I have three doctors that I visit at least once a year. My general practitioner, cardiologist, and dentist. There are others that I see as well when needed. I was thinking about “The Wizard of Oz” and how that movie can give me some insight into why these visits are or are not conducive to a healthy lifestyle.
When Dorothy lands in Oz and wants to return home, she is given the ruby slippers from the feet of the deceased wicked witch of the East. Glenda the good witch magically transfers them to her feet. She can’t return them to the family of the dead witch, and this sends her on a journey to Oz to find the Wizard.
If you have not seen this film in a while, I urge you to watch it again, or even for the first time. It may be old. It is still a classic. You may be wondering how Dorothy’s trip to the Emerald City is like our visits to our physicians. No, you do not have to take three friends with you. Some of us may need another to interpret what they say or to aid in our remembering what we need to talk to them about.
The main similarity is in the interaction between the two parties. The Wizard instructs Dorothy to complete a task when she sees him for the first time. This encounter is frightening for her and her friends. The problem is with bringing back the broomstick of the Wicked Witch.
When our doctors tell us to revise our eating habits, take prescribed medicines, or follow an exercise or therapy plan, it may be as hard as getting that broom. Keep in mind that if you don’t follow the doctor’s orders, you will not have a good time at the next meeting.
Dorothy brought the broom and still had trouble. The problem was that her Wizard was a humbug. Her words. He did not have the abilities and training needed to get her home. They finally found a solution. It was ruby slippers. That is a modern-day fairy tale.
For most of us, there is not a simple trick to correcting our health. It may be more than an hour’s trek through a scary wood. We may spend months or years seeing the same or different doctor many times. My heart condition must be monitored at least once a year. My diabetes requires more frequent checkups. Now I must have an annual examination to satisfy the Medicare folks.
What about the humbugs or quacks that we may encounter. Before you make an appointment, answer the questions that the scheduler asks. Be as specific as you can. Do not go to an ophthalmologist if your toe is hurting.
Have you heard about the man who had gone to five different doctors and decided to try one more? The physician asked, “What is the problem?” He explained, “When I touch my nose it hurts. When I touch my ear, it hurts and when I touch my foot it hurts.” The doctor’s reply was “That’s an easy one.” The astounded patient responds, “Easy, five other doctors said I was a hypochondriac.” His new doctor simply tells him, “Your finger is broken.”
I want to talk to you about some things today. The first is family and friends. I am fortunate that I have had a lot of family all my life. I have two older brothers and a younger sister thanks to my mom and dad. In addition, there was an abundance of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Many are now gone, but each generation is larger than the last.
The truth is that we are not as close as we once were. We have family reunions and attend funerals and sometimes even weddings. Not like we used to. The youngest generation doesn’t seem to marry as often as we did. Some of my cousins got married two or three times each. We all just tend to die once and recently we are living longer. I know it isn’t due to healthy living.
What brought on this wave of nostalgia? A commercial about one of these delivery services. A lady is lying in her bed and there is some unidentifiable noise and movement around her. The camera pans back and her bed is caught between two automatic doors. The voice-over says, “If you can’t take your bed to the store” then they will bring whatever you need to you.
Guess what, isn’t that what friends and family are for? In the bad old days before smartphone apps, you just picked up the phone plugged into the wall and called family or a friend to bring you what you needed.
We are suffering from violence, attacks, and other crimes on more people than ever. There seems to be no way to avoid this. My wife and I seldom leave our home at night. We have a security system at our place, and we know our neighbors. We feel secure in our home.
Do we need to have random strangers coming to our homes bringing groceries, medications, and prepared foods? There are cases where these random strangers return later, and you are no longer safe. If I do not know you, I won’t invite you into my home.
