A Different Kind of Fatigue-- Carolyn R. Wilker

 

 

I read an article this week about fatigue. Not the physical sort where one works too long and gets exhausted, or the kind where people struggle with chronic illness. This kind of fatigue deals with the kind of watchfulness and care we’ve been carrying around since early March. 

Think of a life guard charged with the careful watching of a pool full of gleeful people splashing around—children and their parents—and the eagle eyes the life guards must have. And the break they need once people are out of the pool. This kind of watchfulness, albeit, is a different kind than we have been practising, with little relief in sight. Add to that the many reports of where the virus pops up and where the curve is flattening and the potential of a vaccine being developed.

I see all this and have to dial down the news but not dismiss it completely.

Situational awareness, as described this week by Globe and Mail writer Jillian Horton, refers to this kind of watchfulness since the pandemic was first declared. Not just in one country, but in countries all over the globe, including us. People are getting tired of doing it, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to stop.

The CERB benefit has helped many people, including some members in our family. Some companies offered delays in payment of certain bills, others offered free resources to help anyone in those positions, and that was good when we all needed to stay safe and limit our coming and going to only those things that were entirely necessary.

For people with continuing jobs, working from home, we had the reassurance of knowing we could pay our bills. We could buy groceries and necessary prescriptions. 

Jesus fed people, he healed them and brought comfort to many in distressing situations.  What can we do when so many are hurting?

For companies aching to get back on their feet at a critical time, it has to be hard financially, and for those companies that closed, an even harsher reality. Supporting local business, including restaurants with take-out food, is one thing we can do, where we have the means. 

In our extended family, we had two deaths in early July within 24 hours of each other (not by Covid, but still painful). One family decided on a donation to the Food Bank of their community; that was a place we could make a contribution. 

 

Our resources may be limited, financially, or our physical energy limited. We can exercise good judgement, do our best to keep up the practice of physical distancing, wash our hands, and wear our masks out in public, where distancing is not possible. And maybe that’s all you can do.

All this is essentially the commandment to love others as we love ourselves. Be well, stay safe, and help where you are able. And maybe for some, it's a 'listening ear' or something fresh from our

garden.

The Incalculable Impact of Dr. J.I. Packer: Giant of the Faith - HIRD

 

(July 22^nd 1926 to July 17^th 2020)

By Rev. Dr. Ed & Janice Hird

-an article for the Light Magazine

 

Canada has been blessed to have the late Dr JI Packer in our own backyard since 1979.  Although born in the UK, he became a Canadian citizen after becoming a Regent College professor.  His generosity of spirit has transformed countless Christian leaders.  How is it that so many of us have experienced such a personal connection to a global leader?

Dr Darrell Johnson insightfully noted, “One of the Lord’s humble giants has been called home. J.I. Packer is what a theologian is called to be: first a forgiven sinner who then gratefully loves the Saviour, and then a sacrificial servant who uses his massive giftedness to equip the church to live for the glory of Christ. I can never repay the debt I owe Dr. Packer for the gift of “Knowing God.” And now he does as never before!”

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby commented, “Dr James Packer’s death ends a wonderful service to God by a disciple of learning, wisdom and holiness. A giant of his time.”  Geoff Tunnicliffe, former Secretary-General for the World Evangelical Fellowship agreed, saying, “Dr. J.I Packer was a giant of the Faith.  Jim had a huge influence in personal journey.” Rev Dr Chris Sugden from Oxford commented that John Stott, Michael Green, and Jim Packer were key framers of the Keele Statement which reaffirmed that evangelicals could remain in the Church of England with integrity.  Pastor Dave Carson of Hope Vancouver knew Dr Packer from the 1960s in London, commenting that Packer’s highlighting of George Whitefield’s preaching was foundational in his own life. Archbishop Yong Ping Chung of South-East Asia (ret) said “I had the privilege of getting to know him a little better when he firmly and courageously stood up for the truth of the Gospel against the false teachings, especially during the very difficult and controversial time in our Anglican Communion.”

Many famous people become inaccessible and pompous.  But not Dr Packer.  His friend Dr George Egerton of UBC noted that “he was famous and revered for his best-selling books, but was utterly without pretensions.  He had time for anyone.  If you needed an article for a journal, or a review, he was always happy to oblige.” Rev Ron Corcoran stated he was so delighted and humbled that Dr Packer took the time to read and endorse his book.  We are grateful that he wrote the foreword to two of my own books, as he did for so many others.

Packer’s many Regent students appreciated how deeply he invested in their lives.  Rev Peter Falk remembered that every class they sang the Doxology.  Dr Packer was fond of saying, ‘Theology is for doxology.’ Pastor Macintosh of Heritage Alliance Church rejoiced when Packer taught him that election (being chosen) is about overflowing thankfulness for God’s gracious action on our behalf. Bishop Felix Orji feels a deep sense of loss, “He was like a father to many of us.  At a personal level, Jim helped me with doctoral thesis - the outline for my doctoral Thesis was hashed out by Dr Packer in his living room one afternoon I went to see him.”

