Terrific Tuesday!

I am kind of getting into this week. I suppose the more I get into it the shorter it is going to seem. Today should be one of those split days. Office and the shop. I don't mind them, especially if I can get the shop part out of the way early in the day. Thing is, today looks like it may be lunch before we even get started at the shop. We are waiting on some supplies from the metroplex.

I want to back up to this past Sunday. With all the mess going on in Lubbock with Addison and her episode, I didn't get to write about something I really wanted to.

As many of you are aware, our June and July are filled with family reunions, so we hadn't attended church at Highland in a couple of weeks. I had read the Highland Helper on-line and knew that Jerry Taylor from the N. 10th and Treadway Church was filling in on the third and tenth of July. As many are aware this a black congregation on the North side of Abilene. In addition to being their pulpit minister, Jerry is also a professor at ACU. I was impressed. Jerry is a mountain of a man, and when he hits his stride in delivering, his voice begins rumbling deep in his being and makes its way up from the tips of his toes. I really enjoyed his enunciation and inflection. Val had said it in his blog and his introduction, "This man can bring it!" Give me that old time religion! Amen. I loved his comments about we are all under construction and we all have skeletons in the closet, and some still have meat on them.

It made me think back many many years. Probably close to thirty, my family, parents, siblings, and spouses (I can't really remember if there were any new generation off spring at this time) would take a few days and go to the metroplex and spend time at six flags and other attractions. This particular year we were staying in Arlington and come Sunday morning Mom was going through the phone book finding a church for us to attend. Finally she found one that fit our time frame and everyone was told to make ready. We left in a small convoy of cars finally arriving at the building although we had to park some distance away from the entrance. We started unloading and meandering our way toward the building when someone noticed that everyone else was black. Mom slid her heels. She wasn't going in, none of us were, and we skipped church that day. I look back and wonder what we might have experienced. I would have loved the song service.

In defense of my Mom, she was raised that way. Sorry Mom, that's the best I can do. My maternal grandad was very prejudiced. He was wrong. I don't care about color, I don't care about geography, I care about heart. Some of the best people, best employees, I have ever worked with and been associated with, have been people of color. Right now I am a man of color. I am "beet red", embarrassed about past atrocities by my fore-fathers.

I think back to the story of the man waiting for his judgement and he continues to pester St. Peter.
"What is GOD like?", he asked.
Finally St. Peter responded, "Well, first of all, she is black!"
Uh oh!

We are one in the spirit.

Thankfully you can teach an old dog new tricks. My Mom and my Dad (most of the time) appear to be past this stumbling block. Everytime something triggers a memory, we relive that morning many years ago on a street in the metroplex outside that church building.

Meme talked with Lubbock yesterday to get an Addison update. She is not eating, not drinking, and not talking. Meme thinks she is probably still in shock. I just hope they keep her there a couple more days and that they pump her full of antibiotics. For the record, I have been told Animal Control destroyed the dog.

Word from Verlin's hospital camp appears to be better. They had a hazardous spill in CCU yesterday and had to evacuate all the patients, visitors and hospital personnel. I went by after work to give a little moral support and I could find no-one. I thought one of two things must have happened. Either everyone in CCU had been mysteriously healed or they all had died. They did removed the pump from Verlin's leg which means his heart function is up. Today they hope to remove him from the breathing machine. Tomorrow will mark a week since his surgery so he is riding on the coat-tails of the class and "hanging on" at the present. Once they get him off the respirator they should begin waking him up. He is liable to be really mad they let him sleep for a week, he has things to do! Good news.

FATHER, thank YOU. Take this day and mold it and use me in it the way YOU want to, I give this day back to YOU. FATHER I pray for a good day, a productive day and week. Help me to stay on task. Help me to think things through and may my suggestions and advice be on target. FATHER I continue to thank YOU for Krl and ask for her healing and renewal. I pray for Memama, Pepa, Hag, Addison, Verlin, B., Lillie, Aimee, Jennifer, Ashlyn Kate, Jess, Dr. Mackie, and Jeanine, I ask YOUR many gifts of healing and care for them all. FATHER I pray for those sad with grief, surround them and comfort them with YOUR angels. FATHER I pray for those of us who struggle as we follow YOU, give us resolve and purpose. I pray for our spiritual family and our leaders. I pray for the efforts being made to expand YOUR kingdom. Make me new.