There are journeys within journeys and accidental insights within thoughts. Surprises are never far away with some bringing great joy. Following is a description of such a serendipitous event.

Lincolnton, NC is a seven hour drive from my home if you drive without break or interruptions on the road. That means my wife and I were on the road for eight or more hours one way. Lincolnton was the place of family, friends, and a high school reunion this past weekend. We decided to stay in a bed and breakfast we found online called White Rose Manor. We had never been there before or even heard of it. Now we intend to stay there anytime we head to Lincolnton. We met the hosts of the manor and realized that we would have been friends all our lives if we’d only met them sooner.

The manor was an old home with as many stories about its physical being as you would expect of an old man in his eighties. You could tell where the porch of the early building had become the exit from the “great” room and entrance to the dining room. Entrances and exits from rooms were punctuated with large or small steps to remind you that you were changing space and possibly shades of environmental differences. The hosts allowed us to wander from room to room. They explained what we saw until, at some point, we realized we were staying in a personality as much as a building.

All the furnishings had stories as well. We met parents, grand parents, and other ancestors through the treasures they kept and the stories related to the treasures. Our hosts loved their families, the stories shared with them and passed on with visitors. It was a place of ongoing lore of life lived, sacrifices made, courage experienced, and traditions of love and celebration. Cup and saucer sets represented travel and life from around the world in a way that could be shared with tea or coffee at a table where meals and life are shared.

Our hosts are deeply rooted in the past with a love of history, and they are engaged with community events and groups from Hart Square Festival to teaching Girl Scouts how to have tea. Their skillsets function in the independence and freedom from all the machine made, mass produced items that lack personality and life. We spent three days living in the environment in which the people in the home were the value to be enjoyed with the surrounding reminders of life, family, and personal creativity. They are life artists who share a testimony of values in caring. It was easy to experience God’s presence there without pretense or pressure. Thank you John and Allison.

Between 2005 and 2010, the American big three automobile companies had to receive billions of dollars in bailout money from the government. Japanese were building less expensive compact cars that were more economical to run and maintain. America was still building large gas guzzlers that were expensive and expensive to maintain. The consumers made a choice. The American auto industry wasn’t listening to them and their desires, so they changed to Japan’s line of choices.

Many of us come to the point of crashing and burning because we hold on to something that isn’t working for far too long. The example of the American auto industry can be applied across the board to life. You can hold on to a bad set of dietary choices until the doctor finally has to give you the bad news about your weight and the accompanying diseases, like diabetes. Humans pay a high price to ignore the truth in a failed effort to protect their comfort, however they define comfort.

Listening is far better than ignoring. The auto industry had lots of fair warning before their excesses caught up with them. All of us can say the same. There are people and organizations around us that provide ample warnings that we are moving in a bad or destructive direction. All marriage partners are warned before a divorce becomes a necessity, but they ignore. Businesses receive warnings before bankruptcy becomes necessary. Organizations are given warnings before they fail. People’s perspectives and life styles are given warnings before they bring destruction. Why hold on to ignore when it is obviously so expensive. Not everyone ignores. Many are rescued because they listen.

Ignoring is fueled by fear. Facing fear requires hope and courage. We need extra sources of hope and courage when our own is not enough to face the truth that will cause us to face ourselves with a willingness to change. Faith and healthy friends are two primary sources of hope and courage. They are worth finding. Jesus is alive and available to anyone looking. He has many who serve Him who are ready to help. Find hope and courage. Face the truth. Change the things that need changing so you can be healthy and joyful. The people around you will be glad you did. Most importantly, you will be glad you did.

The limit of self and the commitment to be in control and have power is often measured by the level of stress a person will endure before beginning to cave in and crumble as an individual. The illusion of being in control of life and circumstances will last only as long as the situation around a person cooperates. Even the most powerful and wealthy in this world only survive in the belief of their control until the life and circumstances around them changes. All the greatest will eventually find a cliff from which they will fall because no one truly controls the people and circumstances of life. The greatest cannot even rescue themselves from the limits of their humanity and their part in the brokenness of this world. There is always something greater pushing at our gates.

Humans create gods because their limitations daunt them. Money can be a god until the stock market crashes. Beauty can be a god until age takes it and surgeries no longer work. Anything can become a pretense for believing that invulnerability, eternity, or complete satisfaction exists within human control or access. All people are given the opportunity, like the Egyptians in the Bible, to see that the limits of humanity are too great for the need people are trying to fill. The one true God exists and can be easily found at the end of the human limits to fulfill all the requirements only a true God can fulfill.

