Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Fires, and False Security

Life is fragile. Of all the nations of the world there are few which live as far away from that knowledge as the citizens of the United States. Two oceans protect us. Economic and natural resources cushion life for many of us. We live in a cocoon – unless of course we live in poverty, but we don’t like to think about that segment of the population – too unpleasant.

Yes, to be sure, there is suffering at all economic levels; sickness, relational problems, and the death rate still remains at 100%; but we have learned to isolate those things and medicate ourselves so we don’t have to dwell on those unpleasantries too long. We are good at building emotional and psychological and spiritual firewalls. We are a rich enough country so that our dead no longer need to be laid out in the parlor at home, we can make appointments with them and see them during viewing hours. We no longer bare one another’s burdens, we pay someone with initials after his or her name to listen to our fears; we no longer need our neighbor, we can pay someone to be our neighbor for an hour a week…well…actually 50 minutes.

But then a hurricane comes, or a tornado, or a forest fire, or an earthquake – then we see the best and the worst of humanity; from neighbor helping neighbor to neighbor stealing from neighbor and running from neighbor. Then death can lie at our front door or even within our home. Then the fact that life is fragile may strike us for a moment, if not for 50 minutes.

We live with a sense of false security, satiated by pleasure and false values – we think “it” (whatever “it” is) will never happen to us. We are fools. We are like hogs being fed for slaughter. Make us fat with ourselves so we don’t think too much, entertain us, brainwash us with transient values, medicate us into oblivion and we will be a people living without eternal purpose, a people living as if we are gods, a people living without the knowledge that life is fragile and that today may be our last day.

Amid the ashes of the fires in the West, and amid the destruction of hurricanes in the South, various types of people will emerge. There will be those who trusted in Christ before these events and they will continue to find their refuge in Him, knowing that even should loved ones pass through the portal of death that death in Christ is indeed a portal into the deeper presence of God. There will be those who were merely “church folks” who will either come to faith in Christ or who may reject the notion all together because of their experience. There will be those who did not know Jesus beforehand who will come to know Him through the tragedy and who will come to understand that they are more than accidents looking for a place to happen. There will be those who curse God, a God they may not believe in. There will be those who take credit for their own survival – fools indeed they are (in the Biblical sense). But perhaps the most tragic group will be those who say that they have learned that material things are not everything but that family and other people mean more…but who nevertheless still do not live in a relationship with God; I say these may be the most tragic group because they are so close but so far away. Our goodness can be our greatest enemy for we can become self-satisfied with it and others can affirm us in it.

We will see the image of God in the goodness of humanity in these tragedies. We will also see the evil of fallen humanity in the tragedies. We will see predators and servants, lovers and haters, givers and thieves. We will see those who sacrifice themselves and those who sacrifice others.

If we think about it all long enough we may even hear the voice of God speaking to us about who we are, who we should be, why we were created, how much He loves us, and about how He desires a personal relationship with us through His Son Jesus Christ.

Perhaps it’s time to trade our false sense of security for the secure love of God in Jesus Christ.

Reflections on a Career - 2

While I am sure that there were probably more than three, there are three people I remember who worked for me and who stole from the company I worked for. I only remember the name of one, only the face of one, only the voice of one - that was the one that really hurt; I almost cried when I told my boss about it. The other two? They were just passing by, they came, they stole, they were caught, and they went.

One of them worked for me just a few weeks when I discovered irregularities in the funds she was handling. When the police were called I discovered that they already knew her - she had done the same thing at other firms but no firm would tell another what happened when asked for a reference.

The other one was a maintenance technician who decided on a Sunday morning to fill his van with new air conditioning units belonging to the apartment community where he worked. When a leasing agent saw him loading the units into his van she called the police and then called me. The idiot, or thief, or whatever you’d care to call him, told the police that he was worried that since the lock on the storage building where the units were stored was so flimsy that someone might break in and steal them; so he was going to take them home for safekeeping. I didn’t believe him, the police didn’t believe him, and strangely enough the Baltimore City judge didn’t believe him.

Ah, but the third one, when she stole money...that hurt, I’ll call her Susan. When I first met Susan she was a leasing agent at an apartment community that I’d assumed management of; she had been in her position three years before I arrived. After I’d had the property for a few months, during one of my visits the property manager told me that Susan would like to talk to me, so I invited Susan into the manager’s office to hear what she had to say. She told me that she’d really like to advance in her career, to be promoted, to become a property manager. We talked about what that would entail and I told her that I’d see what we could do.