We go out to pick up carry-out. We do not choose Door Ditch, Pan Handle Pete, or Consta Cart to bring things to us. We occasionally ask our pharmacy to deliver prescriptions. We used to call the pizza place for delivery until the drivers looked like the perps on Blue Bloods or the undercover cops from Chicago PD. We have taken medicines to our kids for their kids or themselves. Especially when they were quarantined during the COVID-19 crisis.
Have you seen the original Crocodile Dundee movie? You know, the one named “Crocodile Dundee.” There is a scene in it where Dundee is told that the reporter, he is visiting in New York needs to go to a therapist. Mick doesn’t understand. He asks, “Don’t you have any mates?”
Friends and family or mates used to help each other out. They still do in some communities. Our neighbors, church community, and close family still do. I’ve been called by cousins and friends to officiate at weddings and funerals as well as get someone to a doctor or take food to them when they are ill. It costs us money not to have people we trust and on whom we can depend.
The next time you need something and can’t go get it for yourself, stop and think of whom you can call to bring it to you. Can’t think of anyone? How about one of those that you did the same thing for last week? It’s been a while since you helped someone else? Maybe that is the problem?
This morning there was another deadly shooting in Springfield, Missouri where I live. The news report currently being released says that two men are dead and two other men are in custody. This was in a residential area and those arrested were taken at a convenience store in a business area that is close to the home where the attack happened.
Another report talked about the increase in traffic fatalities nationwide. They mentioned a few of the tragic collisions that made the national news in the last year. Is there any way to avoid these situations?
I don’t have to give those who have read my memoir “Doulos” the story that explains my concern for accidental shootings. I have not shared another story about a shooting that my wife and I were witnesses to. A few months ago, we were grocery shopping. We left our car parked in a handicapped space close to the doors.
As we pulled into the row of cars, I noticed a young lady standing near a car that was across from us. We were in the market for at least a half hour. When we returned to our vehicle, she was still there. As we prepared to pull out the conversation escalated.
We did not understand most of what she said. None of the other person’s words could be heard by us. She was backing away from the car with the driver’s door open. A man bolted towards her. My wife immediately called 911 on her phone.
Before she could complete the call, the woman pulled a small gun from her purse and fired one shot into her attacker’s chest. He fell to the ground. She began screaming that she had shot him. A nurse that had been behind her when she fired, bent down to check on the injured man while she ran and laid the gun on the hood of the car opened a back door, and removed a baby.
This all happened in a few short minutes. What should we have done? We both considered leaving the scene. We did not need to because she was more concerned with her child than she was with bystanders. Let’s talk about what to do if you are present when shots are fired.
In our situation, had she waved the gun around as other supposed witnesses reported, we would have vacated the area immediately. We had no need to do that because she put the weapon down and we were not in danger. In the case of the shooting last night one witness heard five shots while she was in bed. We were not told what she did. What should you do?
Take cover. Do not look outside. You may become a target. Stray shots may enter your home. Put as much between you and the exterior as you can. Walls, furniture, and space are some of the things to separate you from danger. If the shots sound like they are inside, hide and be quiet or leave the house. Vacating should not be done until you determine you can do that safely. Each situation is different.
Let’s discuss a situation like the recent tragedy in Kansas City. If you are outside and hear shots, you probably want to hide and wait to run until you are aware of where the shooter or shooters are. Getting down might be safer unless you can see where the shots are coming from. I won’t tell you to remain calm. You already know to do that. The question is how to do it.
Now about those traffic accidents. Do not allow yourself to become angry. Road rage will escalate the situation. Again, you know to stay calm. Stay observant while you are driving. If you aren’t driving, be observant. Do not yell at the driver, if you think you see something that could possibly be dangerous, use as quiet a voice as you can and be specific about what you see.
Do not scream “Look Out.” “Do you see that kid running this was?” would be a better way to handle it. I once saw deer running toward the highway I was driving on. I had a matter of seconds to decide what to do. I put the pedal to the metal. One of the animals jumped over the trunk of my car. And the others crossed safely.
