20-22 Covid-19 Daily Reflections

Today is the last day of 2020. Maybe it is time to laugh so that we can get ready for 2021. Laughter sometimes helps us regain our perspective on life. Let us pray many things we have accepted in 2020; will not need to be there in 2021. Here are a few jokes I have been able to gather: Why did the chicken cross the road? Because the cook doesn't observe social distancing protocol (not a joke for vegans). One mother was bragging to another mother about her son who is away in college: "My son is so good at social distancing. He doesn't call me anymore." We used to hear that one cannot accomplish anything by lying in bed all day. Well, one can now save the world by doing the very same thing. It  Dawne  on me that we ran out of soap and body wash. The World Health Organization concluded that dogs could not contract Covid-19. All previously quarantined dogs need to be released.  WHO let the dogs out. My dog and I were having a great laugh when watching my neighbor talking ...

    The snowblower is helpful when there is no wind. It is dreadful when the wind picks up and goes against us. All of the snow we blow off the ground will end up sticking to our bodies. It is the quickest way to create a walking snowman. It is indeed convenient when it works. It saves a lot of time from shovelling the snow. It helps with the back pain if we have that problem. Convenience has been our understanding of a good life. However, convenience does not always work out the best for us. It can cause more problems. Convenient ways to get into debt are serious problems that many of us have to be aware of as we learn how to manage our finance. Credit card debt is the most damaging personal debt in North America. It is indeed convenient to use and impossible to get rid of bad habits in using them. Tapping doesn't help either. Convenient ways to get our foods have created some other dietary challenges. We have used more chemicals in the ways we process our food than our physi...

    Getting packages of food together for a local food bank at this time of the year always reminds me that we are just fortunate to be where we are. Many folks have come to the food bank for help because their lives have gone out of control. Some of them they cannot foresee. The economy in our province was already in trouble before Covid-19. We have been suffering from different political policies. Many years ago, we organized a drive for our local food bank with some university students with a citywide permit. Our assignment was in a low-income community. We had no idea what to expect. We got my answer at house number 4. The couple was so happy to see us. They practically cleaned up their pantry to donate to our cause. The man told us that he went to the same food bank two years before that for help. He cried as he told us how that helped him, his wife, and his two children during that time. Most of the students who came with me could not control their emotions either. This ...

Have you seen the ad from Alcoholic Anonymous lately on TV? It has been running almost every 30 minutes on TV Sports Channels where I am.   I guess it is a proactive decision to do that during this holiday season.  A friend texted me yesterday morning to tell me about the story of a young lady who took her own life on Dec 21st. She was the only child. My heart aches while listening to such news. It does not matter whether I knew her or not. She is someone's daughter, sister, and friend. Mental professionals have been warning us about the rise of the depression rate as we prepare for the holidays this year. More people will experience the incredible darkness of their thoughts and emotions. Some have attempted the unthinkable act. Many of us wish that we could help these folks. The signs are not always that obvious. Isolation and loneliness can be worse threats than Covid-19 at times. Please understand that I am not advocating carelessness. I am just thinking aloud about h...

    The snowstorm last week created havoc in our little cul de sac. The city snow clearing crew has not had the chance to clear our street. So we are left with snow and ice. Yester was a neighborhood day for many of us as we took turns to push each other's car uphill to get out of the cul de sac. We were not supposed to gather together due to Covid-19 safety protocols. Well, no one seems to care about that when it comes to helping your neighbor out. Maybe God is trying to tell us something. After we pushed one car out, we got a chance to catch up with one another about Christmas, family, kids, work, and many more. It was a series of many short conversations. We pushed about ten cars out altogether. Many of us realized that we live in a good neighborhood with diversity and togetherness. One of them is a Muslim lady who works in a medical lab. She was in trouble with her car because of the snow at about 6 am Tuesday last week. I heard her car noise and her conversation with anot...

I have been thinking a lot about people who lost their jobs just before the holidays. I met some of them because I was the one who brought them the unfortunate news. Some seemed to cope with it better than others. One of them told me quietly that he and his wife will be ok because they have been careful with their finance. We sat down and talked a bit more about the notion of what it means to have enough and what happens when we don't think we do. We will never have enough if we believe that our desire for infinite gain is justifiable.  We will never have enough if we are not content with what we have. We will never have enough if we are afraid that others might have more than we do. We will never have enough if we are unhappy with who we are. We will never have enough if we are motivated by the thought of missing out in life. We will never have enough if we believe that we are in control of our destiny. This Christmas reminds us one more time that we might have more than we need a...

