Have you wondered about the guy wandering the highways with the  backpack and run down shoes?  Where’s he going? Where’s he from? Where’s he spending the night,? Is it in a pasture under a  tree?  And how does he  keep warm in the winter? What does he eat and where does he get his water? Who would chose a life with such self imposed deprivation? Who would chose to be homeless?

But people who would never chose to live their physical lives like that make choices  putting them in the same situation spiritually. Jude, verse 13, refers to ungodly individuals who are described as “wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever”. The most tragic thing that can  happen to a human being is to disconnect from God, in computer terminology, “disconnected from the network”.

Several years ago I observed men traveling down the Interstate Highway that cuts through our little town and  wrote a poem about a fictitious man I called “Johnee”.  I hope you enjoy it and see how it describes  an absolute disconnect.

Johnee

by David Allen

They found him last night,
wrapped in his sleeping
blanket. Out on the Interstate,
dead as a hammer, stiff as
a  board.  Died sometime
in the night, all alone, all
by himself.

No I.D., only, “ My name
is Johnee”,  tattooed on his
chest.

Where was he from? Where
was he going?

Well, he’s not going anywhere,
anymore. And somewhere, long
ago, someone bounced him on
their knee
and said,
“ Oh, Johnee, you’ll
go far in this world”.

But, this, this was too far,
Way too far.

Johnee lost his way. The way home grew so dim he could no longer see it. The darkness overcame him and he died. Johnee disconnected. Are you connected?

Listen to an audio presentation on this topic here

On May 29^th, my darling little granddaughter, Sierra died. She fought a most heinous form of cancer for eighteen months. She died bravely, the way I want to when it’s my turn. I was with her at one o’clock in the morning when she breathed her last. Those eighteen months would take a volume to chronicle which I will never do. But, through all the hours of weeping and happiness, yes, happiness, there is something that I learned that is on my heart to share. Maybe it will help you, I hope so.

People usually deal with dying and death, particularly a tragic one, in pretty much the same way. They believe that no matter the severity of the illness, prayer will more than likely change the outcome. Their core belief is that God will interdict on behalf of the sick person and heal them. Modern medicine does what was impossible only a short time ago, people live who would have died then. These medical marvels are a gift from God.

But what about those who are not healed?  And no matter how many, how long or how fervent the prayers, they die.  When this happens some will blame God for “taking” their loved one. How could an all knowing, all powerful God let theirs die and let another live? It’s a puzzle that begins to eat at the very center of the believer’s heart. Well meaning friends might say, “If we had only had more faith”, or some other horrific statement, the sick one would have been made well. This is a satanic phrase and even though well intended strikes terror deep into the soul. How guilty would you be if your loved one died because you “didn’t have enough faith?”  Yes, we should have faith, enough to move a mountain, as Jesus said, but this faith is not for physical mountains, but spiritual ones.

Do you like to read?  I do and I know you probably like to also, most people do.  Also do you occasionally overhear a conversation about the latest best selling author’s current work?  Notice the adjective, current.  An author as well as anyone else’s fame is fleeting and only a few great names such as Shakespeare or Milton are generally known.The Greatest Author wrote the Greatest Book ever written. Sadly many have never read His book or even picked it up for a cursory examination.  In that book lie the secrets to mankind’s beginning, present and future. It describes the path from here to eternity.  Isn’t that exciting?  The Bible is the “code” from the Master of the Universe for a better life here and a far better one to come.

Can you imagine stumbling upon a great treasure of an ancient king?  And yet, here at our fingertips is a priceless gem, far more valuable than the riches of any king who ever lived. And it can be bought for a small price.  My favorite Bible is one I bought at a garage sale for twenty-five cents. Think of that! The priceless Word of God for twenty-five cents! You may have a favorite copy of the road map to Paradise, I pray so, and perhaps you paid more than twenty five cents for it. Whatever you paid, read it, love it, live it.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Lou David Allen graduated from Abilene Christian University with a BS in Physics in 1962 and a MBA in 1976.  He worked for NASA on the Apollo Moon Project in Houston, TX.  His area of expertise is heat transfer especially related to space simulation systems.  He was a junior college administrator and teacher for 21 years and was the mayor of Merkel, TX for eight.  He now works as a salesman for a company he and his wife Rhoda own.  Rhoda and David have been married forty-seven years.  They are happy.

What is the measure of a man? What is it that he calls upon down deep inside when desperate times come? Heroes are sometimes found in shooting wars and sometimes in wars of another kind.

For the past year my granddaughter Sierra, has fought cancer. January brought news that she was suffering from osteo sarcoma in her right knee. This is a tumor attached to the bone. Chemo, titanium inplant, more chemo, cancer recurrence in the calf of her leg, amputation of the right leg above the knee, another surgery for recurrence in a lung and now extended treatment with a new protocol to improve her immune system is a summary of her year with terror, seven operations and numerous biopsies!

It’s 2009 and she’s back in school, looking forward to getting a prosthesis on what she now affectionately calls her “little leg”. We’ve been in three hospitals as well as a consultation in another. We have met many “battle buddies” along the way, and what a blessing that has been. We have seen grace and courage in people thrown almost overnight into a nightmare they could never have imagined, a nightmare not to be awakened from, but one awakened into, over and over and over.

Cancer is a thief, a robber of time, money and most of all, normalcy. Normal is good. Boring is good. But in the wild and terrifying roller coaster ride where Mr. Cancer takes away a person’s buttons and bows, there stands another MAN. He’s the guy that stays the course, doesn’t run from the unthinkable and remains true to what he vowed, “in sickness and in health.” He’s the man holding his wife up when she’s almost beaten, cancer tired. He’s the dad that holds his wife up when their baby is sick unto death. He’s the hero of Cancerland and somewhere they’re making his medal of honor, his badge of courage. These men are described, I hope, in a poem I wrote some time ago and is in my book, ” POEMS BY LOU DAVID ALLEN”

My Prince Charming
Is not the richest,
Nor the smartest,
Nor the most handsome,
But when I’m sixty three
He will still love me
And put a diamond on my hand.
And should our babies be
Sick, even unto death,
He will pray God takes him
And not them.
That’s who my Prince Charming is.

Guest author David Allen has a B.S. degree in Physics and an MBA.  He has been an elder in the church, engineer, teacher, junior college administrator, mayor and a salesman.  For more information about his book of poerty contact David at dallen@camalott.com