Now, this is going to sound a bit dopey, but the most fantastic thing happened to me this week.  I had a TIA, which is a medical term for a kind of mini stroke (aka a brain fart).  Pretty scary, actually, because all of a sudden my memory got fogged in and I wasn’t sure what day it was or where my Golden Retriever was.  (She had gotten old and sick and I had put her down about 10 days before.  Still, I roamed the house looking for her, knowing something was askew.) 

 Now for the blessing part:  Well, first of all, I’m feeling almost normal again.  (Yes, let the jokes begin.) But what blew me away was the amazing outpouring of phone calls, support, visits and prayers.  Made me almost want to do this again next week.  Seriously, like most people, I think, I am puzzled when people actually seem to care about me, even though the evidence is pretty solid that many do.  Also, I remember a time in my life when I had no one on my speed dial except my brother, having chased away or neglected other relationships.

 My point (four, actually):  First of all, thank you for your prayers and support.  Second, I can use this to get out of pretty much anything in the months ahead:  “Sorry, but I can’t do that. I’m recovering from a stroke.”  Or, better yet, “Hey, be nice to me.  I just had a stroke.” Or my favorite:  “Hey, what do you expect, I just had a stroke.”  Third, it is truly amazing how a potentially devastating experience can become a wondrous blessing.  That’s partially because, in the words of Winston Churchill, “There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at without result.”  Fourth and most of all, this is quite a reminder that life is so very fragile.  In a blink, God can change everything and anything.  We are not in charge.  (Sorry if these thoughts aren’t deeper, but remember, I just had a stroke.)  — jri

What are you doing here?  Why has God called you?  (And, yes, by the way, He has called you.) 

For me, one of the most momentous shifts in my ego-based life was to go from “Lord, save me!” to “Lord, show me how to serve you!”  It harkens back to the recent morning I awoke with the words formed in my heart and on my lips: “Lord, as you died for me, so I will live for you.”

My point:  We all have a ministry, a calling, an opportunity a dozen times a day to love one another and, in so doing, serve the Lord – perhaps with a simple “God bless you,” or by picking up that one extra 60-cents-a-can tuna at the store for the food pantry donation, or even by biting your tongue and offering a consoling word when an over-stressed friend takes a bite out of you.  – jri

Ho hum.  I’ve seen more miracles than I can shake a stick at.  You have, too, I’m sure.  I mean, think about it:  Hopelessly broken relationships restored.  Totally lost drug addicts and alcoholics now clean, sober and cherishing life like never before.  The birth of the smallest child growing and grown into full-blown adults.  Amazing.

It is the miracle of transformation, of new birth and new beginnings.  In many cases (second chances by the bucketful) it is the changing from a life of squander and destruction to one of hope and life.  It is the awakening of the tiniest of tiny seeds of something (care to hazard a guess what that is?) that brings forth a lush green spring after the barrenness of a dark, cold winter … not just literally, but in our hearts and in our souls.

My point:  We see miracles every day.  We are miracles.  Enjoy the blessings of this miraculous day. – jri

Two totally normal but completely weird things happened while I was out walking on the Ahnapee Trail last fall.  (No, sorry, this is not a story about burning bushes, blinding flashes of light or voices from on high.)

Weird thing number one:  I noticed my fingernail and realized that it is an amazing covering that protects my fingers … almost never recognized, but incredibly important.  What an odd thing.  Who’d have thought to invent such a thing, yet our lives would be very difficult without them.  Weird thing number two:  I heard the machine-gun knocking of a woodpecker and realized that such a thing — the speed and power of a jackhammer — was impossible to conceive … yet there it was.

My point: Chance, my butt!  It’s a world teeming with awesome, awe-inspiring creation – from giraffes to eagles to breath-taking sunrises; from snails to toenails; from gentle breezes to thundering hurricanes.  And atheists – such silly folks — claim we’re naïve to believe in a loving, magnificent creator!  Have an awesome, wondrous day amid the miracles of this earth. – jri

 Ah, to have the power to forgive sins, heal souls, change lives!  But, wait, we do have that power.  Yes, perhaps I am wandering through the mine field of heresy, but here is how I see it:  Through faith, grace and the promise of Jesus – Whatever you ask the Father in my name He will grant – we do have the power to heal.  