I have always driven defensively. My dad was a trucker and he taught us to drive safely as we were traveling. Mom did the same. The best way is to be shown proper conduct. Do not get in a vehicle with an unsafe driver. Our daughters had friends they wanted to go with and we questioned their skills. Our answers were no to these requests.
Do you stop and let other traffic from side streets proceed when it is rush hour? I was in an accident when someone did that. I was in the inside lane where traffic was still moving. I was hit by a driver who could not see me coming. He did not approach my lane with caution. I tried to avoid him but was not successful. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Stop and think about where you are and what you are doing whether you are driving, walking, or sitting quietly at home. Accidents happen regardless of how careful we are. Others can create dangerous situations that we may be able to avoid. I no longer like to be in crowds. I’m not afraid of being shot. I’m tired of rude people. Try not to be rude. I’ll do the same.
The following article was published ten years ago. The man who killed Hailey was tried and convicted. During the search for the missing girl and when notification of her death was made by the Police our pastor was there with the family because a former SPD officer from our church called him because the family needed someone and he made himself available.
Ten years ago
I have to step out of my reporter persona and talk as I would to friends. This will not be an impartial story, but one of personal anguish and grief. The Amber Alert went out last night and when I first heard of it, I did not realize who Hailey Owens was. The reports of her kidnapping came across the television and as with most child abductions I hear about, I stopped and prayed for the safe return of this little girl.
6 years ago
As the evening went on it became apparent that I should know who this girl was. She had attended our church on Wednesday nights for a weekly children’s program. The children would come in for our fellowship dinner and if their parents were not there, we adults would have them sit with our families.
Daughter Michelle is a teacher at the local school and is familiar with most of the children that attend the school. Hailey was a quiet, timid child who often found a place at the table with my wife and I and our daughter’s family. Because she was such a well-behaved and quiet girl she did not stand out in my memory.
10 years ago.
The picture with this article is the one that I saw this morning after I heard the report that her body had been found near where she was allegedly taken. My heart broke when I saw these pictures. I remembered her and regretted not getting to know her more.
Life in this world is short, but these tragedies remind us that our sinful state can reduce that time even more. We grieve with Hailey’s family and hope they will understand how much we love this shy, sweet girl. Our lives are better for knowing her and less for this tragedy.
I am a child of the fifties. I began school in the fall of 1960. When the decade changed to the seventies, I was in high school. I wrote a feature story about how it felt to begin a new decade which was published in my high school newspaper. I wanted to become a journalist. That was where I was headed.
I remember when Allan Shepherd became the first American to fly in the first Mercury manned spacecraft. I watched Walter Cronkite in front of our TV as Mr. Shepherd took that historic ride. I was there for the launch of all six Mercury flights including John Glenn’s Friendship 7 orbital flight and Gordon Cooper’s final Mercury flight in Faith 7.
The original plan was for the first three flights to be sub-orbital.
I watched every launch of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. I saw most of the splashdowns. My life revolved around the NASA space program and the astronauts. When I graduated from high school, there was one more moon mission to be flown. In my opinion, the manned space program showed the greatness of America.
Yes, we beat the Russians to the moon. We do not know for sure, but it is assumed that more cosmonauts were lost during their programs than were killed in our entire history of space flight. Does this make America great? I think that depends on your perspective.
The Russians who put themselves at risk were willing to risk their lives just as Americans and others have. America has never been great because of our government. We are great because of our people. Our government started the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; however, it took courageous men to go into space. These men were my heroes.
As a boy, teenager, young man, and eventually a father I looked at these heroes as people that I wanted to emulate. I knew I did not have the courage, physical stamina, and intelligence that astronauts had. I did have the courage to become a husband and father. My dad had been my hero for many years. He was up there with those astronauts.
I had given up my dream of being a journalist to surrender to be a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As I trained to be a preacher, I learned that what made America great was the gospel of Christ as it has been represented in the American citizen. Not everyone born in the United States does things that make this country great.
