Bill Koeneke (Great Britain)

I confess!  One of my problems is putting up with other people—not all people, mind you—and not all the time, but I find it difficult to cope especially with the unthinking, arrogant person. And yes, I am meeting such people from time to time.

For example, I have a problem with those young mothers who propel their baby buggies at 10 mph aimed straight at me without any discernable intention of altering course!  As a result I am faced with a challenge: Do I alter my course and give way, or do I invite the lady to slow down and alter her course by standing my ground? Decision-making on my part! And then there are those who walk four-abreast on a narrow pavement and likewise aimed directly at my approach with no apparent intention of giving way.  So occasionally I come to a dead stop, effectively forcing them to split up and allow me through.

Where I live in the south of England, there are many elderly retirees [like me], and quite a number of them drive a battery-driven mobility scooter on the pavement. Too dangerous to drive them in the road, yet woe unto the pedestrians! And more woe when these pseudo race-track enthusiasts team up two-abreast! There have been occasional accidents where the injured party was pummelled by one of these rather heavy vehicles, ending up in hospital with a smashed foot or deep vein thrombosis in their right leg!  What upsets me most, however, are bicycle riders on the pavement (where they shouldn’t be), silently zooming up from behind without bell or horn to warn me, and who are seemingly oblivious that they are about to scare the life out of my fragile body! So far I’ve managed to escape injury, but only narrowly.  Rarely do any of these incidents evoke an apology.

So I have to remind myself, in view of my calling, that I need to be patient with these people and give way to prevent a nasty argument or injury. And not surprisingly, it takes a lot of patience for me to live up to this Godly responsibility.

My problem in all this is that I effectively quell the light I should be shining when I’m faced with this trinity of insolence, the “me-myself-and-I” syndrome and sometimes loud-mouthed profanity, all of which seem to prevail in our society today. So, what’s the solution for me when I experience such provocations?  Blurt out something like “Hey buddy. You weren’t brought up very well!” or keep my tongue in cheek? The answer is obvious: Keep my tongue in cheek, and exercise a kindly portion of forgiveness and lots of patience. That’s the Godly way.

by Gilbert DeVaux

I am not the healthiest man, and I have been going through many severe health trials. I have to say, though, that I have been healed time and again since my calling, when I followed the instruction to be anointed by one of God’s ministers.

I most certainly know that any healing did not happen because of any real value of myself, for God chose the base things of this world, and there I would qualify. When going through health trials, I am reminded that the Eternal knew me before this earth was founded, and He has given me hope when I had none.

I have been reminded, especially during times of trial, what a great sacrifice the Father and Jesus Christ have made for me personally; realizing that the stripes that Christ endured were for my physical healing. It might be easy for me to take things for granted, but I never must do so. I have also learned to appreciate more and more our ministry that we have in our small church, for I know that they were called and placed here by our Great Creator God.

When there is not much physical strength in me, I am learning to grow in the faith of Christ living in me, and as I can feel how my brethren are praying for my health, I will continue to pray for them, when they need prayers.

by Phyllis Bourque

I find it interesting that many of the subjects covered in the StandingWatch programs apply in my personal life, realizing that I am essentially subjected to the issues of this world, yet not without God’s involvement. Two recent issues that I had to face were unemployment and excessive health care costs.

Earlier this year, I lost my job. In fact, the whole transcription department of 16 people was done away with, in favor of outsourcing. My first reaction was that I would finally be able to retire! A very generous severance package would have easily bridged me over to retirement in September. I began to think of all the things I wanted to catch up on when I retired and was feeling pretty good about it… UNTIL I looked at the cost of health care. My dream of retirement was quickly overshadowed by the very steep cost of health insurance, as well as the insecurity of the Social Security system itself.

God was clearly involved, however, even before I learned I had lost my job. Within two weeks of the initial announcement, four people were rehired, but in a different capacity. This has since been reduced to three, and I am one of them. The new position, Transcription Quality Auditor, involves checking the reports transcribed by the outsource company for accuracy, along with assuring the proper work flow between the various software programs used by the hospital. I am working fewer hours but my hourly wage is higher. I still have health insurance benefits, and I still have the privilege of working from home. I know that job security, like Social Security, is weak at best, but for now, I do have a job.

