You don't focus on what you don't have; you celebrate what you do.

I left my orthopedics appointment last evening disappointed but not devastated. He genuinely said that there is nothing more he could do my right knee and the scar tissue without breaking my femur. I now need to walk with a cane. I do not think so. My back, hip and right ankle constantly hurts me.

I was not happy that there is nothing more that can be done for my knee with 60 to 67 degrees of flexion. I was not happy so I walked a different neighborhood and toured two gyms. I have a 4-day pass to a gym, starting tomorrow. I have scheduled an appointment with a sports medicine in 2-weeks. I have charged my FitBit.

“I AM” willing to work towards more flexion and healing. That is why my evening walks are a gift. I will continue to walk slow, take pause and give gratitude.

I am requesting that all my family and friends become my prayer warriors. Please pray and ask your family and friends and you churches to pray for me. Help me to believe and have faith. "God will heal and restore."

I was encouraged this morning when I watched this video Gatorade made with Elena Delle Donne and her sister, Lizzie, who cannot hear or see but she can feel.Lizzie can feel the wind. She can feel joy.

In my life, I have always loved basketball, and I was hurt playing it many years, ago. I have worked with developmentally disabled throughout years, and my residents love unconditionally. If you have been hurt, it does not mean you cannot still love what hurt you unconditionally as you overcome obstacles.

You don't focus on what you don't have; you celebrate what you do.

Be True to Yourself

This photograph was taken during my Northrop class reunion at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The reunion was wonderful – especially the words she shared me touched my heart. You never know how your words resonate with someone. Joella shared how I said something during a conversation in high school, and she held onto the words and imparted them to her students throughout the years.

I could not remember the story from that night so I instant messaged Joella. She responded:

“I have been thinking back to our reunion and that story and realized your words have been absorbed into my world. I have been trying to recall the specifics and realized your inspiration carried me through my many years as a school principal, now becoming part of me. You were wise beyond your years in high school when you challenged the status quo and made it a good thing to be true to yourself and be proud of who you are. Kids today still struggle to fit in and define themselves by the social groupings of popular and not popular. You made it cool to be proud of who you are and not to let others define you. Thank you!"

Joella’s words were with me today as an article was forwarded about “All Lives Matter.” The article said that white people say all lives matter because they are uncomfortable with “black lives matter.” It was funny that the article made assumptions. I believe all lives matter since I was a chaplain with folks, who were in the last chapter of their lives. It did not matter to me about their respective belief system or the color of their skin. I was honored to be allowed into their lives and to hear their stories. I was humbled. I will always cherish these moments.

After tonight, I plan to take a few days break from my personal Facebook page and television. I chose not to hear about Colin Kapernick tomorrow and the Presidential debate on Monday evening. There are positives in life. What are those positives for you?

Remember, be who you are, words matter and all lives matter, too.

Believe

A classmate from my alma mater, Northrop High School, Laura Thomas Miller, posted a song her daughter, Hailee, wrote this morning on her Facebook page.

Laura prefaced this post:  "My baby wrote and composed...a testament that it's okay to wonder about God...this is a heart, like many of us, that honestly asks, " God, who are You, I want to know you, am I enough where I am?". Can u forgive and love me no matter what I've done or where I've been?"

I am proud of her as my child and humbled at her transparency. We all fall short, but by the very grace of God we are able to stand and through Christ we can enter boldly to God's throne , sit at His feet and share our hearts without fear of condemnation. Thank you, Precious Jesus, for the gift of Your Love..."

I have listened to this song a number of times, and I will listen to it again. The words resonated with me. "I want to believe. But it is just so hard." Some days it is harder than others. It does not mean one does not believe. It means that one is questioning and seeking answers, which are part of life's mysteries and help one, grow in their faith.

I plan to share it with others – especially pastors and those in and outside of churches because the lyrics will generate a time of discussion with those of all ages and life experiences.

All I can say, "Believe."

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A Labor Day Message: More Than a Telethon

As a kid, I thought Labor Day was watching Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Telethon in my Grandma Shaffer’s Huntington, Indiana home. As a young adult, I answered and accepted donations as a WKJG- TV33 MDA phone bank volunteer in Fort Wayne.

