Harold's Act of Love

Yesterday we laid Harold Foley to rest. I wouldn't call Harold one of my friends, but he was a well-known member of my church and he loved our worship band and my wife and I would make sure we gave him a hearty greeting every Sunday he was able to be present. Yesterday I had the privilege to play with an "unplugged" version of our band at Harold's funeral. A few days earlier - the day after he passed away - we heard this story from the family that I just had to share with you.

We first got to know Harold about three decades ago when his son, Al Foley - one of our peers at Calvary Church when we first began attending - was in the final stages of cancer. Al passed away far too young. It hit Harold hard but he had come to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ through his son's testimony and witness, and so he was able to endure the loss. Harold was a large man, standing well over six feet tall, but his love for Jesus turned him into a "gentle giant" and he gladdened the hearts of all who knew him.

Eight years ago Harold was also diagnosed with cancer. The doctors gave him two years to live, but his faith and determination were strong and he well surpassed that estimate. During the last couple of years of his life, he was pretty much confined to an easy chair in his living room, with several professional caregivers coming in to provide care, housekeeping, and medical support. With each one, as soon as they'd arrive, Harold would take them by the hand, converse and chat for a bit, and then pray with them. And so his faith continued to influence those around him.

Whenever Harold needed some kind of attention from one of his caregivers, he had a small bell on the table next to his chair that he would ring. One of the caregivers would come running from whatever task they had at hand to see to his needs.

One of his favorite's was a woman named Carla. Carla had three children of her own, as well as two foster children, and worked two jobs to make ends meet. She was a person of great compassion (as most caregivers are), and through Harold's testimony, patience, and faith, Carla's spiritual life experienced a new awakening and she returned to the church, bringing her children with her.

A few weeks ago Harold confided in another caregiver that he was tired, and ready for the journey home to heaven. Last week the family could tell that he was near the end ... but his vital signs were still strong, and it was clear to all that Harold still had several days left. Last Wednesday Carla finished her shift with Harold and went home, exhausted from another very long day of working those two jobs, watched as her husband stoked the fire up in the family fireplace, and fell into a hard, deep sleep. A few hours later, as Wednesday turned into Thursday, Harold's wife held his hand in his chair as he fell asleep. He did that often, now. And in the blink of an eye, Harold was gone.

Carla, sound asleep in her bed, was having a dream. A very vivid dream, of Harold standing at the foot of her bed - sound, hale and whole - ringing his little bell for all he was worth, calling out to her, "Carla, you've got to get up." Carla refused, saying in her dream, "No, Harold, go away."

But dream Harold refused to be denied. He kept ringing that bell, saying "Carla, you've got to get up, now." Again Carla refused, "No, Harold, my shift is over. I'm tired, I'm not getting up." Again Harold tried and again Carla refused, but at last she could not suffer Harold's insistence as he just kept ringing that darn bell. Finally, she awoke with the vivid memory of a healthy Harold ringing his bell at the foot of her bed.

It was then that she noticed the smoke permeating the house. An errant spark from the fireplace had set their home on fire. The family escaped safely, and the fire department did their work. When Carla and Harold's wife later compared notes, they realized that Carla's dream had happened shortly after Harold passed away.

Did Harold give up his last few days to save the life of one he loved? No one this side of heaven will ever know for sure. But I have a feeling that when you get close to death, the veil between the two becomes more and more transparent, and you get a glimpse of the bigger picture, with larger perceptions and understandings. 

I do know that Harold was a believer, that he had found new life and faith through Jesus, and that he understood John 15:13 - "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends."

Rest in peace, Harold Foley.

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Mark's Musings is published on a semi-periodical basis that may change without notice. Find me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/markmusings. Facebook link is over there to the right. This blog is considered to be a digital periodical publication and is filed as such with the U.S. Library of Congress; ISSN 2154-9761.

Biblical Theme Songs

Hey, my band gets to play one of our summer outdoor gigs this evening for a neighborhood block party over on the east side of town. Pray the rain stays away from Flint today!

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IF BIBLE CHARACTERS HAD THEME SONGS

Noah: "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head"

Adam and Eve: "Two Tickets to Paradise"

Jezebel: "Lady in Red"

Samson: "Hair"

Daniel: "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

The Magi: "When You Wish Upon a Star"

Elijah: "Up, Up and Away"

Methuselah: "Stayin' Alive"

Paul: "Blinded by the Light"

Joshua: "Good Vibrations"

[submitted by list member Carolyn W., with additions and edits by Mark Raymond]

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WEBSITE of the WEEK: Hey, if you care about this sort of thing, television has announced its prime time award nominees at http://www.emmys.tv/. We do watch a few shows each week, and several of our favorite actors (both male and female) have been nominated.

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Your Sunday Sermon

So my band played for the "Iron Sharpens Iron" Conference in Flint yesterday. There were some *excellent* keynote speakers and workshops. I'd highly recommend attending - if you're a man - when one comes to your area.

Especially if my band is providing the music. (Shameless Promotion Dep't)

But I also heard some inspiring and motivating speakers.

One of them spoke from Galatians 6. Specifically this part:

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Verses 7-9)

Now, sowing and reaping are kind of old school farming terms. Let me put it into plain English: what you plant, you will harvest. If you plant tomato seeds, you won't grow apple trees.