Today there is a slogan used by a political group Make America Great Again. This is abbreviated MAGA. Because of the person who started using this slogan while running for President, many of us do not view MAGA as a positive force. My personal viewpoint has always been that America is great because of great Americans.
You are probably one of these people that I am talking about. How do we make our country great? We must be good citizens. That means respecting others and being willing to work. We must be kind to others. Patience is a virtue. There are many virtues.
I find it depressing that some believe that America is great or not because of whoever is President. He is one man. An entire country is not good or bad because of one man. Our constitution says that our government is by the people and for the people. A person is singular. We the people is plural.
I believe that it is our responsibility to Keep America Great. Would you comment below if you agree that we must keep America great? I would like to see as many of us who are making this a wonderful world adopt the slogan Keep America Great, not Make America Great Again. Which do you believe in, an America that needs to be made great or keeping it great by treating others as we want to be treated?
We all work too hard. Or do we? On weekend mornings when my wife is off work, we fix a nice breakfast wash dishes, and clean up the kitchen. When I was a boy, we had no dishwasher. When my mom was a girl, the water had to be carried from the pump outside the house.
Her father and brothers butchered the hog and cured the bacon. Her mother made the sausage. Her sisters gathered the eggs, milked the cow, and helped make the biscuits and gravy. Grandma told Mom stories of helping to harvest and thresh the wheat each year and take it to the grist mill for grinding into flour.
Mom’s grandma told them she had to grind the corn and wheat by hand. They only processed enough each day for what they needed for that day’s meals. Her father went out in the woods and shot game for each day’s meals. Some days there was nothing in the area and he tried to catch fish. If that failed, bread or mush was all they had.
I work too hard when I plant my garden or mow my lawn. Some days the old push mower is hard to start. Last year I had to have someone help me put the belt back on my rider. Gas and oil are so expensive that some weeks it can feel like I would like to go back to the old push mower my dad used when he mowed their lawn on Nichols Street.
He told us, boys, that sharpening the blades on that mower was much more difficult with a file than taking the blade off our gas-powered mower and sharpening it with a grinder. He often wished that he was like his grandfather and only had to plow and harvest the garden and did not need to mow the yard because the goats and sheep took care of that.
In one of the jobs I had, I worked fifty hours a week for the same money I was paid at my previous position for a forty-hour week. I worked too hard for that money. At another company, I worked for sixty hours or more each week to get that business back on its feet. I spent three months with only one other employee to help.
I’ve read that in the early history of this country it was not unusual for factory and office workers to work an eighty-to-ninety-hour week for less than a dollar a week. That is why they came here because they had a chance to start their own businesses and not be dependent on an owner and would have something to hand to their children. Social Security did not exist until the 1930s. Most people could never retire unless their families could support them when they could no longer work.
I don’t even want to think about the farm by Marshfield that I went to with my brothers for two weeks each summer to help shovel out the silo, harvest the garden, and pick wild blueberries, strawberries, and gooseberries for little pay. Well, maybe come to think of it, I don’t work as hard as I thought.
Thanks for reading this, now I must go take my lunch out of the freezer pop it in the microwave, and wait a few minutes before I can eat. Life sure is hard in the twenty-first century.
Yes, February second is just around the corner. Most of us just ignore the note on the calendar. There are no sales on Amazon, Penney’s, or Kohls. We do not have the day off from our jobs unless we schedule vacation. What is there to say or write about this stupid holiday?
I want to promote traditional meals like Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Chanuka. We do receive time off for some of these festivals. We still put together a big meal for our families. They are full of traditional dishes from our cultures that have been passed down for weeks, months, or even years. Some are traditions spanning over ten years.
This year it falls on a Friday. Your family may want to celebrate on Saturday or Sunday. Be like the Reagans from the “Blue Bloods” show and have a Sunday dinner for once. They do it every week and someone is almost always called during the meal. Your group does not have to solve a murder, a terrorist crisis, or even the New York Times crossword puzzle.
