Monday, March 26, 2012

Rest Stop

Ahhh, thank goodness for those welcome blue signs along the interstate: "Rest Area." Sometimes, after a long drive, you just need to rest w/a capital R. As in REAL sore Rear from Ridin' Real Far.

You wouldn't think sitting on your afforementioned backside would cause that much discomfort, but last weekend my left cheek was giving me fits and I don't mean the cheek up by my nose. Rest was required - as in stop the car right now, get out and perambulate a bit. Out in the middle of a sunny South Dakota prairie the American Creek recreation Area rest stop near Oacoma and Chamberlin provides the perfect place for such perambulation, especially on an especially fine early spring March day.

It wasn't so fine back in September of 1804 when Meriweather Lewis and Willam Clark (remember them, of Lewis & Clark expedition & exploration fame?) stopped in the same place. Their gear soaked, bodies and spirits bedraggled, they decided they and their crew had just about had it. Though they didn't have the benefit of the blue signs to guide them, they found this Missouri River pit stop the perfect refuge for resting up, refueling on buffalo meat, wild plums and acorns (mmm, my,

don't they sound scrumptious?). Refreshed, renewed and all dried out, they packed up after a spell and continued their way west. This oasis was apparently so appealing that they scheduled a return visit on their trek back home after proving that, indeed, Thomas Jefferson had not wasted the new country's money after all in a "foolish" land purchase (assuming that one appreciated rushing rivers, majestic mountains and wondrous wildlife!).

We didn't kill any wild buffalo at the rest stop (forgot my shootin' iron at home). Mcdonald's apple slices had to substitute for the wild plums. We had some mixed nuts, but the Wal-Mart brand sadly includes no acorns (actually wasn't aware humans could eat them; in my 21st century world they are solely and happily reserved for neighborhood squirrels). We did get "dried out," so to speak, courtesy of the clean South Dakota restrooms; we stretched our legs (and those of the derierre) on a pleasant stroll out to the the concrete teepee overlooking the river (don't knock concreete teepees 'til you see 'em - they're kind of sturdy, out west looking cool). We took our rest and were soon ready to resume our own journey west.

Jesus knew about our need for rest and renewal. Even He needed it from time to time. Mark 6:31 says, "Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Jesus, Himself, is our rest. Matthew 11:28 & 29: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." He provides this rest day by day, hour by hour and minute by minute. It is free. It is always available. And no blue signs required.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Breathtakingly Beautiful


Today is breathtakingly beautiful - sunny, warm - and it's only March 13! It brought to mind an article I wrote several years ago about the Hawaiian island of Moloka'i and the Kalaupapa Peninsula.


Kalaupapa is breathtaking. What is officially called Makanalua Peninsula on the Hawaiian island of Moloka’i (between Maui and Oahu), Kalaupapa juts out into the churning Pacific Ocean; it is cut off from the rest of the island by 3,000 foot majestic sea cliffs, the tallest in the world. Standing on the shore, watching waves crash relentlessly against the craggy lava rocks, one feels a sense of truly being in a place the world has left behind. Which is precisely why, in 1866 King Kamehameha V chose this spot to leave some of his subjects behind - permanently.

Hansen’s Disease, or “leprosy” as it was commonly known, had come to the islands in the 1830’s. Much feared, the dreaded malady attacked the skin, flesh and nerves. Nodules, ulcers, scaly scabs and deformities resulted. Death was not uncommon. With no cure in sight, Kamehameha signed the “Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy”, setting aside land to isolate people who might spread the communicable scourge if “left at large.”

People with advanced cases of leprosy (and later even those merely suspected of having it or those related to a sufferer) were exiled to Kalaupapa. It was a place devoid of amenities - no buildings or shelters, no drinking water and certainly no medical treatment of any kind. Plucked from their families and abandoned to the land, these unfortunates were forced to fend for themselves as best they could, or as was the case for many, as they could not.

Stories tell of some victims arriving by ship, being forced to jump overboard to swim for their lives or dangle from ropes stretched from anchored ship to the shore, painfully inching their way to land and comparative safety.

No amount of reward or payment could induce healthy people to stay and keep order in the settlement. Everyone was afraid - deathly afraid - until one man, Joseph DeVeuster, set aside his fear and gave his heart to the people.

Born in Belgium, this Catholic priest known as “Father Damien” arrived at Kalaupapa in 1873 and remained there until his death. Appalled at deplorable conditions in which the people were forced to live, disregarding his own health and safety, Damien built proper homes and churches and worked tirelessly to extract government funding for medical services. He was a doctor, a pastor, a confidante, a comforter, and advocate. He became one of the people - in every sense of the word - as he himself contracted the disease and died after 16 years of service, in 1889.

Jesus came, too, in a sense, to a group of “lepers.” Knowing humankind was lost, abandoned to perdition because of the fatal scourge of sin, He became one of them, one of us. Fully man, He walked, talked, ate, felt pain, cried and slept. Fully God, he became the perfect sacrifice, sent to save forever his beloved, wayward creation. “For the Son of Man,” says Jesus in Luke 19:10, “came to seek and to save what was lost.”

Damien came to Kalaupapa to bring the outcasts a better life, to make the best of what they had left on earth. But when he died, their help was gone. Others had to come after him, to carry on. When Jesus came and died, he rose again and no more help was needed. He is our living Advocate, our help, our hope. Where we were once cut off and left behind, because of Jesus we are free and have no need to fear ever being left again. Jesus doesn’t make better of what we have left - He guarantees us His best, breathtakingly beautiful yet to come!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Glossophobia Be Gone!


American Idol, we weren’t. But we had contestants (of sorts) and judges (once again – of sorts!), one guy on either side of the grandma (Steven, Randy and J-Lo needn’t schlep up to the unemployment line!); the supportive audience was there, too.

It was an area-wide Christian schools speech meet. Students, 1st-6th graders, gathered together to present their memorized poems, stories and Bible passages – with not much “glossophobia” in sight.

“Glossophobia” is the fear of public speaking (“glosso” = tongue and “phobia” = fear) and statistics say 3 out of 4 people suffer from it. In fact, some folks would rather die than have to speak in front of a group. Getting your mouth to work properly and intelligently while your knees knock in front of others is usually listed as the #1 fear. The malady can hold people back in their careers and can be seen as a social negative.
That’s not to say that several of the youngsters this morning didn’t suffer with nervous tummies or sweaty palms. In fact, a couple of them appearing before our judicial trio looked as if they’d rather have been back in their classroom taking a math test, getting a cavity filled at the dentist or just about anywhere at all rather than reciting an Aesop fable from memory in front of all those strangers.

But, you know – each one of the 13 3rd graders we had the privilege to hear spoke up, looked up and pushed right through those butterflies flying around their insides. Not a one gave up, even if a couple of the beginnings were a tad shaky. Each child learned that fear doesn’t have to be fearsome, that quitting is for quitters and super things can come from sticking to it.

John Wayne once quipped that “courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” Congrats to those young ones today for “getting their saddle on” and showing some of us “old ones” just how to ride!

Psalm 31:24 “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.”