Singing Makes Me Glad

Posted on May 13, 2011 by jroesler728

This is the final installment of my converstation with Pastor Pete

Feeling I wanted to give something back, I asked Pastor Pete what I could pray for him. He immediately answered that I should pray that he could get his strength back. “I am tearing at the bit to do the things I want to do.” These things include not only holding down one job but two.

One is at a retirement center in Florida and involves ministering to 1200 retirees. He said that some have not yet confessed Christ. His voice broke and tears rolled down his cheeks as he told of a German immigrant who had confessed Christ after he and Treva, his wife, sang Rock of Ages at one of their services.

I knew I had stayed longer than I had intended but I couldn’t resist asking them if they would sing a song for me. Treva went for Pastor Pete’s guitar and pulled up a chair next to him. It wasn’t easy to balance the guitar on the hassock and somehow avoid the surgical tubes that were still in place from his surgery, but after deciding what to sing, they sang together with strength and ease. A second start needed to be made because the family dog, who also enjoyed the music, turned the duet into a trio and needed to be escorted out of the room. Because the room was large with more than one entrance the dog soon found another way in and the duet again became a trio. This is what they sang.

THE CHRIST OF THE HUMAN ROAD

There’s a road we are all called to follow
While here in this world below.
And we oft find it rough and uneven,
While on in life’s pathway we go.
There are hills we must climb as we journey,
And into the valleys descend.
But there’s One who will always go with us.
It’s humanity’s unfailing Friend.

In the long, long ago two disciples
Were walking at the close of the day,
When a stranger drew near and went with them.
Blest thought: He was walking their way.
They were looking for someone to comfort
For they were so lonely and sad.
Then this stranger revealed Himself to them
And He blessed them and made their hearts glad.

CHORUS:

He’s the Christ of the human road
And he offers to carry our load.
He is walking our way
Every night, every day
This Christ of the human road

He is human and yet so divine
And he knows your heart’s sorrow and mine.
In all kinds of need,
He’s a true friend indeed.
This Christ of the human road.

Feeling like I should take my shoes off because I was standing on Holy Ground I instead, once again, prepared to leave.

Pastor Pete said, “Don’t go before you hear Treva play the piano. She’s not had lessons but you need to hear her play Jesus Is All the World to Me.”  The music began as I whispered the question, “How old is she?” He whispered back with pride, “She’s 84.”  As we stood beside the piano, Pastor Pete and I began to sing together. We put our arms on each others shoulders and sang, When I am sad, He makes me glad, He’s my friend. 

My heart continued to sing as I drove out of the long wooded drive.  I had been in deep communion with a good friend of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Does singing make you glad?  With whom do you have to sing and what are your favorites? Share with us the songs that make you glad!

Note: If you missed any of the previous installments of my conversations with Pastor Pete, just click on the tag Pastor Pete and you will find the rest of the story.

Posted in Stories | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

This Is What We Are Here For

Posted on May 11, 2011 by jroesler728

This is a continuation of my conversation with Pastor Pete

At this point, Pastor Pete took the lead in choosing the content of our conversation by saying, “There is such a change now in ministry. When I started, the philosophy of the church leadership was to put the young minister in a place that was almost impossible and if they made it, they made it.” I asked if he thought that was a good thing. He replied, “Yes, it helps you learn how to respond to the things that are going to be coming your way in the pastoral office.” As more memories surfaced he added “seniors were respected in that day. Now, I read an article by one of our Senators that describe seniors as a drag. It is an entirely different perspective.”

 I told him that I believed James Houston when he said we don’t minister to Senior Adults, we benefit from them but I hoped our church didn’t know that or they would stop paying me to do this ministry.

Keeping to this theme, he said that seven years ago, after his first wife died, his son informed him that he would need a new heart valve. Pastor Pete said he knew this would cost, even back then, between $50,000 and $70,000. He said he remembered thinking that he wasn’t worth that and maybe should just join his wife in heaven. He went so far as calling his insurance company and asking them if they thought He was worth it. To my relief, he reported that the answer of the insurance company was “This is what we are here for.” I said it had been a long time since I had heard anyone think they were getting more from their insurance than they deserved. Somehow, the generations which followed his are quick to report that they deserve more than they get.