  I like to suggest four essential life experiences that we need to consider while celebrating Christmas: JOY, PEACE, LOVE, and BELIEF. Before I go any further, please also accept them as my greetings and wishes to you and your loved ones this Christmas. JOY: Romans 12: 12  "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." We cannot have hope without joy, and we cannot experience joy without hope. This verse is significant to us as we try to fight the hopelessness of this pandemic.  Patience provides the stillness of the heart in tribulation. We cannot see God without that stillness.  Prayer tells us that our relationship with God is a living one. It is our lifeline when nothing else seems to make sense in life. PEACE: Philippians 4: 7  "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." When we have peace with God, we no longer need to rely on our human understanding in dealing wit...

    Christmas Eve is a time to ponder for many reasons. It is the time for those who believe in the historical Jesus to reflect on the unique gift that God has given to humanity. It is the gift of being forgiven. We talk about forgiveness, but we also know that it is not easy to do. Forgiveness is something we receive from God and then pass it on to others. So what does it do for us and to us? A) Forgiveness grants us hope. The opposite of it is hatred. Hatred will tax us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When we don't forgive, we hand over the control of our life to others. We can enter a very dark place in life where we don't feel right, we don't think clearly, and we don't anticipate life. Our spiritual well being is also compromised. Hatred is the destroyer of life. B) Forgiveness restores beauty. It is the kind of beauty that enhances trust and commitment in our relationship with one another. When we forgive one another, we no longer see others with all of ...

This Christmas is rather relaxing in some ways. After we have come to accept the facts that our kids won't be able to be with us for Christmas, we can channel our energy and time toward other things. Things that we can do something about. Don't get me wrong, I miss my kids dearly, but that won't take away the facts that God has opened new doors for us. We can learn to be more intentional about getting in touch with family members who live far away. I have been able to have more conversations with some of my nieces and nephews. They open up more because of the stress they have in coping with everything.  We can reach out to friends who we have not heard from for a while or have moved away from Canada because of work. People come into our lives because God allows that to happen. Sometimes we forget that and take our friends for granted. I have learned about how God is at work around the world just by listening to my friends. We can get to know our neighbors better. Our neigh...

  I came to the place where I acknowledged my need for God's grace in my life 40 years ago. The journey of faith has not been easy for me. It is not because of the lack of God's faithfulness. I fight against my needs to be in control and to be independent of God. Christmas has always been the time for me to pray over the constant struggle that I have internally. Another passage of Scripture used in Handle's Messiah helps me to have hope during such a time. It is Isaiah 9: 2. "The people walking in darkness     have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness     a light has dawned." I have indeed become aware of that great light since Christmas 1980. It is the light that continues to reveal the darkness of my own heart. It has also taken away the callousness of that heart. We have experienced the darkness of this world in 2020. We prefer to look for answers somewhere else or point our finger at others for our problems. Let us not b...

  Getting rid of what is not right and unhealthy is one of the most challenging aspects in our life. Being purified is a humble and yet life-giving experience. In Handle's Messiah, the composer refers to Malachi 3: 2-4 to remind us that God is the one who purifies us. " But  who can  endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years." The keyword in this passage is "refiner". When we refine gold and silver, we are removing all foreign contaminants. If we are honest with ourselves, it is not hard for us to see ungodly contaminants in our life. They destroy our self-worth, bring about alienation in hum...

  Today we will continue to explore another scripture passage in Handle's Messiah. I have been very intentional about listening to various Christmas hymns and meditate on their lyrics. For me, I see it as how I enter prayers as I reflect on the deeper meaning of what I am listening to. Today's  verse is from  Job 19:25 . "I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end, he will stand on the earth." There is a sense of certainty about this verse. "I know" is a definite statement. It is not "I think, or I hope". Job was still very sure about his God in the midst of his intense suffering. Have we ever asked ourselves during 2020 about what we really know? We have been bombarded by false information and the deformation of knowledge. We have also been overloaded with deception and falsehood. Job's knowledge of God affirmed him that God is his redeemer and He is well and alive. I have encountered people who have attempted to ridicule my faith and ...

  My wife and I have been talking about different scriptures in the Bible the composer used to compose Handel's Messiah lyrics. They are quite powerful and applicable to the present time. That is also one of my favorite Christmas hymns. Let us take a look at one of them today. Isaiah 40: 1-3 Comfort, comfort my people,   says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,   and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed,   that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand   double for all her sins. 3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare   the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert   a highway for our God. Nothing is more precious than the comfort we have from God at this point. We are lost and broken in many ways. The year 2020 has revealed to us the multiple facets of human sins and how corrupted we can be. Yet, God will reach out to us with His tender love and revelat...

