The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.                                                                                                                                    Jeremiah 31:3

Sometimes we just have to learn to accept things before we can begin to understand them. Sometimes, we will never understand. We are wired to be curious, to try to figure things out. That is a good thing. It drives us to learn, to grow. However, there are some things we just need to accept.

In addictions, the addicted individual may never really understand the biological dynamics of their addiction. Understanding the addiction won’t likely help to overcome the addiction. Only abstinence from the substance will give the addict the needed space to heal and get some recovery under his/her belt, but they may never really understand why they became addicted. They simply accept that their best efforts left them addicted, and that acceptance of the help of friends, family and sober support is what they need to stay clean.

Only after acceptance can understanding begin.  Grace works that way. We do not really understand grace, we simply accept that it has been given to us. If we can accept the beauty of grace, unmerited favor, we can enjoy its benefits.

I’m not sure that we will ever understand why God loves us as he does. But just because we don’t understand it doesn’t mean it isn’t true. (Yes, there are a lot of double negatives here, but hang with it!) Some people try to overthink this because they feel unlovable. “How can God love me when I don’t love myself”, some may say.

I say, don’t try to understand that- just accept it.

Prayer: You have made us to be curious, to try to understand. Thank you for that. More than that we need to accept your love for us, extravagant as it is, Amen.

 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,

 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

Philippians 1:3-5

It is now April. We are headed toward Summer, as Easter and Spring Break are behind us. What a glorious time of year! Today, however, I want to reflect upon yesterday, Easter Sunday.

I had the opportunity to attend Easter Mass with my family at the church where I grew up- St. Martin Church in Cheviot, Ohio. I have heard it said that you cannot go home again, but let me tell you- yes you can! My experience at my old church, the Mass being said by my brother who is a Franciscan priest, assisted by my nephew who is a Catholic Deacon, being surrounded by cousins, nieces, nephews, life-long friends- yes, you can go home again and love it.

I was touched, as always, by the Catholic liturgies and timeless Easter hymns. I was able to receive communion from the hands of my brother, and the family and spiritual connection was powerful.

I cruised around the neighborhood of my youth, and while there were changes to be sure, some things never change. I could pick out the houses where my grade school friends lived. I parked in the playground of my old grade school, and memories flooded back.

I think it is good for the soul to revisit and honor our roots. I know it was good for mine.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the power of memories and family, Amen

Just a short message here on Easter Sunday. Easter is an annual reminder and anniversary of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. But let’s remember that this Sunday, while an anniversary, is also a promise of resurrection. Jesus overcame death, and he has given us eternal life. It is not just a one-day celebration- it must be celebrated in our lives daily by the way we live.

If we truly believe that Jesus has overcome death, that he has secured for us an eternal life, then we have the security to live for him boldly, not in fear. Living life out loud in the service of others as our response to his death and resurrection is the message of Easter.

So my dear readers, enjoy your life, live it out loud!

Happy Easter!

One of the men with Jesus pulled out a sword and slashed off the ear of the high priest’s servant.“ Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those using swords will get killed.  Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?                         Matthew 26: 51-53

We are familiar with this passage from the book of Matthew, outlining a scene from the Garden of Gethsemane when Jeus was betrayed by Judas. Peter, (presumably) drew his sword and slashed the high priest’s servant, severing his ear. Jesus rebuked Peter, telling him that if he chose, he could summon thousands of angels to wipe out the puny force arrayed against him.   

Peter had not gotten the message that Jesus was here to shed his own blood, not the blood of others. This is what Jesus did with power- he sublimated his own power so that others would benefit. That same resurrection power, to be displayed just two days later, could have been used to destroy all who stood against him. Jesus chose to use his power to give life to others, not death.

So, let us consider what we do with power. Do we use it for our own benefit, and to subdue others, or do we give it away to benefit others.

That is the fundamental message, and question, of Easter.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the expression of real power and how to use it, Amen

I apologize in advance for this self-serving paean to the Opening Day of Major League Baseball. Some of my readers will get this and appreciate it. Some of my readers will be perplexed, even disappointed that I have not come through with a more serious and edifying blog.

Well, for me, Opening Day of baseball, particularly Opening Day (yes, it is always capitalized where I come from) for the Cincinnati Reds is like a magical holiday. Winter is over, and Spring/Summer is here. Decades of memories are instantly conjured up on this wondrous day.

Baseball for me, and many others, is a reprieve from the dreadful realities of the evil we see all around us. It calls us to a more pristine time when baseball was king (alas, it is no longer) and people could come together and cheer for their favorite heroes of the diamond. Wins would give oxygen to us, while losses would deflate us just a bit.

