An Important Reminder
“Train a child in the way they should go,
and when they are old they will not turn from it.”
--Proverbs 22:6
How often we hear this verse quoted. Sometimes it is used as a hopeful prayer and sometimes it is stated as an experienced truism. As we begin to make our preparations for the month of May, we are drawn to think of children. Springtime provides an excellent time to release the pent up energies of winter. Parents of young children are training children to “look both ways before crossing the street” and hundreds of other important things to remember. Parents of teenagers are praying for good decision-making, safety behind the wheel and hundreds of other important prayers. Parents of grown children still hope and pray for blessings to surround their children. The following words by Kahlil Gibran are perhaps some of the finest penned words on child-raising:
“Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
And He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.”
God bless and keep the children.
--Ben Keckler
04.30.09
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Daily Devotion - Wednesday, April 29
Tuesday on Wednesday?
It is Wednesday and my soul is feeling that it might be a good day to revisit the book Tuesdays with Morrie. From time to time excerpts from Morrie’s life can serve as a means for deepening our journey inward. Today we find Morrie in the final stages of ALS. His interviewer, Mitch Albom, listens as his dying professor spends some time on “the ultimate questions, the ones that won’t go away.”
“That’s the thing, you see. Once you get your fingers on the important questions, you can’t turn away from them.” Mitch asks, “And which are the important questions?” The professor continues, “As I see it, they have to do with love, responsibility, spirituality, awareness. And if I were healthy today, those would still be my issues. They should have been all along.”
Take time with the ultimate values both in your work and in your relationships. As we each do this, deep praise will rise up from within our souls.
Prayer: God of my life and all life, guide me as I struggle to reflect on the important questions throughout this day.
--Ben Keckler
04.29.09
It is Wednesday and my soul is feeling that it might be a good day to revisit the book Tuesdays with Morrie. From time to time excerpts from Morrie’s life can serve as a means for deepening our journey inward. Today we find Morrie in the final stages of ALS. His interviewer, Mitch Albom, listens as his dying professor spends some time on “the ultimate questions, the ones that won’t go away.”
“That’s the thing, you see. Once you get your fingers on the important questions, you can’t turn away from them.” Mitch asks, “And which are the important questions?” The professor continues, “As I see it, they have to do with love, responsibility, spirituality, awareness. And if I were healthy today, those would still be my issues. They should have been all along.”
Take time with the ultimate values both in your work and in your relationships. As we each do this, deep praise will rise up from within our souls.
Prayer: God of my life and all life, guide me as I struggle to reflect on the important questions throughout this day.
--Ben Keckler
04.29.09
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Daily Devotion - Tuesday, April 28
A Hospital Experience
“When God gives anyone wealth and possessions
and enables that person to enjoy them,
to accept their lot and be happy in their work—
this is a gift of God.”
--A wisdom saying (Ecc. 5:19)
Thirty-four years and a few days ago at about 7 AM we arrived at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Our household was about to have a memorable hospital experience. For the next 15 hours I sat with my wife as she went through the pains of birthing our 5 pound, 13 ounce baby boy. The hospital stay was extended a few more days than anticipated due to some complications that, in the scope of things, were significant but minor. Today my son is a healthy young man, married and enjoying life. He is happy in his work, happy in his role as a volunteer firefighter and is able to enjoy the wealth and possessions that have come his way. I agree with the wisdom writer. My son is truly a gift of God experiencing God’s gifts for him. He too is enjoying family life with a young daughter and preparing for the birth of their second child.
I still remember the work of the child birth team. We had a good hospital experience over three decades ago. The people who helped us through that important moment in life impressed me. The same is going on in hospitals today. Teams are working together to make a good experience for the patient.
Today, wherever we are at work and play, we will have opportunities to help people – as a team or as an individual, in big ways or in small, quiet ways. May we be aware of others and their needs and then have the compassion and care to respond to them. Blessings to you.
Prayer: God, be with me today. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
04-28.09
“When God gives anyone wealth and possessions
and enables that person to enjoy them,
to accept their lot and be happy in their work—
this is a gift of God.”
--A wisdom saying (Ecc. 5:19)
Thirty-four years and a few days ago at about 7 AM we arrived at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Our household was about to have a memorable hospital experience. For the next 15 hours I sat with my wife as she went through the pains of birthing our 5 pound, 13 ounce baby boy. The hospital stay was extended a few more days than anticipated due to some complications that, in the scope of things, were significant but minor. Today my son is a healthy young man, married and enjoying life. He is happy in his work, happy in his role as a volunteer firefighter and is able to enjoy the wealth and possessions that have come his way. I agree with the wisdom writer. My son is truly a gift of God experiencing God’s gifts for him. He too is enjoying family life with a young daughter and preparing for the birth of their second child.