I could see again that God knows what is best for me, even before I do, and that He is the only real security for me in this life, for which I am very grateful.

by Simon Akl

It is hard to believe that four years have already past since the beginning of my studies, and that I will be completing my Bachelors of Health Science in two weeks. Before finishing, I need to stay focused on balancing the remaining homework assignments, exams, internships, and not to mention my job. There have been many stressful moments throughout these four years, with which I have been dealing. Those moments will surely continue after my official graduation, as I will start a new chapter in the fall at my new school.

My Christian faith has allowed me to stand up constantly and take on each obstacle or stressor, which has been sent my way. It is easy to get caught up in the many distractions and lose perspective. However, I have coped by constantly remembering that God is in charge of my life and leading it, so long as I continue to submit to His Will. It is always comforting to remind myself that I am not alone in dealing with my burden, and that I have God on my side to help me, no matter how big the challenge initially appears.

Recently, I reflected on numerous decisions that I faced throughout my academic career. I remember that I had no idea as to what I would do or where I would go. I turned to God for guidance and instruction. At no time has He ever left me or forsaken me, and I can see His direction at each crossroad. I am thankful for the blessings He has granted and for the many doors He has opened. I could have never come to this point without Him. I am assured in knowing that He has guided me completely, and I am confident that when I do my part, God will take care of the rest. I keep reminding myself that I could not have imagined being where I am today, and for this I have to give the glory to God–always.

by Connie Grade

In the physical preparation for the keeping of the recent Feast Days of Unleavened Bread, my husband and I tried diligently to physically remove any leaven we could find in our living quarters. We vacuumed our cars and our home, including the chairs, the couch and closets, removing any leavening agents we found. We made sure we had gone through all the kitchen cabinets, thoroughly cleaning the stove, the freezer and the refrigerator. As we cleaned, we attempted to read labels on containers that might contain leavening agents and throw away the items.

We felt pretty sure we had found and removed all leaven from our dwelling, and that we had emptied the vacuum sweeper bag.

On the day before the last Day of Unleavened Bread, we were cleaning up after having had breakfast. One of the brethren had stayed over with us and was helping with the clean-up. I had gone into another part of the house, and when I returned a few minutes later, my husband and our guest were standing in the kitchen, having just put everything away. I noticed that they had a strange look on their faces, and then I saw something sitting on the kitchen counter. To my horror there sat a jar of baking yeast!

I immediately asked, “Where did that come from?” They pointed to the refrigerator. I could not believe it! Apparently, when cleaning the refrigerator, I had removed everything from it in order to wipe it out and then sorted through everything making sure (or so I thought) that nothing with leaven was placed in it. Well, guess what? I put the jar of yeast back into the refrigerator as this is where I normally keep the yeast.

What a tremendous lesson for me to learn from this! It reminded me in my analysis that perhaps some sins can become such a part of my life that I don’t readily recognize them or that somehow I am able to just gloss over them because I have allowed myself to become “comfortable” with them. It was not only embarrassing for “someone else” to find my “physical” sin but to also realize how easily I could overlook the absolute obvious.

I had become comfortable with looking at that jar of yeast over the past few months and didn’t even recognize it when time came to put it out of our home. It just shows I am unable to become sinless without the help of our Great God. I was reminded that I have to ask Him to “show” me what needs to be removed from my life every day and to reveal to me what I cannot see.

by Cali Harris

Coming out of the Spring Holy Days, the idea of changing direction has been on my mind. As with every year, I’ve been thinking about leaving sin behind and walking toward obedience–basically, making small and big direction changes in my life. This hasn’t been limited only to my spiritual life, but has also trickled into the rest of my life.

I recently changed topics for my thesis in my graduate program. This meant that I chose to walk away from four semesters worth of work, research, discussions with professionals in the field and even completion of a business plan that related to my original topic. It was hard to change direction–but I know that my new thesis topic will be a much better choice for my education and future.

Timing-wise, I think it’s interesting that I was confident enough to change direction in my thesis now. Perhaps I needed to go through the Spring Holy Days in order to be open to this change… and I suspect that God was leading this change of direction all along.

by Louise Amorelli

Several months ago, my husband and I experienced some very severe health trials, involving two of our family members. One of those health trials needed our immediate attention and caused us to leave our home promptly and travel a good distance, to serve those needs. We had to pack, make arrangements for the care of our home, cat, bills, and square away our work commitments, within one day! Needless to say, that was quite a harrowing and stressful occasion. We left all behind, not knowing when we would return. We put all things in God’s hands and hoped and prayed for the best, not only for our family members, but also for all we were leaving behind.

