Monthly Archives: February 2020

“One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do.”

Recently I had a patient who reminded me of these words sung by the band Three Dog Night many years ago. As he described his day, I could almost feel the loneliness emanating from him. Divorced, living alone, with only his cat for companionship, he woke alone, ate alone, spent his days alone, and fell asleep alone. Only at work did he have companionship and that did little to fill the void.

The truth is he is not alone, for far too many share his fate. Far too many of us have no one to talk to, no one to confide in, no one to hold. In a world where social media keeps us constantly connected, never have so many felt so alone.

We see the negative effects of this epidemic of loneliness all around us. Depression, anxiety, addiction, suicide, violence, are often a direct result of feeling alone, of not being understood, of feeling isolated, even in the midst of a crowd.

Yet as Christians we know loneliness is just an illusion, because, in truth, we are never alone. We have a Heavenly Father who loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). He promises, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5).

Still, it can be hard for a person to relate to a God they cannot see, especially when all they really want is a flesh-and-blood hand to hold. That is where we, we who call ourselves Christians, come in. We must be the hands of Christ held out to our fellowmen, His arms to hold the brokenhearted, the lonely, and afraid.

Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10 reminds us, “Two are better than one…If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” This coming week, why not look for someone who needs you to be their number two, to be there when they fall and help them get back up? The great thing is, when you become someone’s number two, they’ll be your number two too! Then neither of you will be just one!

One truly is “the loneliest number”. This Sabbath, let’s let the lonely know they are not alone, give the despairing a reason for hope, and show the unlovely they are loved. Let’s not just talk about God’s love. Let’s be that love in action. Let’s be someone’s number two!

Today would have been Dad’s 82nd birthday. Birthdays are usually times of joy, but sometimes, like today, they also bring pain. It’s still hard to accept I can’t just pick up the phone and call Dad to wish him Happy Birthday, to let him know how much I love him. It hurts to know that, in this life, I’ll never again hear his corny jokes or the sound of his laugh or feel his arms around me.

Yes, this is going to be a tough day for the Edison family. Yet, as difficult as this day may be, our family has so much to look forward to, because we know death is not the end. For those who have fallen asleep in Jesus, it is just a rest stop on the way to heaven.

Though Dad sleeps in the grave, though he will never again celebrate another birthday on this earth, we “do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13) Why? Because Dad has one more birthday yet to come!

Someday very soon “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17 NKJV)

When Jesus comes again, when the last trumpet sounds, not only Dad, but all our loved ones who have fallen asleep in the Lord, will be raised into new life. They will be reborn! “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:53). That will be the best birthday they’ve ever had!

But, on that day, it will not be just Dad and those who have died in the Lord who will celebrate one more birthday. 1 Thessalonians 4:17 promises after the dead in Christ have risen, “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

On that day we will all be reborn, but not to a life like we live now, a life filled with pain and sorrow, heartache and regret. 1 Corinthians 15:52 says we will be changed “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” We will be reborn into a life of never-ending joy, endless opportunity, a life where birthdays are no more, a life that never ends!

Today, if you too are missing someone who has passed away, “do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” Shed a tear, but do not give into the sorrow or the pain. Instead, rejoice! Death is not the end! There’s one more birthday yet to come!

My poor wife has a serious illness that significantly impacts both our lives and the lives of others around us. It strikes about this time each year and we have yet to find a cure for it.

The first symptoms appear when the sun starts to shine a little brighter, the snow starts to disappear, and the robins return. The real trigger for this illness, however, is when the seed catalogs start arriving in the mail.

When I come home to find Ana pouring over brightly colored catalogs, oohing and ahhing over the newest varieties of cucumbers, tomatoes, and melons, I know the Gardening Bug has struck again!

This year Ana’s illness manifested itself even earlier than normal. In January she convinced me to build her a growing rack, so she could start her seeds indoors. That’s it pictured above. This has only exacerbated her symptoms, because she already has tomato, melons, and many other seed varieties in the soil. She checks their status everyday, eagerly waiting for the first shoots to break through. It’s very sad!