We knew all the players, and they stayed on the same team for years at a time. But that was a simpler time, and it is no more. Yet baseball is back today!  Our team is in first place (OK, they all are today) and Summer begins.

So, my friends, let’s celebrate Opening Day! If you don’t share the same energy for this, I understand, but find something else to celebrate today. I hope you have the same joy that I do today!

This suffering is all part of the work God has given you. Christ, who suffered for you, is your example. Follow in his steps                                                                                               I Peter 2:21

This is Holy Week my friends, a time that we recall the last week of Jesus on earth (for a time) before his sacrifice on the cross. We are called to be more sober and thoughtful this week, and indeed, we find a suffering and broken world as we consider our state this week.

The people of Ukraine are suffering at the hands of the tyrant Vladimir Putin whose Russian troops continue their aggression. The people of Gaza are starving to death due to a war they did not choose. People around the world face oppression, starvation and suffering because of the decisions of governments that are corrupt and uncaring about their fate.

Here in the United States, political failures leave us baffled as to how we got to this place. All these instances, and so many more, remind us that political solutions will never save us. When the crowds in Jerusalem cried out for their political leaders to crucify Jesus, they were unaware of how profoundly wrong they, and their government, could be.   

The message of Holy Week is that there is power in reliance upon God alone. Even when failure and death seem to carry the day, salvation is right behind it, on Easter.

So friends, we are surrounded by pain, suffering and evil actions, but God is in control. Our hope is in him, not temporal government.

That is the good news.

Prayer: Lord, in you alone we trust for our salvation, Amen

For I will show you lessons from our history, stories handed down to us from former generations. Psalm 78:2-3 (Living Bible)

This past week, I shared one of my daughter’s blogs titled “Stories”. I am always thrilled to share her work because she is a talented and thoughtful writer. I was especially happy to share that one because it brought to mind for me the times that I would tell stories to my kids, often at bedtime. Sometimes it was a story of family history, sometimes a fable, and sometimes it just took the form of “This is what you can dream about tonight”. Of course, I would always come up with a pleasant diversion for them to dream about. It was just a suggestion that I hoped might stick in their unconscious mind.

The point however of storytelling is powerful. Family history can be shared so that kids can have an anchor to the past and a sense of stability. It can also help shape identity in them, both emotional and spiritual.

The early church lived on stories. There was no written Bible for the very early Christians- only stories about Jesus, his life and message. There were also testimonies from Believers about the power of Jesus in their life. Nothing can refute the testimony of a person who has had a God experience.

So, let’s keep telling stories to our children, even when they are adults. They will pass them on to grandchildren and beyond.

 Nothing can top a good story, right?

Prayer: Lord, you have given us experiences that should be carried on. Give us the strength and ability to carry on such traditions, Amen

After four plus years of COVID-19 existence, it finally happened- it became personal. Yes, in ways it was personal before that, since I had lost some friends and acquaintances with the disease. This time I experienced it first-hand. While on vacation last week I contracted COVID, and then so did my wife. We are fine, recovering without any major problems. However, it is not, in my experience like the common cold. I was fatigued, feverish and I have lost my sense of taste. It was not, though, significantly disruptive to my life. Because we have been vaccinated, including boosters, the case was essentially mild. Also, the strain has been mutating to become more ubiquitous in the environment, but also less virulent. This is true to the evolutionary trajectory of viruses- they become milder so as not to kill as many hosts, which cuts down their ability to survive long-term.

We are fortunate that the virus was not more disruptive to our lives. It is annoying to be sure, but fortunately not lethal, or even debilitating. However, it is still potentially lethal, so it is not a toothless adversary. People with long COVID will attest that it is potentially life-altering. Vaccinations are safe and effective, and they offer protection. We are thankful for good health in general, which helps us to handle the virus in due course.

So, my friends, still be careful out there.

Prayer: May God continue to protect us all in his provision and mercy, Amen

So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.                                                            Isaiah 41:10

We are all pretty familiar with the “Fight or Flight” syndrome as a response to acute stress or danger. Our bodies react with stress hormones to prepare us for action to ward off or flee from danger. We also know that even after the initial danger is gone, it takes a while for the chemistry in our bodies to catch up. For individuals who are chronically exposed to such hormonal rushes, the body gets ravaged with the chemicals that are supposed to activate us for action. Such continual flushes of stress cause long-term damage, including blood pressure problems, chronic inflammatory response, and a host of endocrine problems that prematurely can age us. Not good.