When we arrived at our destination, we didn’t know where we would stay, where we would be eating, and exactly how to handle the challenges ahead. We went to different relatives’ homes, sleeping on couches, trying to grab whatever we could eat and get some rest, while trying to get as much information from health care professionals as possible, and to make sound family health decisions.

Through all of this, I thought of how Jesus and His apostles left all to preach the Gospel. They left their homes behind, not knowing where they would eat or where they would sleep to get this Gospel out. They went on the faith that God gave them, through the Holy Spirit. Although on a much smaller scale, now I can understand better what they went through.

When we finally arrived home, a month later, we really did appreciate our home… ahhh… home sweet home!! But it made me realize even more, how temporary this life really is, and how one day, I will need to leave ALL behind to (hopefully) go to the place of safety, without my possessions of this world, even leaving my physical home. My REAL home is not in this life, but a spiritual one, being one of rulership with Jesus Christ! Jesus is preparing a place for me… a home that will last forever, one that I can really call… Home Sweet Home!!

by Michael Link

There are times throughout the day when I get myself frustrated over petty things, which are rather insignificant and ridiculous. This happens mainly on the days I am at work.  I get myself caught up in the emotion when something doesn’t go as planned, and it can be discouraging at times, knowing that I should not react this way.

I try to correct myself when I am in a particular situation by praying to God, because I don’t want the situation to get out of hand, getting myself caught up with negative feelings–or worse, for it to become a bad habit.

So the question I ask myself is, what does it take to be happy and better yet, to stay happy?  It is challenging at times to remain positive, since it almost seems easier to let go and become discouraged because it doesn’t take a lot of effort to feel that way. 

Staying happy throughout the day, without letting any problems I may face affect me negatively, takes a lot of effort, and I know this because Satan does not stop in his mission to discourage me and try to make me miserable on occasion.

At the same time, God, as merciful as He is, shows Himself to be very forgiving and powerful when I ask for His strength. With that fact in mind, I can go about my day with a sense of relief, knowing that when I am tempted to become discouraged, asking God for help is what it takes to be and stay happy.

by Shana Rank

On occasion, I will sit and ponder the sequence of events that might happen during the time of Jesus Christ’s return.  I don’t typically exclude myself from these events.  In fact, I am very much alive and absolutely astonished by what I see.  Lately though, I have meditated on a single question—will I see death before Christ’s return? Or will I be someone with an unparalleled opportunity—skipping death altogether, and being alive at Jesus Christ’s return.

God gave the Israelites an opportunity to escape from slavery by the Egyptians. As much as they may have believed God was in every facet of their exodus, I bet they were running for their lives—moving forward, yet fearful for their well-being. The Israelites must have been thinking the same thing—will I see death?  It is truly awesome for me to consider that the Israelites could eventually have made it into the Promised Land–but only the younger generation did. How much greater will it be for me when God’s Kingdom is set up here on earth?!

I know that even if I die, I will still be resurrected to eternal life if I have remained faithful. But how awesome would it be for me, not only to never see death, but also to actually experience the return of Jesus Christ. This opportunity might very well be before me!

by John Amorelli

My wife and I live in a very rural area. There is satellite, but it is not reliable and very costly. There is no cable. So it seemed that all was completely lost, and we had to deal with dial-up connection. I was determined to obtain a better, faster and easier internet connection. We just could not live with dial-up!!

Weeks later, I was introduced to a technology called “mobile broadband.” It is simply an “air card” that plugs into a computer which delivers broadband capabilities, and it acts much like a cell phone. Without hesitation, I was sold on this device. (It did come with a 30-day trial period and a 1-2 year agreement.) I brought it home, unpacked the “air card,” loaded the software, plugged the “air card” into the computer, and initially it worked. I was excited that we would finally have better and reliable internet connection! No more dial-up!

Then, eventually, something went wrong–dropouts, loss of signal, error messages. I became frustrated. After spending days and days trying to get this product to produce better results, I subsequently returned it, and my wife and I went back to “good ole” dial-up.

This “mobile broadband” internet device overshadowed my spiritual focus on prayer, meditation and Bible study. I realized that nothing is better, faster, and more reliable than prayer, and prayer comes with anti-adversary protection and no dropouts, and it is totally free. It’s the best deal around. I had to remind myself that there is no substitute for the best “wireless” connection–PRAYER.