Thankfully for me, Ana’s Gardening Bug, has some very pleasant side effects, such as delicious tomato sandwiches, mouth-watering zucchini casserole, and savory squash. I’ve thought about seeking treatment for her, but my Mama didn’t raise no fool! If Ana were cured I’d probably starve!

2 Corinthians 9:6 says, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” Ana takes this promise very literally and thank God she does! Through the years we’ve seen our garden consistently produce far more than we can possibly use.

That’s one of the other nice side effects of the Gardening Bug. It often causes a secondary infection – the Spirit of Generosity. This virus blesses not only us, but others too. When we’ve canned all we can, stuffed every corner of our freezers, and sold bushels of tomatoes, what do we do with the surplus? We give it away! That’s when the fun really starts!

It’s so neat to see people’s faces when we show up at their door with a box of vegetables! They just beam! Sometimes we invite families to glean the plants at the end of the season and it’s so much fun to watch the children searching for tomatoes or cucumbers amongst the leaves. It makes all the hard work that came before worth it!

Maybe you aren’t afflicted with the Gardening Bug like my poor wife, but I pray God will still infect you with the Spirit of Generosity this year. It’s a very contagious illness, one with some wonderful side effects! I hope you catch it too! I promise it will change your life forever and could even change the world!

God bless and, please, pray for my wife!

This time of year, we hear a lot about love. The stores are filled with pink teddy bears, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, and bouquets of roses. Brightly colored Valentine’s Day cards stuff mailboxes and little boys pass notes, tentatively asking, “Will you be my Valentine?”

We all long for true love, love that will stand the test of time, love that still loves even when we are unlovely. We talk about it, sing about it, search for it. We make movies and write stories about it. But for so many in this world this search for love seems a hopeless quest.

Why is this? Why are so many lonely, even in a crowd? Why are so many desperately looking for love in bars, in chat rooms, at the theater, on internet porn sites? Why do so many turn to drugs, or sex, or suicide, trying to hide from the pain of living in a loveless world? Why do so many people fall out of love and fall into affairs or divorce? With all this talk about love around us how come so many of us feel so unloved?

The problem is we don’t understand love very well. We are looking for love in all the wrong places. True love isn’t found in brightly colored packages, Hallmark movies, or boxes of chocolates. It isn’t found on the Internet or in a one night fling. It is found in only one place – in the arms of God.

1 John 4:16, 17 says, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. This is how love is made complete among us…” It is only in growing relationship with God we can experience true love and it is only then we can truly love others and be loved in return.

Loving God makes everything else real. It makes beautiful words sound better, sunsets seem brighter and kisses taste sweeter. Loving God gives purpose to our lives, meaning to our faith.

God’s love transforms us. Instead of craving attention or possessions we joyfully give our last penny to the poor or our very lives to the flames, not to gain heaven, but so others may know His love too.

Are you lonely this Valentine’s Day weekend? Do you long for a love you’ve never known? Do you long for a friend you can trust, someone you can share the most intimate details of your life with, someone who cares about your hurts and pains, your joys and sorrows? God is who you are searching for.

In Him you will find a love you never dreamed possible, a peace that passes all understanding, a purpose for your life. In Him you will find joy beyond reason, a love that never ends, a friend that never disappoints.

God’s love is everything you need and it makes everything you want possible. His love is yours today, right now. All you have to do is accept it. Why wait? Give Him your heart today and discover what true love really means.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

This week I started work at my new practice in Cashmere, WA. It was so nice to just roll down the hill to work, instead of dealing with Wenatchee’s traffic. I think my favorite part, though, was getting to be home with my lady every evening. Ana and I get off work at the same time, so we arrive home within minutes of each other, which is really nice.

The first couple days were a little challenging, learning a new computer system and new procedures. Probably the hardest part was getting myself to slow down. In the walk-in it was always go-go-go. In this new setting, however, I have the time to get to know the patient, identify their needs and goals, and work with them to develop a plan which works for them. It is a refreshing change and the patients seem to appreciate it too.