It is a shame that so many of us, speaking of myself, have to come to the end of hope before the true provider of hope becomes visible. I have met many wise people who didn’t wait for utter despair but found Jesus readily available anytime and any place. I wish all people to have a softer landing on the truth than I had, but my landing was made from my own choices and stubbornness.

Each day is filled with choices. Our choices can make the truth easier to bear or harder to face. The truth of Jesus brings hope and joy to the best and worst of places, and all areas in between. I urge all to the hope and health of Jesus and away from the bruises and despair of humanity. There is only one true God.

We have created a name for the rowdy and rude. We see tantrums performed on social media about things that seem insignificant. The person screaming might be facing the last straw of an entire field of straw or reeling from emotions or traumas not visible to the onlookers or the camera. The video doesn’t tell us.

It is hard to be a broken person in a broken world. I know. I’m currently dealing with a company I will refer to as Rg for rage. They changed their billing procedures. I paid according to the old and found that my payment was lost. I called, and called, and called. I did the rounds with a stuttering automatic system and have talked to at least six persons so far. I’ve sent proof of payment from the bank to three of those persons. I am in at least five hours of phone/email time over eight days without a resolution.

The only results so far is that Rg sent my bill to a collection agency while I was in conversation with one of their employees and had already sent proof of payment once. I’m trying to resolve their accounting problem, and they’ve added insult to confusion. I am to blame for some of this because I didn’t register that they changed their billing processes. I don’t even know if I was notified of their billing changes. Rage, confusion, and conflict, an open door and solid push toward Karen behavior.

This horse wants to run, but feels the bit and bridle pulled back by the reins. I don’t want to be a Karen. I don’t believe that I can be faithful to myself and my faith and be a Karen. Will is now fighting with desire, and I have the choice. Prayer is making the difference right now.

I know that Jesus is a very present Lord in all times of trouble, seen or unseen. I trust that He will provide a better way and a better time to handle the broken situation than giving in to the emotion of the moment. Fault or amount of fault isn’t the main issue right now. I want to act like the person I want to be with the quality of behavior Jesus is working to teach me. I am beginning to admire the people in my life who modeled the kind of character I’m learning. They made it look easy, but it isn’t.

Every country is filled with politics, the work for control of the populace. Some of the politics are done in the open, but much is done behind closed doors in conspiratorial secret. Even the top power brokers are not privy to all the mechanizations of others in power or his own people under him who may work to conspire against him. Circles within circles, and wheels within wheels.

The man on the street is the populace that is being manipulated by all the efforts of the powerful. He may suspect, but does not know all the plans or schemes that draw him into the service of those who would use him. Media and communications of all types are the medium through which power works. The use or twisting of language, meaning, and ideas are the ropes that tie the populace to the controllers, twisting their beliefs and faith to match the purpose.

There is one government which has not and will not be corrupted, the Kingdom of Heaven. It is transparent in leadership, providing the man on the street with the values and purposes of the King. The King Himself walked among the populace, sharing Himself and His Kingdom with any listeners. He even clearly debated and showed the difference between the earthly powerbrokers who worked for selfish gain and the Kingdom which works to free men and heal them from poverty of soul induced by cruelty of man. He chose to suffer the worst man had to offer to overcome it and give freedom to His people. He is the leader who gave all, proved all, and served all to create a standard of hope and freedom that is beyond human ability.

The greatest strength and peace a man has is within who he is and the kingdom he serves, the kingdom of self, the kingdom of man, or the kingdom of God. Jesus is His own medium of communication, leading all into the freedom He created and fights for. He speaks today, King to the person on the street. He has created an unchanging standard in the Bible so we can learn to discern His voice from all others. Freedom is paid for and provided for any who would chose Jesus as King.

This past weekend was the Olustee Festival, which has been celebrated in Lake City over 40 years. The festival was named after the largest Civil War battle fought in Florida on February 20, 1864. Any discussion of the Civil War is fraught with problems as the politics of the history strokes antagonism in the present. It seems that we are caged in system of strife that bars us from escape. I believe escape is possible and necessary for all parties to grow together into a healthy future.