I still remember the work of the child birth team. We had a good hospital experience over three decades ago. The people who helped us through that important moment in life impressed me. The same is going on in hospitals today. Teams are working together to make a good experience for the patient.
Today, wherever we are at work and play, we will have opportunities to help people – as a team or as an individual, in big ways or in small, quiet ways. May we be aware of others and their needs and then have the compassion and care to respond to them. Blessings to you.
Prayer: God, be with me today. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
04-28.09
Monday, April 27, 2009
Daily Devotion - Monday, April 27
Distress? Don't Worry?
Prayers for deliverance from the terror of tough times have been offered, some even written, for thousands of years (an example can be found in Psalm 4)! They seem to be in order now! A wonderful book on spirituality, Making All Things New (Nouwen), can be most helpful for these times.
The book is an invitation to spirituality and is based on a simple admonition that comes from Sacred Scripture. “Do not worry” is easy to say. “Do not worry” is difficult to practice. “We live in a worry–filled world. We find ourselves occupied and preoccupied with many things, while at the same time feeling bored, resentful, depressed and very lonely,” he observes.
Like the Psalm writer, we long for a spiritual conversation assuring us that grace embraces us and that our inner soul is “in touch” with the Divine. A couple of simple steps:
1. Take time in solitude to discover God’s presence in your distress and
2. Take time to share your feelings with fellow sojourners.
I can't promise that the worry and stress will disappear, but you will discover that all things are becoming new as you express yourself!
Prayer: Be near me, O God, and calm my distressed soul. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
04.27.09
Prayers for deliverance from the terror of tough times have been offered, some even written, for thousands of years (an example can be found in Psalm 4)! They seem to be in order now! A wonderful book on spirituality, Making All Things New (Nouwen), can be most helpful for these times.
The book is an invitation to spirituality and is based on a simple admonition that comes from Sacred Scripture. “Do not worry” is easy to say. “Do not worry” is difficult to practice. “We live in a worry–filled world. We find ourselves occupied and preoccupied with many things, while at the same time feeling bored, resentful, depressed and very lonely,” he observes.
Like the Psalm writer, we long for a spiritual conversation assuring us that grace embraces us and that our inner soul is “in touch” with the Divine. A couple of simple steps:
1. Take time in solitude to discover God’s presence in your distress and
2. Take time to share your feelings with fellow sojourners.
I can't promise that the worry and stress will disappear, but you will discover that all things are becoming new as you express yourself!
Prayer: Be near me, O God, and calm my distressed soul. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
04.27.09
Friday, April 24, 2009
Daily Devotion - Friday, April 24
Soul Searching
“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”
--from a song of the Hebrew people
Today is a day for soul searching. Just two weeks ago Christians observed Good Friday. The record of Sacred Scripture tells about a number of people that did soul searching on that day. Followers of Jesus did soul searching, government officials did, religious leaders did (reluctantly it appears), military (soldiers) did. The story hints that there was a great deal of divine soul searching going on that day, too! Today is an equally good day to do some soul searching, allowing new insights to help us in the transformation process.
This concept of soul searching isn’t reserved for those in the Christian community. Obviously, the Psalm writer longed for renewal and transformation within. Clearly in the year 2009, the world is at yet another “cross-road”. Actually, we don’t need to say a whole lot today. While the grandiose desire for a world of soul-searching folk seems impossible, there is a possible way to make it happen. The verse of the day states it one way and a more contemporary lyricist states it this way:
“Let there be peace on earth, let this be the moment now.
With every step I take, let this be my parting vow:
To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”
May today be a Good Friday for you.
--Ben Keckler
04.24.09
“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”
--from a song of the Hebrew people
Today is a day for soul searching. Just two weeks ago Christians observed Good Friday. The record of Sacred Scripture tells about a number of people that did soul searching on that day. Followers of Jesus did soul searching, government officials did, religious leaders did (reluctantly it appears), military (soldiers) did. The story hints that there was a great deal of divine soul searching going on that day, too! Today is an equally good day to do some soul searching, allowing new insights to help us in the transformation process.
This concept of soul searching isn’t reserved for those in the Christian community. Obviously, the Psalm writer longed for renewal and transformation within. Clearly in the year 2009, the world is at yet another “cross-road”. Actually, we don’t need to say a whole lot today. While the grandiose desire for a world of soul-searching folk seems impossible, there is a possible way to make it happen. The verse of the day states it one way and a more contemporary lyricist states it this way:
“Let there be peace on earth, let this be the moment now.
With every step I take, let this be my parting vow:
To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”
May today be a Good Friday for you.
--Ben Keckler
04.24.09
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