Day 254 - February 23 - At least God's bus is wheelchair accessible

Before I get started, Connor spent almost two minutes this evening without the vent. It's hard work - the muscles haven't moved on their own in over eight months, and most of the movement right now seems to be from the supplemental breathing muscles in his chest as opposed to the diaphragm. So the muscles are doing things they're very unused to doing. Please continue to pray for movement in his diaphragm to take this load back to where it belongs.

By the way, the title was Connor's comment after the discussion we had with the following anecdote...

There's a lot of really bad things going on these days -

- Many folks are either out of work, or facing the prospect of losing their job.
- Home foreclosures are on the rise.
- Debt, both personal and national, keeps piling up.
- The cost of just about everything is higher than it was just a few months ago.
- So many people I know are struggling with the loss of loved ones or through monstrous health issues.
- The government's role in all of this is of grave concern to many in the country.
- Some folks even have to deal with injured family members and the resultant changes in their future plans.

OK, I just threw that last one in there to see if you're paying attention! Seriously, many people are facing stressors in their life that they've never had to face before; or even dreamed of having to face before. That has the added effect of putting more strain on relationships all over the place, and it wouldn't be a surprise if there's an uptick in divorce rates that matches all the recent crises.

I've been talking about this with a number of people recently, including Cherié and Connor, and it's pretty clear that nearly everybody has some pretty serious worries about all the things going on around us. I figured y'all are no different, so I wanted to share something I was telling my mom on the way to work the other day.

She was expressing her concern over something - I think it was the latest proposal in D.C. from one of our illustrious leaders, and she was getting a bit worked up over it (that's where I get it, by the way!). So I told her what her situation was like -

Our situation is like when you're sitting at the bus stop, waiting for the bus to come along. While you're sitting there, a number of men saunter up and take up station a few yards away, talking to each other. They have dark clothes and sunglasses on, even though it's almost dark, and their hair is stringy and they have (gasp!) tattoos. They're amongst the most unsavory characters you've ever laid eyes on, and they keep glancing over at you. Feeling helpless and defenseless yet?

You take a peek up the street, but there's no sign of the bus. You glance back at the hoodlums, and they've edged a bit closer without seeming to. Are they going to beat you up? Maybe they're going to mug you and take your wallet. Or maybe they're even not afraid to kill you. You wonder when the bus is coming, but you can't see it up the street at all.

When I got to this point in the story, I paused. There was a painful silence on the phone, so I said "that's where you are right this minute, Mom!" Not to put too fine a point on it, but Mom basically said "Huh? What are you talking about?" (although she was much more polite about it than I would have been). So I said "Let me 'splain, Lucy". That's my best Ricky Ricardo imitation, by the way...

I explained to her that she (and you, and I) are sitting on the bus stop, and the unsavory things in life are edging closer and closer, and we have no idea what intentions they might have for us. For all we know, those guys could sidle up to us and stick a knife in our ribs, or hold us up, or pound us into little pieces; or they could come close and say "Pardon us, but can we tell you about the four spiritual laws?" for all I know - and we have no real control over any of it. But one thing we know for sure is this - the bus is coming. We may not be able to see it from here, and the more worried we get about the situation, the more late the bus seems to be; but it's coming. That's the one thing you can count on in this place - one of these days, the bus is gonna roll up to the curb, and the Driver is going to get out and help us on board, and pluck us right out of the midst of these dark and dreary circumstances we're in, and put us on the bus and take us where we want to go. He may come just in the nick of time, and save the day just before the bad guys leap; He may show up after the fists start flying and rescue us from taking a lot of punishment; or He might show up after the wallet is gone and the blood is seeping onto the sidewalk, and gently pick us up and get us on the bus; but the bus is coming.

So quit focusing on the gang on the corner. Turn your eyes up the street and keep a lookout for the bus, because it's coming.

The bus is coming.

----------------------------------------
Print This Page