Space Odyssey

The 1968 movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, was ranked among the top ten movies of all time. It forecasts much of the technology which we are witnessing 40 years later. In this busy world where everyone is in a hurry, time and space have become life's greatest reward. Imagine trying to read a book without margins, trying to drive on a street without lines, having no guideposts at all in our daily activities.

Totally blind, I have a watch which talks to me. My microwave has a bell. My washing machine has a buzzer. My beautiful new car has a backup whistle. Everything in our lives regulated by elements of space and time. What happened to the rocker on the front porch? What happened to croquet on the front lawn? What happened to the fishing pole and just sitting on the bank, waiting and watching the beauty of the world around us? My grandmother never starved, yet once a week, she would put her fishing pole in her car and go to the mill pond and catch a nice 'mess' of fish. My other grandmother never starved. She would sit on her shaded front porch with a couple of neighbors and dip some Sweet Society snuff. These elderly ladies, as well as their friends, lived to very marvelous ages, considered quaint by today's matrons, stressed trying to hold down two to three jobs and clipping coupons to buy necessities. Leisure time is time well spent.

Our blessed Lord said that the lilies of the field were clothed more beautifully than Solomon in all his glory and they toiled not. (Matthew 6:29) Every time someone calls me about problems, my first words, which usually knocks them for a loop, “Do you still have any birds down in your part of the world? Do you notice that they are still singing?“ And then I say, “Is there anything any more beautiful than birds singing in the morning? God takes care of them, and I believe He will handle all of your problems.” (Matthew 6:26) I can still hear those experienced Christians singing in that country church in which I grew up, “Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there.”

Recently, I had occasion to go to a city on business where I had not been for many years. The entire city had changed since I was there. My driver kept telling me about streets and businesses which I did not remember. I have an aunt and uncle who live there and are in their 90s, whom I had not seen for many years, but who I have made it a custom to call at least once a week, as I do all of my elderly relatives. Most appreciate my calls and my visits when possible. I called early that morning and told them I was going to be in their city and would like to go by for a few minutes. This could be the last time I could ever see them alive and it could be the last time they could have seen me alive, considering their age and my age. When in the city, I called and said, “I will be at your side door in a few minutes.” My uncle said, “We are just leaving the house, going to lunch.” He did not say 'we will wait a while for you, or please go to lunch with us.' Nothing. I said, “Enjoy your lunch.” Now, this was a hurt from which I will never recover. The last thing this couple needs is food. Both are overweight; both have had knee replacements from carrying excess weight and both have digestive problems. It is obvious, in their advanced age, that they have never learned the importance of putting a little space in their activities. Am I wrong?

On the same trip, another couple, relatives, came to meet me for lunch and spent several hours with me. They had not seen me for many years either. Their time, although as important as anyones, could be filtered through the delicate space of opportune importance.

Your most important possession, more important than stocks and bonds, land and bank accounts, are those who carry your genetic equation: your children and your relatives. God designed your children before the very foundation of this universe. They should be as important to you as they are to Him. Take time to talk about your ancestors. Establish family expectations. My mother did not allow any complaints about any food on the table. My mother never allowed us to come to the table unless fully clothed. We had a time of prayer at the table, thanking God for our food, even though many times it was very sparse. Meal time should be a family time of enjoyment. The saddest picture I ever saw, and I have seen sad pictures around the world, was my father sitting at the table eating alone, after my mother's death; I had come to our beautiful family home to check on him. Like me, and everyone else who lives alone, we prepare our food and sit down to eat it. But in his case, it was sad to the extent that he had never eaten alone before in his life. He came from a large family, he had my mother and his children his entire life, but after all his children had left home and it was just he and my mother, with her death, he was all alone. But, as I have said to so many of my older relatives, “You must prepare for the inevitable.” I learned long ago, that no one cares about the plight of a disabled person who lives alone; preparing food, eating, and trying to keep his house clean. Everyone should store in his memory bank the certain knowledge that life is unpredictable and you must have the space to adjust when the unexpected happens.

A good friend retired here, moved to Jacksonville, Florida where he still wanted to work and worked in an expensive nursing home. He said the average cost was $6,000 a month. He had to leave this job even though he loved it, because he could not tolerate the treatment of the people in the nursing home by some staff members. One male attendant would slap the old men around, even leaving bruises on them. He said these old men would just cry because there was nothing they could do. If they complained the treatment would only get worse. Within the empathy of the human soul, some space should be found whereby oversight could be exercised over these facilities since it is obvious that the management is only interested in the money which comes in, mostly from the government.

Dr. James Dobson said on his program recently that 87% of people in nursing homes never have a visitor; the only ones who get attention are the ones who have family members who love them and check on them. One of my aunts was the dietitian at the O'Berry Center in Goldsboro (a hospital for 'throw-away' children), this was the NC supported center where retarded and deformed children were taken care of until their death. (macrocephalics and microcephalics etc) She said some babies were taken to that hospital and the parents were never heard from again. Some, aged enough but still wearing diapers and yet had a beard. Older people in the community were hired to act as 'grandparents' to these children, whose most desperate need was love from someone.

Years ago, someone told me, if you live your life and have 5 friends you can count on, you are very fortunate. The great preacher, Dr. RG Lee, said, “A friend is someone you can go to and ask for $20 and they not ask you any questions about why you need it.” How many true friends do most of us have? Space should be allotted in your routine for the cultivation of friendship and as Mark Twain said, “Friendships must be kept in repair.”

The 3 'big ones', heart attack, cancer, stroke, are all directly related to stress. Keep stress from your life, learn to relax, you can lower your blood pressure simply by relaxation. Many people left home this morning, stressed with work and expectations of their daily routine. They thought they would return home, but many will wind up in the funeral home. The greatest joy of my life, is committing scripture to memory and as I have traveled, even when I could see 50 years ago and could drive, I was constantly reciting scripture to myself. Take time, with a legal pad, weekly, to make a list of all the concerns you have and make this your 'prayer list'. You will be amazed what “God can do”.

A real estate broker came to my house recently, concerning some business. By the time she sat down, every few minutes, about the time we would start discussing something, her cell phone would ring. And, like a fool, she would excuse herself and take time to answer it. I got up from my chair, walked her to the front door and said, “You are much too busy to help me.” These aggravations of technology, cell phones, PDA's, televisions, etc. have crippled 'normal' people more than disease. It is a known fact, already being used in Japan, that on the pre-conscious level, in music, perceptive messages are being funneled into your being as an advertising mechanism. In large department stores, they use the message, “Don't Steal”; shoplifting decreased by 40%. But, with the big money involved in advertising and the complete lack of regulation, they learned to sell merchandise by the same method. This pre-conscious, subliminal message, is in the flicker and pulsation of the television. They experimented with this first in movie theaters, and found they could sell so much popcorn and drinks. It is being used in every form of advertisement because PLEASE DO NOT TELL ME that people in this country are so stupid to vote for those who get elected, IF they were making a conscious decision!!

Some things are important. A real old lady who lived near us, could barely get around. But, when her house caught on fire, Mrs. Lutoria Waddell, came running out of her house carrying her sewing machine. Her sewing machine was the most important thing she owned. (Only those who have done all your sewing by hand can appreciate a machine) Those on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center, did not have much time to think of the most important things in their lives, as the flames roared upward. They might have said, “I wish I had spent more time with my children, more time with my family and friends.” Abraham Lincoln, marvelous president, said, “We go down on our knees when there is no where else to go.” Learn to put some space in your living for the most wonderful time you will ever spend, time with the one who made you what you are, and will determine your final destination.

Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way (1 Samuel 12:23)