But let's put it a different way. One a little more appropriate to the title of today's post.

If you sow selfishness, you will reap loneliness.
If you sow envy, you will reap bitterness.
If you sow laziness, you will reap waste.
If you sow anger, you will reap pain.
If you sow lust, you will reap alienation.
If you sow greed, you will reap gluttony.
If you sow foolishness, you will reap chaos.

But that passage of Scripture also assures us that we can plant good things, and harvest even better things.

If you sow wisdom, you will reap humor.
If you sow patience, you will reap affection.
If you sow kindness, you will reap generosity.
If you sow self-control, you will reap long life.
If you sow charity, you will reap friendship.
If you sow tenderness, you will reap trust.
If you sow love, you will reap respect.

One final word ... the passage above also reminds us that planting and harvesting takes time. So do not grow weary in doing good, these things will come to you in the proper time. I like the way the New King James Version says it ... "in due season."

What are you sowing?

College Bible

ADMINISTRIVIA: It seems that every few years something catastrophic happens to my list server. Last time I lost my complete subscriber list and a good chunk of my archives. This time it was simply that the user interface on the Web crashed and it took them a day to fix it, so my apologies, but you'll never see Wednesday's post unless you visit this blog.

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This year, Zondervan's "New International Version" of the Holy Bible will celebrate its 30th anniversary. To celebrate, two couples are driving a 42-foot recreational vehicle across the country and inviting some 36,000 Americans to hand write one verse of the Bible, "just the way it was originally copied."

Celebrity scripters include Billy Graham, President Bush, and the two Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates.

Read more about it here and here.

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IF COLLEGE STUDENTS WROTE THE BIBLE

The Last Supper would have been eaten the next morning ... cold.

The Ten Commandments would actually have only been five, double-spaced and written with a large font.

Instead of fishes and loaves, it would have been Ramen^® Noodles.

You could find the year old Bibles on Half.com or e-Bay.

Forbidden fruit would still have been eaten, but only because it wasn't cafeteria food.

Paul's letter to the Romans would be Paul's email to thepeople @ romans.gov.

Reason Cain killed Abel? They were roommates.

Instead of creating the world in six days and then resting on the seventh, God would have put it off until the last minute and then pulled an all-nighter.

[lots of places, but this source was Syman Says, with some additional material by Mark Raymond]

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WISDOM for YOUR WEEK: "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." (Romans 15:4)

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Not Reading Enough

Palm Beach County in Florida has no shelter for the homeless, so Westgate Tabernacle Church, saying, "The purpose of the church is to help people who are hurting," began offering free meals and shelter for the homeless. Eventually the need became so great the church erected a large tent on their property in which men 55 years and younger sleep. Older men and all women sleep inside the church (in separate quarters, of course).

County officials, however, have taken a grim view of this situation and may end up fining the church $1,000 a day because their land is not "zoned" for such mission work, and they say sleeping in the tent is unsafe. The church has offered to erect their tent on any land the county provides, but the county will hear none of that.

What do you think? Is the church right to engage in this "civil disobedience" or should they bow to the authorities and find some other way to help the homeless?

Read the story first.

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SIGNS YOU MAY NOT BE READING YOUR BIBLE ENOUGH

You open it and have to blow the dust off the pages before you can read it.

You think Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was a hit song from the 70s.

You open to one of the Gospels and a World War II Savings Bond falls out.

You think the Old Testament exploits of Hercules were awesome.

A small family of woodchucks has taken up residence in the Psalms.

You get frustrated because you can't find *any* mention of Charlton Heston.

You fall for it each time the Pastor asks the congregation to turn to the Book of Second Opinions.

The kids have started asking too many questions about your bedtime story, "Jonah the Shepherd Boy and His Ark of Many Colors."

[selected from Mikey's Funnies]

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WORDS for YOUR WEEK: "In about the same degree as you are helpful, you will be happy." (Karl Reiland)

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Baby Got Book

Usually I'm not one to approve of the Church copying a secular style/song/strategy ... if it has the word of truth, it should be able to stand on its own without being "sanctified" by Christians. All truth is God's truth, yes?

And shouldn't we who are in communion with the Creator be able to be CREATIVE? There's no need to make a poor shadow of a secular concept when, by right of spiritual rebirth, we should be on the cutting edge of what's new and innovative and different.

However, in the case of the video below, I'm going to make an exception. Despite being a rap parody, it is - and I use this word cautiously, given the subject matter - an elegant satire of a secular work.

Which Bible is Best?

Okay, I hate to admit it because it makes me feel like an irresponsible Christian adult, but I've lost my Bible. I kept hoping maybe it would turn up in the flotsam and jetsam of my office, or maybe it was buried in other household debris, or maybe I even left it at church one day ... but it's been over a month now and no sign of it.

I suppose I'll have to go and buy another. So which translation do you like best, and why?

While I enjoy Shakespeare, I'm not overly fond of King James' English in my scriptures. The last two Bibles I've used have been New International Version, and I've been very happy. But now I'm wondering about maybe exploring a different translation.

Maybe an Amplified Bible, so I can gather as much nuance as possible from the text. I've also heard some very good things about "The Message" and the New Living Bible paraphrase translations.

I used to have a "Parallel" Bible, with four translations side-by-side, but that was too large and unwieldy for easy use and transportation.

So which version do you use, and what do you like about it?