There is a third option that we sometimes default to- freeze. Sometimes, we simply do not react at all. It is as if we are frozen in place, unable to move in any direction. We are unable, for just the shortest time, to fight or to flee. We are stunned to inaction, perhaps not willing to believe that such danger even exists. It is almost a denial of what is right before us. We can liken it to being in a minefield. There is simply no safe direction to go in, so we go nowhere.

I find that in retrospect, clients often chastise themselves for the action they took during the crisis. “I should have done this”, or “I wish I had done that”. The truth is, often there is no right answer at the instant of crisis. Soldiers and first responders train all the time to learn a “trained response” so as to increase chances of proper action. Thankfully, they are typically well prepared, “overtrained” as it were so that the right action comes almost automatically.

For those of us who are not specifically trained for regular encounters with traumatic stresses, we may be surprised with the actions that we take in such situations. I trust that such crisis stress responses are rare in your life. In the next few days, I will discuss chronic exposure to stress and the reactions that can happen.

Prayer: Lord, you have given us these remarkable bodily reactions for our safety. We are in awe of how we are made to respond, Amen.

from traumamom4 – by Jennifer Hartwell

As a very young child, my dad would lie next to me as I was falling asleep, and I would say to him, “Daddy, tell me a story.” It was in those twilight moments when I learned about my dad’s childhood, my grandfather’s bakery, and my aunts and uncles. I believe most of those stories were true, but from time to time, I am sure there were embellishments or made-up stories to intrigue yet soothe me as I found peaceful sleep.

I remain fascinated by stories. Mostly true stories, but sometimes fictional ones (see: Ted Lasso). Stories are how we connect and learn. As a surgeon educator, when I am asked to teach and test, the request is often, “Please provide your evaluation questions in case-based format”, meaning, build a story to help the learner understand the concept in a way that seems relatable; tell the story that they can see themselves in.

I just returned home from a national meeting of one of my beloved societies, The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST). Throughout the week, I heard excellent presentations of novel science, advancing the care of our patients, but also heard many, many stories, including the very personal and vulnerable presentation by Dr. J. Wayne Meredith, beloved surgeon and colleague, who told his own story of navigating cancer. He expressed that what mattered to him in his darkest moments, was not his (very) long list of impressive academic accomplishments, but rather, his most trusted friends who supported him when he needed it most. Throughout the week, I heard story after story of connections made at our national meetings that led to friendships and partnerships, that advance our scientific work, and more importantly, nurture the relationships that benefit our patients, and support us as caregivers as we care for our patients.

Stories teach us lessons. They draw us in and reveal deeper truths about us. Jesus taught his lessons through stories (parables) for a reason: We identify with stories, we see ourselves in them, and we learn from them. This is the same reason I advise the students and residents I work with to read about the disease processes they see while taking care of their patients each day; we learn about sepsis by reading about it after taking care of a septic patient; we learn about the best management of severe rib fractures after seeing a patient who has multiple rib fractures. When we can tie a patient and their story to a concept, the learning truly sticks.

This weekend is the Plaza Art Fair, and although I’m a little tired after traveling late last night, on this quiet and gorgeous Sunday afternoon, my husband said, “You wanna check out the Art Fair? Just for an hour. Not gonna buy anything. Let’s just walk around.” Sure, why not?

This is not your grandma’s arts and crafts festival. The Plaza Art Fair draws renowned artists from around the world. I was in awe. Still, I told myself, I won’t buy anything; I don’t need anything. Then we walked by Clifton Henri‘s booth. I stopped and was totally drawn in by a piece titled “Wings”. The artist, Clifton, was standing there and I asked him, “Can you tell me the story behind this piece.” He smiled. I could tell that he loves telling the stories. “This is a picture of my student advisor’s daughter. She went to the restroom, and when it was quite a while and she didn’t come back, we found her like this. She said, ‘I just wanted to see myself.’” (please see: cliftonhenri.com and view the photograph titled “Wings” as found on his home page; picture not posted here in respect of his original work, but cover photo is me and the artist.) The descriptor on the image pierced me:

“Wings” is dedicated to all the courageous women and fearless little girls that are determined to see themselves represented in this world. May you conquer any and every obstacle set in your path. May your confidence never be swayed and instincts never doubted. Shine like you were meant to. Fly like you were born to; and don’t let anything stand in your way.

Stories empower and inspire us. Stories also bring us to a place of empathy and compassion. Today, I have been reminded yet again about the power of stories and just how sacred the moments are that we spend listening to each others’ stories.