After my college graduation, I worked in a Garrett, Indiana factory that assembled the Sonobouy for the Navy. I worked with two men named, Wee and Hi from Vietnam, who were genuinely appreciative of living in the United States. Wee shared with me how he made his way to the roof top of a tall building in Vietnam. He jumped, grabbed and held onto with all his might a helicopter. His wife was in a different location and took their two young sons into the water to a makeshift boat. Somehow they were reunited. (Hi has a similar story.)

Wee’s wife gave birth that year to one more son. Wee said that they named him Charlie because of the U.S. Military, who tried to protect them. Both of these men appreciated living in the U.S.A. and exhibited through their labor.

Wee and Hi’s English was not good. They wanted to learn English. Wee and Hi purchased Walkman’s, and I checked out audiobooks from the Allen County Public Library. They listened to the audio books while sounding out and writing down the words. During our lunch break, I figured out the words written. We pronounced the words over and over together, and I then defined them.

It was funny. Wee and Hi said clearly, “Oh, no, John Cougar Mellencamp!” as I placed the “Scarecrow” cassette tape in my Walkman. I would sing and dance as I soldered.

One day Wee and Hi asked, “Why do people get flowers at works?” I was leaving the Sonobouy factory the next week. I had a dozen colorful flowers delivered to each Wee and Hi and my last day with them. I wrote a note to Wee and Hi that came with their delivery, “You received flowers because I am thankful for working with you.”

I am thankful for Wee and Hi. They taught me to be proud of being an American but mostly the “Joy of Labor.”

This song from "Scarecrow” is for these men as I smile, and I still hear their voices, “Oh, no, John Cougar Mellencamp!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwHpzdKe8cY

As the week begins…Prayer

I sat in reflection early this morning in the darkness as I looked into the candle’s flame burning on my world Religion table, where one of my Bibles sits with crosses and a small tabletop Tibetan prayer wheel. Okay…my table is a dresser because I wanted a mirror so I could reflect on the person in the mirror.

"I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change."

I returned to a moment last Saturday afternoon when Catherine Crisanto walked with me through the San Juan Island Sculpture Park. We spent time with the prayer wheel sculpture, which had ceramic prayer wheels with a wooden structure. Slips of paper with pens and pencils were available. I wrote prayers to place in each wheel. I opened each wheel and noticed hundreds of prayers in each wheel. I then closed and gently spun each wheel, releasing the prayer.

I contemplated on my journey back to Seattle on the San Juan Clipper prayer. A patient from my chaplain residency asked me to pray with him. I did. He then requested that I teach him to pray. I looked directly in his eyes, smiled and said, “There are as many ways to pray as there are people. You will find your way to pray and it will speak to you.”

I prayed with him each day during his stay. The nurses paged me later that week and said this patient needed me to come now. I hurried to his room and looked in the door. He sat on the bed fully dressed. He was discharging in a few minutes. He said, I’d like to pray.” I started to pray, and he stopped me. He offered the prayer.

As one denomination says, “God is still speaking.” I will take this a step further. “God is still listening. You are being heard.”

What message will you send out this week? And how will it be received and answered?

Mother Teresa Canonization

“I see somebody dying, I pick him up. I find somebody hungry, I give him food. He can love and be loved. I don’t look at his color, I don’t look at his religion. I don’t look at anything. Every person whether he is Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist, he is my brother, my sister."

- Saint Mother Teresa

I give gratitude to Saint Mother Teresa, who served others no matter the times she lived in her own darkness. She worked through the light.

You were and still are through your spirit an "instrument of peace."

"I've been a victim of a selfish kinda love

It's time that I realize

There are some with no home

Not a nickel to loan

Could it be really me pretending that they're not alone

A willow deeply scarred, somebody's broken heart

And a washed out dream

They follow the pattern of the wind ya see

Cause they got no place to be

That's why I'm starting with me

Take a look at yourself and then make the change

You gotta get it right, while you got the time

Cause when you close your heart

Then you close your mind"

-Man in the Mirror

Photograph was taken in my neighborhood in Seattle, WA

"For once in my life
It's gonna feel real good
Gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right
As I turned up the collar on my favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin' my mind
I see the kids in the street, with not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind, pretending not to see their needs
A summer's disregard, a broken bottle top
And a one man's soul
They follow each other on the wind ya know
Cause they got nowhere to go"

- Man in the Mirror

Photograph taken in Seattle;s Chinatown-International District