absence; presence

after
a thousand days
of absence,
sight and sound,
with only
fading memorials
to presence the
past,
i'm still doing
all i can
to keep you
near, hold you
fast.


(for Dad; unread)

jane tyson clement: november rain

Now we must look about us. Near at hand
cloud like a fist has closed on all the hills
and by this meager daylight on our land
we see just this, and this, and not beyond.

The sodden trees emerge and stand revealed;
we must acknowledge each one as it is,
stripped and stark, its basic structure clear,
the last leaves fallen, summer’s season dead.

And day on day the soft mist softly falls
as the long rain drives across the field
and all the while what we had seen beyond
is lost and shut as if it never were.

And we look closely at each other now,
the bleak roots, black grass, and the muddy road,
the litter that we never cleared away,
the broken flowers from a summer’s day –

Oh, stark and clearly we must look within
to weigh at last our purity and sin.

Oh, lovely hills in sunlight far away,
Oh, curving valley where the river sings!
Remembering, we live this discipline,
and hope still beats about us with strong wings.


(posted in honour of the month & the prevailing metereological conditions)

billy graham & age

In a recent interview to mark his 90th birthday, Billy Graham was asked about the challenges he faces as an old man. He replied,

We don't say enough about the challenges we'll face as we grow older, and how we ought to deal with them. I'm not just thinking here of the physical challenges of old age, although sometimes I wonder if we don't gloss over these and pretend that the latest cosmetics or surgical techniques can turn back the clock indefinitely. They can't; if we live long enough, sooner or later the frailties of old age will catch up with us.

But the real question is how we'll face old age emotionally and spiritually—and that's what we often overlook. As I've looked at my own life, and the lives of others, I've come to realize that the time to prepare for old age isn't when it arrives. By then it may be too late. The time to prepare for old age emotionally and spiritually is before it hits us.

I'm hoping to finish a book about this, but in any case I think our churches could do more to help people prepare for those latter years. They can be some of the most fulfilling of our lives — but not if we don't prepare.

And asked whether he thought about his early days in Charlotte, he said he did and then concluded with these words, which show him to be an evangelist to the end:

But when I think of the future now, I think especially of heaven. Admittedly old age isn't easy; whoever said that old age isn't for sissies was right. But as a Christian I know that this life is not all, and eventually we all will stand before God. I'm thankful that some day soon the burdens of this life will be over for me, and I will go to be with God forever. I look forward to that day! This is my hope, and it can be the hope of every person who puts their faith and trust in Christ.

Amen.

marriage & mission

JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY
Rosik, C. H. Pandzic, J. (2008). Marital satisfaction among Christian missionaries: A longitudinal analysis from candidacy to second furlough Vol. 27 (1), 3-15

A plethora of research has associated marriage with psychological well-being. Some research has also indicated that a healthy marriage is particularly important for missionaries because spouses may be each other's sole social support in the field. At the same time, missionary couples face added challenges of relocating to new cultures. Rosik and Pandzic sought to explore the marital satisfaction of missionary couples; they hypothesized that marital satisfaction would decrease when couple first entered the mission field due to culture shock, and then increase to its previous levels as the couples' adjusted.

In order to test this hypothesis, Rosik and Pandzic analyzed data from 28 missionary couples. All couples completed a psychological assessment during their initial candidacy period and at two furloughs, each four years apart. Each assessment included the Marital Satisfaction Inventory, The sample was predominantly Caucasian (92.7°%) and had been married an average of 7.6 years (SD = 4.84). They were working on mission fields around the world.

Consistent with their hypothesis, the results indicated that the couples experienced a significant decrease in their marital satisfaction in the four years between their candidacy and first furlough. Unlike the hypothesis, however, the couples did not show a return to their pre-field levels of marital satisfaction by their second furlough; in actuality, the couples showed no significant changes in marital satisfaction between the two furloughs. Rosik and Pandzic concluded, "time may not heal marital distress" (p.13). They also emphasized the importance of mission agencies being especially attentive to identifying and treating marital distress for couples who are new to the mission field.

(synopsis as published in Journal of Psychology & Theology, Fall 2008, Volume 36, Number 3, page 234.)

cover to cover

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

Genesis 3:21

My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring them back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the way of error will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

James 5:19,20