I said I had one final question. (The half hour I had planned to spend had become actually over an hour but it had seemed like minutes to me.) I said that most of the leadership of our church is younger than I am. I explained that I am the oldest person on our pastoral leadership team and the only women. I asked how I could know when my opinions were preserving tradition that was important to preserve and when I was resisting change. He said that we need to know when we are reaching out without dumbing down. He counseled me to look at what the change is about and then ask 1.) Is it biblical? and 2.) does it further the cause of Christ? I thought, isn’t that what we should be here for–to further the cause of Christ.

What have you done lately to further in the cause of Christ? Share you stories, your ministry with us.

Posted in Stories | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Not Growing Old

Posted on May 9, 2011 by jroesler728

This is a continuation of my conversation with Pastor Pete

Sensing that I was preparing to wrap things up, Pastor Pete asked if he could summarize things. I nodded and listened as these two poems flowed from his heart.

 NOT GROWING OLD*

They say I’m growing old.
I’ve heard it said almost times untold.
In language clear and bold.
But I am not growing old.

This frail shell in which I dwell
Is growing old I know full well.
But I am not the shell.

What matters if time’s old plow
Has plowed some furrows in my brow,
When the Bible tells me of another place
Not made by human hand,
That’s awaiting me now in the Glory Land?

Yes, this human body, do everything I possibly can
To extend my earthly life’s short span,
Will perish and return to dust,
As all things in nature must.

But my true inner self the Scriptures say,
Is growing stronger every day.
So, how can you say I’m growing old
When I know I’m safe within the Savior’s fold?

Ere long my soul will fly away
And leave this tenement of clay.
This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise
To seize the everlasting prize.

And I’ll hope to meet you on the streets of gold
To prove that I am not growing old.

OUR GREYING YEARS**

Our greying years can be very unkind
To gift of body, soul, and mind.
But we find strength to live each day
Through the few talents that did not wash away.

And we better learn to keep and use
Those few talents we did not lose.
And we learn to better make our way
Through years of challenge and dismay.

With truer faith and wiser mind
And fight against the tests of time.
And with those fewer talents God concedes
We learn to live with fewer needs.

*recited from memory based on the poem Not Growing Old by John E Roberts

**Our Greying Years, author unknown

Posted in Stories | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Praying Hands

Posted on May 6, 2011 by jroesler728

I walked into my Grandmother’s nursing home room. I didn’t know if she would recognize me, but I wanted to somehow let her know that I still knew her and that I cared. Her bed was against the wall and she was on her side facing the wall. I squeezed between the bed and the wall, reached over the bedrails and took her hands in mine. She did not respond as I called her name and told her who I was. She was restless. She did grasp my hands and began moving them around in a way that seemed deliberate. I tried to calm her hands by holding them but she was relentless in her movements. Finally I just let my hands fall limply into hers and let her move mine. She wove my fingers into each other until my hands were folded in prayer. Amazed, I said, “Grandma, do you want me to pray?” Her whole body became quiet and she breathed a sigh of relief. Now I knew why I had come.

Do you have a story where a person’s spirit prevails when the mind and body have stopped working? I’d love to hear your stories.

Posted in Stories | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Our Country Prays Today

Posted on May 5, 2011 by jroesler728

Our God and Father, we acknowledge You as the creator of all and the ruler over all power and authority—those recognized as having national significance and those unseen by the human eye.

On a day when our nation is called to pray we love to sing God Bless America. Forgive us when we mentally add “only” or “especially.” As citizens of heaven, we want to confess that we know that God is not an American and America is not our God.

When I was a little girl I thought our country represented Jesus to a world that needed Him. Now, through aging eyes, I see that, as a nation, we are as broken and fallen corporately as I am personally.

 We turn today from faith in our nation and our political systems to place our hope in Christ, alone. We ask forgiveness for creating our own definition of truth. We acknowledge blessings that are clearly an extension of your grace. We ask you to help us steward our blessings to those in greater need. We ask that those of us who have lived long lives would now so live that our grandchildren will inherit a country that lives in prayerful dependence.

 “Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me.” Psalm 27:7

“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:13-14.

Amen

Posted in Prayers and Devotions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

When Do I Prepare for Aging?

Posted on May 4, 2011 by jroesler728

My husband’s mother told him that he would get old if he didn’t die early. That brings a smile but is not, in itself, motivational for making some preparations for aging.

When is the right time to prepare for some of the changes aging brings?

 The answer is quite simple:

You NEED to do it before you NEED to do it because when you NEED to do it, it is too late and someone else will NEED to do it for you.

