MEMORIES

We finally got mom home from the hospital today. She had been in since last Friday with acute bronchitis. While they were treating, her blood pressure and heart rate got out of whack and it took a while to get it back down. Thankfully she is doing good, and my sisters take good care of her. Makes me think about getting older and what life is going to be like if I live to be her age.

Tonight I did the funeral of one of our shut-ins, James Thompson. James was a great guy. When I first came to Magna View, he lived just a few doors down from us. His wife Bertha was very sick and James took wonderful care of her until she passed away. One of our memories of James and his family occurred during a family celebration we were invited to. I don't recall what the occasion was, but there was cake and finger foods. James always had a little dog (Andre I think) and my middle daughter Lydia had gotten a plate of food and set next to a coffee table to eat. She got distracted by something and while she was looking away the dog stole her sandwich from her plate. It kind of freaked her out. James became known as the owner of the "sandwich stealing dog." It's funny the things we remember; it always seems to be the funny or weird things in life that makes the most memories.

JAMES STUDY

I've been learning a lot from the study of the book of James. I'm amazed at how much James has to say about relationships. In tonight's study(3:13-18), I learned how wisdom is tied to relationships. I always thought of wisdom as being related to intelligence or "smarts". But as I thought about, I know a lot of people with "smarts" who aren't very good at relationships. When it comes to interacting with people, they seem to lack "common sense."

The wisdom from above, on the other hand, is about treating people with respect. Jesus treated others wisely. He didn't always agree with those He encountered, and sometimes He could seem harsh (calling pharisees hypocrites); but He was always fair in His communications with others. He was always honest. Too much of my communication with people is still about impression management or agenda manipulation. I'm learning more about honest and transparent communication, but I have a long way to go. I'm thankful God is "long-suffering"!