One of my favorite quotes is from the book Ministry of Healing, p. 143. It says:

“Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me.’”

We get this backwards so often, not just in medicine, but also in our witness for Christ. We tell people what to do, saying “Follow me”, then wonder why they shake their heads and walk away. But what do we expect? How can they trust us if they don’t know us?

We need to learn to follow Christ’s example, getting to know people, meeting their needs, and sharing their joys and sorrows, before we try to change their behavior. “The poor are to be relieved, the sick cared for, the sorrowing and the bereaved comforted, the ignorant instructed, the inexperienced counseled. We are to weep with those that weep, and rejoice with those that rejoice.” (ibid.)

This week let’s remember to get things in the right order. Before we invite people to follow Christ, let’s make sure we act like Christ. Before we invite them to our church, let’s invite them to our homes. Before we share the Word with them, let’s share a meal with them. Let’s mingle with them, sympathize with them, and meet their needs. Let’s win their confidence, before we try to win their souls. We are promised, if we do this, “…this work will not, cannot, be without fruit.”

This week, whether at work or at play, let’s strive to be like Jesus in all that we do, following His method, mingling with others “as one who desires their good.” Then maybe when we invite people to follow Him, instead of turning away, they’ll reply, “I’d love to, if He’s anything like you.”

God bless and have a Happy Sabbath!

C.S Lewis said, “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” Today I start to change the ending!

Yesterday, I said good-bye to the most wonderful group of people I’ve ever worked with. It was difficult leaving these wonderful, amazing people I’ve come to know and love, but, after almost 13 years working at Confluence Health, it’s time for a new adventure.

Tomorrow, I start work at my new office in Cashmere. Just opened a month ago, this is a different kind of practice then I’ve ever worked for before. Instead of using insurance our patients pay a monthly membership fee to be part of the practice.

What really excites me about this Direct Care model is it will give me more time with each patient, allowing me to get to know them better and to help them make positive choices about their lifestyles, reducing their risk of chronic disease, and improving their overall health.

As rewarding as I think this new approach will be, it is still with some trepidation I move into this new beginning. This will most likely be my last job before I retire, so I want it to go well. My prayer is God will use me to make a real difference in the lives of my patients and in the Cashmere community.

Thankfully, I have God’s promise that He has sent “an Angel before [me] to keep [me] in the way and to bring [me] into the place which I have prepared.” (Exodus 23:20 NKJV). Even before I get to the office tomorrow morning, God’s Angel is already there, preparing the way before me. With that kind of support on my side I know things are going to go well.

This morning do you need to change your ending? If so, don’t hesitate to take that next step into what God is calling you to do, “for the Lord your God is with you anywhere you go.” (Joshua 1:9).

You can’t change your past, but you can “start where you are and change the ending.” So step forward with confidence, knowing His Angel goes before you “to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place” prepared for you.

God bless, have a great week, and enjoy the journey!

A good friend gave me a card this week with my favorite text, Jeremiah 29:11, on the front. It was exactly what I needed at that moment, because I was feeling pretty discouraged. I’d just learned another friend, who I was really looking forward to working with on a special project, was not going to be able to join me. The card’s gentle reminder that God is in control came at just the right time to lift me from my disappointment.

We all face discouragements and setbacks in our lives. A job falls through, a friend moves away, a spouse disappoints. As the Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote,

The best laid schemes of Mice and Men oft go awry
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!

In times like these it is easy to lose our trust in God, but it is then we must cling to Him all the more, knowing “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Remember we have a Heavenly Father who “directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” (Psalm 37:23). He promises, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11).

In the book Ministry of Healing, p. 479, we find this wonderful promise:

God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end fro m the beginning and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him.

We may not always understand why setbacks and disappointments occur, but no matter what happens we can trust God to do what’s best for us. After all He “did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

Today, no matter what comes your way, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:4-6). God knows what He’s doing. Put your hand in His today and let Him lead you into a bright new future full of hope.

God bless and have a wonderful Sabbath!