Eggs are for Easter, barbeque is for Independence Day, turkey for Thanksgiving, and green beer is served on St. Patrick’s Day. What could we possibly serve for Groundhog’s Day? When my children were young, I served sausage on a Saturday that was designated on the calendar as this neglected holiday. I informed them that we would begin this special day by eating the ground hog.
They were not reading my words. They thought I said groundhog. No space between two words. I continue this tradition when I can. This year I decided that instead of promoting what the politicians are trying to shove down our throats I wanted to encourage the hog farmers to keep up the good work. They have a legitimate reason for slinging slop.
At some point on Groundhog Day weekend serve your favorite kind of ground hog. It can be links, patties, Italian sausage on a pizza, or any other form of ground pork in whatever recipe your family enjoys. For those of you in the northern states that have never heard of it you could even serve biscuits with sausage gravy. I remember asking for them in a hotel restaurant in Philadelphia one morning and the waitress looked at me like I was crazy.
That may have been justified because some know I am crazy. She had just met me and had no other clue about my mental status. Family recipes can be used to enhance any celebration. Do you have a breakfast casserole recipe that you use for Christmas which includes sausage? This is the perfect time to serve it for lunch or dinner.
I know some of my readers may wonder why I am having fun with this whimsical holiday. I enjoy trying to be funny when I write. It is difficult to insert humor when you are speaking of serious subjects. I have the most fun when I can sound ridiculous in what is a truly outrageous column. Join me on the second of February with possibly your first Groundhog Day ground hog feast. Enjoy.
My first job was as a fry cook at Dog ‘N Suds drive-in in Springfield, Missouri. It paid $1.25/hour. I loved it. Mr. and Mrs. Costello were the owners. Two of their three sons worked there also. They were still in school. I was a student at Hillcrest High School. This was the summer between my sophomore and junior years. Most of the other employees were or had been students at Central High School. We had a great time.
Within a few months, I was trained to do everything in the small kitchen. I learned to make root beer and cola syrups and place the containers on the drink fountains. I took orders from the speaker and even helped the carhops take orders out. I chopped tomatoes, lettuce, and onions. I closed some evenings and even came over during the school year and missed a class or two my senior year. New employees came and left. Between my freshman and sophomore year in college, I also left.
My Mom worked at the Zenith Television plant. She helped me get on. I had turned eighteen the previous summer and met the age requirement. I loved the pay. I hated the job. I was working on a final line. My job was to hang the tuner and put in three or four screws depending on the model going down the conveyor. If it had not been for my German vocabulary cards, I would have gone insane. It was dull boring work.
My first week I learned that I was not to help the people next to me on the line. There were two screws the person before me had to tighten. They were already installed. Sometimes the set was in front of me, and these bolts had not been torqued down. I was reprimanded when the supervisor caught me doing this after my job was done.
The screws I installed were the same size as the ones the next guy had to put in. He then hung something on them and tightened them down. When I picked up these screws from my bin, I might have two extra and thought it efficient to put them in when I had time. That was also a no-no. This was a union job. Each employee had their own job to do. You could not help each other. That was stupid to me.
At the end of the summer, I quit before I had to join the union and returned to college. I went to work at a restaurant as a busboy and dishwasher. The work was not hard. It also was not challenging. The pay was not as good as the factory, but I was back in classes.
The next fall I commuted thirty miles to college and the second semester I lived in a dormitory. I did not work my junior year and spent the summer working as a summer missionary in Pennsylvania. The pay was not much. I learned a great deal about Christian ministry. When I returned home, my fiancé and I started planning our spring wedding after graduating.
I took a job at a new fast-food chain that was opening. It was the first in the area. By the time I graduated, I was offered a job in the management trainee program. I took it and they moved us. I left because of problems with the management and worked several jobs before we returned to Springfield. I had worked in management at a convenience store, as a door-to-door salesman, and as a marketing director for a small company. These were added to my resume.
