Keeping Our Grandboys

Today's entry is all about grandchildren. We were blesse the past three days to have our grand kids stay with us while their mommy attended a conference. Their father goes to work early and there was no one to take them to school or pick them up, so it was better for them to stay with us. My disposition has been grumpy lately. I really don't know why, but grand kids are a great prescription for what is troubling you. When they're around you all your immediate worries melt away and you become totally focused on the moment. Doing homework, hearing them read to you, and practicing spelling word; just listening to what is important in their world. Their morning greeting, even though it is earlier than you are used to, gets the day started with meaning. Eating breakfast and packing lunches. What do kids take for lunches these days. PBJ and ham and cheese still seem to be pretty standard. Sign the homework sheets and then zip the backpacks. Drop them off at school. Our duty is done. They go back to their house after school tonight, to their mommy and daddy, and we'll return to our house. We'll pick up the remnents of their visit, enjoy the peace and quiet and look forward to a good night's sleep. We thank God for the opportunity to care for those special individuals and our lives our enriched.

Holy Spirit Alive

Last Friday, the christian community in our area was blessed with a performance by Tony Melendez. Tony is a muscisian who was born in Nicaragua with no arms. His attitude and outlook on life set the bar high for those in attendance. He played the guitar with his toes and is a talented vocalist who brings a message of hope and courage to a troubled world. Tony who was born in Central America and moved to the Los Angles area with his family when he was a young boy. While there he was asked to play at World Youth Days and was entertainment for Pope John Paul II. The Pope was so moved by his performance that he left his position on the stage and kissed the young performer's head. In his own words that kiss changed his life forever. Since that day in Los Angles he has taken his message of hope to many foreign countries and every state of the union. His high energy performance was "the Holy Spirit Alive." If anyone needed proof that God is working in the world today, it was right there, up close and personal. Spititual energy focused on a needy mankind that broke down denominational barrier and touched the heart of all those present.
His performance enhanced your senses. Segments of soft, serious scripture, touched hearts with peace and serenity. Hard driving lyrics pounds out the need for christian living. Hands waving and swaying to the in rhythm. There were tears of sadness, tears of laughter, tears of joy, tears of hope, and tears of peace. Then darkness. The "spirit" is absorbed. Then the harsh house lights, and we see each other. There it is Life, just as we left it! Our mission still ahead.

Who's the victim?

Last night I was at Walgreens and witnessed a shoplifting. The violator was a teenager, dressed oddly and behaving as if he was under the influence of something. He entered the store and went down the candy aisle, unzispped his back pack, filled it with candy, zipped it closed and he and another young male accomplise just vanished into the landscape. Knowing that there is nothing you can do until the violator leaves the store I said nothing until he approached the front door. As he walked out he activated the alarm which means he had something of value, not just candy. Despite the alarm, the young men continued to calmly walk away. I immediately told the cashier, who heard the alarm and watched as the two left the store that the back pack was full of stoloen merchandise. An ample amount of time passed before the cashier called for assistance, allowing time for the shoplifters to escape. The manager was slow to respond and scolded the cashier for interruptting her break. I was and am still upset. There was a newspaper on the counter with a picture of two young men in jail jump suits. As I checked out I pointed to the picture and commented that if this young man continues to have his illegal behavior enabled, we will see his picture on the front page of the newspaper following some major criminal act.

Questions! Did I do something wrong? Should I have tried to reason with this young man and talk him into replacing the stuff? Should I have made a big deal from the beginning, scaring him into releasing the stolen goods before running? I don't know.

Maybe the young man was dangerous. He didn't seem espercially rational. Who would want to be injured or killed over a bag of candy? Was the manager and cashier as lazy as they appeared? Did the store not have a shoplifting policy? The cashier knowingly allowed someone with stolen property, one who activated the security system, to leave without even a question. Others in the store were aware that a crime had been committed and were also aware that nothing was being done. I left the store and went about my regular activities.

This morning, on my way to work, I stopped at McDonalds for some breakfast. As I entered, I saw the young shopliifter ordering a special coffee product. As he turned to leave, he was with the same partner he had at Walgreens, we almost ran into each other. Our eyes met and I recognized him immediatley. Did he recognize me, or did the state he was in last night allow him to reognize anything? How weird is it that our paths would ever cross again, much less within hours. This young man was placed in my way. But why? All I know to do now is pray.