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Thursday, February 9, 2017

Your Dying Spouse 270 - The Safe Place {FMF}

We're here again with Kate Motaung and Five Minute Friday, the timed keyword-driven writing challenge. Please drop by, and meet some awesome writers.

The word this week is...SAFE.

OK.

I spent most of my life sleeping with a pistol under my pillow.

I don't do that now; for one thing, my dear wife would be rather freaked out if I did, and for another, my pillow is now a very large and capable Pit Bull. Sylvia, please take a bow (you too, Barb!)!



There are terrors in the night, and I wanted a safe place.

But my nights are really no longer threatened by angry folks carrying AKs and machetes. They're now ruled by pain that just won't end, and eerie dreams that put me back into places I am tempted to describe, but won't, because I don't want you to throw up whist reading this. I'm not kidding.

I want a refuge, a safe place for my heart.

There are people who scorn safety, .the 'extreme adventure athletes' who think that risking their lives just for the sake of doing it is somehow a virtue.

These people are idiots. I know; I used to be one.

I want a safe, warm place where I can rest. I've done enough; more than enough.

And I have one. My home, where I'm cared for by my lovely and loving wife, and a lot of dogs.

But...I think every day of the people for whom this would be an impossible dream.

I have a refuge; but what of the refugee?

Am I more beloved of God than the Syrian Christian, or the Iraqi Shi'a, or the Somali animist who just wants to be anywhere but where they are now?

Emma Lazarus' poem on the Statue of Liberty can't become public policy and more than can An American Tail or Neil Diamond's famous song about immigrants.

And even more, what of our own citizens whom we have ignored? What of the twenty-two veterans who kill themselves every day because PTSD is too hard to live with? What of our senior citizens who are effectively denied medical care because they can't afford the co-pays and deductibles? What of the children trapped in failing schools by a system that is more willing to consider them examples than people?

We can't ignore the terrors without, lest our oasis of liberty become surrounded by a blood-dimmed tide.

We can't ignore the terrors at home, because they will cause the moral ground to open beneath our feet and swallow us.

I don't have any answer except to know that do nothing is not an answer.

And rest assured...God is watching.


As you do this to the least of My children, you do it to Me.





I have another blog, "Starting The Day With Grace". The focus is a grace quote from someone you might not expect (like, say Mick Jagger) and a short commentary. I hope you'll join me.



Marley update... been moved to a sanctuary, and Bay County will revise their 'dangerous dog' codes.

WE MADE A DIFFERENCE!

And marley has a Facebook page! Please drop by to see how happy he is today.


If you can, please do leave a comment. I am trying to answer all, and I am failing, but please know this - I read and treasure each one.

Below are my recent releases on Kindle -please excuse their presence in the body of the blog. I haven't the energy to get them up as 'buttons' in the sidebar. You can click on the covers to go to the Amazon links.






38 comments:

  1. Thankful God is watching. Oh, so thankful. Great post, Andrew. I enjoy reading your writing. Keep going, brother. You continue to be in my prayers daily.

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    1. Thanks so much, Julie, for this lovely, gracious comment! I will keep going as long as I can, and we so appreciate the prayers!

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  2. Oh, there are many times I don't feel safe especially when I was renting a place. Grateful that God didn't leave me.

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    1. Lux, I'm so glad God watched over you through those times!

      Thank you so much for being here.

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  3. This is so good. Thank you for sharing and for your honest. God is watching, what can we do to help?

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    1. Amanda, I LOVE the way you said this - "God is watching, what can we do to help?" You distilled it to the essence.

      So glad you are here!

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  4. Yet again your words amaze me. I loved it when you wrote, "We can't ignore the terrors at home, because they will cause the moral ground to open beneath our feet and swallow us." Amen to this!

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    1. Bonnie, thank you so much; your words here really mean a lot to me, and make the effort worthwhile.

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  5. Always your words are raw and honest. Much to think about. Praying you feel, in tangible ways, God's peace that passes all understanding. He is watching you, because He loves you just as you are.

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    1. Debbie, thank you for this, and above all for your prayers. I really appreciate them!

      And it's SO GOOD to see you in FMF again!!!

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  6. Terrors by night and pestilence by day - and Who will be our safe place? I'm so thankful that you keep seeking His safe place. You remain in my prayers - thank you for the thoughtful words!

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    1. Indeed, Carol, He is the only Safe Place...and that's how it's supposed to be.

      We're so grateful for the prayers!

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  7. Dear friend, I can't imagine those things that would make us puke and I'm so very thankful I don't have to. I am thankful for your service and so many others that (for the most part) make our homeland a safe place to be. I don't have the answer, but I agree...do nothing is not the answer. I'll be honest, I'm not fond of pit bulls, but your words have given Sylvia a place in my heart :) Prayers always for you and Barb

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    1. Christy, I'm glad you don't have to know those bad things, too. That's "what I'm here for"; to be a shield for your eye and heart.

      I've given Sylvia and Barb a hug from you, and the prayers are sure appreciated.