Dr. Packer helped redeem the concept of theology, making it accessible and practical.  Rev. Dr. John Roddam observed that many theologians are in the ozone but Jim’s writings were accessible to the “average Joe.” Brian C Stiller, Global Ambassador for The World Evangelical Alliance, commented, “James Packer was uncommon in his ability to digest a wide assortment of complex and wide-ranging   theology and reduce it to its elementary and essential issues. He is a prime example of how those of us in the wider and more popular level of Gospel witness, benefit so greatly from those brilliant in scholarship and at the same time, care so much about and deeply love the Gospel.”  Dr Rod Wilson, past Regent College President, stated, “I will remember Jim Packer as a man who had a unique ability to link theology with the mere Christian, and the academy with the church. These gifts were bathed in an irenic spirit that made him a gracious man even when dealing with his critics. Intertwined with these strengths was an outrageous sense of humour that endeared him to so many.”

Many are grateful for Dr. Packer’s humanity, humour and playfulness, especially around meals.  Rev Ken Shigematsu of Tenth Church commented, “JI Packer inspired me to choose play that gives life, ennobles, and draws me to God.” Rev. Calvin Weber of UCM BCIT was struck by Packer’s love for six Hunan peppers on his Hunan Gung Pao Chicken. Dr. Jeff Greenman, Regent College President, spoke of Dr. Packer as both his teacher and friend, regularly making time to share beef curry together at a local Chinese restaurant.  Packer, said Greenman “was not only a brilliant thinker and amazing writer, but fundamentally a deeply godly, Christ-loving Christian gentleman, who gave his life to serving the God he loved.”

His book “Knowing God”, which sold millions, has had the greatest impact of all of Dr Packer’s many writings.  Dr Axel Schoeber of West Vancouver Baptist Church commented, “His book Knowing God was hugely formative for me as a young Christian and shaped my approach to ministry once I became a pastor.” Rev Robin Guinness, fellow co-signer of Dr JI Packer’s Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials, observed, “I go back again and again to his monumental work Knowing God.   It is also through him that I have been encouraged to rediscover the depth and riches of the great Puritan leaders.”  

Bishop Peter Klenner said, “The Rev. Dr. J I Packer was—in the very best sense of the word—a Puritan. He was a man of the Word. He loved and lived the bible. Dr. Packer was also a Pastor—in the best sense of the word. He cared for people; remembered their names.  He loved people and was willing to walk alongside as a pilgrim.” David Bornman, West Coast Christian Fellowship, commented, “I am grateful for JI Packer’s lifelong dedication to the defense of scripture which has been a strength to the church worldwide. In person and in writings JI Packer approached scripture with a wonderful expression of reverence and joy that welcomed each listener to enter his joyful discovery of the glory of God.”

When asked late in life by Christianity Today what his final words to the church might be, Packer replied, 'I think I can boil it down to four words: Glorify Christ every way.'"

 

Rev Dr. Ed and Janice Hird

-Co-authors of the Blue Sky novel

p.s. It seems very fitting that the Lord had us do a trilogy recently on Dr. JI Packer and his mentor Richard Baxter in the Light Magazine.

Dr JI Packer: Knowing God

Richard and Margaret Baxter

Dr JI Packer and Richard Baxter

Take Care of your Heart by Rose McCormick Brandon

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

 

Pepper Point Gardens, Manitoulin Island 

A woman bought a house because she liked the previous owner’s landscaping. As the new owner, she enjoyed the perennial garden with its peonies, roses, delphiniums and clematis.  After a few weeks she noticed changes. Roses hung their heads. Dead blooms tainted the appearance of flowering bushes. The neglected garden soon looked unkempt. 

Like a garden, the heart requires care. 

The heart is the inward person. Think of it as the garden of the soul. A good gardener tends the soil by adding compost and other beneficial material. She prunes stray branches to add symmetry and to let in sunlight. She waters and fertilizes, moves plants from one area to another and never seems to stop noticing areas that need help.

No one deliberately plants weeds, but they appear even in well-tended gardens. The diligent gardener pulls them while they’re small, when they can be easily removed. Weeds quickly develop strong roots that require a shovel and labour to remove them. Some pervasive weeds require extreme measures like laying a sheet of plastic over the ground and around the roots of plants. This keeps the sun from penetrating the soil, thus preventing weeds from growing. The passionate gardener uses every necessary means to keep plants and soil healthy.

Our hearts require the same diligent care. The wise keep their hearts free from resentment, lies, profane talk, perversions and all kinds of sin. Anything that destroys goodness is an enemy. Jesus said, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart” (Luke 6:45).

Nurture your heart with God’s Word. Take care that it doesn’t become overgrown with weeds like worry and sins of all kinds. Listen to God's prompts. Replace anger, hatred and fear with a childlike trust in God. If your heart is in an overgrown state begin weeding out the offenders one by one. 

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior" Ephesians 4:31. 

Prayer: Father, make me more mindful of what I watch, read and hear.

***

Rose McCormick Brandon writes from her home in Caledonia, Ontario. Her award-winning Biblical essays, personal experience pieces and devotionals have been published in several periodicals in Canada and the U.S. 