The Civil War happened in a confined time, which had an extremely limited knowledge base. It is important that we apply what we’ve learned since that time to our understanding and not try to go back and relive their ignorance. We know that each race is unlimited in their ability and beauty, just as each race has all the failings found anywhere in humanity. Our modern eyes should look back to celebrate the good that was manifested by courageous people, even in the worst of circumstances. We can recognize the bad and realize that the bad must be overcome, not by accusation, but by growth toward change in maturity.

We can learn from the fundamental issues visible at that time. The war was created because of desire for wealth, power, and prestige. Those same elements are driving corrupt politicians and power brokers to make current life in America so much less that it could be and so much more dangerous than it should be. Slavery has always been an economic and power issue since the beginning of mankind, all the way to the current time. It has never been good. Our Civil War should teach us to fight against slavery wherever we find it. We need to unlock the cage.

The entire process of being a Christian is being freed from slavery to all the failed human attributes of cruelty, selfishness, pride, birthed in making man a god instead of recognizing the God who created all things. God created each race to be a benefit to the others, not a cause of destruction to the others. We need each other. Each race and culture carries gifts and talents God put within them that bring life, beauty, and hope to the others. Recognizing and being truly thankful for the diversity God has created is one of the ways we unlock the cage.

It is best said in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,….” We will open cage doors when we work to accomplish these goals written as the American purpose.

An aware person is someone who is sensitive to the experiences and events around him, but also to the experiences and events within him. Consider how tiring it is to watch the news and read the newspapers about all the hardships being suffered, the complexities being unresolved, and the divisions that give rise to conflicts which endanger all. Now consider being able to see the same within yourself. Each person is terribly complex. The good, the bad, the indifferent are all there inside each one. Wars rage, calm occurs, love exudes, bitterness bites, deceit flourishes, truth exists, justice lies next to manipulation and self interest in the same location, all within one person, and so much more.

I look at all the wars that history has recorded and see elements of myself, the good, the bad, and the ugly, as a movie title suggests. In each horror, blessings can be found because humanity is not left completely bereft of hope. February is Black History month, and in Lake City, Olustee Festival, a remembrance of the Civil War. The two events are tied together as some of the struggles fought then are still alive now. The Civil War was a great internal battle in which America fought America. We, as a country could not reconcile our self awareness, our conflicting opinions, our good and bad selves. We acted as though we could separate and negate parts of our selves and refuse pieces of our selves that were living internal parts.

Each of our individual body parts are necessary to the others. The kidneys cannot refuse the liver or the hands refuse the feet. We, as a nation, are built of necessary parts, each are invaluable to the others. The gift is that we are not the same. The liver is not the kidneys. Our nation is beautifully fitted with all the complexities that can create greatness or great destruction, just like an individual. We choose the outcome, the individual and the nation.

The issue then, as now, is that we are individual parts contending against each other. We need a unity that only something greater than the aggregate can supply. We are limited within ourselves to ourselves. God is greater and provides a point and purpose which unifies all the individual parts without stripping any of their uniqueness. God created the body so all parts and organs could work together while being individually amazing. The body was even created to have self healing properties which would balance against imbalance. He does that with individual people. He is working on that with a nation and all nations. We will have great joy when we allow God to rule.

WWII caused almost 77,000,000 deaths with over half of them happening in the countries of Russia and China. America lost 418,500, third from the bottom of the list according to the National WWII Museum. The Civil War cost America about 700,000 lives and continues to be more of a hotbed of emotion. The Civil War was a kind of suicide as we fought ourselves about issues we refused to resolve in better ways. According to the newspapers and popular press, WWII is over, but the Civil War continues to be fought.

We have embraced the Germans and the Japanese since WWII, but still fight each other about the Civil War. There is no hero who is completely good, and no villain who is completely evil. At some level, Hitler, certainly the poster child for evil, cared for Eva Braun, even to the point of marrying her before they both committed suicide. Our heroes, like Douglas MacArthur and George Patton were famously flawed souls as were all the other generals and leaders in WWII and the Civil War. We accept that more easily in WWII than we do in the Civil War personalities.

Life is complex, and people are complex. Media, politicians, and people with personal agendas tend to oversimplify to make their point (as I’ve just done in this statement) instead of realizing that nothing is that simple. Anyone who has a friendship with me will find that there are things in me better overlooked, other things requiring forgiveness, and other things that can be celebrated. Even the overlook, forgive, and celebrate things are not pure in and of themselves. Relationships require work, ask any marriage counselor. America is a marriage of different people into an interactive culture. Choosing blame always leads to division. Division sells newspapers, but it does not heal wounds, but rather intensifies and continues the wounds.