It has been our tradition since we got married to give out fruitcakes to some friends and family members. Nothing is for sure about how we are going to celebrate this Christmas except making these cakes. It is rather amusing to receive emails and texts from friends who hinted that they would like to remain on the list. It is not a fancy cake, and yet it has become dear to some people. We are glad. I guess after many years of making and sending them to mostly the same group of people, some of our friends have expected that to be part of their own Christmas tradition. These cakes have indeed been made with care and creativity by using different kinds of nuts, dried fruits, and yes, alcohol. It takes time to make them, and we enjoy that. For me, it is not about the cake. It is our way of sharing with people the simple love that God has for us. Here is a funny story for you. About 15 years ago, I gave one to a Baptist preacher friend I knew without mentioning that there was rum in the cake...

  My drive home from Lethbridge is helpful sometimes for me to think about what God has been doing around me and within me. Sometimes it is exciting. Sometimes it is apprehensive. One thing for sure is that I can see things more clearly when I have the time alone with Him. I think about people that God has placed in my life. I am thankful for the gifts that they have in revealing God's beauty. I am deeply aware of the struggles that they have had to work through and their faithdulness in dealing with them. I am grateful for the time I have had with them because it tells me how God is at work. I think about the many experiences I have had with God. Sometimes I experience His care by letting Him be my God. Sometimes I feel His presence by allowing others to be with me. I sense his power when I reach out to care for others by faith. I am aware of His pain when I am willing to take the risk to walk with others in suffering. I think about my own life and its meaning. Sometimes I wonder ...

  I could not decide whether I like the white lights or the color lights better as Christmas decorations. Well, you might say that I have too much time in my hand to ponder such a thing. I cannot help it as more folks have decided to put Christmas lights on this year. We appreciate that because they lift our spirit up as we drove around and looked at lights in different parts of the city. Some of the lights displays are incredibly creative. They have music, different light intensities, and all.  Someone sent me a video clip from John Maxwell about 'Lifting Others Up' yesterday. That fits with what I have been thinking about since the weekend. Here are a few questions we need to ask ourselves: A) Can we lift others up if we are always negative about life? Most of us don't like to gather around downers. We find them exhausting and energy-consuming. Being with these types of people is sucking the life out of us. Our worldview about life should not be based on our own ability e...

        I am going to share a few conversations I had with people at different places this week so we can all have some ideas of what people are going through. A) Talking to a young owner of a new Vietnamese restaurant in our neighborhood. She put all she saved into the business. She is now beyond stressed. She was trying very hard not to cry, and I felt for her. We then talked about ideas of how to increase take-out business. She asked me to pray for her and the restaurant when we said goodbye. B) An elderly couple was a bit overwhelmed at a grocery store. Someone told them that they walked in the wrong direction. They obviously didn't see the arrows on the floor. Initially, they didn't understand what was going on. I asked them whether they had a shopping list. The lady told me she did. Then I asked them whether I could shop for them. The man whispered to me that it is harder to do anything. They were happy to let me do that when I asked them to hang around the boo...

  Yesterday was the first day of the lock-down restrictions in Alberta. We will be in this situation for at least another four weeks before we can see any change, hopefully. A friend asked ppl pplme last week whether I see many changes in my work. The answer is yes, and no. People's needs increase during this period. The issues we have to deal with are not that different. The intensity is just more so. Learning to be aware of our addiction (s) is a critical step in identifying the roots of our problems. We are not just not well when our identity is in crisis. Many of us have our identity to be rooted in our addiction: power, status, control, money, and more. The pandemic is problematic for many of us because it undresses our falsehood and pretension. Learning to acknowledge that we are not always in control is a significant step in dealing with anger. We are angry because we don't seem to be able to know what to do or what is next. We find ourselves in cobwebs of various emotio...

My wife told me about the decoration of the pathway of her daily walk. Some of the kids in the neighborhood have done that. It was full of beautiful and colorful bows and other Christmas Tree ornament designs. They decided to do it after learning they don't have to be in school anymore. It cheers walkers like my wife up. She was very excited when she described what she saw. Many people have been walking because that is the only thing we can do safely. The pathways around our place have been very populated recently. These youngsters have done a tremendous service to many of us. Their creativity and kind initiative are far more mature and welcomed than the many angry reactions that we have witnessed lately. It was a total contrast to people who screamed at grocery store workers when they were asked about their masks.  Sometimes children can teach us some important lessons about God. It is not about fear. It is not about being acknowledged. It is not about telling others what we know...

