Mister ... MISTER ... !

The greatest among you must be a servant.
—Matthew 23:11

Ever had a person talk through you, around you, over you and generally ignore you... like you don’t even exist? Not much fun is it? Remember feeling insignificant, ignored, irrelevant, or even, in the way?

Recognizing, respecting, and honoring the people in your presence is one of the joys of caring ... the work of love. Every time you recognize each person in your presence you demonstrate and they experience a fundamental human longing and desire to belong. How easy is it to forget this most basic of human desires and to deny it to the very people you are trying to help? Forgetting this most basic act of human kindness and respect is more common that you might acknowledge.

The Sound of Hope

In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
—Psalms 95:4-6

What does hope sound like?
A familiar voice when you are all alone? A door opening as an anxious parent awaits the return of a daughter from a date? A siren announcing that help is coming? A nurse’s word of comfort, a doctor’s gentle counsel? A minister’s assurance?

What does hope sound like? For 33 men trapped for 69 days, 2,257 feet below ground in a Chilean mine, the first sound of hope was on day 17 when they heard the distant grinding of the drills being used to find them. Their only hope could come from above.

Me and Mr. Garmin

Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has instructed you, so that you may live…and prolong your days in the land
—Deuteronomy 5:33

I love Mr. Garmin!
He sets you free! He makes it possible to go anywhere you want, any time you want! You can even choose the type of “voice” that tells you when to turn: British, Australian, French. You choose!

I loved Mr. Garmin right up until last Thursday when I was in Chicago. I was there with a team from Shawnee Mission Medical Center: Sam, Sheri, Greg, Lana, and Shannon. We were to visit the four Adventist hospitals in Chicago-land, conducting the bi-annual Mission peer review—a friendly site visit to review their mission effectiveness.