I was impressed with the way Susan presented herself, with her outgoing positive attitude, and with her desire for advancement. We opened the door for Susan to take some educational courses and exposed her to higher-level aspects of the business. A few months later an opening came up for a property manager, the property looked like a good fit for Susan, a place that would challenge her to grow without overwhelming her. We offered her the position and she accepted it.

Susan did quite well in the new position. I was pleased and I was proud of her. I enjoyed watching her progress. I enjoyed visiting her property and training her, mentoring her. I had high hopes for Susan, very high hopes. One day I noticed that Susan had a new car, not just any new car, but a pretty expensive car. I usually don’t think much about these things, but knowing that Susan had children and a husband who wasn’t financially dependable, I did wonder about such an expensive car - but then didn’t give it much further thought. I knew that Susan was making more money that she had ever made before, a lot more money; I just hoped that she was being wise with it.

Susan’s property performed very well, the numbers were good; then a larger property opened up, a property that represented a major career move and that included a significant salary increase. I didn’t hesitate to offer Susan the job and she didn’t hesitate to take it.

After Susan’s transfer to her new property a review of tenant accounts at her old property indicated discrepancies. When I first saw it I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I knew what my eyes were looking at but my heart and mind couldn’t believe it. I asked my right-hand senior manager to please come to my office and review the accounts. She confirmed what I knew to be true but what I couldn’t believe. I was in denial - at least emotionally. I had given Susan everything I knew to give to open doors for her, I had spent time with her, I had encouraged her - as had others. Why was she doing this? Why was she doing this to her family?

When I went to my boss to tell him I was almost in tears, I didn’t cry but I easily could have. A day or two later my senior manager and I confronted Susan, she quickly admitted stealing and we terminated her. I later found out that she was involved in the “party scene” and had no doubt spent much of her stolen money on late nights, the expensive car, and other toys.

As I have said more than once to my managers, just because someone takes advantage of me doesn’t mean that I’m going to stop caring about people and giving to them - yes, there is pain when we give and care when people are ungrateful and take advantage of us, but if we can only touch a few lives that will learn and grow then it is worth it, we can hope that they in turn will touch others. Some “get it” and others don’t; some may not “get it” now but they may get it later.

I hope Susan has been changed by the grace of God, I hope that she is growing into a woman of integrity and character.

Ginger

Yesterday afternoon I saw that I had a voicemail on my personal cell phone; not recognizing the number I expected it to be a robo call or an actual person trying to sell me something that I don’t actually need.

I listened to the voice and the message, and as I listened I kept saying, “No, no. That can’t be, I can’t believe it.” Vickie was looking at me and saying, “What?”

It was Scotty telling me that his mother, and our friend, Ginger had died. I couldn’t believe it. She was misdiagnosed a couple of years ago, and then about a year ago the correct diagnosis came back - cancer...inoperable.

Learn from this...we hadn’t talked to Ginger for about four years. If you have a friend, a real friend, to whom you have not spoken for a long time - stop reading this and call - forget the email, forget the Facebook - actually call and talk and tell the friend how much he or she means to you. Don’t be where I am...be someplace better.

I had a deep impression to call Ginger about two weeks ago, she died on August 16; I can’t recall whether the impression was before or after her death. I didn’t call - learn from me.

That last time we saw Ginger was when we stopped at her home in Columbia, MD on our way back to Richmond from Baltimore around four years ago. She and her husband Walter were fostering more kids than I could count - I think as many as nine were either with them or had been with them. She told them all that Uncle Bob and Aunt Vickie were coming to visit. I think the kids were a bit surprised when they saw us because Uncle Bob and Aunt Vickie had white skin and Ginger and Walter had black skin - as did all the foster children. It was a bit humorous and I think Ginger had a good time with it.

I could write that Ginger taught me a lot about what it is to be African - American and in the minority, and that would be true. I could also write that Ginger taught me a lot about what is important in life...and that would be even more true. If anyone had any doubts about Ginger’s priorities all he or she would need to do would be to see her with her kids, with her husband, and with Scotty.

I have an idea that Ginger knew more about life and what matters than I ever will.

Learn from me...call a friend.