Back at home, I took a sales position at a retail pet store. I moved to another store as the manager and then left there to take a job for the wholesale company the owner had that supplied his stores and others in the area. I was the assistant livestock manager because I had read everything I could about the pets. When the purchasing agent left my two previous bosses recommended me for the job. They both told the owner that I could do anything they asked of me.
I have always enjoyed learning something new and taking on challenges. When I left there, I started as a parts distributor for the manufacturing industry. I was hired as the purchasing agent and became office manager, outside sales, inside sales, and ultimately operations manager. After twenty-five years I was passed over for the branch manager’s position.
My district supervisor described me as the best inside guy in the company. When I was operations manager, I worked both the office and in outside sales putting in eighty or more hours a week for the same money. For the first time in three years, we returned to making a profit for the company. I was rewarded by having a former employee re-hired and made my boss.
My next position was as a buyer for one of the companies that was a customer for the last twenty-five years. I was done with sales. I continued to work for manufacturers until I retired as purchasing manager. Each position had good and bad points and good and bad management and employees. There is no perfect job. Life is as good as you want to make it. That includes your work life. Learn all you can to be able to move to the next level. That may not be at your current company.
If your employer offers training through a local college or trade school, take advantage of it. Give the loyalty and hard work that is required for each new position. Do not stay any longer than you must when situations change from good to bad. Do not change jobs because someone has offered you more money.
There is a reason they want you and it may not be as advantageous a position as you think at first. Many coworkers over the years left the company we worked for only to return when they were terminated. I turned down jobs because God told me not to take them. Once I wanted a position so badly that I prayed for it not to be offered to me if it was not where I should be. They did not and I eventually found a better position.
I’ve been laid off, fired, and quit. I’ve lost jobs I liked and ones I hated. Bosses have liked me, hated me, abused me, and taken advantage of me. The one I have always tried to please is Jesus whom I call Lord. I work for Him and He has always had my back. That is the best advice I can give you about liking what you are doing. “Work as unto the Lord.” Colossians 3:23
There is a term that is used today for those of us who are creative. We are often called makers. I understand that. We use words, materials, ideas, and objects to “make” something. We are not creating something from nothing as Jehovah did when He brought the universes into being. I am still a creator when I use my thoughts to form words and ideas.
There are those of us who have not experimented with this ability to take what we possess and make it something new and unusual. I like doing things that are un-e-kew. You normally think of it as unique. I pronounce it my own way, un-e-kew. I also create words and phrases that you have not heard before. Often, I find out that I did not create them.
I wanted a way to designate political party members as being overboard in the way they embraced their political party affiliation. I refer to them as Republicrats and Demicans. It does not matter what group you stand for, if you believe that you are always correct and anyone who agrees with you is also infallible then you fit the meaning of these words.
A Young Republican once was explaining to me why a democratic congressman should be forced to step down while a Republican who was accused of the same things could wait until he was actually convicted of these offenses. He was one of the first Republicrats I knew. Many have crawled out of the woodwork since then.
I have also used the terms doginality, catanality, and animality for years. When I refer to what others call their pet’s personalities, I use these terms. We treat our pets like people, but they are not human. Thank God. They are better than us. Many of these traits cross the lines. Others are similar to the way we humans act.
Cats are distant, aloof, and opinionated. We all know that dogs have owners and cats have staff. Some of these canines and felines are loving, hateful, and contrary. We have had many animals in our family. They all have certain characteristics that we find challenging and endearing. That makes life fun.
In the sixth grade Mr. McNeil asked us to memorize this poem.
We know some monkeys or apes can be mean but they would never make a movie called “Planet of the Humans.”
I am sure I have used other words and phrases in my writing that I have created or borrowed. You may wonder what I mean when you catch me in this. If so, just make a comment and I will try to explain myself.
