September 11th, 2001, a day we will all remember here in America and around the world. I was sitting on a plane at the Baltimore/Washington airport waiting to fly to New England through New York air space when we were all asked to disembark the plane and to go home. That day, 2,996 people would lose their lives.
I remember reading about the final calls being made to spouses and loved ones. Over 1,000 phone calls were made within ten minutes of the first plane hitting the first tower and thousands more made thereafter. These would be calls in which the two parties would never speak again on this side of heaven. While we can’t predict our death, some of the persons in those two towers and planes had an opportunity to share some last words.
These were the final words from a stewardess, “Hi baby. I’m, baby…you have to listen to me carefully. I’m on a plane that’s been hijacked…I want to tell you that I love you…please tell the children…I’m sorry.” Another, “The only thoughts I have are of Nicholas, Ian and you. I am terrified. I needed to tell you that I truly love you.” And then there was this one, “It’s not looking good. I want you to know I absolutely love you. I want you to do good, have good times…I just totally love you…goodbye, babe.”
As I look at the anniversary of a very sad day, I can’t help but think about final words. What would I say in a last phone call? What would I tell my wife? Perhaps that question is a good exercise for today while we’re alive and well.
If you had one last call, fearing a close end, what would you say to your spouse or your loved one? Please say it now, don’t wait.
I recently read a Reader’s Digest article called, The Nature Cure and was totally intrigued. I will share some of the information from that article below. It seemed to verify what I have believed and incorporated into my life, certainly appreciating that this periodical would help to validate this belief.
Did you know pediatricians are now telling parents with young families to regularly visit parks so the whole family can de-stress and play? When is the last time you went camping, hiking in the mountains, visited gardens, introduced your child to the wonders of a stick, sat around a campfire, watched a sunset, played in a creek, observed butterflies or sat by a lake?
Someone once shared with me these words, “I’ll respect him when he starts respecting me.” Still another said, “When she starts acting respectable, I’ll show her respect.” Really? Since when is respect conditional upon another respecting you?
I love how author Gary Thomas weighs in on this very subject, “As our partners and their weaknesses become more familiar to us, respect often becomes harder to give. But this failure to show respect is more a sign of spiritual immaturity than it is an inevitable pathway of marriage.” He also notes, “When there is mutual respect in marriage, selflessness becomes contagious…. If you want to obsess about them [weaknesses], they’ll grow, but you won’t!”
There are those who attend church on Sunday and live according to anything but those thoughts Monday through Saturday. I can remember as a young teen listening to the minister read the scripture Sunday morning and then close by saying, “Here endeth the word of the Lord for today.” I remember thinking, I’ve got news for you; here endeth the word for the week for me. So, yes, I’ve felt like a fake and I’ve been a fake at times.
Perhaps lechery is a word you are not familiar with. If you look into its meaning the dictionary states, “…unrestrained or excessive indulgence of sexual desire.” I have come across this “desire” within some marriages. Usually, it is the man who relentlessly pursues an inordinate desire for sexual relations, but this is not always the case.
If you have been through a divorce, you know first-hand the devastation and loss that travels with the experience. There all always more damages than one can possibly be prepared for. Often, a divorce has been forced against someone’s own personal will, while the state laws favor the breakup of the marriage and leave them no choice or alternative but a divorce.
However, before this chapter ends, God tells Jeremiah on several occasions to go and share these words of affirmation, “Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord, I will frown on you no longer for I am merciful…for I am your husband…for I will cure your backsliding.” He, in his faithfulness, takes an unfaithful people back. He just can’t stop showing His mercy, His kindness and His forgiveness. That is the heart of the God we serve. Even though He experiences unfaithfulness, He remained faithful to Israel.
Many years ago, after a particularly difficult trial I was put through at the hands of another leader who was lying and misrepresenting his position for personal gain, I left that particular meeting pretty downcast and confused. I knew he was not telling the truth, as did my wife, but there was really no defense to be made. It was one of those times in your life that you know you were just going to have to deal with the personal pain and loss. As well, we worked closely with this person and that fact did not help the matter.
Are you walking through a trial right now? Are you facing a hardship or a broken relationship? Have you been hurt or suffered loss in some way not provoked by your own behavior? It is this time of the year that we remember the New Testament guarantee of resurrection life. For after every death you die, there is a promised resurrection!
I’m not sure if you recognized it, but my title for this blog is actually a verse in the Bible. It’s found in Song of Songs. I find this verse to be fascinating. I know scientifically that while I sleep, my mind is awake, but according to this verse my heart can be also.
He showed up one day at my high school. A couple of my friends and I began to pepper him with questions. “Where are you from? What’s your name? Why did your family move here?”
Snowy bowed his knee to Jesus and a brand-new relationship began between us. He allowed me to disciple him and then the request came to water baptize him. His pastor told me the tradition in their church was to baptize two times backward and one time forward and then he said, “Are you okay with that?” I told him if I had the honor to baptize my friend in his church’s baptismal pool, I would do it standing on my head.
Along with the Patriot Guard, I have had the privilege and honor of serving Snowy and his family by ministering at his full military memorial service. It was a final opportunity to bless this man who came from Alaska just to be my forever close friend. Thank you, Snowy, for the laughs, the rides to the beach in your amazingly fast Mustang, hanging out at your garage, the many spiritual discussions and our many, but not enough, breakfast meetings.
In a vision the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, has (Isaiah 6:8), God asks who He should send as a prophet to His people. Isaiah immediately responds in two sentences and five total words, “Here am I. Send me!” Have you ever said, “Here am I, send me” to God or have you hesitated, knowing He just might take you up on it? When I was a parent of younger children and asked who was available for a job, my kids would tend to make themselves scarce quickly. That reaction to a voice of authority is not uncommon.
Steve Prokopchak 