I remember hearing Dr. Vernon Grounds speak when he was 87 years old. His topic was “Aging is a diminishing experience.”  He talked about diminished energy, resources, family relationships, friendships, living arrangements and empowerment.

We move from the big house to the small house to the apartment to he nursing home and finally to the box.

Our relationship with Jesus enables us to superimpose an ultimate hope that expands as we take this journey. But the process needs to be deliberate and the timing never seems right.

What challenges are you facing? What decisions do you wish your parents would make? Share your stories with us.

Posted in Issues | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Jolted by Memories

Posted on May 2, 2011 by jroesler728

More than 50 years ago…

We were friends. I don’t mean just friends, we were glued to each other. I don’t know if it was by choice or because we were the only girls in our class of 5 in our one room schoolhouse.

Our family farm houses were a couple of miles apart so it was a trip to go to each other’s house but we did it regularly staying overnight whenever we could.

We each had a younger sister, too, so that had to be dealt with.

We went to different churches so we were not in the same Sunday School class but both churches had the same pastor.  One year our church started at 9 and then Sunday School followed. The next year the time was reversed.

One really fun thing about a one-room school is being with bigger smarter kids every day. This was especially good when we played another school in softball. Sometimes when the other team noticed a girl coming up to bat they would step in, expecting a short hit. I remember a time when I slammed it over everybody’s head. The next time I came up to bat they stepped back a little. I don’t know what the real difference is between joy and power.

In the winter we skied on ski’s our dad had made by soaking planks in the reservoir of the kitchen stove and then bending up the tip. A leather strap was pounded into the wood so our boots could get a grip.

Then there was ice-skating when the pond froze over. My ankles always wobbled and I fell a lot. One day one of the boys tripped me and I slammed my head on the ice. All the kids thought it was funny. I felt betrayed and scared. Maybe I was hurt badly.

There were a lot of duties at the school. We sprinkled the floor with sweeping compound when it was our turn to sweep. That red powder was supposed to get the floor clean. Then there were the black boards to wash and the water cooler to fill, not to mention emptying the pail that collected the waste water full of spit and who knows what.

We had hot lunch, I guess, in that there was a round metal basin with water in it that was balanced on an electric hot plate.  We could bring meat and potatoes, or anything we wanted, in a glass jar and heat it in that pan.

The lucky kids had store bought bread with bologna. I had home made bread with home made apple butter. I still remember the scolding I got when I complained. The teacher heaped shame on me as she rehearsed the work my mother went through to bake that bread and make that apple butter. I wondered how I could be so terrible as to wish for store bread with bologna.

Anyway, back to my best friend. We loved doing everything together but we were very jealous of each other, too. Whose hair looked the best? Who was the most popular with the boys? Who got the best grades? Who did the teacher like best?

After we graduated from 8th grade we went to the consolidated High School. Now there were 51 in our class instead of 5.

I wonder why we didn’t stay close friends, but somehow we each made other friends or else didn’t have any depending on the month.Yesterday I learned my friend’s husband had died last week. I called her. We have hardly seen each other in more than 50 years but somehow we know each other well.

Best friends need to get together she said.  Come sleep at my house.

We are making plans but as I remember our childhood I miss knowing who I am. What a jolt!

Have you recently reconnected with someone from your past? What memories did it bring back? Share your stories with us.

Posted in Stories | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Casey’s Rubber Plant

Posted on April 29, 2011 by jroesler728

Sometimes it’s the one added thing that makes it impossible to bear the load. The thing in itself is not the issue. After all, who would give that much credit to a rubber plant?  But, Casey was dying. At least he might be dying. Or, maybe he wasn’t dying. And it was the  “maybe not” from the doctor that pressured Casey’s wife into a frantic search for an apartment on the first floor because Casey couldn’t walk up steps and the home they knew and loved had two flights of stairs.

I was asked if I would go with his wife, Ellen, and help her choose a new apartment. It was decided that I would have a better perspective if I saw the current apartment and how much furniture and other things they had.

There was much to consider, but the focal point was the rubber plant. Ellen looked at it, proudly displaying its shiny leaves in the patio. At that moment, it obviously had become more than just a rubber plant. It was the thing that Casey had planted and tended, nurtured and fussed about. What could she do with the rubber plant? Moving it to a smaller place wasn’t an option, nor was getting rid of it. It suddenly became the thing that made the whole situation too much to bear. Feeling helpless and sensing maybe there was something I could do I stammered, “I’ll take it.”

