need, even if it’s  just a little bit more, each day. 

A sinus infection may slow me down for a season, and give me time to think about things I would normally not give a single “OINK” about. 

A broken wrist may help me appreciate the laundry chores that I normally take for granted, or finding satisfaction in cleaning the stove.

Pneumonia may give me a new appreciation and perspective for caregiving.

But God is the one that gives purpose, value and worth to life at every level. 

Find someone today that needs a little attention, a little help, a little care, be someone like Jesus today to someone that needs a bit of Jesus’ love. 

Enjoying the melting but missing the snowshoeing, Charlie