Inspirational

Scouting Ahead

When I was in the Army we didn’t have drones to look ahead of us and see what might be there that could be a danger or a benefit to the unit, so we had to go out on patrols. The photo above is of me getting ready to go out on patrol while in Honduras. In order to gain knowledge we had to see with our own eyes what was truly ahead of us. Now we are experiencing a time that is full of fear and unknowing because we can’t see what is in our future; our future as an individual, a family, a university, city, state or country. Or can we…

I have in my possession a book that tells me what the future holds. It’s been around for thousands of years and already has the scouting report on what is ahead for us and tells us the truth about what is ahead. Yes, the book I am referring to is the Holy Bible. How do I know it’s true? The Bible tells me that God is truth (Psalm 31:5) and that His Word is truth (John 17:17).

So, now that I know the Bible is true and the God of the Bible is true, what knowledge can I obtain from it? To begin with I can know that God has always been and always will be (Revelation 22:13), that God is everlasting (Psalm 90:2), that God is great (Psalm 135:5) that God is love (1 John 4:8), and that He is able to keep me (II Timothy 1:12).

The Bible then tells me not only that I can have everlasting life, but how to obtain that everlasting life (John 3:16, John 3:36, John 5:24, John 6:40, John 6:47, Romans 6:22, Galatians 6:8 and 1 Timothy 1:16).

The Bible goes on to tell me that the Holy Spirit dwells within me (1 Corinthians 3:16), that Jesus knows me (John 10:14) and that I can know that I know Him (1 John 2:3). Finally (of course there is way more than what is in this article) the Bible lets me know that regardless of what happens to me that I “know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 KJV).

Now that I have my scouting report in hand I am not afraid of what the future holds for me. I can boldly march into tomorrow especially since I know who my “Captain” is (Hebrews 2:10).

Blessings.

Not What You Expected

Not What You Expected

Back around 1990 I was sent on a call to check the welfare of two children in a house near Central and Hillside in east Wichita. I arrived at a beautiful old 2-story house and knocked on the door. An elderly lady answered and invited me inside. The lady explained that she was worried about two small children, a boy and a girl, in a bedroom on the 2^nd floor of her house and wanted me to check on them. I asked if they were her grandchildren and she told me no. I assumed that the lady had been babysitting the children and the parent(s) had not returned – that would happen several times each year.

The lady led me upstairs and opened the door to a bedroom. To my surprise the room was full of old porcelain dolls! Dozens of them all dressed in fancy dresses and displayed from floor to ceiling. I looked around the room but saw no signs of the two children I was there to check on. I asked the lady where the children were and she told me they were in the closet. I looked into the closet but it was empty. I asked the lady if we were in the right room and she said we were.

I finally confessed to the lady that I didn’t see any children in the closet. She looked in and said they were in the very back of the closet. This was not what I expected and I began to realize that I was dealing with a person with dementia and had to change how I was going to handle the call. I asked the lady how long the children had been in the closet and she said they’d been there for 20 years and that they never grew old. She would let the little girl play with some of her dolls but only certain ones. Sadly, the lady had no relatives I could call and no one who was looking after her so I had to leave her in her house with her two “children” living in the back of her closet.

The next time I got called out there the sweet elderly lady had a small handgun and was shooting at the “children” because they were making too much noise. Once again, not what I expected and I had to change how I handled the call. Now I was dodging bullets and figuring out how to disarm an elderly lady without anyone getting hurt.

Why do I tell you this story? How many of you expected to be coming to class on campus today? How many of you were anticipating having your best season ever in your given sport? How many were looking forward to walking at graduation or getting pinned? Now something unexpected has happened and you have to change your approach.

May I encourage you to look at this whole situation as a life lesson that will benefit you further down the road? If I had everything in my life happen just like I expected it, and never had to adjust to the unexpected, I would not have been able to handle many things that happened to me. Sure, this current state of affairs is not pleasant, not fun or fair, but we can make of it what we want. Make it a time of growth. Determine to make this experience a positive in your life.

Blessings – Mo

The Relay

The Relay

As we go through any portion of life we do not go through it alone. Others are placed along our paths to help us continue to succeed and be blessed. These others we know as parents and family members, teachers, professors, clergy, coaches, friends, etc. At each stage in our lives these others pick us up when we fall, point us in the right direction, love us and encourage us, and stand by us no matter what. These people we learn to depend on and trust.

Success, however, is not just about the others in our lives. Each of us has a part to play that includes hard work, determination, failing yet trying again, practicing and refusing to give up. There are more but I think you get the picture. Your success, and mine, depends on each of us doing our part.

To illustrate I have included a picture showing a me as a 16 year-old running the 4X200 relay, also known as the 880 relay (as in 880 yards – we didn’t run meters back then), in high school. Yes, that is long hair I am sporting along with long socks and short shorts. It was the 70s – c’mon! The picture shows me at the end of the first leg of the relay and you can see the results of the effort I put in before the race. I always started because I was the fastest coming out of the starting blocks, but that took practice and coaching. In the picture you can see I have already beaten the other runner and that required hard work and determination. What you don’t see is what is about to happen. I am getting ready to pass the baton to the next runner and this required practice, cooperation and trust.

Once the baton had been passed my part wasn’t over. I still cheered and encouraged from the side of the track and displayed my trust in the other three runners on the relay team. I didn’t just walk away from the others and when we won I didn’t say, “Hey, look what I did.” The victories in the 4X200 were always an “us” thing and I was only one fourth of the “us”.

So let me borrow this metaphor and say that you as a Newman student are currently in your own relay. Look around and acknowledge who your other teammates are. Learn to trust them, listen to them and cooperate with them. As an individual you must practice (study) to improve yourself – no one else can do that for you. Your teachers become your coaches so let them instruct you. Your family becomes your teammates so let them encourage you. Once you succeed continue to cheer the others that are still running the race.

When the day comes and you are holding your diploma in your hand it may be tempting to say, “Hey, look what I did!” But if you look back through the years and remember those who helped get you there, your relay “teammates”, maybe you should say, “Hey, look what we did!”

Blessings.