Basic Truths | Finding God in Everyday Life

  I bought a pair of prescription sunglasses the last time I got regular lenses. I use them in the car. Sometimes I forget to take them off before I come inside and I’m struck by how dark everything looks.   If you look through dark glasses, the whole world looks dark to you. In the same way, our attitude colors our view of life around us. We all know people who live in a state of discontent. They start their day in a bad mood and they view every interaction with the rest of the world in a negative fashion, thereby reinforcing their mood. Any attempts to help them and be positive are met with suspicion and defiance.   We may find that our attitude in certain areas is not as good as we’d like. We may be having a difficult time at work or there may be a particular person that rubs us the wrong way. We don’t feel right and it bothers us. The question is – what to do?   When I was researching this post, I came across an article ( https://crossroadcounselor.co...

  My mom passed away last week. She had a long, full life – she was almost 103 years old when she died. She lived in her own home until she was 101. She had a sharp decline in her functioning early last year and had to be placed in a nursing home due to dementia and frailty. I was sad for her because she would rather have died than to lose her faculties and have to depend on others to do everything for her. It made me think about the losses in our lives.   When we or a loved one suffer a loss, it can have severe practical, emotional, and psychological implications. I won’t pretend that a few words can make sense of it all but I have some thoughts.   My accountant’s mind tells me that everything has to balance. For a Christian, every loss must have a corresponding gain, even if we don’t know what it is at the time. To believe otherwise is to say that God isn’t all loving and all powerful if He would allow us to suffer without any good to come from it.   Pa...

  As is true for most doctors, I’ve had to deal with my share of emergencies over the years. I’m usually pretty calm and clearheaded in the midst of these situations. I consider that a gift from God and a sign that He called me to be a doctor because I don’t have that same level of calm when I’m dealing with nonmedical problems. I tend to be fidgety when I’m anxious about something. I have to keep reminding myself to settle down and bring whatever is troubling me to God and trust in Him.   God has told us, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). There are two parts to this. First, we are to “Be still”. We tend to think of this as being quiet so that we can hear God speak to us, and that is true. We are also called to let go of our anxiety, our frenetic activity, and our need to control things, and just stop and be in the awesome presence of God, open to whatever He has to say and whatever He wants to do.   Psalm 46 begins, “God is our refuge and strength...

  I have cared for uninsured patients and patients with limited coverage for many years. We can provide primary care services, but it’s very hard to obtain specialty care if you don’t have insurance. One of the most difficult parts of my work occurs when I have a patient who desperately needs to see a specialist but I have no way of getting them in to see that doctor. It’s sad to see someone suffer because they can’t get the help that they need.   We are surrounded by hurting people, not just physically hurting but emotionally and spiritually as well. Many of them need Jesus’ touch in their lives.   We read in the Gospels (Mark 2:1-12) about a paralyzed man whose friends/family members wanted to bring him to Jesus to be healed. When they couldn’t get near Jesus, they climbed to the roof of the house where Jesus was staying, tore through the roof tiles, and lowered the man in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, He healed the paralytic.   We should ...

  I’ve spent a great deal of time the past few weeks pulling crabgrass and weeds out of our front lawn. I try to keep weeds out of the yard but our neighbors are not yard people so their lawns are mostly weeds. With weeds all around us, I know our lawn is eventually a lost cause but I’m trying to hold on as best as I can for as long as I can. I cheat a little by spraying the nearest weeds on one side of us and offering to take care of that part of the neighbors’ lawn that borders ours on the other side.   When you live with weeds all around you, you will be forever trying to keep them out of your life. This is more than a landscaping issue – it’s a matter of our spiritual lives as well. We live in a society that largely goes against our Christian principles. We must be vigilant and resolute if we are to maintain our identity as followers of Jesus. The worldly weeds that intrude on our lives can grow rapidly if they are allowed to take hold, and removing them becomes much m...