We wrapped it in plastic bags and gently squeezed it into the back seat of my car. A small baby would not have been handled with more care. The situation now somehow seemed more bearable. A new apartment was chosen and the move was made.

Casey died two days after coming home from the hospital. Ellen was knee deep in boxes, grief, doubt, and confusion. At the memorial service talk I told Ellen and the kids that I felt Casey had acknowledged, in the only language he knew, that he believed that Jesus was the way the truth and the life. At the same time I developed this pressure to keep this rubber plant alive. It seemed a small thing I could do for the family.

In the future I will write more about the rubber plant as there are events that will make you laugh. For today though, recognize that   in life there are many things we can’t control; but it’s often the things we can control, the stresses we add to our life, the rubber trees of our our life, that become the things which make our current situation all too much to bear. Is there a rubber tree in your life? Share your stories with us.

Posted in Stories | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

For the Cause

Posted on April 25, 2011 by jroesler728

This is a continuation of my conversation with Pastor Pete.

I  learned that Pastor Pete plays the guitar and sings, and that Treva, his wife of 5 years, sings duets with him.  I knew that seven years ago his first wife, my friend’s mother, had died. And today I learned that Pastor Pete and Treva had both lost their spouses to death, had been lifelong friends and now had married and were in ministry together.

I told him that I, then at age 60, was thought of as just a kid by some of our senior adults. There were some of them that I wanted to turn out to be like and others I hoped I didn’t turn out to be like. I told him that I had been looking for some principles that might be transferable; that younger people could practice in order to prepare for aging. He was graciously listening attentively so I told him the three things I thought I had discovered so far:

1. An ability to process loss given that aging is a diminishing experience,

2. The ability to accept that our bodies are only designed for temporary use. They are supposed to wear out, and

3. To really grasp, at a heart level,  that there either is a God or there isn’t.

After carefully considering my ideas he said he thought the pivotal factor was real commitment. When I asked him to explain what that meant he said “someone whose word is as good as their written account.”

I then asked Pastor Pete what his goals were for the next decade of his life. He readily answered, “To represent Christ in the best possible way that I can. I’m going to do everything that I can for the cause.” Then, almost as an afterthought he added, “the cause of Christ.” It hardly needed to be said as by now it was clear that for him there was no other cause.

Are you living a life for the cause of Christ? If so, share with us some of the ways in which you live out the “cause.” If you haven’t yet discovered the “cause of Christ,” take time today to reflect on the 3 principles I’ve learned so far, and take stock of where you with these.

Posted in Stories | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Weaver’s Skillful Hand

Posted on April 21, 2011 by jroesler728

This is a continuation of my conversation with Pastor Pete.

As we maintained a steady but comfortable eye contact I asked “What do you know for sure about God?” He repeated thoughtfully, “… about God.” It wasn’t’ the question he was expecting but he reflectively said, “He is changeless, He is omnipotent…”  And then he moved from the academic to the personal and said, “the more you know Him in the years you’ve been together, the more confidence you have that He never fails… that He is always by your side.”

“The comprehension is different now…I think it is all expressed in the song, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, but you only know that in part, the faithfulness of God becomes a deeper reality with the passing of time.”

I asked him if he was surprised at how much suffering God allows in the lives of His children. He reflected on his two open heart surgeries and now this horrendous ordeal for the surgical treatment of pancreatic cancer. He referred to life as “…this deal…” and then quoted:

The Master Weaver’s Plan*

           My life is but a weaving between my Lord and me.

I cannot see the colors; He worketh steadily

Oft times he weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper, and I the underside.

Not till the looms are silent and the shuttles cease to fly

Shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why

The dark threads are as needful in the Weaver’s skillful hand

As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.

I suggested that poetry seems to be helpful to him and he said, “yes, but music even more so.”

Poems and music are wonderful tools which help us capture feelings and memories of those things that are important to us in life. The Book of Psalms is rich in displaying the attributes of God, the hymns we sing acclaim our praise, and the faith stories we share pass on our faith to the next generation.

What words of inspiration have meaning for you? Maybe it’s a favorite poem, or something you’ve written yourself. Take the time today to recite them to someone else, write them down for your children or grandchildren, and share them with us.

The Master Weaver’s Plan, author unknown

Posted in Stories | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment