short stories
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poetry
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short stories
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poetry
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I wrote this story many years ago, looking back it is kind of prophetic. My husband and I are facing the issues the subject of this story faces. It is a story that is all too true. Despite Government rhetoric and wonderful brochures put out by nursing homes, people like Margaret are eking out lonely, existence's. NOTHING TO LIVE FOR Searching for the defector ‘Tom?’ The old voice full of impatience called, ‘Tom?’ Old Margaret Ames stood on the back door step calling for Tom. Her still young blue eyes probed the overgrown junk littering the back yard, hoping that a sleek black form would leap out and greet her. The empty kennels and sheds were silent in decay. The light of hope died from her eyes, she seemed to shrink just a little more, crumpling like old parchment. For several days, hope kept her alive, waiting for her beloved to return. His defection left her with nothing to live for. Turning back into the house, the scuff-scuff of her slippers echoed through dusty, cluttered rooms. The old chair wheezed a protest as Margaret’s emaciated figure sank into it. A sigh escaped the once shapely lips, a tear squeezed under heavy lids exploring, a network of furrows down her withered cheeks. With her beloved’s defection what was there to love. She was alone, unwanted, useless. She hated being old. A sharp knock on the door and the old lids fluttered open. ‘Just a moment,’ the old voice rasped. It took Margaret sometime to ease herself out of the chair. Another knock, louder this time, ‘It’s the Meals on Wheels ladies. We’ve brought your dinner.’ The door opened, sunshine made a path into the dim hall. Jenny Brown bustle out to the kitchen with steaming plates of food. She pushed aside the flotsam of dirty plates, papers and clothes to put down the dishes. Margaret scuffed along behind her. The brush off ‘Have you seen…?’ Marg began. ‘Mrs. Ames, are you feeling all right? You haven’t washed yesterday’s dishes. You’ve been crying.’ ‘Tom! Have you seen …?’ ‘I think you need help, Mrs. Ames. I’m going to make an application to Domiciliary Care to send someone to help you. ‘Tom! He hasn’t…’ ‘Who’s Tom, Mrs. Ames? Sorry we can’t stay to help you. We’re busy today. Many of our helpers are off sick; we’re very short staffed, have to go now. Cheerio, see you tomorrow.’ Margaret put out a hand, fingers now clawed with arthritis to stop Jenny’s mad dash but she brushed aside the old hand scurrying down the shaft of light, slamming the door behind her. The house settled back into its somnolence as if glad the intrusion had left. Margaret stared at the door, alone with her helplessness. ‘Mrs. Ames shouldn’t be left alone. She’s not coping, besides, her mind is wandering, and she was raving about Tom. Who is Tom? A son?’ Jenny slammed the car door. Beryl Hick’s started the car, ‘She’s got a daughter in town, why doesn’t she see to the old girl?’ the car swung around leaving a curl of dust hanging in the air like a question mark. ‘Jenny, we can’t be responsible for all the oldies. We only have to deliver their meals. We have families as well. ‘Well, somebody should do something. The old girl can’t be left alone any longer, Beryl. The house is a pigsty. Where did you say her daughter lived?’ Jenny was a little robin, hopping from idea to idea, never stopping for an answer. Beryl drew up in front of a tiny cottage. Jenny grabbed hot dishes and hurried inside to another aged man in a wheel chair. ‘I can’t get Mrs. Ames out of my mind,’ Jenny said as she climbed back into the car. ‘I feel she was trying to tell me something. I feel so guilty for not being able to stop and find out what was wrong.’ ‘Stop feeling guilty, Jenny. We’re doing our best. Think of all the time we put into Meals on Wheels. I have to admit the old people are an endangered species these days. You could get in touch with the daughter I suppose. But she had a row with her mother a few years ago and they don’t talk to each other now.’ The two women continued on their way comforting themselves that they were doing all they could. Dreaming of a better life Margaret looked at the steaming food. She felt ill. She spooned some into Tom’s dish, the rest she pushed into the fridge along with several days’ deliveries. Margaret wandered out through the back yard amongst tumbled down kennels and shed, once full of animals whose owners were on holiday or recovering from some illness or hurt. ‘To-om, To-om.’ No sleek black form crawled out from under a bush, stretching and yawning sleepily, to wind himself around her legs. Hope died; she had lost another love, what was there to live for? If she could only go to meet her Ralph to whom she’d been married to for fifty years until cancer claimed his life. Perhaps they would work together again as vets in the animal heaven as they did here. Margaret returned to her chair, staring through the hazed window at a world alive with its own concerns, unaware of the needy old woman behind the window, arrogant in the knowledge of their youth. Margaret sighed, what a devil it was to get old, the living no longer wanted you. Once she had been a part of that mad rush out there, she existed in a backwater where no one knew or cared what happened to her. She and her Ralph had lived for animals. Creatures loved you regardless of how you treated them. If she could only go to sleep and wake beside her Ralph, she had loved him beyond all else. Margaret eased herself slowly out of her chair, and scrimmaged through a drawer in a sideboard under the window. She filled a syringe, a fleeting smile ironed out the furrowed cheeks as she thought of meeting Ralph again. She had never discarded the tranquilisers and syringes when she retired from the Practise. She eased back into her chair with a sigh and plunged the needle into her arm. Her hand dropped over the side of the chair, her head slid sideways. The day slipped away; the house settled even more deeply into its sleep. The defector returns The sleek black defector dropped into the yard, pushed through the cat hole in the door, walked confidently to his dish, tail high with self-esteem. He downed the contents. Mewing a greeting, Tom rubbed against the grubby leggings. There was no response. He nudged the cold hand, finally he curled up on Margaret’s lap and slept as was his practise unaware yet that Margaret would not wake to cuddle him ever. Hunger pain woke Tom early in the morning, a graceful stretch and wide yawn, a visit to his dish. Disgusted that it was empty he returned to Margaret mewing for food. He nudged her hand, giving it a lick. It smelled queer, he gave it a nip, his stomach told him it would be good to eat, so he ate his fill. Instinct told him Margret was different; his loyalty to the hands that fed him gave way to hunger pains. Next day at noon, Jenny and Beryl arrived in a cloud of dust with a hot meal. At their entry Tom hissed angrily at their sudden appearance, already his feral instincts were rising. He fled at Jenny’s attempts to befriend him. Jenny screamed, ‘Beryl, that awful cat has started to eat Margaret.’ ‘What’s happened?’ Beryl felt bemused. ‘It’s Margaret Ames, she dead and the cat’s been eating her. I’m going to be sick.’ Jenny raced for the toilet. Beryl had disappeared outside, white and shaking. Never had they experienced anything like this in all the years they’d work delivering Meals on Wheels. ‘What’s happened here?’ The Paramedics looked around on arrival to Beryl’s call. Jenny sobbed out her guilt, ‘If o only I had listened to her yesterday, she tried to tell me something and I didn’t listen. I can’t forgive myself. I’ve always hated that cat, it seemed evil.’ ‘Listen, lady, the old girl loved her cat. She wouldn’t have known anything about it.’ The Officer held up the syringe that had slid down into the chair as Margaret slept eternally. ‘She took her own life.’ Jenny’s face was awash with tears at the Paramedic’s words. Beryl having returned led Jenny way, ‘We still have other deliveries to make.’ ‘I can’t go on, Beryl. I feel it was all my fault. I knew something was wrong but I didn’t do anything about it. I didn’t even ring her daughter because it was too busy.’ ‘I don’t know what you could have done. It’s the way we work these days when caring for the old. We can only do what we can and hope that something might change for the better.’ Beryl choked back her tears. ‘Beryl, I’m determined to do something, I don’t know what yet, but I’m not going to let the old suffer more than I can help.’ It was late afternoon when Tom reappeared and entered he cat hole. He tested the air, his tail twitching. He prowled through the rooms, enquiring sniffs to furniture and clothing, his claws echoing hollowly on the dusty faded linoleum. She was gone. Her smell was weak. There was nothing for him here. He eased out into the back yard, moving through the undergrowth, to the back fence. He sat on a post, ears pricked, studying first the lane then the house, would she yet call? Satisfied the old voice was silent, his meal ticket gone, freedom beckoned, he jumped from the post into the lane and trotted off into the coming night.
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BEAUTIFUL BURGERS Gwen Leane I looked at the burger mountain. The saliva glands were doing overtime. I swallowed but dribble ran out the corners of my mouth. Tomato sauce, rich and red, oozed down over the bread roll. Lettuce leaves curled around the burger’s edges like ruffled lace. Beetroot, dark red discs. The perfume tickled my nose, teasing my taste buds. I could hardly wait to add a rasher of bacon looking like crinkled ribbons, and a slice of melted cheese dripping down and mingling with the sauce, add sliced onion and Bingo! A savoury masterpiece… I opened my mouth to take a bite, ‘Hello Tubby, I see you still love burgers,’ the gravelly voice of Mitch Andrews stopped my hand mid-flight. I cursed under my breath, the enjoyment of my burger now sour. Everything was spoiled. Mitch had always taken delight in teasing me about being chubby. ‘You!’ I snorted. ‘Trust you to spoil my fun.’ ‘Fun? I wanted to ask you to come hiking up the Bluff on Sunday with me. I enjoy a hike as you know.’ Mitch, every once in a while conducted a Save Mavis project. He would lose heart before I lost weight. ‘You would have to catch me eating my first burger in months. I’m not your Save Mavis project anymore. I’m finished with you.’ I took a longing look at the burger and thought what a waste. I needed to make a statement so I jumped up from the chair and flounced out of the café. Mitch followed me, ‘Hang on, Mavis, I wanted to ask you to marry me. I love that you have slimmed down and have a model’s body. I have no need to save you, you have saved yourself. You’re wonderful.’ I stopped dead. My head swiveled. ‘Yes,’ I shouted, ‘let’s celebrate with a big fat greasy burger.’ I rushed into his arms before he could change his mind. HOW GOOD IS YOUR CREDIT By Bruce Leane, guest writer Subtitle: How good is your credit in Heaven? How do you get a credit in Heaven? Do you work for it or inherit it? Or do you rely on hope that God is merciful and you’re good enough to obtain credit in Heaven? Credit in the Bank of Heaven is there for all Christian believers to claim boldly. The believer’s credit is pre-paid and eternally secured. The Father God secured the account by the death of his Son Jesus on the cross. Our Heavenly credit rating is then a free gift from God. You cannot add to your credit account in Heaven by any effort on your part. Whatever you try to add to the account will not be put into your account because of your imperfect life of living to please self alone. Trying to add to your heavenly account by good works and hope won’t be classed as worthy to be added to the account. Only faith in what Christ has done will access the account. You can’t overspend the account because it’s part of an account set up by God and he has supplied all that is needed to keep the account open. God has made many entries in the account such as forgiveness of our failures, answered prayer, healing, and the free gift of righteousness. There is nothing we can do that will cause God to cancel these entries. Clearly understand, that as you were before Christ came into your life you didn’t deserve the account. You cannot be or do anything that will please God and deserve the account, you are here on earth to use the everlasting credit scheme God has set up for you (Romans 4:1-11), and to live by faith in the righteousness God has bestowed on you. POVERTY IS AN ATTITUDE There are many attitudes that cause the Christian life to be one of poverty. If we insist on working to please God the Christian life will be dry as dust and as joyless as a dried up lake. This kind of thinking and behaviour does not make entries in the account that God has given us. The poverty attitude stems from living in a position of ignorance of what the Bible says we God has given us. To know our spiritual status as the sons and daughters of God we must read the terms and conditions laid out in the book of Hebrews. Our ignorance has reduced us to a begging mentality and position. We are forever begging God to give us more when we already have that ‘more’. The trouble is, the poverty attitude says it never has enough and remains unsatisfied because they miss the heart of God. He wants to bless you more than you want to be blessed. We have been trained to beg, plead, even fast for more so that we miss what we already have. ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.’ (Eph 1: 3). It is like trying to climb a hill your already on top of or sit on a chair that you are already sitting on. You’ve got everything you’ve ever wanted because God has given it to you. So enjoy it by taking God at his Word and accepting it by faith. THE INHERITANCE My kids are forever teasing me about their inheritance. One of them has earmarked a box of old wooden carpenter’s planes in my shed. I keep on saying, ‘take them,’ but he says, ‘No! They are my inheritance.’ He has his inheritance already but he hasn’t taken it. It is like many Christians; we have been given everything we need including goodness and divine health, abundantly provided for, but we haven’t taken them. Anything we own down here will instantly become old junk at our demise and is recycled amongst relatives. But God has not left us without a roof over our heads, so to speak. Jesus is recorded as saying, ‘I go to prepare a place for you… That where I am there you will be also.’ (John 14:1 -4. We can take Jesus’ word as truth and rest assured that our credit rating in Heaven is good and we haven’t had to make one premium. Meanwhile down here, God decided that he would make us holy in his eyes, without a single fault – we who stand before him covered with his love. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us,’ (Eph 1 4 -5). Accept God’s credit rating here and in heaven and live as God’s children as quoted in Romans 8:17, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ…” Guest writer, Bronwyn Battye What If? There’s a true story of two brothers in America which came to my attention. One brother had taken good care of his body and health, and was a basketballer. His only brother had so abused his body with alcohol and drug usage, that he urgently needed a kidney transplant. The healthy brother suffered emotional conflict over donating his kidney to save his brother’s life. He wasn’t sure if the sacrifice was worth it, because of his brother’s lifestyle. He said, ‘If my brother promised to turn his life around and stop the drug abuse, I’d be willing to save him.’ Humanly speaking, his attitude is understandable. But let’s reflect on how a pure and holy God had every right to turn his back on us, after Adam ditched our original inheritance through willful disobedience! I am so thankful to God that this new beginning for mankind came about solely because of a conspiracy of unconditional love and mercy by the Godhead – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Luke 1:68 ‘Blessed (praised, extolled and thanked), be the Lord God of Israel because He has come and brought deliverance and redemption to his people.’ V78… ‘Because of and through the heart of tender mercy and loving kindness of our God, a Light from on high will dawn upon us and visit us.’ Thank you God, that when you sent the Redeemer, you knew that although many people would be delivered from muddy rivers of sin, many wouldn’t even want to be rescued from their murky waters! John 1:12 … ‘But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, rely on) His name.’ What if Jesus had said IF to the Father, when the Trinity met together? Communism V Christianity Communism is materialistic Christianity is spiritual Communism is godless Christianity is God Centred Communism is God hating Christianity is God-loving Communism is God-defying & blasphemous Christianity is God-honouring Communism divides people Christianity unites people Communism pulls down the higher classes Christianity lifts up the lower classes Communism spreads hatred and strife Christianity spreads love and peace Communism aims for a classless society Christianity says, ‘Thy kingdom come’ Communism sheds blood for revolution Christ shed his blood for salvation. TURNING INSULTS INTO BEAUTY The early settlers saw trees as the enemy, to be chopped down indiscriminately and the land cleared for farming. In the early days trees took up valuable land needed for food and livelihood. Today we know trees are the lungs of the earth. We need to preserve them to preserve the land and air. The tree in this picture has accepted the bolt for the chain to lock the gate. Maybe it hurt when the bolts were first hammered in – maybe the tree bled some sap. Perhaps it cried out at the invasion or pain? But the tree didn’t give up and die because of its mistreatment instead, it got on with the job of growing over its wound; making the bolt and chain part of it. The tree couldn’t change what had happened to it. So it forgave the torturers. The tree proceeded to encompass the offending bolts making them part of itself. it was not going to allow what had happened to it to affect its life, its growth, its beauty. How forgiving is that? What a pity we humans are not like the tree, absorbing the hurts and then encompassing them and covering them with our own beauty of spirit so that the hurts are made beautiful. That’s forgiveness! We could also look at it as if the tree was the Lord and we were the bolts and chain. We were hammered into the flesh of Jesus when he was nailed to the cross. His body accepted our wounds, our hurts, our sicknesses, our independent spirit, and drew us into himself and made us one with himself. Jesus died as us. We became a person of beauty because he covered us over hiding us within himself. What mega love and forgiveness is that! A DIFFERENT LIFESTYLEOstracism conjures up sharp images of behavior toward one another. There are laws against such behavior today, although it doesn't stop people from discriminating and making death threats against people who think differently from us. The Aboriginal people through the 1950s were non-people. They were outcasts in their own land. Mainstream culture didn't want to know them. One lady called herself a Maori because they enjoyed a status in the community that the Aborigines didn't have. Bruce and I and another couple, Frank and Rita and our children became independent missionaries to the Aborigine people living along the banks of the River Murray in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. We self-supported our work among these people by Frank working his fruit block and Bruce holding down a job as block-hand. Sundays, we devoted ourselves to church meetings and Sunday School. During the week, we would hold Bible studies and prayer meetings. There was a social interaction when we tried to adapt to their lifestyle. The people who lived along the Riverbank were proud. They refused to go and live on Mission stations and accept handouts. To live on Mission stations was admitting you couldn't look after yourself. They lived by fishing, hunting, and doing seasonal work on the surrounding fruit blocks. They built their huts from materials picked up in the rubbish dumps. Alcohol, immorality and domestic violence were rife. When we began moving amongst these people, we became ostracized by many of our friends. Nobody wanted to know us, and the white community thought we were mad, and the indigenous were suspicious of us. In a sense, we became non-people. Today the indigenous are educated are equally housed. They are prominent in the sports arenas, politics, entertainment and the arts. SIMILARITIES There are many similarities between God and us. In our natural lifestyle, God is our enemy. We want nothing to do with him in many ways. It hasn't prevented God from loving us and seeking to draw us into his love and fellowship. Just as ostracism and suspicion didn't stop us from identifying with the indigenous people. God hasn't given up on us; he provided a way for us to intimately fellowship with him. He sent his Son Jesus as the perfect man to give us a new heart and a new Spirit, so we could be one with God and enjoy an intimate relationship with him. Jesus, the perfect man, sacrificed himself to give us a new heart and new spirit, opening the door to a personal relationship with God. We could never indeed be one with the indigenous people because of culture. We can be one with God through Jesus giving us a new spirit. When we believe and accept Jesus' sacrifice and give our life over to God, we find our lifestyle changed, we find we are new people, a change has taken place in our heart, and we no longer have the same desires. God and we are one now; there is no enmity against God. Race, colour, what we have done or haven't done, who we are or are not, doesn't make any difference; we are now one with God. Our relationship with God rests on our belief in and acceptance of Jesus sacrificing himself to take away our enmity against God. Our enmity with God is over when we accept Jesus. The ostracism will begin between ourselves and our fellow man. Our Godly lifestyle will separate us, and we will exchange one kind of ostracism for another. Being intimate with God far outweighs the separation from our fellow man. 'So believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.' Act 16: 13. For further thought, 'Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.' Mark 12: 30. The nest was empty. It was time to make some changes. I wanted to be myself; I wanted to be free from the stigma of being the wife of Bruce. I enrolled in a Creative Writers Class at the TAFE College. To become a writer and change the world appealed to me. The class of ’78 was a group of ten people all with an agenda but not necessarily about becoming a writer. ‘Your first exercise will be stream of conscience. Write for ten minutes every thought that enters your mind,’ the tutor said. I looked at him; then at my blank page; then into my mind – another blank. Finally a thought wandered along. I grabbed it and wrote it down. How I hated this lesson. I simply could not bring myself to write down all the silly, inane thoughts that came into my mind. ‘Times up,’ the tutor called. We read out our pieces, the tutor fixed his eye of learning on me, I knew I had failed. ‘Gwen, you are incredibly disciplined.’ What’s wrong with that, I thought angrily, bowing under his condemnation. Not about to quit I turned up to class again. ‘We will write another piece of stream of conscience again,’ the tutor announced. I groaned, there rose within me such a rebellion that I thought, whoa, what gives here? As the next couple of weeks passed, I was forced to do some heart searching. I discovered somewhere in my 45 years I’d lost myself, I was a sham, a fake and I didn’t know how or why it had happened. I knew though, that if I wanted to be a writer I needed to break down the barriers and open up myself to life. I had built walls of self defence to save being hurt. I need to feel hurt, love, and joy no matter what. People would get hurt because I spoke from the hip, yet I had to be myself without shame. The changes were insurmountable. I would fail and did so many times. The class of ’78 broke up at the end of the year but the course of my life was set. I would be a writer. I went on to study the art and craft of writing, gaining diplomas along the way. Already I was being changed, slowly, slowly. I have failed to write the great Australian novel with two novels half finished. Instead there are many stories published in anthologies along with two biographies and several books written by other people and edited by me. You see, they are the stories of other people not my own stories. I’m still in hiding. The failure to feel and open myself up still lingers like a faint odour. A failed writer in many respects but deadly determined to enrich this world by what I have written even if it is another’s story. George Chen was the very first Chinese Christian our founder Paul Hattaway ever met in his life. He was speechless after hearing the testimony of this man who spent 18 years in prison for Jesus. He had endured horrific conditions, and had not only survived the ordeal, but had emerged with an unconquerable faith! For most of his years in a prison labor camp, George Chen was not called to preach from a pulpit, but rather he found himself standing deep in a prison cesspool each day, shoveling the human waste from 60,000 prisoners. That cesspool was God’s place of blessing for George, and the Lord used it to give him a rich faith that could not be gained any other way. At first, he abhorred the work, but he soon realized the disgusting stench meant that no guards or other prisoners went near the pit, allowing George to pray and worship God in privacy. He frequently sang aloud his favorite hymn, “In the Garden,” and that most disgusting of places was transformed into a special spot where the Holy Spirit came down and George Chen communed daily with Jesus Christ. It is our privilege to share the testimony of our dearly departed brother George Chen with you. It may be the first time it has ever been written down for the Body of Christ to read and appreciate. God bless you as we serve together in the harvest, The team at Asia Harvest www.asiaharvest.org Jack and Jean is a real life story. It can be read in the book titled The Mavericks Roundup. Mavericks Round is the life story of Bruce Leane, Pastor. The book is available through Amazon/Kindle or KML Publishing.com There comes to mind one story I must share, Jean and Jack, not their real names, were a couple who asked me to come and visit them when I lived in Whyalla. We were sitting over the usual cup of coffee around their kitchen table amidst the cigarettes, matches and cigarette fog. Cutting my way through the smoke haze, when counselling, has always been a bit tough due to years of asthma. ‘Bruce, we can’t find the victory in Christ that you talk about and practise. We keep stumbling. Why? Please help us.’ There were tears of frustration in their eyes. ‘You need to realise that Christ has you cover3d: you are trying to fight the fight that he fought and finished for you.’ I explained. ‘Sounds easy, mate, like you tell it – but not so easy in real life. Tell us more,’ Jack was dubious. I silently pleaded for divine wisdom as I drained the last drops of my coffee and plunked the cup down on the table. ‘Jack, toss me your matches, please,’ I asked. ‘What you want a smoke now,’ Jack laughed, he wondered if I might be leading a double life. ‘No, I don’t,’ I was very blunt. ‘I want to demonstrate something to you.’ I took the matches and placed them under the coffee cup, saying, ‘the matches represent me: the coffee cup represents Christ covering me. The cigarette packet here represent God the Father looking on. He says to Christ, ‘How is Bruce getting on?’ ‘He’s absolutely fine,’ says Christ, ‘I’ve got him covered.’ The Father smiles at Jesus and me because he can only see the perfection of Christ between him and me. I am no longer accredited with being below par. Christ is our absolute covering for our substandard lives. The timeless words from the Bible declare, ‘we have an advocate with the Father (who is) Jesus Christ the righteous.’ Christ’s giving of himself in death covers us so when the father looks at us he sees Christ the good one, not us the substandard one. Those things we wish we hadn’t done, or shouldn’t have said, a past that has abused us, broken relationships that hurt us, are all covered by Christ and they are swept away as far as the east is from the west and God doesn’t see them let alone remember them. ‘Jack and Jean, you have the right to say I am in Christ and he in me and we no longer live under condemnation,’ I said to the couple. ‘But what about when we fail to live as we should?’ Jean spoke up, she was very aware of how easy it was to sip-up. ‘It doesn’t mean to say we won’t slip-up but those slip-ups are under the covering of Christ.’ I explained, adding, it is so profound it seems too easy. But it is so liberating.’ Jack and Jean were lit by an inner light as this truth burst across their minds. I remembered the words of a song, ‘I am covered over with the righteousness Jesus gives to me.’ My words to the couple were, ‘Stop trying to improve yourself which is religion. Accept the covering of goodness given to you by Jesus and by believing you are good, that’s Christianity.’ Alone Versus Alone Isolation – the enemy of Covid lockdowns and quarantine. No-one is exempt from being its prey. Bruce, my husband is 92 and in residential care. He has been in lockdown for nine days with a few more yet to go. I have not been able to visit him in that time and future visits are not in sight. We have kept in contact through messenger several times a day. His mental health has been challenged greatly. Due to a strong faith in God who has promised ‘that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you (us) with inner strength through His Spirit. ’Ephesians 3: 16. I recently read these challenging words written by a Chinese missionary: Friends, let me share a secret how a child of God can overcome hardship and persecution. This lesson has been learned from many brothers and sisters in China, Vietnam, Laos and other countries over the years. The first step God calls us to take: is to endure. The Apostle Paul told Timothy, ‘You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 2: 3. OVERCOME OR AN OVERCOMER There are additional steps for God’s children to gain victory in suffering. If the Lord gives His grace and power, we can overcome whatever wicked men may do to us, even if our bodies should die in the process. The final step, which requires supernatural strength from the Holy Spirit, is when we learn to embrace suffering and persecution, rather than just putting up with it. With the mighty supernatural power of the Holy Spirit isolation can be overcome. Its effects on our mental health nullified. God is more than equal to Covid, isolation and quarantine. The apostle Paul also wrote, ‘despite all this (Covid), overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us enough to die for us. For I am convinced that nothing can separate us from his love. Death can’t and life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, or where we are – high above the sky. Or in the deepest ocean – nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.’ Romans 8: 37 -39. LB PRISON OR PLAY Lockdowns may imprison us, isolation be a fearsome enemy but we children of God have unlimited resources. We need to open ourselves to God and embrace the truth that ‘If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.’ 1 John 4. Cast our fear and loneliness on him. He will take care of us. Isolation will become a place of intimacy with God, a place of growth, a place of enlightenment, a shrine of worship. Over 80 years ago, in Greece, sixty thousand Jews lived peacefully in Thessaloniki. It was a valued and vibrant community. Most of these Jews worked in the port. To the point that the port of Thessaloniki was even closed on Saturday or Shabbat, the Jewish day when religion forbids working. Great emeritus rabbis also lived and studied there. Everyone hung out and liked each other. But on September 2, 1939, with the outbreak of World War II, this peaceful community would one day feel the terror of the Nazis. On April 6, 1941, Hitler invaded Greece in order to secure his southern front before launching the famous Operation Barbarossa and his great offensive against Russia. Most of these Jews worked in the port. To the point that the port of Thessaloniki was even closed on Saturday or Shabbat, the Jewish day when religion forbids working. Great emeritus rabbis also lived and studied there. Everyone hung out and liked each other. But on September 2, 1939, with the outbreak of World War II, this peaceful community would one day feel the terror of the Nazis. On April 6, 1941, Hitler invaded Greece in order to secure his southern front before launching the famous Operation Barbarossa and his great offensive against Russia. Of the 60,000 Jews in Thessaloniki, around 50,000 were exterminated at the Birkenau concentration camp. The massacre of the Jews of Greece was brief but intense. Very few escaped. Among the survivors, there was a family known as Bourla. And after the war, in 1961, a son was born into this miraculous family in the camps. His parents called him Israel - Abraham. He grew up and studied veterinary medicine in Greece. A brilliant student, Abraham got his doctorate in reproductive biotechnology at the veterinary school of Aristotle University in Salonika. At the age of 34, he decided to move to the United States. He changed his first name Abraham to Albert and met a Jewish woman named Miriam who then became his wife. Together they had two children. In the United States, Albert was integrated into the medical industry. He progressed very quickly and joined a pharmaceutical company where he became "Head manager". From there, the road was short for little Abraham (Albert) to rise through the ranks to become Chief Operation Officer before obtaining his appointment as CEO of the company in 2019. Throughout 2020 Albert decided to direct all the efforts of the company to try to find a vaccine against a new virus that had just struck the world. He expended great financial and technological efforts to achieve his goal. A year later his work paid off and the WHO (World Health Organization) and US government authorized his company to produce the long-awaited vaccine ... Today this vaccine will be distributed in several countries including Germany, which counted thousands of deaths due to the pandemic. Ironically, this vaccine which will save the lives of millions of people around the world including many Germans was led by a little Jew from Thessaloniki, the son of Holocaust survivors, most of his people were exterminated by Nazi Germany. And that is why Israel became the first country to receive the vaccine. In memory of his grandparents and his parents who gave birth to Israel-Abraham Bourla known today as Albert Bourla: CEO of Pfizer! SEARCHING FOR LIGHT Paul Duff Testimony ‘What made you become a Christian?’ Before I left school, I had been following the Interdenominational School Fellowship led by an old man. He led the group even though retired from teaching. I attended the group because what the he said made sense. I only knew there was a dark spirit world. It never occurred to me there was a world of light, love, liberty and freedom. I thought, how do you find that light? A WAY OUT The week-end I tried to kill myself I’d just come from visiting a friend. His family were all Christians. For the first time in my eighteen years I’d been in a Christian environment. I’d spent two days with the family. They weren’t the perfect family but when they had problems they solved them in a way I’d never seen before. The problems were talked over with love and no anger, no screaming or stinging sarcasm. I thought, God I now know this can be done, that it is real and I need to do this. That was my motivation for becoming a Christian: BROKEN ‘I had an older brother,’ Paul begins his story. ’and when I was seven years old, he was invited to a birthday party. I was the kid in the corner because my brother had to baby-sit me. The teenagers, just to have a bit of fun got out the Ouija board. My life was impacted by that ‘bit of fun’ over the next few years with a lot of demonic activity. I became aware of a spirit world, it seemed a black world – evil – because of that night. I recognized this spirit world and thought it all bad, hateful. I was now ten years old and already a broken personality. My family life was highly dysfunctional my parents told me there was no such thing as love. I grew into an angry, swearing, hateful person who would steal his grandmother’s socks. Nobody wanted to know me. A LESSON IN GRACE The teacher, Mr Nankarrow, turned around and saw half the class watching me. ‘Paul, bring that to me,’ he said. I took it to him, showed him the cartoon. ‘Where are the notes?’ ‘I didn’t do them, they were too boring.’ ‘Paul, you know what is going to happen?’ Remember this is 1968 and caning is still practiced. ‘Yes. You’re going to send me to the office and I’m going to get the cane. You’re going to send a note home to Mum.’ ‘No. I’ve tried that so many times and it hasn’t worked. No! I’m going to do something different.’ ‘O-K. ‘ I wondered what that different was going to be and felt very wary. Mr. Nankarrow had my full attention now. ‘What we are going to do, Paul, is you are going to go back to your desk and write up the notes and whatever time is left over I will give you a stick of chalk and you can show the class how you draw cartoons.’ ‘Really, Sir?’ Absolutely.’ I raced back to my desk and scribbled down the worst written notes in the world. The boy next to me said, ‘What are you doing?’ ‘Be quiet, I’m busy,’ I said. I hurried back to Mr Nankarrow with the notes and five minutes to spare. He couldn’t read them but he kept his word. ‘Books down, Paul is going to show us how he draws cartoons.’ He passed me a stick of chalk. NEW BEGINNINGS I then ran my first workshop in the Banksia Park Primary School. It would be the first of many thousands. As I demonstrated to the class, God spoke to me. There was no doubt in my mind, he spoke to me. It was a life changing moment. ‘Paul,’ the Lord said, ‘nobody who knows you has any hope for you. But I have a hope for you, I have a plan for you, I have a future. If you come with me, I will stay with you and it will involve a lot of cartooning. Today, you’ve learnt the power of Grace, you didn’t deserve it over the justice you did deserve. Paul, I’m all about grace not about what you deserve, but what I want to give you.’ This was the first time God spoke to me, there would be others. Of course, I ignored God for eight or nine years until a failed suicide attempt. This was the defining moment. I was outside of the Piccadilly Theatre, North Adelaide, on a bus. At eighteen years of age I had reached rock-bottom and there was nowhere to go except to God. ‘Lord, I can’t do this anymore. My life is dark with all sorts of horrible things which started when I was seven. I can’t do this anymore, I can’t even kill myself. I don’t know what to do.’ ‘Paul,’ the Lord was quick to reply, ‘I’m here for you. Just remember, I never left you, you left me. If we do this, I don’t do trial runs. It’s all or nothing from today. Let’s do this.’ ‘You can have it all,’ I said. ‘I am nothing, I have nothing to give. You can have all of that’. For many years of my life, I’d caught that bus and as corny as it sounds, for the first time in my life, I noticed the trees were green, the birds were singing and the sky was blue. I was eighteen years old but had never noticed the colours before. I had no idea what had happened to me. I’d had no teaching, or training, no Bible before. I went back to do the same old things with the same people in the same old places. There was a difference though, I didn’t fit in. I felt like a turnip in a fruit salad. It just wasn’t the same anymore. My life changed instantly. All the demonic activity just fled and the darkness immediately lifted. I had been born again on that bus and the year was 1976. THE GOOD LIFE God had come into my life and changed me completely. I was freaked out. Just prior to the experience on the bus, I had been investigating with my drawing all kinds of dark, weird areas. God removed all that from me. The Lord spoke again, ‘Paul, I don’t want you to do anymore drawing until I say so. When you draw again you will do it for me.’ Eighteen month later, when I was praying, God spoke, ‘Paul I want you to start drawing for me.’ ‘OK,’ I said, ‘what will that look like?’ I had no idea what the world of light looked like. I’d only drawn the dark under-world. Next day I received a phone call from a guy, ‘Paul, I hear you can draw. I’m designing a gospel tract to be used in Estonia. I need such and such a design on the cover Could you do that for me?’ It’s now fifty years later and God has been true to his word. I haven’t always been true to his word but he has been true, faithful and loyal to me. I’ve drawn a mighty lot of cartoons in that time just as he said I would. ' NO LONGER The words no longer mean many things to different people. For instance, we say to ourselves, 'I'm no longer going to go jogging'. Or 'I'm no longer obligated to do this.' If we have beaten an addiction habit, we say, 'I'm 'no longer addicted.'
2. No longer – striving fruitlessly. The light we are seeking is a gift. Romans 11: 6 tells us, 'And if it is by God's kindness, then it is not by their being good enough. In that case, the free gift would no longer be free - it isn't free when it is earned.' In his great kindness towards us, God offers us a way out of our darkness. He provides us with inward light that is far brighter than the light of day. His offer is free; we don't have to do anything to earn it or deserve it. We need to consent to and receive God's offer as a way out. This offer is to accept the death and resurrection of his Son Jesus on our behalf. In God's eyes, he takes us as his children. 3. No longer – a slave to some fetish, fad or shopaholic. Galatians 4: 7 reminds us that often we are a slave to some idea or ambition. 'So you are no longer a slave, but God's child, and since you are his child, God has made you an heir.' In our darkened state, we are helpless slaves to habits, addictions attitudes. When God shines his light into our hearts, we are no longer slaves to these ways of life. He has made us his children. More importantly, God has made us his heirs. Our inheritance is unimaginable. 4. No longer – a prey to our emotions and feelings. We have unlimited resources to beat the blues, the emotional highs and lows to enjoy peace, joy and walk away from hate and love those around us. We can live over and above the turmoil of the world, work and family. The Bible says that he will give you the mighty inner strengthening of his Holy Spirit out of his glorious, unlimited resources. Eph. 3: 16 LB. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. You understand how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. You experience the love of Christ, and you are made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 5. No longer live for ourselves. God is first in our life. Matthew 22: 37. 'Love the Lord your God with your heart, soul, and mind.'(LB) With God first, we reach out to those around us and spread the love. Because Christ's love controls us now, we have a new life, a free life, not to please ourselves but to please God and for him to be pleased with us. 6. No longer live blown about by every thought, trend, fad, or how others may live. I have realized that acceptance of Christ comes from believing that he is. I recognize that when he died, I did as well. And that I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. I am a new person with new aims, goals and lifestyle. The life I now live in the life of Christ. Galatians 2: 20 confirms my testimony, 'I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.' So I no longer am a slave to this world and its shallowness. My lifestyle is not that of a wowser, a killjoy, but one in which I experience joy, peace, and freedom. A life that doesn't conform to this world. I realize that this world and all it offers is temporary; it only lasts for a moment; sooner or later, I will pass from this world, and what will I have? I have Christ and his unlimited resources for now forever. The Ivory Tower of Professionalism "Leadership is about empathy. It's about having the ability to relate to and connect with people to inspire and empower their lives," said Oprah Winfrey. Oprah Winfrey became famous for her talk show; she also became wealthy. Her secret? She made every person in the audience feel and believe that she understood and walked in their shoes. Oprah had learnt the secret of empathy, identifying with everyone in her audience. Oprah's talk show was professional; she made sure she looked like a god and the giver of all things good. Love her or hate her, she was a success. She practiced empathy, and it paid off. "I think professionalism is important, and professionalism means you get paid." wrote Erica Jong. SEEKING PROFESSIONALISM That is why people study hard, work hard, seek to climb the ladder to professionalism. When they have become professional; Where are they? Who are they? Have they become people who are so far above suffering humanity that they are unconnected? They are professional machines; they do their job, become financially secure, and live good lives. They may have acquired a mansion to live in but is it their ivory tower where they can distance themselves from humanity and its pain. Professionalism allows people to sit in their offices and issue instructions on doing the job. Governments created protocols for the treatment of the aged and ill. Shortcuts are needed if there isn't enough time, and empathetic care is expendable in getting the task done. That might be acceptable in other trades, but when dealing with suffering humanity, we cannot allot time and expect to take shortcuts when the old and the ill require mental and physical care. For a true professional, it is tough to connect with hurting, aged, ill and needy people. They can justify themselves by saying I am doing my job and ignore the needy. Professionalism – educated professionalism can retire into the ivory tower of professionalism and ignore the needs of the people under their care. WHEN PLANS GO ASTRAY When we are young, we have dreams and aspirations of what we will be and do. The world is our oyster. So we should. If we didn't dream, we would not invent better lifestyles, progress would stagnate, and our civilisation would collapse. Humanity must dream. How do we reach our goals, dreams, profession, and successful career? Do we believe there is one set of rules for us and another for those in our care? Do we think we can go through life only doing what we get paid to do? Maybe we are doing the job just for the money, and the respect and empathy needed doesn't matter. If so, we need to think very carefully about our career path. Youth becomes adulthood. Adulthood becomes middle age, retirement follows, and old age is a reality. People plan for old age – where they will be and how they will do it. What if life has stripped them of the ability to control their bodily functions? Their ability to connect with those around them is impaired? Their sight? Their hearing? Their movement? What then? Old age is inevitable, and no matter how we plan for it, our bodies will weaken, ill-health follow us. We, the carers and professionals, will be dependent on someone else. What will be our attitude then? JUST TOO OLD The cry of the aged is 'I am helpless, I am dependent on others, the nurses, the carers.' The aged are in care not because they want to be, and they are now dependent on Professional carers, society and governments for their survival. So why treat them as if their vulnerability is their fault. Who inspires in the times of confusion? Empathizes with them? The professional carers living the good life in their ivory towers, far removed from the struggling 'oldies', say we will help you; it is an empty promise. They move on to the next task, forget about the need they have just shelved. They never keep their promise. SO THAT'S YOUR ATTITUDE When we are young, ideals count; we need affirmation that we are essential. We are concerned with our 'rights'; life doesn't always respect our' rights' career-wise or professional-wise. Life will ask more of us