Monthly Archives: June 2021

When I’m driving I’ll sometimes do something which drives my wife crazy. I’ll notice Ba road off to the side and suddenly decide to see where it goes. Sometimes these little detours lead to a beautiful view or a picturesque town, but often it just meanders off into the wilderness until we’re totally lost.

Last year I decided to try a different road. After 13 years in the walk-in clinic I joined a new practice in Cashmere, WA. Things went well for about a month and a half, but then COVID hit! Business plummeted suddenly and we had to temporarily close.

Looking for more stability, I took a job with Occupational Medicine. The staff was amazing and, at first, I thought I’d found a new home. After a few months, though, I realized I’d made a wrong turn. I’m an acute care PA and managing patients long term just isn’t for me. I started looking for a way back to what I do best.

The search was frustrating. I received several offers, but none was right for me. I spent a lot of time struggling with God, but only found peace when I accepted God might want me to stay right where I was. Like Paul, I had to learn “to be content whatever the circumstances.” (Philippians 4:11).

With this new attitude came also a wonderful peace. I was learning to “wait on the Lord” and the wait was worth it. A new position was opened back at the Walk-in Clinic and I was offered the job. I start July 1 and I’m so excited to get back to work with my Walk-in “family.”

My little detour cost me a lot of sleepless nights and anguish, but I learned some valuable lessons. I learned what it really means to trust in God, to surrender, and I gained perspective on what is the right path for me. I loved working with the wonderful people at OccMed and I’ll miss them, but it’s good to be back on the path where I belong.

If you’ve taken a little detour too and find yourself in a place you don’t belong, on a path that’s headed in the wrong direction, don’t despair. No matter what mistakes you’ve made, what wrong turns you’ve taken in your life, remember “your ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all your paths.” (Proverbs 5:21).

God knows just where you went wrong and He can show you the way back to the right path for you. Just “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 3:5-6).

We all make wrong turns sometimes, detours we should have avoided. Thankfully we have a Heavenly Father who cares. If you let Him He will “instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.” (Psalm 32:8). Why wander any longer, making one wrong turn after another? Put your hand in His today and let Him lead you back to the path where you belong, the path which will lead you Home.

Today is Juneteenth. It was on this day, in 1865, federal troops marched into Galveston, TX and General Granger read General Order Number 3 to the people there. The order said:

“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

With those words slavery in America was officially outlawed, effectively bringing to an end this shameful institution which had caused untold suffering to millions and taken a bloody Civil War to finally abolish.

Two days ago, 156 years after the fact, June 19 was finally declared a federal holiday. However, Juneteenth has been celebrated since 1866 by African-Americans. Called by various names, including Jubilee Day, Black Independence Day, and Emancipation Day, Juneteenth is a day of remembrance and of celebration. It is a day for hope and for recognizing there is still much to be done before we fully realize the promise of General Order Number 3 of “absolute equality of rights” for all people.

About 2000 years ago Jesus Christ came “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free…” (Luke 4:18 NIV). That freedom was bought for you and I through Christ’s precious blood, spilled on Mount Calvary. When we accept his death as payment for our sins, He sets us free from slavery to sin and declares we are His brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of God.

The slaves in Texas had actually been set free 2-½ years before by President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, but they did not know it. So too, many today remain in slavery of one type or another. Addicted to drugs or alcohol, weighed down by despair and grief, they struggle through each day “without hope and without God in the world.” (Ephesians 2:12).

If only they knew Jesus paid the price for their sins! If only they realized they’ve been set free! But, “how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:14)

It was General Granger’s duty to inform the slaves in Texas they had been set free. In the same way it is your duty and mine to spread the Good News to all we meet that Jesus has set them free. They are no longer slaves for “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

How can we stay silent any longer? How can we stand idly by and let our friends and family struggle under the weight of sin, under chains Christ broke on the Cross. Like Jesus we too are called ““to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free…”

This week let’s lift our voices at work and at home, in-person and on-line. Everywhere we go let’s share the Good News with everyone we meet. Let’s let the whole world know the price has been paid – “all slaves are free!”

Today’s my 61st birthday. Yeah, I know that’s old but, as they say, age is just a state of mind. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful life and I know the best is yet to come!

Earlier this week Ana asked me what I wanted for a gift and I couldn’t think of a thing. Just getting to spend the day with her is the best gift I can have. As far as material gifts are concerned, the last thing I need is more stuff.

I did, however, receive one very special birthday present today. My “Encouraging Words for Today” Facebook group went over 500 followers! I was so excited! These followers come from all over the world – the US, Philippines, Australia, Ghana, and even Trinidad and Tobago. It makes me feel so good knowing my efforts are making a small difference in another person’s life somewhere in the world each week.

The thing is, we all can make a difference in some small way, everyday. Maybe writing’s not your thing, but we each have something we can share to encourage another person. It could be a loaf of bread or some cookies, a little thank you note or email, or just a smile or a kind word. The important thing is for us to ask God to open our eyes to see the needs around us and then do something about them.

The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, to “encourage each other and build each other up…”
The world can be a pretty dark place if we have to face it on our own. We need each other to help us see the light at the end of the tunnel, to remind us a better day is on it’s way or to just hold our hand and help us make it through another day. We’re better together. As Ecclesiates 4:12 says, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

This week let’s look for opportunities to “encourage each other and build each other up.” Give someone else an encouraging word, do a kind deed, or lend a helping hand. Share a smile, send a note, or give to someone in need. And if someone has done something to encourage you, say “Thank you,” by sharing it in the comments below. Then we can all be encouraged together!

Let’s make this a great week and build each other up anyway we can!

God bless and Happy Sabbath!

PS: To all those who have signed up to follow Encouraging Words for Today on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or at EncouragingWordsForToday.com, thank you so much for the wonderful birthday present! You made my day! And if you haven’t signed up yet, I hope you will. After all, we all can use an encouraging word now and then.

I woke up yesterday morning and knew something was wrong. My head hurt, my nose was stuffed, and I couldn’t stop coughing. I’d been going, going, going all week, not getting enough rest, and now I was paying the price. It was breakdown time! I was sick!

After calling into work and making a quick trip to town to get tested for COVID (negative, thankfully) I crawled back into bed and spent most of my day sleeping. I couldn’t concentrate, I ached all over and couldn’t stay warm. It was generally a miserable day. I hate being sick!

I’m a little better today, but still feeling totally wiped out. I watched church online, then went back to bed. Later I got up, ate lunch, and went back to bed. Crawled to the bathroom and went back to bed. I know Sabbath is supposed to be a day of rest, but this is ridiculous! I just hope I feel better tomorrow.

We all have days like these, where we’re feeling under the weather, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Our get-up-and-go has got-up-and-went, our energy is drained and just putting one foot in front of the other is a challenge. We’re tired, discouraged, and our soul aches almost as much as our body. We’re breaking down and we can’t seem to do anything about it.

It’s in these moments Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28 means the most to me. He says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Work is good and we all strive to do our best, but if we let it, it can take over our lives. If we just keep charging ahead, never taking time for a pit stop, we’re going to break down, physically and spiritually. Believe me, I know!

So, before you go charging into a new week, take a moment to “Come aside…and rest awhile.” (Mark 6:31). Set your burdens down at the Cross, take a load off your feet, and just spend a little time with the One who loves you more than life itself. Don’t risk another breakdown. Come to Jesus today – and rest.