Purpose

 Purpose

If you can find a why you can endure anyhow

I have things that I believe and a few things I know I believe I am responsible for my actions. And I know I bear the burdens of the decisions that I have made to date and the decisions that I continue to make.

            A couple of years back, I was hospitalized as I was diagnosed with COPD, Diabetes HBP, and an irregular heartbeat. I went to the VA clinic for an appointment and got sent to the ER. My lungs were full of fluid, and it was laborious to take a breath. Additionally, I weighed 375-380 Lbs. Honestly, I did not care if I lived or died. I was miserable at work and did not think I would make it to retirement, so I had, in essence, given up.  This event took place was over the week of Christmas. I was alone and had the unique blessing of clearing my mental plate to have a heart-to-heart with the almighty. After this time, I got my finances in order and lost about 50 lbs. I got approval for a gastric bypass which I  accomplished in 2018. I now weigh 220 Lbs, and I feel better than I have ever felt. I am longer a Diabetic, nor do I have COPD. The heart rate issue and the BP remains an issue, albeit a minor one.

            This hospital stay reminded me of the prayer that I made in 2005 while I was in the middle of solving a temporary problem with a more permanent solution, as it was one of the lowest times in my life.  In that prayer, I acknowledged my errors asked for forgiveness and made a request that I remembered during that hospital stay.  That request was, "Lord, if you see me through this, I will be a much better father, leader, and mentor than I was before.

            Several things had happened since that dark moment in 2006.  I met the woman that I eventually married in 2012. I reestablished an excellent relationship with my natural daughters. I gained ten grandchildren that know me as PAPI—having retired and moved to OHIO to mentor 3 of my grandsons that required male adult supervision.  I found my purpose. Additionally, I regained my faith that had diminished in the intervening years with the subsequent incidences of riotous living of which I was an active participant.

            I am finding Grandfatherhood is a rewarding experience; being a mentor who understands and takes a teacher's role to my grandsons is the fulfillment of my request made many years ago.  A side benefit is being a mentor to my new son-in-law as I am approached for advice almost daily.  My youngest Grandson accompanies me to church on Sundays and Bible studies on Wednesday nights. I do not have to coax him as he tells me when it's time to go to church. The young man also made me proud (and misty) when he came to the room boldly stating that God will heal Nana.  I will not push the older boys. I believe a good example and reaching my youngest Grandson will do the work without having pressure added to them by me. I expect them to be in attendance during significant milestones in his (my Grandson) growth in his faith when those milestones are recognized in the future.  It seems like a good reason to get my family to come to church with me.

             My purpose is to get those young men to adulthood in one piece, pass my knowledge on to them, and encourage their growth into manhood, helping them along the way with encouragement and mentorship.  Each one is different.  The eldest very reflective and is very happy being alone (which reminds me of me) with his ability to work alone without a lot of interaction with others. I know what life is like and will help him in any way that I can.  The middle Grandson is more tentative, and I try to let him become a little more assertive.  The youngest is pretty much an outgoing bundle of energy, and he will walk up to complete strangers and engage with them most times with hilarious results. I enjoy hanging out with him, especially when we are shopping for groceries. Each morning I get greeted by my youngest, as I get the same request "Papi, will you please fix some oatmeal."  One of the things that I have started doing in earnest in retirement is cooking, as I find it relaxing.  I have folders full of recipes that I have been acquiring that I have been dusting off. I think I have found the range of BBQ spare ribs in my pellet smoker. The last batch of 2 slabs was consumed quickly and efficiently by my family.  I have started baking as well with Peach cobbler, one of my favorites.  I have recently added enchiladas both in rolled and casserole form and red and green varieties.

            Not to say it has been all rainbows and roses. I had a painful employment decision to make. My decision to retire was due to, in part, based on three criteria 1. Fulfillment in my employment. 2 The physical challenges affect my spouse that required my intervention, and 3 is the financial aspect of retiring.  I found that in the combination of my retirement from the USAF, Department of Defense, Va disability, and Social Security, I can transition to focusing on my family, the most important thing in my life. My life has changed tremendously. I now take long walks two times a week in my small town surrounded by farms. It has helped a lot as my stress level has lowered tremendously, most notably due to not being called at 9 PM on the weekend for something mundane.  Now it is getting the Grandsons registered for the fall semester and looking forward to walking the youngest to school (weather permitting). The elementary school is located literally at the end of the walking trail 500 Meters from home.

            All of this reminds me of a Joe Walsh song, "life's been good to me so far." My biggest worry this week is, Where is the Lawn guy? The grass is getting kind of long these days. I better give him a call and see what's up.

            

Reprint from an article from the morning brew

 Prepare your liver for a marathon of farewell happy hours. A bunch of your coworkers are going to quit their jobs over the next few months—if you don’t leave before then. 

In what’s been dubbed the “Great Resignation,” 4 million people, or 2.7% of US workers, quit their jobs in April. That’s a record going back to 2000. In all, 41% of workers globally are considering leaving their current employer this year, according to a survey from Microsoft.

Why? Experts have floated several explanations to interpret all the quitting:

• Workers who didn't like their jobs but stuck with it during the pandemic are...not sticking with it anymore. 
• Many are retiring early after cashing in on a booming stock market and rising home values.
• People have reevaluated their career paths after an "unprecedented" year which allowed for more reflection.
• In that same vein, people might be looking for a job that allows for better work-life balance.

