Faith Prints: God Is Here

Copyright © 2014 Mark H. Young.

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New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-2633-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-2634-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-2632-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014902743

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/19/2014

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Seasons

Spring A New Creation

Discovering Our Faith Prints

Adam’s Rib

In This Very Room

The Many Faces of Poverty

Showcasing One’s Religion

Dust in the Wind

Friends

Are We There Yet?

Fat Tuesday

A Grief Observed

Holy Week: Insult to Injury

Holy Week: A Moment of Tenderness

Lift High the Cross

The Easter Launch

From Sunset to Sunrise

Seven Miles to Somewhere

Go!

How Do You Say Good-Bye?

Facing Our Goliaths

Spiritual Lethargy

Jonah Down Under

Dark Night of the Soul

The Wings of the Morning

Christian Maturity

The Cry that Became a Laugh

Living into Our Years

Food for Thought

God’s Handiwork

Joy to the World

A Longing beyond Our Knowing

In the End Is Our Beginning

Summer

The Heat Is On

Long May You Ride

The Vigil

Refuge and Strength

Another Dimension

Spiritual Reconnaissance

Anger Has a Blindside

Showing Honor

The Grand Discovery

The Hard and Simple Truth

Finding Home—Chronicles of an Island Vacation

Preservation—Chronicles of an Island Vacation

Table Blessings—Chronicles of an Island Vacation

Homeward Bound—Chronicles of an Island Vacation

A Retrieved—Lost Chronicle of an Island Vacation

Finding Freedom

Doors

The Sacred Journey

The Last Laugh

Dream Walkers

Following Faithfully

The Gift

The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea—Part 2

Footprints by the Sea

Losing Faith

First Steps

True Love

Grazing in the Grass

Isolation

Doing What Is Right

Failure

Where Does Hope Live

My Favorite Martian

Thorns in the Flesh

Glory in the Highest Heaven

Change—The One Thing Constant

Running from God

Words that Hurt—Words that Heal

Superstars or Servants

Compassion at the Crossroads

A New Day Coming

Managing Mondays

Silence

Running Beyond Empty

From Which You Were Hewn

A Day in the Life

Visibility at Three Feet

Seeing in the Dark

Sunday’s Walk in the Park

Looking Toward

Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right

Fall

The Lateness of the Hour

All Things Working Together

Heaven’s Gate

Going on toward Christian Perfection

Sorrow Will Turn into Joy

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Credit History

Which Way

T-Minus Ten Seconds and Counting

I Saw the Light

A Light in the Attic

Hold Fast to What Is Good

Skipping Church

The Last Impression

Blessings in Any Size

Star Light Star Bright

Appointed to Serve

Spiritual Drought

The One Thing Needed

Listen to Your Life

It’s Not Where You Are From

Looking beyond the Mirror

Help!

All Hallows Eve

Halloween Cometh

Remembering the Saints

MASH

The Truth Is Out There

False Piety

Veteran’s Day

Voice Recognition

Heart-to-Heart

Managing Anxiety

Giving Thanks in All Circumstances

11-22-63

Giving Thanks

The Twelfth Commandment

Winter

In the End Is Our Beginning

Apartment #1411

56

Where Has the Wonderment Gone?

Letters to God—Letters to Santa

All I Want for Christmas

Home for the Holidays

Characters of Christmas

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

No Lines in the Christmas Play

Snow, Snow, Snow

Gratitude

Hope-Filled

The Lost and the Found

Crucial Conversations

Beside Still Waters

Taming the Tongue

From Milk to Meat

The God in Our Midst

Holy Listening

From Foe to Friend

Ask Not

Spiritual Outliers

Maintaining Hope when Things Are Hard

Riding in the Rain

God’s Call to Worship

Ride Captain Ride

From Rags to Riches

Refueling the Passion

Please Hold

More Information—Less Wisdom

God’s Holy Portion

Godspeed

To my wife, Sherri,

who has loved me through thick and thin

and always encouraged me to write

what I hear and see.

Foreword

Dr. Mark Hardin Young is by far one of the most dedicated and passionate pastors I have known in my forty years of ministry. He lives out our I CARE Values in the Houston Methodist Hospital System with a commitment that is unparalleled in what has become one of the fastest growing hospitals in this country. Each day I look forward to reading his Faith Prints, knowing I will not only be renewed and inspired, but I will learn something more about faith and life like never before.

The son of a United Methodist pastor, Mark Young has cut a significant swath of goodwill and faith through whatever ministry he has been assigned. Having served parishes from small to large in what have been some of the most meager to some of the best well-endowed, he has had diverse and expanding experiences that literally feed our souls. I served with Mark in the Bishop’s Cabinet as district superintendents for the United Methodist Church in the Texas Annual Conference for a number of years before his joining our ranks at Houston Methodist. His passion in serving the church, its people, and its pastors was unparalleled then just as it is today as one of our leading directors of spiritual care. This same spirit can be seen in the truly outstanding Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital. He sees each hall, room, and floor as an extension of the chapel. He views each hospital employee and member of the medical staff as well as the patients and their families as members of his parish. But even more, he has successfully reached outside the hospital and included members of all faith traditions as a part of the hospital’s ministry, registering record numbers of visits of any chaplaincy program in this country.

