Peg Keelan-White

I received the dreadful call about 8:30 last night. It was from my brother, Don. Five years ago, his wife Peg was diagnosed with breast cancer. She went through all the treatments, the questions, the hair falling out. She struggled with the "Why's?". But she emerged from the fight victorious. Just this fall, she passed the five year, cancer free mark.
In the fall, she just didn't feel as if she had any energy. A simple blood test determined that she had acute leukemia...a result of the chemotherapy (more than likely) from her last battle with cancer. After a number of rounds of treatment, a visit to the Mayo Clinic, more treatments, many of the same results as the last time, i.e hair falling out, etc., she kept fighting. I admired her pluck, her will to live, her detmermination to press on and not let down.
But let me allow my brother's words to explain what happened. This was his last post concerning Peg:

"Beautiful."

That was the last message I received from Peg this morning after she read the "Winter Sonnets" I had written for her last night.

Tonight, it breaks my heart to have to tell you that we lost Peg today. I received a phone call this morning that she had fallen in the bathroom at the hospital. As it turns out, she had had a stroke and it was the stroke which caused her to fall.

Apparently, blood had hemorrhaged into her brain. With her blood pressure soaring and with her platelets not helping out, the combination of the two are apparently what caused the blood on her brain and the subsequent stroke.

All of us were there with her when she died, just before 5:00 tonight.

The only comfort I am able to draw on right now is knowing that all of you are heartbroken, too, and that you, who have so faithfully follwed us on this journey, share our anguish.

For now, all I can say is that she was...beautiful.

I asked Don what I could do for him. His response? "Oh, I don't know. Just keep on being Jim."

This morning, as I walked into Starbucks, I was greeted with my usual enthusiastic cheer. "Jim! How are you doing?" "Fine," was my response. But I thought, these people don't care about the fact that my sister-in-law died. My brother's heart is crushed and those who don't know will carry on the same surface level conversations. I hope I'll remember this. That just because people smile and express their "fineness" that I'll look beyond the eyes and see the hearts of pain and suffering that are inevitably going on in the world.
Peg was a one-of-a-kind. She cried at the Walton's. She had a wonderful laugh. She kept Don in line. She was a rennaisence woman in many ways with many interests, many talents. And the fact that she worked with special needs kids showed that she cared. She cared for those who needed someone to stand up for them.
When I came around, Peg always had a big hug and would say something like, "Please come over more often." The last time I saw Peg was in the hospital. Martha and I went in and spent about an hour and a half with her and we talked about everything...just as we always did. She was Peg. The same Peg that would sit in her home and shoot the breeze with us. The same Peg who I called Betty. My last conversation with her was on the phone just before Thanksgiving. I had called to check on Don and was surprised when she picked up the phone. Little did I know that would be our last conversation. She talked of the holidays and wanting to get all the Christmas decorations out before she had to go back to Lincoln, back to the hospital.
Once again, I'm reminded...reminded of just how short life is and how we have no guarantees. James says, "What is your life? You are a mist that is seen for a moment and then disappears." Oh, yes, she was here. And she had quite an impact on the community of York. I don't know how to end this blog except to ask for prayers. Pray for my brother Don and his boys, Ben and Evan. Pray for our family. God is good. JW

In All Circumstances

My daughter fussed at me because I haven't written a new post recently. I suppose it's time since I haven't written since Veteran's Day. This comes from the girl (actually, she's a 26 year old married young woman) who yells at houses decorated with Christmas lights before Thanksgiving, "It's not Thanksgiving yet!" I love it. She understands. She gets it.
In our marketing world, we want to make sure we get the jump on the competiton. I'm surprised we haven't started the "lose weight" commercials yet capitalizing on the first of the year resolutions. Perhaps the next thing we'll see is a fireworks stand getting ready for the 4th of July. She wants things to slow down and remember to be thankful. I think it's a prerequisite to being one of God's children. "...give thanks in all circumstances..." the apostle Paul says. He's right. And my daughter is right. Let's not rush this. Besides, I think this whole season of the year is a period of Thanksgiving. Thank you for the bounty we enjoy. Thank you for our families. Thank you for Your Son. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! This season of thanksgiving goes from January 1 to December 31. Okay, now we don't have to yell at the houses as we go by, Meredith. Have a great day.

