The Hard Is What Makes It Great

I've gone through some difficult times in my life, some even very recently. In doing research for my Sunday School Lesson, I realized a few things.

1. Ninety-Nine percent of life is ordinary.
The majority of our lives is ordinary. We get up, eat breakfast, shower, get dressed, go to work, work hard till we're dead tired, hope the family is ok, come home, eat dinner, pay the bills, watch tv, flop into bed dead tired then, we get up and do it all over again.

2. Life is Hard.
Even through the mundane ordinary times, life can be hard. Sometimes a major event occurs such as a death in the family, the loss of a job or perhaps the birth of a new baby. Those things can throw a kink in your plans and make things really hard but just making it through the boring everyday life can be hard too.

3. Life is Good.
That old, pious pontificator, Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks), from 'A League of Their Own' said it best as he reminds Dottie (Geena Davis) how much she loves baseball.

"It's what gets in your blood, it's what lights you up", says Dugan.
"It just got too hard", Dottie replies.
Dugan snaps back, "It's supposed to be hard. If it were easy everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great."

Life is supposed to be hard, even when it is dull and unexciting. A lot of people don't do life very well. They look for all kinds of ways not to live life. They move through life but they don't really live it because they try to avoid all the dull times AND the difficult times. There will be hard days, easy days, dull days, blah days, sad days, glad days, discouraging days, upsetting days, discombobulating days ---- and then ----- there will be some REALLY, REALLY, REALLY BAD days.
THE HARD IS WHAT MAKES IT GREAT.

So, put up the whine and cheese, stop your griping, stop your complaining, stop your moaning and groaning, stop looking for the easy way out. Start living your life!!!

THE HARD IS WHAT MAKES IT GREAT!!

VaTech Massacre

Well, we have had another senseless mass murder, this time at prestigious Virginia Tech. So far, 32 people have been reported killed and it is suspected that the gunman killed himself. Now, it seems pretty cut and dry to me --- line every campus in America, be it colleges or primary education facilities, with armed National Guardsmen. Simple isn't it? What is not so simple is why did something like this happen in the first place? We'll get to that.

First, and most importantly, I want to express my grief for all the families who have lost their loved ones on this sad day. I want them to know that regardless of their spiritual position, I will be praying for them and the leadership of the college and community. I will be praying for strength, guidance and wisdom for them as they struggle through these next dark days, trying to find answers.

Now, down to business. I am appalled at the news media and many citizens. Everyone is trying to place blame somewhere. The blame should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the perpetrator and no one else. Not on the guns he used or the people he got them from. Not on the faculty or police for not sending out notification in any given individual's perception of a "timely manner". The shooter acquired a gun or guns and got it in his head "I am going to kill some people today" and he acted on that thought --- there is no one else to blame!!!!!

Also, the media is digging and trying to find out information that simply does not need to be published until the authorities have completed investigations and have discovered the real answers. Their zeal in being the first to report a piece of information could very well hamper or taint the police investigations. I believe strongly in the right of the public to be informed but not when it could prevent the truth from being revealed. Frankly, there are just some things we don't need to know. Quit being so nosy and tend to your own business.

I have no doubt that the democrats and the anti-gun lobby will have lots to say about this. I can hear it now, "We need tougher gun laws!!". Well, let me tell you, do your research. There are plenty of gun laws on the books now that never get enforced. Perhaps if we enforced the laws we already have, we wouldn't be watching the bodies of young adults being carried from their classrooms. The Marines taught me a few things about guns. Number One, bullets are scarce in combat One Shot, One Kill! Second, gun control is hitting your target. I am certain that there are a number of young men in colleges across the country who have been trained by our fine military forces. If the laws and school policy allowed these highly trained soldiers to carry a concealed weapon, say a mini-40, in their back pocket, the carnage may have been limited to 10 or less. This guy shot 50 people not counting himself and these poor students and faculty members had no way to defend themselves. Let me break it down for you --- Let's say you had the idea to go rob the local 7-11 using a handgun you just bought from T-Bone for a 100 dollars. And lets say there are three people, including the attendant, in the store when you walk in.  Would you think twice about robbing the store if there was a possibility that each of those three people had a weapon? Even if it was just the attendant in the store by himself, your only advantage is surprise. So, your chances are 50-50 if the attendant has a handgun --- are you still willing to take the chance he MIGHT miss?