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  8. I know. I so get your words. Please visit me and read "The Elephant in the Room" - I want your feedback. xo

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    1. Susan, thanks so much! I read "The Elephant In The Room", and you're spot on. Anyone reading this PLEASE click on Susan's name and go to read her wise words!

      XOXOXOWaggyWaggyWOOF!

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  9. "We can't ignore..." When I read that, I am reminded of how much chaos is happening in our world today. I get overwhelmed, and then I remember God. He is watching, and he is not calling me to solve it all but to do what he says to do. To not ignore means to pray, to listen, to keep doing as he leads.
    Thank you for your words.

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    1. Cheryl, thank you for this graceful summation...you're so right. God doesn't call us to do everything (or just give up because we CAN'T do it all), but to do what He asks.

      Thank you so much for this!

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  10. Oh friend, I so hear you and get you. Jesus himself wasn't afraid to reach out to those who are different than us. Sadly Dylan Roof was one of my kind; an ELCA Lutheran and he shot all those people at the AME church. It breaks my heart. I'm in the 62 spot this week.

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    1. Oh, Tara, what a dreadful connexion to discover! My heart hurts for you, my friend.

      I'm so grateful for your presence, my friend, now and always.

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  11. Am thankful you've found a safe place! Thank you for such powerful reminders of all of those who do not have that safe place and who end it all because they do not feel safe. It's a much bigger problem than we usually take time to realize.

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    1. Amy, thank you so much for this. Far too many men and women could not find that safety, and the strain just became too much.

      We can't afford to lose them. Not one of them.

      So glad you're here.

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  12. We all need a safe place and I'm glad you've found one with your wife and the dogs. It is challenging to know how sometimes, but I agree, we should be doing what we can to help others find safety too.

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    1. Lesley, thank you so much! I didn't realize how much safety meant until illness stomped it into my head that I couldn't cope on my own any more; I needed that safety, simply to survive. Quite a lesson.

      And so many others need it, too.

      Thanks so much for being here!

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  13. I always appreciate your posts. You use all the bad things you've experienced and are experiencing to help and encourage us. Thank you.

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    1. Jan, thank YOU. It's a kind of terrible privilege to be able to write from my difficulty, in the hope that it will help others. But knowing that people have found my words a help, I would not change a thing. Terrible, but a privilege nonetheless.

      Thank you so much for being here!

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  14. You post some gerat questions, Andrew. I strive to make my classroom a safe place, my home a safe place (of course, my students think my home is a place for good cookies...but I'm ok with that ;)). If we all do our part to reach out and create a safe space for others, I think we'll be doing what God wants us to do. Love the photo of Sylvia and Barb!

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    1. A safe classroom is SO important! And a home whence cometh the Good Cookies...brilliant! Can I stop by?

      You're absolutely right; we're not expected to do it all, but we are expected to do our part.

      I'll give the two lovelies in the photo a hug for you!

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  15. And because God is watching, I feel safe! You gave me much to think about!!

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    1. It's a wonderful thing, Paula, to feel God's eyes on us.

      Thanks so much for being here today.

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  16. Thank you for keeping it real and using such powerful imagery. I do more praying now for our current administration than I ever have before. So many issues at hand, but yet this world is not our real home. Blessings!

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    1. Leigh, you're absolutely right - this world is not our true home, and how glad we can be of that!

      God bless!

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  17. Thank you Andrew for raw reality in words. This word stirred so up so much in me that all I could write was so simplistic in the light of this world we live in and what we see in people every day, including ourselves and those closest to us. You are close in my heart. I'm #84

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    1. Mary, I will be heading over to your place soon. Looking forward to it; nothing of yours I've read could ever be called simplistic. You always cut deep to the truth.

      I pray for you daily, my friend.

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  18. i love your comments on refuge andrew:) sorry i have been awol. my site has been inundated with malware and i don't know what else. it totally knocked it out:( now it is being monitored and scanned at great cost to me for awhile. i'm at 88 today.

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    1. Oh, Martha, I'm so sorry about the malware. I had that problem a few years ago, and it was really unpleasant.

      I'm so glad you're here, and I will be heading to #88 presently.

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  19. Hey! I'm so glad I stopped by... let's say "fashionably late" this week. I'm just glad I made it at all.
    Please tell Barb that she's every bit as lovely as you make her out to be. :)
    I loved this, Andrew. Your writing sounds today like you have a deeper measure of peace and contentment. Do you feel that? I can feel it. And yes, I agree about the tensions between safety without and safety within. As a Canadian living abroad, we watch and pray for your nation regularly. Trusting Father to give great wisdom to all of your political and national leaders.
    Shauna (your "fashionably late" neighbour, which is a polite way of saying "last place" :)

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    1. I'm so glad you're here, Shauna! And I will definitely pass on your words to Barb.

      You're right - I do feel much more contentment and peace and joy, even though the physical reality is much harder. It' an odd dichotomy, but I think I'm more open to the truly transcendent reality of God's Creation, if that makes sense?

      We do appreciate the prayers for our country. Thank you so much for this.

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