Veteran's Day

On my credenza in my office is a smooth, triangular rock that's about two inches across. I picked it up from the beach in 2004 when my family and I ventured to the beaches of Normandy. The 10 minute hike down the path from the upper promontory where the Germans had all of their guns and soldiers was well worth the trip. As I turned and looked up, I noticed we stood in a bowl surrounded on three sides by the hills of Northern France. The trees have grown up on the hillside, whereas in 1944 Rommel had burned all of the vegetation. I'm not military strategist, but it was obvious that our troops were sitting ducks. Down in a valley, surrounded on three sides, with all the wrath of the German military bearing down on them. The only way we were able to overcome was by sheer numbers. They couldn't kill our soldiers fast enough. Many of America's sons left their blood and their lives on that beach on June 6, 1944. Many never came home as attested by the cemetery at the top of the hill with all the crosses and stars of David standing at attention. Those brave men were not allowed to see their children, their wives, their families ever again in this life....and they did it so that I could live in a country where I can speak freely. Where I am not worried about stating my political views. Where I can preach every Sunday without the police storming our assembly and telling me to stop. I can go where I want. Do what I want to do. Say what I want to say.
Freedom. What a wonderful word. I enjoy freedom because there were men and women who sacrificed their lives on foreign soil so that I could be free. That is something to never forget. I think it's appropriate that Veteran's Day is in the same month we celebrate another American holiday, Thanksgiving. These two go hand in hand as we think back on the blessings of liberty and posterity. Thank you to our veterans and soldiers who have given us this precious gift of freedom. And thank you God, for giving us your Son so that we can enjoy Your gift of freedom.
This rock will sit on my desk today in plain sight reminding me of these wonderful people in our military. Thank you! JW

Two Questions

I was asked a question the other day that I've never been asked before. It was almost a rhetorical question; one that really has no answer. Let me explain. We decided to have a "Sack Sunday" at our congregation where everyone would fill up sacks of canned goods and we would take this food to the Open Door Mission, a shelter for the homeless. All of you preachers probably know this, but when you say "canned goods," everyone brings canned goods, and all other kinds of foodstuffs. Our church collected 1,133 pounds of food. This included 622 cans, 50 pounds of sugar, oil, boxes of oatmeal, cake mixes, and many other items. We filled up a pickup truck full of food.
When we arrived the chaplain came out and asked "the" question. Now, let's see how you would answer this. He asked, "Do you have any idea how much of a blessing this is?" That question has haunted me now for a week. No, I don't know. Because God can do such awesome things. In the grand scheme of things, that's really not that much food, but God can make something of it. What I thrill it was for me to be able to say, "Take this food with no strings attached. Give it away or use it to cook meals. Just use it to God's glory."
I've received several thank yous and even a thank you note for this. But think about this, we gave from our abundance. I doubt many, if any, missed any meals because they gave it to the mission. I don't think anyone will be short any money because they spent it on food to give. Now, here's another question. If God can take and bless others when we give out of our abundance, what could He do if we gave sacrificially, truly sacrificially? Wow! Hard to imagine. Have a great day. JW