Everyone is looking for a solution to how this could have been prevented. I don't know the answer. Maybe if we paid more attention to those around us than our Starbuck's latte. Maybe if we tried to get to know people and learn about them instead of just considering them somebody at my college. Perhaps if the shooter was a student and someone took the time to get to know him, maybe they would have seen this coming. Or maybe, just maybe, he might have be moved by their care and compassion and decided not to do this deed. I don't know how to fix it. But what I do know is that we get in too big of a hurry these days. Our lack of care and compassion for the issues going on today and the people we meet, maybe we are to blame for this because we just don't care anymore. We have become so apathetic about our society --- As long as it doesn't affect me I don't care --- we can't even come to agreement over the smallest of issues, much less find a reasonable answer to why this happened. One old maxim that comes to mind, If you aren't a part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Or, for all you college chemists, If you aren't a part of the solution, you are part of the precipitate. (Oh, don't give me that, you have a computer, Google precipitate.)

Let's stop blaming everybody for our actions. Take responsibility for what you do and pay attention to the world around you. Take action, don't just sit in your comfortable chair sipping tea and expect someone else you make a difference. You were put here to make a difference, DO IT!


Brad Walker

Labor Day

I know it has been a while since I have written but there has been much activity in my life and work during the past couple of weeks. Dad is still in SICU and pretty much the same. His vital signs are good but he still thinks he needs the ventilator to breathe. He is breathing on his own, though the ventilator provides some pressure support to help expand his lungs when he inhales. I guess you could say he has gotten lazy by being so dependant on the ventilator.

 

Watching dad and his struggle to be weaned off of the ventilator caused me to ponder the significance of Labor Day, which was Monday.

 

Labor Day has its roots in the labor unions of the 1880’s and is celebrated today as a day of rest for the working man or woman. I believe that is appropriate; I mean even God took a day to rest after creating the universe. But what really disturbs me is the extraordinary number of people today that would rather not work. Or the ones that refuse to do a particular type of work. Or even worse, the high school teens that seek part time work with the expectation of a much greater than minimum wage pay rate. It seems that advent of technology has made us a nation of lazy people. We would rather take 5 minutes to pop a processed sandwich or dinner in the microwave than take an hour to prepare a home cooked meal. Or maybe go through the car wash instead of hand washing our car. Like dad, we want more help breathing in return for less effort. We want to be paid for NOT working or, we want to make more money by doing less work. I believe people in this great country have forgotten how to LABOR. Not very many years ago, entire families would work from daylight until dark to harvest the crops, feed the livestock, milk the cows, maintain the buildings and structures on the property, MAKE their own clothes, cook three meals a day, hunt for and preserve their meat, and a number of other activities. Some days were in excess of 14 hours of work and they still managed to have family time and spend time with their friends, And let’s not forget, they usually didn’t work on Sunday’s. They took God’s lead and spent a day of rest and time with God.

 

There are people in many countries that perform hours and hours of excruciating labor for only pennies per day and they still cannot feed their families or buy clothes. We have become a lazy nation. We don’t want to work more than eight hours, or do menial tasks, or do jobs we dislike, especially if they are only getting paid $5.35 per hour.  We don’t want to exert ourselves. We don’t want to excel at whatever task we have at hand. We choose to be average or less. Because of our choices and because of our laziness, we are being outclassed in many areas by other countries. Because we, as a nation, don’t have the work ethic of our forefathers, we fall behind in education, business ownership, market leadership, and many other areas. It is time we all learned the true meaning of Labor. Labor is a mother caring for her children and family; washing clothes, cooking meals, and cleaning the house just to name a FEW of the jobs a mother performs everyday and these may even include a job outside the home. Labor is a father building homes, programming, keeping the books for a company; whatever the occupation, he works diligently to provide food, shelter and clothing for his family. These men and women work hard to have a good life. They work even harder to maintain a balance between provision and caring with nurturing a good family life. The Bible says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10b, “…that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” I believe there are many in this nation today that should be starving.

 

Take pride in your work even if it is cleaning toilets. Do your best at whatever job you perform and do it with enthusiasm. Quality work and attention to detail gets noticed and before long your $5.35 per hour is $25 per hour and even higher. Don’t be afraid to work hard to get what you desire. God will bless your hard work and maybe even ease the burden. Don’t fear LABOR; it is the basic ingredient for living a good and balanced life and it is the legacy of a strong nation.

