Sharing Stories

    Years ago we watched "The Killing Fields" about war in Cambodia. It was filmed in Thailand, and a friend of ours from Missouri was an extra. 
    I just purchased a one month subscription to Netflix, so I could watch a movie I wanted to see: First They Killed My Father. This too, is a story about Cambodia, told from the viewpoint of a little girl. I watched about 30 minutes of the movie, and will finish it later. I was surprised by my reaction this time. I felt the sadness welling up in me...tears threatening to spill out.
    In the 70s, I was in Southeast Asia. I had acquaintances from Cambodia. I went to refugee camps periodically. We even helped a Vietnamese refugee move to the United States where she was sponsored by a group from a church that also supported us. 
    The difference is I am more acquainted with sorrow. I recognize the "dead-pan" facial expressions. I see the deep sadness in their eyes which reflect a life of pain. They are now my friends and I understand better the ravages of that war.
    A family began the walk out of Cambodia to Thailand...a husband, wife, and two sons. The horrors they saw were nothing compared to the agony of the death of one of those boys on the trip. 
    A woman who studied and became a nursing aide heard me speaking Thai to Marvin one day. She replied in Thai, and I learned she had been in a refugee camp in eastern Thailand after fleeing Cambodia.
    Today these people are contributing to the fabric of American life. They have sorrows we will likely never understand. But they are making a huge difference in my life and in Marvin's. 
    
    

Open or Closed Door?

     I remember hearing, as a young person in church, that God would "open doors" or "close doors," according to His plan for us. I made a few decisions based on what I thought that meant, which didn't always work out so well. I often wanted a simplistic formula for success, for fulfillment, joy, and more.
    I remember hearing a speaker once, who said, "God's will is much bigger than you might have envisioned." She drew a dot on a whiteboard, indicating a person. Then she drew a huge circle around the dot. The circle line indicated God's boundaries in our lives, but his will is anywhere inside that circle we find ourselves. I didn't know for sure if I agreed with her, but I certainly mulled it over a lot, and obviously didn't forget it.
    As we get older we tend to review...choices, decisions, careers, and more. Was there a PERFECT WILL for us in all the areas of our lives? Did we find the perfect fit?
    Of course as I grow up (I'm not there yet, okay---), I realize that it's not the stuff OUTSIDE of ourselves that is perfect, but it's discovering and accepting who God made me to be that brings REAL LIFE.
    So, what does that mean in a practical sense? Here's a few generalities:
--He made us to be HUMANS, with emotions, feelings, thoughts, ideas, dreams, visions, plans, abilities, and...you get the idea.
--He made us in His image, with heart characteristics that are like His, with creativity and choices.
--He made us unique and yet the same. The blood flowing through our veins is common to every person.
--He made our bodies in a way that (unless frozen for later), will deteriorate, and pass from life.
    We all start out in the same way...born of a woman, but what we become is part of a huge tapestry of events, experiences, relationships, learning, and more.
    So, are you at a place where you want to investigate WHAT ELSE God might be doing in your life? What doors are open? What doors are closed? What beckons you from across your life-circle and says, "Have you ever thought of..."
Whatever it is!
    One of my friends is taking her first mission trip overseas with folks from her church. Another friend is thinking of leaving a job and seeking a totally new life-stream. Others are coming to the end of a debilitating disease, and asking if they have made a difference anywhere on earth.
    Let's talk together about WHERE WE ARE right now, tell our stories of adventures lived, and discover what we might want to do tomorrow.