It is with great pride that I recommend to you this copy of Faith Prints for your spiritual journey. You will be enriched and inspired. You will find things out about yourself and your faith never before discovered. You will find pearls of wisdom and the turn of a phrase that will truly feed your soul as you move from page to page! Plus as you move along, you will suddenly see inside the very soul of a pastor who understands the hurts and hopes we all share, along with anxieties and fears we each face, as we all come to grips within the mortal bodies we have, coupled with immortal souls we know that have been granted to each of us.

—Rev. Charles Millikan, D. Min.

Vice president of spiritual care and values integration

Houston Methodist Hospital

Preface

Where does one begin to tell his story? The late songwriter John Lennon once said, The story can begin or end anywhere. I suppose that’s true. You begin reading the passion narratives of Jesus during the last week of his life, or you dive into the birthing stories, brief as they are. You might even delve into Jesus’ parables. Or if you want to take a deeper dive, you can discover a foreshadowing of Jesus’ coming in the book of Isaiah some six centuries before the virgin birth. My story begins midway into the twentieth century. Many of these storied snapshots convey moments in my life but moments not too dissimilar from your own, for we all have celebrated victories and lived through disappointments. Through the highs and lows God is always there. That may be the underlying theme of these 150 faith prints: everyday moments and yet oftentimes God moments.

Faith Prints is a kind of play on words. Many employees have told me they like the footprints. I’ve likened this analogy to forensic science. If we could take one of those lights and shine it on the ground, the floors, the pathways of our lives, we would see the faith prints of God crisscrossing this planet. The presence of God is everywhere. God is not contained to a season or a sentiment. God is in the here and now and now and then. The idea for Faith Prints was born in Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital.

For more than thirty years I honed my love of writing as a church pastor. I wrote pastor’s columns. I penned sermons, wedding homilies, and funeral eulogies. I wrote prayers, and I wrote poetry. Then later in my professional career God opened a door to oversee a spiritual care department within the largest Methodist Hospital system in the world. One week into my new vocational home I asked the CEO if I could send out a daily online devotional to the staff of more than 1,400 employees. Her answer was decisive, and on my eighth day of employment I began writing Faith Prints Monday through Friday.

Some of the daily devotionals find their home within the walls of this community hospital but are not exclusively confined to where I work. We are a village of caregivers. We are many faith groups and nationalities. Writing for this diverse body was a great opportunity to communicate on a larger stage.

Some of the themes you will discover have to do with my fascination with space travel, exploration, God’s creation, light and dark, and God’s presence and grace in the midst of the mayhem and mystery of our lives. God is never far away. These conversations have been written with the sole intent of inspiring others never to lose sight of hope.

I think this has been the objective in my years as a church pastor as well. While written for a specific audience, I believe you will find they speak to a larger audience as well. Therefore, it is my hope that God’s Faith Prints might be evidenced through these holy conversations you now hold in your hand. All Scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (NRSV), 1989.

I would like to thank CEO Beryl Ramsey for granting me permission to send them out electronically and now in book form; Scott Remlinger, director of rehab services at Houston Methodist West Hospital, for his early and ongoing encouragement; Dr. Charles R. Millikan, senior vice president of spiritual care at Houston Methodist Hospital; and his assistant, Jennifer Malovets, for their generous support and oversight. I am indebted to Edward Foggs, publishing consultant, for believing in me, Erica Hookfin, check-in consultant, for her patience and helpful guidance, and Justin Dimos, editorial services associate for his kind and constructive comments.

I am grateful for Ray Bradbury, who became a great friend later in his life and for the huge influence he has had on my writing style, along with Rev. Frederick Buechner, a literary giant in theological circles. (Both of these authors I have cited more often than any other writers.)

Personally I am indebted to Dr. Roy T. James, a dear clergy friend and colleague, for his daily phone chats that kept me focused and to Jeanette Campbell, who patiently edited and polished these devotionals in ways only she could. Of course, I am grateful to my children, Peter, Paul, and Mary, for their enthusiasm to do this before they would get old! And mostly to my dear wife, Sherri, who has been my most ardent supporter of my ministry and this latest undertaking. Last but not least, I would humbly like to thank my many good friends who have received the electronic versions and have responded so positively throughout my nearly four years of writing Faith Prints. These are for you! Godspeed!

Seasons

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.

—Ecclesiastes 3:1

Seasons come and seasons go. The readings in this book number 150, not a full year and not full seasons. The book is divided into four seasons—spring, summer, fall, and winter. You can begin reading from front to back, or you can begin with the season of your liking.