 

 

Brad Walker

The Realities of Life

From my humble abode in beautiful Pinson, AL --

I experienced one of the most painful things in my life this past weekend. My dad, who has been in the hospital for just over four weeks now, called me in on Sunday to talk to me. I was very ill with a chest cold of my own so I was reluctant to go. Once I got there he was very agitated. The first thing he said to me was that he was giving up. Wow! What an eye opener. I had never really considered the very real possibility of my dad dying at this point. On most of the visits, when he is awake, he is so alive mentally. He knows everyone and he has even asked about Alabama football. How could he be giving up? Such are the realities of life. We all must face our mortality at some point. Hearing this from my dad with so much life left in him; It shot through my heart like a knife. I talked with him about it and I told him how much I didn't want him to leave just yet but if he was sure he was ready to go, I would try to accept that. I did, however, convince him that the nurse couldn’t do anything without his doctor's orders and that we should talk with the doctor before he made his final decision. I think he liked that idea. Once we had that settled, he relaxed and went to sleep. The thought was running through my head "How can I accept his decision to give up when there is so much life left in him?". My heart was still broken at the thought of losing my dad, though I know, one day God will call him home. The Bible tells us that it is appointed once for man to die. I can deal with that. But the thing that comforts me most when I think of losing my dad is in Ecclesiastes 7:1 which says, "...the day of death is better than the day of one's birth". There is a far better place in store for those who have accepted Christ as their Savior. I would encourage each of you reading this to take the time to evaluate your life; If you were to die while reading this message, do you know for sure where you would go? If you have accepted Christ as your Savior you'll be in heaven for all eternity and your death day will be the most beautiful and joyous day you will have experienced. If you don't know the Master as your Savior, I encourage you to seek Him out find a Bible preaching church and go to meet the Master he is waiting for you. If you don't know where to go or how to find Christ, contact me. I will be happy to introduce you to my Jesus so you can make Him your Jesus, too.

Now for some good news about dad. When the doctor talked with him on Monday, she convinced him that he was not ready to give up; dad trusts her very much and values her opinion. She ordered a tracheotomy so it would be more comfortable for him and also so they would not risk damaging his vocal cords. This will also allow them to manage the ventilator treatment. When they are ready to wean him off it is a simple snap and he is off then, if he is not ready another quick snap and he is back on. No more painful tube down his throat, no more discomfort from having that tube in his mouth and he may be able to talk with us a little which will alleviate some of his frustration in trying to communicate with us. I visited him Tuesday night and all of the nurses said he was very much happier without the tube in his mouth. When I went in to see him he was sleeping so peacefully we did not want to wake him. But, when I talked to the nurse about him, I asked her to make sure he knew I had been there. She wouldn’t let me leave until we woke him and he saw me there. He said he was feeling ok but his throat was sore; he was also feeling a little nauseous so the nurse gave him something for it. He seemed oveall in much better spirits and I know he is relieved to have that tube out of his throat. He seemed more ready to fight back now than he did on Sunday. For that I am so happy. I have never known my dad to just give up so I am glad he is willing to get back in the battle and come out of his corner fighting his lung disease until God is ready to take him home.  Make sure you are all ready to face the realities of life. Though your family and friends may be there to help and comfort you, there is only one who can heal the hurts of life. Whether it is the death of a loved one, financial difficulty, your own illness, or maybe a work issue, Jesus will never let you down and he will always give you peace about the issues of life. Turn your life over to him today. He will be your biggest fan, your confidant, your counselor, and best of all, he will be your best friend FOREVER!!

God Bless you all!!!!
John 15:12-13

Brad Walker

A Father's Lessons

I just came home from visiting dad and I can't believe what I am about to tell you.

Dad was sleeping when i visited but I was able to talk to the nurse and get some information. Dad is still on the ventilator but he is now on pressure support alone. In other words, dad is breathing on his own but the ventilator is providing positive pressure to help reduce the workload on his lungs and help strengthen them. The nurse said they would begin reducing the pressure as he could tolerate it and if he tolerates it well, he could possibly come off of the ventilator totally early next week.

Early on, the doctor warned that if placed on a ventilator, dad may not be able to live without it. She also mentioned that he has surprised her with his recoveries in the past so she was not going to put any kind of certainty on her assessment of his current condition. The phrase "God is good" keeps running through my mind.

Sometimes we teach people on purpose. Sometimes we teach people without knowing we are teaching. My dad has taught me many lessons over the years. From fishing and hunting to how to build a playhouse, a swing set or a deck. Some lessons were learned just by observing his actions.

Now, for my most recent lessons learned. No one knows the time we have on this earth. So, use your time wisely; make sure those you love know you how much you love them. I think the best way to do that is to use some of that time to plan for your last days so you and your loved ones can enjoy the time you have left without worrying about making arrangements for long term care or even funerals.

Brad