Veterans' Day

I’ll keep this simple. Today is Veterans’ Day, a day set aside to remember the heroic efforts of our men and women in the military whom have given their own lives and freedoms in defense of our country. We honor all veterans; some of them have lost parts of their bodies, mental capabilities, and loved ones. These soldiers and sailors have risked their all for freedom. Whether they were in combat or not, they took the oath to defend this country from its enemies. Let’s never forget the sacrifices they have made. Say a prayer for our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, and sons and daughters that wherever they are and wherever they go the prayers and support of the people of the United States are forever with them. We want them all to return safely home. We shall never forget you! Happy Veterans’ Day!

Stay On That Yellow Brick Road

How much do you know about the Wizard of Oz movie? Other than it was enjoyable and fun to watch. You could tell me the cast of characters and the Hollywood stars that played them. You could probably tell me something about the cowardly lion, the “no heart” tin man, the “no brain” scarecrow, the Munchkins, the good witch, the wicked witch, Auntie Em, her uncle, the farmhands, the flying monkeys, Toto, and the principal star Dorothy. I might have missed someone but let’s not forget the Theme Song, “Somewhere over the Rainbow!” Of course, Stephanie Mills really took it to another level in later years. The aluminum dust had some serious bad effects on the tin man actors. It hospitalized Buddy Ebsen and the aluminum paste, later used, caused his replacement Jack Haley to have an eye infection. Even young Michael Jackson and Diana Ross did their thing with The Wiz in 1978! All in all, do you remember now? Let’s go for a walk on the yellow brick road. A minister was telling me how his youth group dissected the Wizard of Oz. They concluded that The Wizard gave them the right directions but they had to stay on the road. The traveling companions might be going in the same direction but they might have a different reason to get to their destination. Simple, huh? Let’s dig a little. Dorothy first ran away from home, because the mean townswoman wanted to take Toto away after he bit her. She meets a traveling fortune teller who tricks her into thinking Aunt Em is sick and needs Dorothy at home. Dorothy gets back just in time for a tornado and takes refuge in the house which is supposedly taken away to another land. Dot got knocked out! When she wakes up after Dorothy’s house falls on an evil witch. An angel, the good witch, appears and rewards Dorothy with “magical” slippers. Red showed up better on color TV but it didn’t matter what color the shoes were. It could have been a scarf. She got a gift and didn’t know what to do with it. (Don’t we all?) She was not to remove those slippers. Noticed how they all met. The scarecrow was pointing in two directions not sure where to go, the tin man rusted embracing his axe locked in a job that he didn’t love, and a lion that ran away from them once he found out that the companions were not afraid. All bark but no bite. They finally get to a place called Emerald City but it is not home. This is where they will get a chance for the Wizard to give them directions on how to return home. Return to our heavenly home, now don’t we all want to do that? In the process of going home, they meet people to help them on their way and reminding them to stay on the yellow brick road. Note that whenever they got off the road, they encountered major problems. The evil, wicked witch even sent her flying monkeys to stop them. Satan will send his forces to stop us from getting to God. How symbolic was it that water destroyed the evil witch? Water, baptism, cleansing of the soul to prepare for the good are major elements in staying on the yellow brick road. In the end, the traveling companions found in Dorothy all the qualities they needed, wisdom, compassion, and courage to get back home. Dorothy realized that she had the power within her all along and that the ruby slippers were just a tool to give her confidence. But if she had found her faith in the beginning, she might have been able to avoid many of those pitfalls. It is never too late to get back on that road. It’s also never too late to find God. Looking back, the road was just wide enough for all four of them to travel. We all have the Bible as our guide and our pastors, friends, and loved ones to help guide us, but we decide if we want to stay on the right road. We get trapped sometime with the company we keep and trying to find shortcuts. Still, there are angels along the way to help us. Sometimes, you get picked on staying on that road even by the people that you think that love you. Well, do they really love you? If they did, they would love what is best for you!