    A young daughter of a friend asked me whether Christmas has been canceled this past week.  She stopped going to school the same week, and she and her friends have been doing schooling online since then. She was sad while mentioning that she would not be able to see her grandparents. She won't be able to see her friends for a while either. I have thought about that conversation quite a bit. In some ways, Christmas has been "canceled" many years ago by our materialistic approach toward Christmas. Covid-19 might only be an added factor but not the instrumental one. It is not the virus that has brought damage to Christmas. We have played an important role in lessening the meaning of Christmas. Maybe we will be able to be free from the stress of rushing around this Christmas due to many restrictions. We will have more time to go back and ponder on the biblical account of Jesus' birth. Sometimes we have to be taken out of our daily routine so we can see things better an...

I have met some people who feel very strongly about not wearing a mask and not taking the whole Covid-19 situation seriously. I have heard about some were sick with all of the symptoms and decided not to get tested. I find it deceptive when people do that. Don't believe the pandemic is one thing. But don't get yourself tested when having all of the signs of Covid-19 is another. Why do these folks become so afraid of being tested? What is a big deal about being tested positive if they don't believe in the seriousness of it? Does it have to deal with the fear of being quarantined if they are tested positive? I undertand that some communities are concerned about the stigma that comes along with it. Is it good citizenship not to pass on our illness to others, regardless of what we have? One thing we know for sure that more people are getting sick by this virus, and more have died. I am not about to be paralysed by the fear of the virus. The problem we have to face is that if w...

We are coming to that point of not having anyone coming home for Christmas. Our daughters are not living in the same city and their respective province has pretty strict restrictions for travel. Our son and his wife won't be to join us either even though they live in our city. Our oldest daughter called her mom and asked: "What are you guys going to do for Christmas?" The answer is the same, we will play it by ear. It is too early to know. Maybe it is a good time to consider how to be with God and ourselves,  knowing that there is little we can do with others this Christmas. It is time to be at peace with life. It doesn't mean that everything is going great. It simply means that the external circumstances won't be able to dominate our life plan. True freedom is more than being able to do what we would like to do and go where we would like to go. It is about us being free with God so that we can upload to Him our worries and concerns in managing our lif...

  I was walking to my hotel in Lethbridge, a small city in Southern Alberta, I1 heard someone called out for me. He used my "Camp Name" which was given to me by my campers many years ago. "Datman! Is that you?", he yelled. I was rather amused by it because I have not heard that for a long time. He was from Nothern Alberta when he came to the camp for the first time. He was not a very outgoing young man, so he ended up spending a bit of time on different canoe rides with me (lucky him). He was serious and had a hard time understanding humor. However, he was a very helpful camper and never say "no" to help out. The last time I saw him was when he graduated from College and got ready to go North for employment. He was so happy to see me in Lethbridge. He asked me whether I can grab a coffee with him. So we got some take-out coffee and went for a walk. He told me that he had been thinking about getting in touch with me again. He has been struggling with someth...

  It has been abnormally warm where we are. It is good because some people have been worried about the spread of the virus when the winter comes. After all, we cannot be outside as often. So these past three weeks have been a nice break for many of us. We don't want to take it for granted because it can change in a hurry. However, the warm weather has not been able to take away the sadness of people about this Christmas. Some have expressed to me their feeling of not having an usual Christmas time together with their loved ones. How do we understand the Blessings of Christmas during such a difficult time? The blessing is that we want to be together. It will be a lot worse if we don't have such longing. We don't have to go far to discover some people we know don't have such a blessing. For years, I have encountered many situations where people have no home to go to and no one to see at this time of the year. The blessing is that this time of the year still means somethin...

  Have you ever thought about how hard it was for Mary and Joseph to raise Jesus as a boy? There is very little was written about Jesus' life growing up, so I can only speculate, and I cannot quote many Scripture passages because there is not too much. So please bear with me.  It is not easy to raise a child who determines what he (she) wants to be. It is even more challenging when he (she) thinks that his parents don't know as much as he does. That doesn't mention the fact he (she) doesn't think he belongs to you. He (she) has some other better and more important plans for his life. Humanly, that can be frustrating. Dealing with that demands a lot of patience and understanding. The Bible tells us that Jesus continued to increase in wisdom and stature. When he was 12, he stayed behind in Jerusalem after the Passover Festival and did not return home with his parents. They went back and finally found him after three days of searching for him. He was sitting among the teac...