It is said that Sunday morning is the most segregated time in America. It makes me wonder what values we are serving, God’s or the world’s or our own? I think each church, regardless of culture or race, should send missionaries to other churches and races to display God’s beauty in their presence for all others to see and worship God. I have seen the beauty of God in black and white churches and want everyone to see it. I’ve seen division, isolation, and unforgiveness in black and white churches and know that the Bible doesn’t teach that. Humans are complicated. We need God to help us sort it out.

God makes all His people beautiful, regardless of race or culture. He makes them beautiful in their race and culture, something worth desiring to see and celebrate. He works to heal and redeem all those who are not yet His people. It is His opinion that matters, and His plan is the one which works to heal.

There is a story in the Bible of a woman who was facing destitution. Her husband had been a believer, so she asked the man of God for help. I love this story. You can read it in 2 Kings, Chapter 4.

She was asked what she had available. Her response was only a jar of oil. She was told to gather all the empty vessels she could and pour oil in them. A miracle happened. The jar of oil filled all the empty vessels without running out. The jar only ran out when there were no more empty vessels. The woman was able to pay her debts and live from the proceeds of the oil she sold from the empty vessels she filled. I have seen this story come alive in so many places and so many churches.

It is easy for people to think they have nothing to give, especially in a society which has the attitude that you have to have more to be successful. More is an undefined term, which simply means that whatever you have isn’t enough. Americans are some of the richest people in the world who often live like they aren’t. Our perspective beats on us through money and possessions. One place of wealth, where all men are equal, is the ability to give ourselves, our care, our love, our compassion, our forgiveness, and our consideration.

I have been in the position of being homeless and broke and broken. I was an empty vessel. I was given provision, which was fabulous, especially when I was hungry and the provision was food. I remember going to church homecomings to eat and feast like there was no tomorrow because I didn’t know when I would eat next. I was grateful. However, the greatest gifts were the compassion and caring that brought me back to my feet with the ability to stand. The greatest gifts were the shared lives. Those shared lives still live in me, and I share them with others. I was given the gift of love that continues to give because it changed my life and continues to provide hope to those I meet.

People who don’t think they have much are wrong. They may be just a small jar of oil in their own minds, but they are an endless provision of caring for others, no matter the condition of their own lives. The care they give lives on beyond the time of giving like the oil in the story. There are many empty vessels in our world, people who need to be given love and caring. Provision for the soul lasts much longer than provision for the body. We are richer than we can imagine. God has given us great wealth. That great wealth is available in all of us. I am a small jar of oil.

My dad used to say, “I was told to cheer up because things could be worse, So I cheered up, and they got worse.”  It is easy to feel like you’ve been hit by a tsunami, followed by flooding, then by waiting for the devastations to subside before removing the destruction, all before the rebuild or starting new can begin. 

Trials can be like a slave master. It can limit all you think and feel able to do. It can confine you in the circumstances defined by the trial. The desire to capitulate or surrender can arrive if the pain or sorrow becomes so much that you will do anything, sacrifice anything, to get away from the pain. The surrender can be the time you really do something destructive that will extend the suffering and/or entrench it into a life stronghold. Ask any addict. They will confirm the pattern. Ask anyone who has made a rash decision how they got there, and they will probably confirm the pattern too.

My high school students would occasionally pull me aside for a private conversation. They wanted me to revisit a time of pain and suffering in my life to hear how I survived so they they could be encouraged about their survival. They wanted to be strengthened so they wouldn’t add to the problem. I believed it was wisdom on their part. We are surrounded by witnesses. The greatest witness to me is the Bible.

Some people have turned the Bible into a legal type document like a contractual agreement. That is not the Bible I know. The Bible I know is more of a diary, a story that God tells His children so they can know Him. He fills the Bible with stories of real people and a real God with all the problems, solutions, victories, and losses. He teaches us that He is faithful. The Bible can’t be a contract because there is no way for humanity to live up to a contract with God. It is a life story, the story of God walking with mankind, the good, the bad, and the inbetween.

We can project our beliefs and values into anything, including the Bible. An atheist can read the Bible and tell you it contains the proof that God doesn’t exist. I find that interesting because the atheist is living a life explained in the Bible and preferring the same values that God prefers (except the atheistic beliefs). God is alive. Read the Bible looking for Him and He is faithful to show Himself to you. You will find that the Bible is a living book of revelation, comfort, and guidance. You will find a testimony in it that meets every need.