Dreams

Do you think that our dreams are really trying to tell us something? I’m not talking about the occult or anything of that nature. I’m just wondering what they symbolize, sometimes. Here’s a glimpse of mine. I dreamed that I was driving on a very wet interstate in a bad storm. The road was very wet and slippery. Down the road, I saw a blue light, a patrolman directing traffic away from a collision. There was a detour that went left and I took it. I did not follow the other cars; instead, I took a shortcut through someone’s yard. Going through this yard, was a lot of mud and big rocks, both of them I tried to avoid. I thought that I was getting out of that when the road I turned right onto was being upgraded and bumpy. The rain had stopped then and the sun was starting to come out, but the road was still a mess. I regretted not following the rest of the cars from the detour. But, just then, I came out into an open field where it was clean and level. It wasn’t many houses and I saw one vehicle on a hill coming down. I mean this field was clean and it had only a dirt road but was very smooth. By then, the sun was completely out and I woke up. I don’t expect any dream translators to answer but deep inside I already know the answer. It’s just remarkable to me that after I had this dream, a minister several days later discusses the teens’ take on the Yellow Brick Road. God is trying to tell me something and I’m listening!

Man Of God!

After I left the promotion ceremony, I seemed “guided” to drop by a local K-Mart store that was closing. I needed to check on the close-out prices of vitamins, if there were any left. Vitamins are expensive! I saw an elderly gentleman looking at what was left. I wasn’t in any mood to talk to anymore so I gave him enough space and hoped that he would be leaving soon. He already had a basket full of vitamins. I figured it was time for him to go. Man, did I figure wrong! He started telling me about some of the vitamins that would benefit me. Which one would be good for the prostate, blood, skin, etc. I knew a little about the vitamins he discussed but I let him talk. For some reason, I just stood there and listened. Then he started telling me about the problems he was having in his neighborhood but that he was not leaving. He told me about the legal actions he was taking. How lawyers, counselors, and others were helping with the least amount of trouble and money. I heard about the clothes that he purchased, computer equipment, and automobiles that he didn’t have to pay full price. He retired as a transit driver from Chicago and moved to SC. He mentioned how God put people and things in your life to help you. That God allows tests to be done to us to see how much faith and trust we have in Him. That He wants us to lay our burdens at His feet. He mentioned about tithing. That he gives his 10% and more every week. That no matter what, give to God. After all, He supplies all of our every need. It’s us that don’t appreciate the small things in life. The gentleman told me that his life wasn’t always peaceful that he had pains and hardships just like everyone else. Even now, but he doesn’t worry about it anymore. He praises the Lord and is proud to a Man of God. He told me that anyone that had falsely accused him of any wrongdoing suffered. His goal is to show how God works in his life. He told me that his life began changing over 30 years ago. He was playing two lotto numbers but three printed out. The last sets of numbers were 888. He said for those people in numerology knew that they meant a change in life. I always believed that 777 were the perfect number for Christ and 666 the imperfect number of the beast. But at the Numerology Website it means: “If you are seeing 88 or 888 the angels are telling you that something in your life is nearing an end. It could be a relationship or a career.
It also means that something positive is about to show up for you. But don't let the opportunity to pass. When the time is ripe, you need to act on what is being presented”.
Yes, I looked it up, I wanted to verify. I found myself enjoying the conversation, more importantly, I felt that this conversation was meant for me. My inner spirit did not tell me that this was an evil person or someone looking for a conversation. I believed that it was spirit sent by God to encourage me. What is really peculiar about this is that today, Sunday, at Mass, the sermon was on the widow’s mite. She had nothing but gave all that she had which was more than the rich men gave. We can call it coincidentally but I call it advance notice. I haven’t been tithing as I should. It’s remarkable to be given a second chance. We talked for nearly an hour and a half, and not one time did we mention our names. However, we shook hands when we left and asked for God’s blessings for each other. I know we will never see each other again. This person was an instrument used by God and he completed his mission. It's my choice to listen.