Smiling Through Pain

     I have several friends who like the same kind of humor I do---scary, huh? Marvin and I used to call it "dark" humor. We laughed about many things that others would have found annoying, depressing, even inappropriate. It was his sense of humor that attracted me to him.
     One of my special humor friends is now very ill with inoperable cancer. She can no longer work, and spends most of her time in bed. This week she started taking morphine for the pain. She told me that taking morphine frightened her a little bit. As we talked about various fears, I was reminded of my mother...a story I shared with my ailing friend.
     When my mother was older, she had trouble sleeping. It seemed hard for her to turn off her buzzing thoughts. I suggested she might talk to her doctor about a sleeping aide. She said, "Oh no, I wouldn't want to get addicted!" I assured her that getting addicted to sleeping pills when you're in your 80s is not a bad thing!
      My friend listened to my story and we laughed together. Although I feel very sad at her prognosis and the pain that is overwhelming her today, I am thankful her sense of humor is still at work.
      Humor can be a source of strength and encouragement for us in dark days. How do you cultivate humor?

WHAT ARE WE MISSING IN 2018?

    This morning I rushed to get ready for a 9 am tire rotation appointment. Even though I know where this business is, I used my GPS so I would be able to do some "noticing" as I drove. 
FIRST:
    I know when cities number streets, they get themselves in a pickle...instead of saying 198 (1), 198 (2), 198 (3)...which is confusing, they use PLACE, AVENUE, STREET, BOULEVARD, etc., all with the same number.
    Once a lady from Bellevue was trying to find my home, which is on a PLACE. I don't think she had a GPS. She called me from the STREET with the same number as mine. I went to find her, and she was just around the corner from my PLACE! 
  
SECOND:
    As I walked into the tire store, a young man was talking to a sales clerk. As I sat down to wait for my car, I couldn't help but overhear the conversation. The salesman was trying to talk about mileage for certain tires, prices, specifications, and more. He spoke quickly.
    The young man was from another country, but spoke fairly good English. His vocabulary and understanding of technical tire terms, however, was a bit lacking. He had been reading the signs in the store, but wasn't quite sure what they meant. Both he and the clerk were getting a little frustrated, not about the price of tires nor the warranties, but simply about language. I'm not sure they understood what their problem really was.
     I remember my first foray to a market in Bangkok with a visitor from America. I had been in language school just a couple weeks. My friend said, "Let's go buy some bananas over there." I looked at the Thai woman selling fruit and asked in my very best Thai, "Gluay nii towrie?"  How much are these bananas?  She told me, and I tried what I had learned in school:  "Lote, dai mai?" Can you sell it for less?
     In an instant I knew I was in trouble, as the woman began telling me why she wasn't able to do that---so fast I could never keep up. I knew she was speaking Thai, and I recognized the sounds, but not the words. I turned to my friend and said, "Let's get out of here!" 
     In order to fix our communication issues, no matter what the cause, we might benefit from SLOWING DOWN to LISTEN and SPEAK...putting away all our ASSUMPTIONS of people and language...and asking each other for HELP!

WHAT HAVE YOU NOTICED ALREADY TODAY?

Turn Over a New Leaf?

     Some of the hardest things to understand in language learning are phrases, like "get a grip!" Or "don't fly off the handle." You get the idea.   
    We used to live across the street from a police station in Bangkok. We made friends with policemen, especially those who wanted to practice their English. One young man would take his breaks in our parking lot, sit on the steps of our building, play with Philip who was a baby then, and try to talk with me. He was actually pretty good.
     This young man struggled with gambling, smoking, and other activities he revealed that he believed were not in his own best interest. He said he wanted to change his life. When he learned the phrase, "Turn over a new leaf," he decided that was what he wanted to do.
     He talked about this concept over and over. When I would ask how that was going, he would reply, "Oh, I'm going to turn over a new leaf." I'm not quite sure he ever got around to it.
     Today---as almost every January 1, most of us want to "turn over a new leaf" in some way or another. Making resolutions about actions alone often doesn't work. If we can truly understand the ways we think and why, we have a better chance at success.
     A Word from the Apostle Paul says, "Let God change the way you think."
Hmmmm...that sounds like a starting place. What does that mean to you?
Look forward to hearing from you.

A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MARVIN HELSEL JR...67 today...