TREES by Eleanor Shepherd

    In Grade Six, an English teacher introduced me to a poem by the American poet, Joyce Kilmer, who died fighting in the First World War. The simple and delicate beauty of the poem so impressed me that nearly all of the six two line stanzas have remained with me from that time until now. That was in the late 1950’s. 

            The poem says:

                        I think that I shall never see

                        A poem lovely a a tree.

 

                        A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

                        Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast;

 

                        A tree that looks at God all day,

                        And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

 

                        A tree that may in summer wear

                        A nest of robins in her hair;

 

                        Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

                        Who intimately lives with rain.

 

                        Poems are made by fools like me,

                        But only God can make a tree.

 

            Yesterday the words of this poem came back to me again as Glen and I were enjoying a picnic on the Niagara Parkway.  It was not the holiday we had originally planned.  This was the year that the whole family was going to enjoy a holiday together on Prince Edward Island.  However Covid put an end to that plan. 

 

            Instead Glen and I came to visit friends on the Niagara peninsula, at a place where we could still practice social distancing while our daughter and son-in-law tried to finish the renovations they were doing for us at our place when Covid hit. 

 

            The weather has been so hot this summer that whenever we venture out of our air-conditioned comfort, we head for the shade of the trees.  Perhaps that is what has made me so aware of them. Plus my daily morning walks, when I find myself as I walk along the lakeshore looking for the places where I will be able to walk mostly in the shade of the trees.

 

            As I opened the blinds this morning and looked out, I saw near the house where we are staying a tree so enormous, I had to bend my head way back to try to see the top.  I called Glen to ask him how tall he thought it must be.  Together we agreed that it was at least five or six stories high. 

 

            This new fascination with trees intrigues me.  I have always loved the way that the trees turn such beautiful colours in the fall.  I am struck by their starkness on the winter landscapes and how they are softened by the gentle covering of snow they often don. With eager anticipation, I await the signs of the first budding of the leaves in the spring, that heralds the end of winter and promises the end of ice and snow and warmer weather to come. 

 

            Awareness of the trees and what is happening in the world of nature is another one of a series of gifts that I have received during this season of isolation. We all know that this has not been an easy time of any of us. All of our routines were curtailed by having to change our way of living. At first we were up for the challenge but as the months went on, we began to desire what was familiar but no longer possible. 

 

The gift for me was that in the midst of all this, I found the capacity to appreciate the beauty that surrounds me, not just rushing past the trees but actually stopping to look at these strong and steady messengers and listening to what they might tell me about my perspective. Through them I heard echoed the words of the Psalmist, “Be still and know that I am God.”   

Word Guild Award 

        2011

                                                                                 Word Guild Award 

                                                                                            2009

What do you dream? —Carolyn R. Wilker

What did you dream as a child, as a youth, or as a young adult? Has that dream come true, or is it still on the way?

Today I began to read Exit Stage Right by fellow writer Jennifer Willcock. In it a student dreaming of a career in ballet goes for an audition at a prestigious school, despite anxiety whether she will be accepted. [No spoilers]

I thought about the fictional girl and how we follow our own dreams.

From the time I was a small girl, I’d wanted to be a teacher. My dreams may have come about because of a Sunday School teacher, as I learned new songs and heard new stories. Or it may have been inspired by my first teacher in my elementary school. Whatever it was, I saved my Sunday School papers and told my mother that I would need them because one day I would be a teacher.

  

Mom gave me a set of loose leaf rings to keep the Sunday School papers together. I believe I would also have kept my school notebooks indefinitely, as well, if I had been allowed to. The Sunday School story pages eventually disappeared and my school notebooks made their way to the attic of our farm house, to yellow with heat and age, and one day be tossed, but I was fiercely attached to my goal.

After confirmation at age 14, I eagerly accepted the challenge of teaching Sunday School, planning each lesson and teaching the students entrusted to me. I taught children of varying ages, and at summer camp too. It was as if my site-glass was permanently set on that goal.

Me with one of my Sunday School classes and fellow teacher

During my Grade 12 year at high school, I applied to college in the Early Childhood Education program and was accepted. I achieved my dream, teaching for several years—in co-op preschool, a city daycare centre—and then my own children as they came along. Eventually I made my way back to co-op preschool with my daughters, assisting the teacher and filling in when she couldn’t be there.

In time, I began to write, then began to teach again—adults this time—and curiously also to take up Toastmasters and storytelling, and writing stories for others, including children. My goal shifted, but I was still teaching and helping others learn.

 

Storyteller at Enabling Gardens in Guelph

Through it all, there has been one guiding principle—my faith in someone greater than I am. A force that has been with me since childhood, something I continue to learn about. In spite of this current time with the Covid-19 pandemic, no matter my emotions at the moment or my goals for another book, I know that Jesus walks with me each day. I can count on him.

Your dreams can take on different shapes as mine did. They can take you on adventures you never dreamed possible. Who walks with you and guides you in your dreams? I hope you found a guide with a reliable compass.

https://www.carolynwilker.ca/

Carolyn R. Wilker is an Ontario-based writer, editor and storyteller