However, the main reason employees are quitting their jobs en masse, Harvard economics professor Jason Furman argues, is simpler: There are a record number of job openings in the US right now (9.3 million), and in any economy where lots of jobs are available, people leave their existing roles for greener pastures.

Big picture: Has the Great Resignation given workers the upper hand in power struggles with their bosses? Some say absolutely. There’s one story of a woman in Georgia who quit her job after being asked to go into the office for a six-minute meeting. Wages are rising quickly and companies are offering tremendous perks in their desperation to land employees. 

Others argue that when this all shakes out—when extra unemployment benefits end in September and the “reopening” reverts to simply “open”—the mad scramble to find employees will fade as workers settle into their new positions. 

For now, at least, all the leverage is with the employee. If they’re not pampered, they’re skedaddling. 

My Grandsons 1st memory verse

 

Grandson's memory verse.

                                                              Galatians 5:22-23

"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such; there is no law."

 

This is the 1^st memory verse assigned to my 6-year-old in Sunday school. He will be quizzed on it sometime in August.  I have been in a writing freeze as of late, as life has, in part, has gotten in the way. This is the same mindset that keeps me from going back to the gym to look like the 220lb man that I am on the scale. Thanks to my pastor, I am dipping my foot into the writing pool again. 

The Fruit of the Spirit as defined by me: "It is the outward visible or apparent manifestation of the presence of the holy spirit in one's life at any particular moment." We will explore each one of these in turn.

Love. There are seven types of love described in the Greek language,  

1.      Eros: romantic, passionate physical love.

2.      Philia: authentic friendship, the city of brotherly love, is Philadelphia. I know what some of you are thinking, but this is not discussed today.

3.      Lundus: infatuation toying flirtatious love.

4.      Storage: unconditional familial love

5.      Philautia: self-love

6.      Pragma committed compassionate love.  Ever seen two elderly couples on a park bench obviously in love that have been together since Roosevelt was president.

7.      Agape: universal empathy, unconditional love.

1.      Universal love, Not physical love, not brotherly love but love for love's sake.

2.      Joy: Webster defines it as "a feeling or state of well-being and contentment." Satisfaction with the way things are, knowing with certainty that things will work out, and resting in that knowledge. Example: My Grandmother died decades ago. This woman my Grandmother. She taught me how to make peach cobbler and Cat Head biscuits, the woman who lived next door from my childhood, jumped the fence to have fried chicken when my mother made liver and onions. When I make peach cobbler these days, the feeling I have smelling the oven-fresh the deliciousness is the joy.

3.      Peace: a state of mutual harmony between people or groups, especially in personal relations:

We are not speaking of the absence of war but a harmonious relationship with those persons and things around us.

4.      Longsuffering: is to endure injury trouble or provocation for an extended time with patience. This is tough, as we get trained to defend against offenses. There are times when the opportunity to fight back is warranted or desired but withholding that tendency is longsuffering.

5.      Gentleness is the quality of being gentle, not abrasive, with those around you.

6.      Goodness: is moral excellence virtue. The choice not to willingly not participate in negative situations surrounding us daily emphasizes the higher emotional quality response.

7.      Faith: the ability to see things that are not immediately evident and acting in such a way as the outcome has already happened.

8.      Meekness. The quality of being patient, quiet, not bombastic.

9.      Temperance: moderation or self-restraint in action control of oneself. (or) moderation in the indulgence in a natural appetite of passion.  I need to exhibit temperance in the realm of Oreo cookies.  One Oreo is fine. Two Oreos is also acceptable, but 27 is not.

Against the above: there is no law governing any of the above attributes. However, those who participate in the reverse have laws on the books that cover almost all those habits that are contrary to what is listed above. This present society teaches or, more importantly, makes merchandise of the opposite. Justice and mercy are not in the Molotov cocktail but lies with people that are not moved by negative emotions.

Changing the definition of what is good and fair for their own purposes. The media teaches the opposites of the Fruit of the Spirit as the ideal. They teach that discussion and discourse are not for the intelligent, but the week, as the strong take what they desire from the weak. We are taught that aggression is the ideal. With control of all thought and action for their goals are the fairest of the fair.  

        When confronted by a driver that drives aggressively, someone walking in the Spirit in that exact moment can and will exude longsuffering with the other person in that situation and will exude a gentle spirit.  This is not to say that the person found offense in the act, but conversely, it is not guaranteed that the victim of the aggressive driver cannot act aggressively in return; the person walking in the spirit has made a conscious choice not to.  Walking in the Spirit will avoid the situation and make every effort to avoid negative consequences for as long as possible, thus giving the other person time to disengage. The interaction between the two drivers is over. The one driver can go on to the next person, whereupon he can perform this aggressive driver trickery upon, and the other driver can move on from that incident. However, if the aggrieved driver insists on pressing the issue, the consequences can have an effect that can last for years or even a lifetime.  It is not wrong to have love, joy, and peace. 

It is admirable to exhibit longsuffering, gentleness, and faith, and it is desirable to show meekness and intelligence to walk with temperance. The side benefit of all those actions is there will be no need for legal counsel or a judge after an encounter with law enforcement by exhibiting the Fruit of the Spirit. That is a very desirable outcome and will save many heartaches and possibly money in the long run.