Category: Uncategorized

We human beings are complicated. Especially when it comes to social things. We have a need to feel connected to other humans. To feel intimate with someone. To be able to share personal feelings and thoughts with another. To belong and fit in with a larger group. If we don’t have any of these relationships, we can feel lonely and sad.

But then if there is too much going on in our lives, too many people interacting in too many ways, we can long to get away from it all. To spend some alone time to recharge and gather our thoughts. We crave solitude. We love our friends and family but sometimes we just need a break from them.

We all have to figure out some sort of balance to make life work. Just remember, as long as your faith is strong, you’re never totally alone.

I am writing this early Sunday morning. In a few minutes I will be getting ready to go to church. Just as I do every Sunday. I suppose I could try to live a Christian life without going to church. Many folks do that. But it wouldn’t work for me. I need to be with people who believe as I do, and who are openly vocal about it. I need to hear their prayer requests to help me realize how truly blessed I am.

I need to hear a preacher clarify spiritual questions for me. I need to be made aware of opportunities to serve others that exist all around me. I need smiles and friendly greetings, and to feel I am a part of something greater than myself. I need uplifting song, and the feel of an auditorium of people around me united for one cause. I need my spiritual battery recharged.

It’s Sunday. I’m going to church. I belong there.

On a recent car trip we had occasion to drive through the sprawling corn fields of Illinois and Wisconsin. It’s really quite a sight. Thousands upon thousands of acres of corn, stretching out literally as far as you can see to the horizon. I couldn’t help wondering how in the world people could eat that much corn.

Turns out, they don’t. The uses for corn have expanded far beyond food. Corn, and its byproducts, are now found in plastic, ethanol fuel, cosmetic and hygiene items including deodorant, cough drops, diapers, baby powder, matches, carpets, dyes, crayons, glue, even vitamin C supplements. The United States is the leading producer of corn, growing more than fifteen billion bushels every year, and looking at these spectacular corn fields in the Midwest, I can certainly believe it.

The world around you is cornier than you think. We should all be as versatile and useful.

I took my grandkids to one of those inflatable playground establishments recently. The kids love these places. They squeal with delight as they roar down steep slides, bounce off barriers of various shapes and sizes, and launch up to a soft basketball goal to dunk a shot.

The proprietors were smart enough to provide plenty of benches for old fogeys like me on which to sit down and observe the antics. But I couldn’t help but notice one woman who was in the middle of all the action. She had gray hair and lines in her face. Couldn’t have been all that much younger than me, I thought. Yet she had a toddler in her lap, and was cruising down the slides, as giddy as the children. She looked very happy.

We can’t do much to keep our bodies from aging, but we can do our best to stay young at heart. I’m going to work on that. Next time, I just may try going down that slide with my four year old grandson. I hope they don’t kick me out if I get stuck.

On a recent early morning I dragged myself into a local bakery to pick up something sweet to eat for breakfast. I was sleepy, grumpy and feeling the usual aches and pains of a senior citizen. There was a young lady behind the counter who flashed a huge smile that never disappeared throughout the ordering process. She was so polite, courteous, upbeat and friendly that I walked away actually feeling better and looking forward to the day. I don’t know her, and may never see her again, but that brief encounter made a difference in my life.

I couldn’t help thinking, if it had that effect on me, it probably did for others as well. How many lives will she brighten today? How many could we?

It’s amazing what just a big smile and a little kindness can do. People need a little pleasantness in their day. Be a source of it. In your own small but effective way, you’ll be making this world a better place.

I love my football team. I look forward to every game with excited anticipation. I live and die with the results. When they win I am in a good mood all week. When they lose, I fall into a funk for days.

It’s stupid I know. It’s not life or death. I have no financial stake in the outcome. Yet it seems to mean so much to me. I’m trying to figure out why. Somehow I feel part of the team. Winning fills me with pride. It’s like I earn some sort of respect from being a part of their fan base. I display it by wearing the team’s hats and tee shirts. I’m certainly not alone. Millions of football fanatics feel the same way, some even more so.

It occurs to me this passion could be more productively directed toward other things more important. Why is that so hard?

There is an old expression that goes “Eat to live, don’t live to eat.” Yet it’s easy to build your life around food. This is especially true after retirement when you may have fewer obligations and more free time. You divide each day into segments based on breakfast, lunch and dinner. You think in terms of, here’s what I want to do before lunch. I want to start this project, but can I get it done before dinner, etc.

If you’re not active, you may find yourself just watching the clock, waiting for the next opportunity to eat. Often you may find yourself snacking just because you’re bored. The key is to stay busy and productive. Get some exercise. Do volunteer work. Write letters (or e-mails) to friends. Get your mind off food.

I could write more about this, but it’s almost lunch time.

I really don’t know what to think about immunizations anymore. I’ve had people swear to me that shots saved their life, and others who earnestly claim the shots are worthless, and may actually harm you. Adding to the confusion is the wide variety of immunizations the medical profession is promoting, including shots for pneumonia, flu, RSV, Covid, Shingles, and Hepatitis.

Which ones to get, if any? When to get them? How long will they be effective? Will they even be effective? Or will I get sick anyway? It’s enough to make your head swirl.

I’m glad my eternal future is determined and secure. I don’t have any questions about that. And I didn’t even have to get a needle stuck in me. You don’t need a pharmacist to make that decision.

Recently Sharon and I took a car trip up into the Midwest to visit Sharon’s sister. I do all of the driving and got a little weary as we made our way through the rolling corn fields of southern Illinois. So I pulled into a remote rest area and we got out of the car to take a restroom break.

Once inside the men’s room I went to a urinal to…..well, you know what a man does in front of a urinal. As I looked up directly in front of me, I discovered that somebody had taped a short, small devotional to the wall, right at eye level, above the urinal. It explained briefly how to be saved and invite Jesus into your life. I couldn’t help thinking what a great and bold idea it was to post that little, yet powerful message.

And talk about a captive audience….

Recently we were dining out at one of our favorite restaurants, and a few tables away from us there was a toddler seated in a high chair. The toddler was pitching an absolute fit, wailing at the top of his voice. Next to him, with her back to us, was an adult woman which we assumed was the child’s mother. She basically ignored the wailing child, who continued his pitiful rant throughout our meal.

I couldn’t help thinking “at least do something to pacify the little tyke. Talk to him, play with him, put him on your lap. Do something“. But she never seemed to give the sobbing boy any attention. What kind of mother are you, I thought. We finished our meal and got up to leave, walking past the table where the child was still crying. It wasn’t until I saw the mother from the front that I noticed she was wearing a pouch on her chest with a newborn inside, and was trying to spoon feed the baby. Poor woman really had her hands full.

Lesson learned. Don’t judge until you know the whole story.