The Atheist and the Bear

You know, I've seen this particular email joke several times (it's still funny) but I just received a revelation. If you haven't seen it before go ahead and read it. Then I'll pick up again at the bottom of the page. . . . . .
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An atheist was taking a walk through the woods. "What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!" he said to himself.

As he continued walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes. Turning to look, he saw a 7 foot grizzly charging towards him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. Looking over his shoulder he saw that the bear was closing in on him. His heart was pumping frantically and he tried to run even faster.

He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw the bear raising his paw to take a swipe at him. At that instant the atheist cried out: "Oh my God"! Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent.

It was then that a bright light shone upon the man and a voice came out of the sky saying:

"You deny my existence for all of these years, teach others I don't exist and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?"

The atheist looked directly into the light.

"It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps, could you make the BEAR a Christian?"

"Very well," said the voice. The light went out, and the sounds of the forest resumed.

And then the bear lowered his paw, bowed his head and spoke:

"Lord, bless this food which I am about to receive and for which I am truly thankful, Amen."

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I'm back. . . . .

First, yes it would be hypocritical for the atheist to ask that - it might also be realistic but that another discussion. However, it is fully within God's grace to do so, if the request is authentic. The guy simply didn't pursue the right path and ask the right question. And, God won't force anyone to make that choice.

Second, Christians tend to "eat up" the others around us just like the bear. Although God "created" a Christian out of the bear, the bear's behavior did not change sufficiently as a result - only the rationale for the behavior changed. Otherwise, there was no transformation. Unfortunately, this is frequently what the world sees. There shold be real transformation.

And third, the atheist got the same result even after his encounter with God. Sometimes God intervenes in ways that change the outcome of things. Other times He changes the people involved. As a friend of mine recently said, "God always answers prayer. And you only get one of three answers - yes, no, or wait." The atheist got what he asked for - but not exactly what he asked for. . . .

OUCH! In a big way

As I write this, I have one foot propped up. Last week I had developed a sensitive spot on my big toe. After hoping that it would get better (I know, it’s a guy thing), I finally went to the doctor who prescribed antibiotics and sent me to a surgeon to lance it open. He looked at it, injected the toe with a local anesthetic that went right into the sensitive part of the toe. I hit a 9.5 on the pale scale. If there had been a tree branch to bite down on, I would have cut the thing in half. That was Friday.

Today the pain is better but the swelling hasn’t gone down. The surgeon was surprised too. When he cut it open, no pus came out. Oh, it bled well. There just wasn’t any of the nasty stuff that was supposed to come out. He prescribed more antibiotics. So now I’m a walking pharmacy.

More not-so-good news: As I was calling my parents (who were vacationing in Florida – you can do that when you’re retired), my dad tells me that he just got back from the hospital. He was in for observation after the day before having shortness of breath, chest pains and dizziness. Yeh, we all know he has heart problems. It’s just not what you want for your vacation.

So, a short blip for today. I’m seriously hoping that the next entry will be some GOOD news. Still, things could always get worse. I could loose my blog privileges! :-)

Change or not?

I was reminded earlier today in a blog that I read how tragic it is that we do not choose to reach out as a people. There are so many ways that we can grow and learn if we are only willing to exchange ideas and contemplate the possibilities.

In a class that I was in this past weekend, we discussed the concept of change and conflict. Change is what happens to us all – whether we like it or not. Conflict is what happens when we try not to change.

In a world with so many different ideas and philosophies, there will be conflict. Conflict will come because I will not change to sit your philosophy or because you will not adjust your philosophy to include me. There will certainly be differences of opinion. I, for example have certain belief systems that I will not change. You cannot make me change them nor can you try to accommodate all beliefs into a single system. It’s not possible. However, I can accept that you do not accept my belief system. And, conversely, you can accept the fact that you cannot change my belief system. In this, there is no conflict. Conflict arrives when force is applied.

Force can come in many forms. Force can come in the form of a government that imposes its wishes on me. Such is the case of the man in Afghanistan who is faced with death because he converted from Islam to Christianity. Force can come in the form of peer pressures. An internal conflict is created – do I support my peers or stay the course with my beliefs? Conflict can come in the form of societal pressures. The world around me is changing. Do I change too or resist?

The answer to each of these depends on the situation and who or what it is that is doing the asking. In the form of government force, some change is inevitable. The “change” leaves my pocket on April 15. I’ll get over it. Other forms of force are more likely to cause conflict as in the case cited above -- grave conflict. In peer pressure, some change is good. I can either choose to adjust to their thinking or separate myself from my friends. In that case of societal forces, change is more difficult to resist without some very observable effects. I have a cell phone, don’t wear white in the winter, and speak English – the common language. All I need to do is figure out how to survive an I’ll get through this.

But what if the “what” that is asking the question is an organization? Then the idea isn’t to survive but rather thrive and grow. What if the question is about how the school can accept change? What about a business? What about a government? What about a “belief system?” How do I address change in these conditions when I know that what I do will have lasting effects not just on me but also on the rest of the people in the organization?

The key, as I learned to put it this past weekend, is to hold fast to those core values that make you who you area. The rest is up for negotiation. Change it if necessary! Embrace the change and use it to grow. As long as the core values are still maintained, the rest is up for grabs. So grab it! Use it! And grow! The alternative is to linger and eventually die.

The End of an Era

Ever since she was a little girl my daughter has loved the water. The first time she was on a beach, she cried and complained because the sand was gritty – but the water. . . . That’s a different story. She would play in it at the beach, in the tub, in the pool, wherever she could “feel” the water. Inspired by her big brother he started swimming for the local neighborhood swim team at age four. Then, when she realized what she could do, she joined a swim club that practiced year round. She got to be good and stayed with it even when we moved to Saint Louis from 400 miles away. She held pool records back there and won school records when she started swimming for the high school here. She eventually gave that up so she could focus on club swimming, which is much more challenging that high school swimming in Missouri.

When it came time to pick a college to attend, she went to one of those web sites where you can put in certain parameters and it will tell you which colleges have what you’re looking for. She picked her major, of course and then student enrollment size. Then, because she wanted to have another option in case her major wasn’t what she was hoping for, she entered another, secondary education path. Lastly she wanted a college with a swimming program. With that mix, there were only three colleges in the country from which to pick. Swimming narrowed down the field. It’s a five year program for her major and only four years of athletic eligibility.

Now, this past week, she ended her swimming career at the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships. In college she was a smaller fish in the pond than when she was in high school. Still, she did well enough in the prelim’s that she was able to return for finals. I was there as was her mom. Her boyfriend came from college to see her swim; and, yes, even her big brother who inspired her so many years ago (and may still do so to some degree) was there. My wife and I helped with the senior parents’ duties and tried to make it a special time for all the senior girls. Still, it’s over.

My daughter says that she’s too busy to let it sink in yet. That may happen next week, or the week after that, or maybe the week after that. For my wife and me, we have the time to think about it. It makes me feel old. It makes me feel sad that it’s over. But, mostly, it makes me feel proud that I was there and that I was a part of that long and productive time in her life when she could feel the water.