at one time or another. The professional or career person we become will depend on how we face the curveball that life throws at us. .If we seek employment in the aged care or health industry, we will not be able to do just our job, and we will have to give of ourselves, and empathy is requisite. We will need to walk in the shoes of those for whom we care. If we are in the caring profession, we cannot refuse to do things we don't get paid. For instance, leaving an older adult sitting in their faeces for even a quarter of an hour is neglect. You say, 'my shift has ended; I don't need to clean them up; the next person can do that.' What would be your attitude if you were in their place? Human beings may be aged, but they feel shame. When their body has let them down, and they cannot control their bodily functions anymore, another has to clean them. To leave the toilet in a mess because it is not our job is neglect. Would we like to sit on a soiled toilet seat? Would we like to stand and walk in a puddle of urine? These are the not so noble moments in the aged care profession. To walk in another's shoes, feel with them, empathise with them, care for them, and respect their rights is to keep them clean regardless of our shift end. Empathy might be noble, but it is arduous work and a necessary part of the aged care system. There are stressful moments in our lives, and we say things we regret and later for which we apologise. The aged person cannot always express themselves, nor do they always understand the jargon used by the carers. They may be hard of hearing. So what if they snap? It is our' right to be spoken to civilly.' So we enforce our 'rights' and demand 'respect'. When implementing our rights, remember that the person we deal with has their rights. They have a right to be cared for and respected as humans, not as a job opportunity or as a meal ticket to maintain their lifestyle. To quote Winston Churchill, 'Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.' EMPATHY 'Looking at various means of developing compassion, I think empathy is an important factor: the ability to appreciate other's suffering.' Dalai Lama For instance, Dawn Jennings, Inspiring SA Women's Award Winner. Dawn is a compassionate devoted, and selfless carer who has cared for children since the early 1990s. Dawn has fostered more than 90 babies from her home in Modbury Heights while raising four of her own and is the author of many books. Dawn has gone beyond just doing her job; she has not insisted on her 'rights' but has walked in another's shoes. Dawn has received a high award, and rightly so, but she didn't foster those babies for the Award. The Award came because of the sleepless nights, the wiped bottoms, crying, fretful children. Did Dawn volunteer for the job of Foster Mum for the money? She fostered the children to give them life. Professionals, carers, and bosses refuse to hide in their ivory towers; they refuse to isolate themselves from the populace. They bend and identify with human needs. They use their professionalism as a gift to help rather than a 'right' or protection. The empathetic professionals are willing to go beyond the call of duty. They are the true professionals and carers, and bosses. They inspire and empower those around them regardless of age or circumstances. John Steinbeck says, 'You can only understand people if you feel them in yourself.' LES WAS A FOSSICKER Les was a fossicker. He spent most the day digging fruitlessly among the rocks for amethysts. The clang of spades on rocks from other fossickers nearby sounded loud in the drowsy somnolence hanging over the scrub. Í know they are here somewhere, 'he said as he wipe sweat from his brow. ‘I might be onto something here,’ Les’s voice broke the quiet afternoon Carefully he scraped away the dirt and was able to lift a huge crystal from its hiding place. It lay in his hand winking at him. His joy knew no bounds. Somewhere in the long ago, the crystal had formed in a cataclysmic upheaval. It had lain hidden for countless eons, a treasure formed in the dark until Les found it. His joy knew no bounds. LONG AGO Somewhere in the long ago, the crystal had formed in a cataclysmic upheaval. It had lain hidden for countless eons, a treasure formed in the dark until Les found it. Isaiah recorded the word of the Lord to Cyrus, ‘I will give you the treasures hidden in the darkness, secret riches; you will know that I am doing this – I the Lord God of Israel, The Lord found me the one who calls you by your name.’ I often wondered what this verse meant. It has slowly dawned over time that the treasure spoken of was learning to praise the Lord in all situations. Learning the power of intercessory prayer, learning to believe in God in the face of opposition, leaving behind grudges, forsaking pride embracing the humility of obedience. These attributes were formed like the crystal in dark times. USING THE DARK EXPERIENCES The dark experiences would have been less than rewarding if I had refused to co-operate with God. Selwyn Hughes writer of Every Day With Jesus, wrote, ‘The treasures of darkness are only found by those who dig – dig for meaning.’ What Selwyn meant was that life has many dark times of bitter disappointments and betrayals. But if we dig for meaning in these times, like Les, we will find rich treasure. I searched those dark times for meaning and the riches that I found were Christ himself. A rich relationship with the Lord grew out of difficult circumstances THE GREAT ONES Milton, the great poet of his time, lived in a world of darkness, he was blind. Despite that darkness he wrote immortal poetry. Likewise Fanny Crosby, also blind, wrote hundreds of hymns that are still sung today, precious crystals of praise and insights about the Lord. They learnt that in times of physical darkness and the darkness of circumstance, the person of the Lord is formed in them. C.S. Lewis was devastated by the death of his wife. He described his feelings as though God had slammed a door in his face and double locked the door from the inside. Later, when his grief subsided he recognised that his walk with God plumbed new depths. Out of the darkness of grief he was able to write a book that gave hope and life to its readers – a treasure from a secret place. Paul the apostle was no stranger to the dark places. From those places he wrote most of the New Testament. His writings have spanned 2000 years and are treasured and enriched by all who read. INTO THE LIGHT I may have been formed in the kingdom of darkness but I thank God that he searched for me and brought me out of that kingdom into the kingdom of light as Les the fossicker unearthed his crystal. I can also praise God that he has taken me through the dark times so that I found the secret richness of him in my life. More and more over the years I can say with Paul, ‘We rejoice when we run into problems and trials for we know that they are good for us – they help us to learn to be patient.’ |
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Author: "You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page" - Jodi Picoult
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