A Message From Jovi

This is my first attempt at putting a video on this blog, but I figured all our family in MN would want to see Jovi in action. Let me know if you have a hard time viewing it or not.

Grace in the Midst of Conflict

Ministry certainly has its share of situations that can become frustrating. Being in the public eye and being a leader of an organization has opened me up to criticism and conflict, neither of which is enjoyable. I’m finding that when I am faced with criticism or conflict, I can quickly become combative....rather than stopping, praying, and doing my best to show grace to those who are critical or bitter, I often quickly strike back. I argue with them, try to convince them that they are wrong, but most of the time I’m not very successful.

God is beginning to show me another way. I recently read an account of Mother Teresa in a book about her ministry entitled “Faith and Compassion.” The author recounts a situation in which Mother Teresa is faced with an angry crowd of lepers whom her sisters have been trying to serve:

“The crowd that surrounded Mother Teresa at Seemapuri on a hot summer afternoon in 1993 was angry and resentful. They were full of complaints, which they hurled at her in rapid succession. Was Mother Teresa aware how bad the dal (souped lentils, a staple ingredient of the diet) tasted? She would never be able to eat it herself, said one. But she had just had it for lunch, and it was fine, she replied. Don’t eat it again he retorted, or you’ll fall ill. We are not allowed to smoke in the dormitories, objected another. “Try not to smoke at all,” said Mother with a smile, “or, if you must, step onto the verandah.” Look at my hand, said a third, it’s been bleeding and the Sisters have not done anything about it. “We’ll show it the doctor in a little while,” replied Mother, and the man lapsed into a somewhat satisfied silence. Look at my shoes, remonstrated another, the rehabilitation unit had made them so badly that they hurt. “We’ll get them to fit you into another pair,” she said. It continued in this vein for 20 minutes or so, until everyone seemed to have had their say. To each she replied calmly and gently. Finally, silence descended. As she prepared to move away, they rose and, one by one, came to touch her feet. She restrained as many as she could, for she doesn’t encourage this practice….it is, however, a battle she invariably loses, for in India this is a custom that signifies respect for an elder, and is a daily, commonplace occurrence. As they turned away, Mother Teresa said to me, “Each of them has suffered so much pain and humiliation. Once in a while their bitterness overcomes them. Sometimes the Sisters have a very difficult time calming them. Yet when we ask our young Sisters who would like to go and work with the lepers, every hand is up.”

What a gracious spirit! Mother was not unreasonable in the way she responded, but her capacity to reason was not what won over her critics. It was her patience, gentleness, and goodness that turned the situation around from an environment of conflict and criticism to one of grace and gratitude.

Cutest Kid in the World

Perhaps I'm a little biased, but I happen to think Jovi is the cutest little girl in the entire world....but I suppose most daddy's feel the same way.

I wanted to show ya'll my new favorite picture. Our sister-in-law Jenny is a photographer and took some awesome pics for us when we were up in MN at the beginning of August. She did a great job, and this one is my favorite. Excellent work Jenny!

Thoughts on Shots

Friday was a very, very sad day. We took Jovi in to get her first vaccination shots. The nurses came in the room and had me lay Jovi on the table. One of the nurses held her legs. The other two nurses took out their needles prepared to give her 2 shots at the same time in both of her legs. I had to hold her arms. She looked up at me as the nurses finished their prep work. I told her, “Hey Jovi, look at that mean nurse over there.” I didn’t want her watching me as she was inflicted with pain.

She got a total of three shots, and it went pretty fast. But despite being fast, it was a painful experience, not only for Jovi but for Jill and me as well. She started crying hysterically. I picked her up immediately, and she looked at me as if to say, “Why did you let them do that to me?”

Let me just say that I am the stereotypical guy. I haven’t cried in years. It’s not that I think crying would make me less masculine. I would love to cry if I could, but I was beginning to think that my tear ducts had simply dried up years ago. For whatever reason, I just don’t cry….that is…until I saw Jovi with her sad eyes looking up to me from the midst of her pain. I didn’t fall down to my knees and weep, but my eyes were certainly moist. Seeing her in pain and having no capacity to explain it or make it go away was enough to bring my tearless streak to an end.

As I looked at Jovi through moist eyes, I thought about God’s love for us. It may sound a bit clichéd, but I thought about how God allows us to go through pain sometimes because he knows it is what is best for us. As much as I hated to see Jovi in pain, I’m rational enough to realize that I would rather her go through this brief pain than to develop Polio later in her life. I have a bigger perspective than she does about what is best for her, but that doesn’t diminish the ache that I feel when she suffers.

Well, five days and counting on my new tearless streak….

All Smiles

Reentering the 21st Century

WE HAVE HIGH-SPEED INTERNET!!!!! Praise the Lord! So, hopefully I’ll be able to post again more regularly. This post was able to go up in seconds compared to the usual 10-30 minutes to upload anything with dialup. Ahhhh, this must be what it felt like to go from having a latrine to indoor pluming.

Sleepy

Here's a few more of our recent pictures of Jovi

Smiley

Jovhawk