Am I? Trapped, that is. I know some people who are stuck in jobs they do not enjoy. I was there on more than one occasion. My last two jobs were not the ones I really wanted. There were different reasons that I did not want to be there.
Personality conflicts and bad management practices were two reasons. Another job that I worked in for twenty-five years had similar problems. I stayed there hoping that I could make changes to improve these difficulties. After I realized I could not God led me to a job I loved. A layoff I had no control over, took me from there.
Some are in bad relationships. We may be the ones who need to change our attitudes or actions. Others are not always completely at fault when there is trouble communicating and we can grow apart if we do not change positively. My wife and I often discuss ways that we have changed in the last forty-seven years. Compromise is the reason we have stayed together. And, of course, love.
I had a bout with addiction a few years ago. I did not know it at the time. I found myself in the emergency room with flu-like symptoms. The doctor sent me home to recover. A friend suggested that I might be going through withdrawal from the opioids I had been taking for pain following bypass surgery.
The fourteen symptoms that I was told were a virus were listed as withdrawal symptoms on an opioid website. I had become addicted in a short time. Now, healthcare professionals are learning that what manufacturers told them was incorrect. Smaller dosages did trap some people in less time than was believed at then.
I understand now how fortunate I was. I recognized what caused the pain, nausea, and cold I was experiencing. I did not take another dose as I had been doing every two to three days when my pain became worse. Alternate over-the-counter painkillers got me through a rough couple of days.
Smoking or alcohol usage may be your problem. I’ve never used these substances. I cannot tell you how to overcome their control over you. These are also addictions, and you may need professional help to get out of these traps. The first step is to admit that they are a problem for you. Then find a trusted friend who will assist in your recovery.
The worst trap that I have seen is in my own mind. You may be like me and subject to believe that your opinion is the only correct way to view situations. I have attempted to draw my opinions from the Bible for over fifty years. God has taught me that because you do not agree with me, you might not be wrong.
I have seen myself use scripture to prove what I was taught was the only right interpretation. Let me give you an example. Do you believe in The Rapture? Many of us Christians do. Our proof that we will be taken to meet Jesus in the air at the End of Time is a collection of unrelated scriptures.
Like the prophecies that prove that Jesus of Nazareth was the expected Messiah of the Jews, we believe God will save us from a world of evil. Some of us think this will happen before we must choose life or death. In some countries, this is already their situation. Being a follower of Jesus is a crime that carries the death penalty. I am not one hundred percent sure that my way of thinking is correct.
I could tell you of other doubts that I have had. I even considered the possibility that Jesus was not Christ or that God did not exist as my parents and grandparents taught me. I dealt with that internal conflict by asking Jehovah to prove He is the I Am. He did this for me and straightened out my thinking about who Jesus really was.
I have decided to accept Him as my Lord and Savior. Each year that passes on the calendar gives me more confirmation that this was the correct decision. I am constantly considering all alternatives and do not see any that my faith does not prove to be false. I may be putting this faith in the wrong being. If I am wrong, I will not spend eternity in a place of torment. That is one main difference between my beliefs and other religions.
Lastly, let’s discuss other ways our own minds trap us. Many of these are referred to as mental illness. Some of you may diagnose me as having a delusion because of my faith. I am talking about depression, schizophrenia, and all the other ways that our physical chemistry or internal thoughts can hold us prisoners.
Suicidal thoughts have haunted me for years. Sometimes these are caused by medications that react badly to our systems. Other times outside influences can make us feel hopeless and helpless. Get professional help for these problems. Just as I take insulin and heart medications for my health problems, we may need assistance in handling anger, frustration, depression, and all those emotions that plague our everyday lives.
If you feel trapped in any of these areas, ask for help. Do not accept this as the way you must live. Look for someone who has dealt with what you are enduring. If they have been able to overcome problems like yours, they may be able to direct you to someone who can assist you.
Charles (Chuck) Kensinger 