The Pleasant Surprise

I'm not a big fan of weddings. Don't get me wrong, I believe in them, they are beautiful occasions. But if people put as much money into their marriages as they did their weddings, we'd be much better off. But, I digress.
Recently, I was at a wedding rehearsal and the usual controlled chaos was going on. Where do people stand? When do you bring in the parents? How many grandparents will be here? What order are we walking in? What time are pictures tomorrow? When is the most important part? The rehearsal dinnner? You get the picture.
We were rehearsing the processional and this precious, 5-year old, blue-eyed, blond headed flower girl came down the aisle. She'll be a killer bride herself one day. What caught my heart was what she was doing. She was giggling and smiling from ear to ear....all the way down the aisle. She was relishing the moment, so much so that I told her I wanted her to do that tomorrow as she came down the aisle in the real wedding. I've left out one important detail. This beautiful, precious little girl had to walk down the aisle with a walker. Her legs were bent, she couldn't walk really straight, but that smile, that giggle. "I've got a pretty dress," she giggled as I talked to her. "It's got flowers in it." She said nothing about her disability. She wasn't complaining about her condition. She laughed. How precious.
I thought of Paul and my favorite passage that I quote often in this blog. It's found in II Corinthians 4. "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen. For what is seen is temporary. What is unseen is eternal." Caitlyn chose to see the bright side of things. And Paul points us in the same direction. Not on the troubles. Not on the disabilities. But on the joys of the moment. Like Caitlyn, let's not stop smiling. Let's overlook our hurdles and look beyond to what is waiting. Have a great day! JW

And Be Thankful

Martha and I got quite a surprise. Franklin, our youth minister, asked us if he and his wife could take us to dinner. Why sure! I'm never one to turn things down like that. But then we started thinking. Why are they doing this? Is there something they want to tell us? Are they struggling with something? When we got to the restaurant, they teens were there with a welcome "Surprise!" It's Pastor Appreciation Month and they were thanking Martha and me for being at Southwest. We were truly blessed by their "thanksgiving." I am thankful for them and for their love.
Paul tells the church in Collosse to "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, cince as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." Those last three words ring in my ears all the time. "And be thankful." Thanksgiving is the gateway to praise. It is the gasoline on the fire of a good and faithful life. The good thing is, we may not all have the talents to preach a gospel sermon or to be a missionary to a foreign country or to lead a worship service, but we can all be thankful. And that I am. Thanks for remembering us! Have a great day! JW

The Sign is Wrong

The bank sign said it was 74 degrees this morning. Now to my friends below the Mason-Dixon line, that's great. Only problem is, it's 54 degrees. I noticed this sign the other day when the temperature was really starting to change. I believe one morning it said 78 when it was really 58. I hadn't gotten used to the cool mornings yet and I marvelled at how warm it really was....after all, the bank sign said 78. What really tipped me off on the bank sign was when it read 90 degrees the other day. Now I know what 90 degrees feels like. So I was on to that sign now.
You're probably thinking at this point, "What is Jim trying to get at? I mean, he's talking about a bank sign for crying out loud!" This same phenomenon happens in our churches. Someone starts saying something that is untrue, shady, or an opinion that one has that may or may not be accurate. And we just take it at face value. For instance. "The singing just wasn't really that good this morning, was it?" (The bank sign says 90) Or, "That preacher isn't really doing what he should be doing, is he?" (It's really 58 degrees, not 78 degrees) Or, one I read about recently, "Things just aren't going well at church, are they?" Pretty soon we start believing the lie. And the church falls apart. Satan is good at what he does.
Recently, I was talking to a young preacher and he was talking to a chaplain from a hospital. He mentioned he worked at a Church of Christ and the response was typical. "You're the guys that don't use any instruments." I told him he should have said, "Yeah, and you should come hear it. It's beautiful!" I believe this can work the other way. Let's take the positive tack on this and start talking about our churches in a positive light. Let's invite! Let's encourage! Let's say how good it is! I'm not saying we should close our eyes to any problems. But my experience is we have a whole lot more to be excited and blessed about than we do problems. Let's focus on the positive and not the negative and let's turn this thing around. Didn't Paul said, "Do everything without complaining."? Let's try it. Have a great day! JW

P.S. And come visit us this Sunday! Great things are happening!