You will notice that selections in each season are not equally divided. In other words, one season may be longer than another. In some real sense, you may like one season more or find yourself presently identifying more with one season than another. In our spiritual lives, the seasons don’t even necessarily fall in chronological order. Some of us have a favorite month. Start anywhere. Dive in! There is a season waiting to be read!

Spring

A New Creation

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

—2 Corinthians 5:17

The springtime of life reminds us of our youth, our ability to climb trees, dig for dinosaurs, capture fireflies, and fly to the moon—all in one afternoon! Spring is that great waking-up time for trees to clothe themselves after a long winter’s night.

Spring is that time in which forest creatures appear and snow disappears. Green returns, and all the old, discarded leaves buried beneath the snow have now contributed to the resurrection of life.

Spring is that season of new creation, the Savior’s encore. The Holy One who was wounded for our transgressions has been made whole again, risen out of the ashes of misplaced dreams. The dark shadows have lifted, and life is good. A new day has dawned. Christ can make all things new.

Let the journey begin.

Discovering Our Faith Prints

Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

—Psalm 119:105.

Reflection

More than forty years ago two men stepped out of their temporary abode and stamped their boot prints on a lunar landscape. The first two humans to ever set foot on our moon were Neil Armstrong and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin. Time and space have not altered their space-boot imprints in that zero-gravity environment. They remain preserved, undisturbed, and intact for more than four decades.

In like fashion, God’s footprints are found all over this planet and this entire solar system. They are not always visible to the naked eye or the astronomer’s telescope. But they can be found in hospital corridors, hallowed halls, shadow places, and pathways both near and far. We might call them not only God’s footprints but also God’s faith prints. And that’s where you and I come into the conversation.

As God’s faith prints crisscross this continent, we, too, have the opportunity not only to make our mark but to also place our own faith prints upon the heart and soul of the landscape we touch every day. We have the opportunity to make our own faith imprints upon this good earth. Faith prints serve as a metaphor for this holy conversation from my desk to yours. May you find comfort in God’s Word, and may this time of holy speak illuminate each of us in our respective daily paths.

Prayer

God of wind and fire, spirit and truth, moonlight our paths and sunlight our passages as we seek to travel in the realm of sea and sky, field and stream. May your Word ground us and keep us ever close to you as we live out our daily pilgrimages. Give us a lamp to help us step out into the future, knowing and affirming that your footprints are never far away. Help us be afoot, faith printing our day along God’s way. In the name of the author and giver of all life. Amen.

Adam’s Rib

So the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he [God] took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.

—Genesis 2:21

Reflection

If you are looking for the first recorded surgery in human history, look no farther than Adam! It’s the story of how one became two. Two had a name—Eve. It’s the story of a lonely man who had dominion over everything he could see, taste, touch, smell, and hear. He could name them, catalogue them, classify them, and hunt them. But when all was said and done, Adam was lonely.

Adam’s rib serves as a metaphor for our human connections. Eve’s reflection in the mirror is quite different from Adam’s. She is sporting one extra rib, but in many respects she is the same flesh and blood of the human species. While not connected at the hip, they are still connected by relationship. In those days she was called a helpmate. Creation is all about relationship—husband and wife, sister and brother, fish and fowl, mammal and reptile. In the created order, there is a relationship that binds all of life together.

In some larger sense, we are all connected to Adam’s rib. We all have some function and purpose. Whether we are single or married, older or younger, male or female, have a Midwestern accent or a Southern twang, we belong to the patchwork and tapestry of the larger human family. Now more than ever before, we know that the economics in Burma can impact the economy in Birmingham.

Moving out beyond the DNA and monetary properties of business dealings and family trees, the moral responsibility to protect and preserve our environment—the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food from the ground we eat—in some real sense originates with Adam’s rib. We are no longer isolated by language or customs, which is to say that our moral choices matter. It is not about collusion as it is community. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called it the Beloved Community.

In one form or other, the entire planet is our garden of Eden. Adam is every man. Eve is every woman. It all began when Adam shared a rib with Eve. And God called it good. May it be so.

Prayer

Dear God, we are not an island unto ourselves. Our actions and decisions have consequences. We have far more in common than our differences. Help us share responsibly. Alleluia! Amen.

In This Very Room

Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

—Psalm 90:1

Reflection

My life began whisked on wheels through an underground tunnel from one birthing center to another. After seven months, here I was … ready or not. My father recalls the frantic pediatric ensemble running in syncopated time with a medical matrix dangling from their arms and necks to relocate me in a temporary artificial cocoon (incubator). This new housing mechanism had only been in use for about five years. My father said he ran behind the medical machinery, saying his prayers as a person literally on the run.

So you can see it is not a stretch for me when I read the psalmist’s words in today’s passage to suggest that home is not simply where the