A priest I once knew told the story about how he saw a burly biker-type fellow at a nearby table at a nearly empty diner.  Half on a dare and half through serious faith, the priest took up his courage, went to the man and told him, “Jesus loves you.”  This rough and tough biker broke down in tears. 

My point:  Not us alone, but through the love and sacrifice of our Lord, we are given the opportunity each and every day to heal and comfort and make a difference.  What a wondrous gift! – jri 

As a man who admires strength, stubbornness and power (yes, I admit it; I am – or at least was – a bit of a control freak), I am fascinated by the idea of strength through weakness.  Still, I’ve seen it time and time again, how the most unlikeliest of men and women rise to the occasion and become shining heroes, especially in the world of faith.  In fact, St. Paul praises our weaknesses and our foolishness and brags how (like plain water transformed into fine wine) that very foolishness and weakness become the greatest of wisdom and strength.  (Think of that the next time you watch a priest raise up the cup and the bread.)

From Joseph transformed from slave to ruler of Egypt and Peter redeemed from weak-kneed denier to the rock of faith, or Paul who believed he served God by killing Christ’s followers blinded into true sight to become a spreader of the word.  I know, at least for me, at those times when I am ready to give up (or, I admit it, have given up), I am amazed how, without any real sense of what is happening, the darkness turns to light, the pain turns to joy, the confusion turns to clear-headed understanding.  Amazing! 

My point:  Funny how God does that stuff.  It’s the foolishness of faith, the logic of the contradiction, the beauty of the caterpillar transformed into the butterfly.  No need to understand it.  Just enjoy and rejoice in it.  It’s real. – jri

Of the people I know who are “inactive” in their faith, two of them are atheists who have sought and come up short … at least for now.  I encourage them to keep their minds open to the God who will reveal Himself … in His own sweet time. 

The vast, vast majority, however, are not so much inactive as indifferent.  They ask the top ten FAQs (“If there is a God, how can he…” and so on) but never listen to the answers.  They never crack open a Bible or read about why and how some pretty intelligent folks have come to their faith conclusions.  Usually, when I recommend a book or a simple response that just might answer the question, the subject changes to the latest video game or sports score.  Ask them to think more than one step ahead and they reply, in essence, “Well, I know what I know and that’s all that I know.”  (Offered with apologies to Popeye the Sailor, who was wont to say: “I y’am what I y’am, and that’s all that I y’am. Eeek eeek eeek eeek!”)

My point:  The great logic of faith (and, yes, though I am no theological scholar, I do see the great logic of faith) is not always easy to grasp.  On one hand, it is simplicity at its most basic; on the other, it can be as elusive as a wisp of smoke or a gentle breeze.  However, it’s been my experience that those who seek do find.  Always.  – jri

 I love those mornings when I awake with the entire world in balance and perspective, when the most important things seem simple and make clear sense.  Doesn’t happen all the time, believe me.  I am a man of competing passions. 

But I awoke this morning with a vast peace and joy in my soul, so real and solid I could taste it, feel it, laugh aloud, just about sing it … with these simple, gentle words fully formed in my mind and heart and on my lips:  “Lord, as you died for me, so I will live for you.” 

My point:  Nothing more to add here.  I wish you all a joyous, peace-filled weekend.  God bless. – jri

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Christ could cure diseases, break a loaf of bread and feed thousands, drive out demons and forgive sins.  He asked nothing in return.  I don’t think he ever made a buck or got carried around in a four-slave sedan chair.    

If I had those powers, I’d have the cure for cancer named after me, take a dollar bill and make myself a super-billionaire, marshal those demons – and everyone else – into a cult of adoring followers, and make sure everyone knew I held the power to decide everyone’s fate. 

My point:  Not that I’m so darn human, but that Christ is so darn incredible for not doing any of those things.  Instead, asking nothing in return, he allowed Himself to be humiliated, tortured and murdered, and all for our sakes.  That’s a God and a man I can admire. – jri

Please pray for all who struggle and suffer in this world, for those who would gladly trade their abject miseries for our minor discomforts.  God bless.