Congratulations! Vaya Con Dios!

I attended a promotion ceremony at the Columbia Police Department, Friday, November the 6th. A corporal from one of my subgrantees was promoted to sergeant. He will also leave the grant because of his new position. I’ll miss his work. He and his sergeant have submitted some great performance numbers. I asked his sergeant what are his plans to replace the corporal. Without a beat, he told me that he had submitted a nomination and was waiting word from his superiors. Good people are hard to find, harder to replace and even harder to retain. But, you want the best for them and you don’t want to hold them back for selfish reasons. A good leader will recognize the potential in his/her subordinates and will encourage them to reach their goals. They will challenge them to do so. A good leader is recognized by his/her personnel. So be fair and right to your people. Even the strugglers, if coaxed correctly, can find their potential, too. If not, they can’t hold the department back and must go. You can’t jeopardize the many for the few.

At the ceremony, I got a chance to see some old friends. Many of them were promoted to the executive staff. The funny thing is that I remembered when they were beat cops 10 to 30 years ago! It was a beautiful day and the ceremony was held outside. The rookies were introduced, young men & women accepting their duty over future risks to come. They are our future, God bless them!

Your True Worth

Have you ever wondered what your true value is? What you are really worth? I’m not talking about your financial assets or liabilities, political or socioeconomic standings. I’m not looking at the tangible, material side of your net worth. I’m talking about what you mean to others. Look deeply within yourself; ignore the flaws and the imperfections. Don’t think of the speech impediments or body defects. What kind of person are you really? Be honest with yourself. Are you presenting the type of person to people that you want them to think you are? Or, are you being yourself? Are you truly honest and fair with everyone or only towards the people you care about? Will your character, integrity, morals and personality show your true value? Our personality we can see from the surface but our character can include or exclude or spiritual development. Yes, personality can open doors but character will keep them open. What is your value to your family, your job, and your co-workers? What type of value have you placed on yourself? Do you think you helped someone enough to change their life when you didn’t have time to listen to your children talk to you? Did you take the time to encourage them when they seemed ready to give up? Is your life worth it to do again without any changes? There are so many questions that we have to ask and there are so many answers that have to be given honestly. Are you worth something to somebody in this fast-paced, self-centered world? Are you worth something to yourself? If you are, let the world see it!

Hide & Seek

Remember the game Hide & Go Seek? It’s a child’s game that has two parts. One child turns his back and count on the home base, usually a tree, while the rest hide. A minister I talked to the other day gave me a different variation. He told me that the game had three parts; a hider, a seeker and an opportunist. He broke it down for me. Remember as a hider you always tried to find the places where no one expected you to be. Sometimes those places are very uncomfortable and dirty. They are not always close to home base, so you better be fast to outrun the seeker. It can be very hard if you’re stiff from being in an uncomfortable position so quite possibly even if you are fast, you might not win. By the time you run out the stiffness, it could be too late. The seeker (hunter) beats you back to home base. Game over, you lose. The opportunist, however, will try to stay as close to the home base as possible, because he believes that he can outrun the seeker and will be in a position to move quickly. He’ll hide but hopes that the seeker will overlook his hiding place. His comfort zone is always changing. He wants to do better each given moment. He is thinking constantly what he can do to get to home base safely. Compare our hiding to the way of living. Many times, we live, work, or stay in uncomfortable positions. Sometimes, we don’t have any other choice. But, when we stay so long, we become complacent and comfortable. We don’t want to leave that comfort zone because of various reasons. It’s not easy to deal with change. We enter unfamiliar territory and we are fearful of what might happen to us. We must walk in faith and remember that we are never alone. Even though we might not see Him, true faith will prevail. It might be hard for some unbelievers, but if they believe in themselves, they will see the power that our Almighty God has given us. And with His help we can use it to glorify Him.