The Redneck & the Owlet

May 21, 2012 By Karen Spears Zacharias 3 Comments

That’s my friend Swede upon that ladder rigging up a redneck fix to a very complicated problem. Swede is no tree-hugging liberal. He’s a contractor for classic custom-built homes. But on Sunday, Swede was trying to fix the home of this little critter.

Swede nicknamed him Harry. I’m not sure he is a he but either way, Harry seemed a good fit. On Saturday, Swede was out at Green Acres. That’s the name his wife Debbie dubbed their new property, which isn’t out of town at all really, just up the road a piece from our place. Tim and Swede grew up in the county. That’s how everyone in the mountains refers to the community — the county. Tim was friends with Swede’s younger brother first. Duff was even the best man in our wedding. Duff and Tim went to college together at Judson Baptist and played sports together throughout their growing up. Duff was once offered a coaching job in Dufur, Oregon but his wife nixed that. She didn’t want to be married to Duff the Dufur coach.

Over time we grew to be good friends with Swede and Debbie simply because we all kept ending up in the same towns together. When my youngest was born, we told everyone that Swede was her daddy because she was blonde-headed like Swede and not dark like Tim. To this day, Konnie refers to Swede as Daddy Swede.

Back at Green Acres on Saturday, Swede was overseeing a tree cutting project. Before he can start building a home on their new property, a few trees needed to be felled, like this honking big one that was pretty well hollowed out. Only Swede didn’t know, until they started cutting it, that the tree was home to Harry and his/her mama, and this group of angry birds.

All those critters came tumbling out of their nests when the trunk of that tree started coming down. Harry rolled tail over feathers, while this close-knit bunch just hunkered down in their nest and waited out the tumble.


Once Swede discovered the baby owl was nesting inside the tree, however, he decided to rig up a fix. He built a platform and then wired the hollow part of the tree to the platform, hole side down and at a slant, to keep Harry from falling out again.  All in hopes that Harry’s mother will return to care for her not-yet-flight-worthy-charge.

Afterall, it was a plan that worked just fine for this bunch. Swede put them back in their log home and soon enough mama was sweeping in to feed them. But just to be sure I called the good people over at Blue Mountain Wildlife Rescue. The folks there were glad to hear the owlet had survived the night without too much trauma. I didn’t tell them that Swede said when he found Harry this morning, the downy puff was cold and stiff.

But once the sun came out, so did Harry’s sunny disposition. The rescue folks said that it’s not true that if you touch a bird the mother won’t have anything else to do with it. But Swede wasn’t taking any risk. He wanted to give Harry every chance at survival.

To some, Swede’s efforts may seem like a tedious waste of time.

But to Harry, Swede’s caring ways are everything.

And you?

Who are you cradling close, praying over and imparting hope to?

 

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Love Wins but at what cost?

May 20, 2012 By Karen Spears Zacharias 2 Comments

 

I worry about The Marine sometimes.

He would scoff at me for that, so I’ve never made mention of it until now.

The news reports of 29-year-old Jaman Iseminger of Indianapolis, In. are a reminder to me that there is a real cost to serving others the way Jaman did, the way The Marine does.

Jaman, a pastor at Bethel Community Church, was reportedly shot and killed by a 49-year-old homeless woman on Saturday as he and others gathered to clean up a nearby cemetery. Something that many do routinely as part of the preparations leading into Memorial Day.

Those who knew him best say that Jaman “believed the church of Jesus Christ was not to be in these four walls, but to actually love the least of these.”

While others argue about how the Christian life ought to be exemplified, The Marine is out doing what others are arguing about.

I’ve witnessed The Marine’s faith in action.

The way he speaks with respect and honor to the fellow wearing fishnet hosiery and high heels.

The way he coddles the toddler of a teen.

The way he banters with the group of homeless men gathered around a coffee pot.

And I see it in the way the homeless respect him.

He is the real deal and they know it.

Still, I worry when I hear the reports that a homeless man that was drinking coffee the morning before has stabbed someone.

Homeless requires a certain mental toughness and a raw vulnerability.

Mostly it just requires that every other safety net in your life has been ripped wide open.

You become homeless because of a whole host of reasons, but you don’t become homeless because you prefer freezing your ass off or because you like sleeping on hard concrete in a pouring rain.

Living like that could turn most of us into wild-eyed loons.

It might make us act in ways we never imagined.

Not that any of us ever imagine we will be homeless.

And that’s part of the problem.

We might not admit it but there’s this small part of us that entertains the notion that homeless people are homeless because they aren’t as smart as the rest of us, who thus far have managed to escape the fate of the homeless.

The Marine doesn’t think like that.

He understands what most of us don’t.

He understands that the only thing separating “us” from “them” are the numbers in our cell  phone.

We have people we can call when things go bad for us.

They don’t.

So he set out to become that person.

The one they can call.

No matter what.

He’s not trying to fix them.

His main agenda is to be a friend to the homeless.

Even if being that friend cost him his life.

The way it did Jaman Iseminger.

In order for love to win, somebody has to be willing to pay the cost.

That’s why I worry sometimes.

And pray often for Hugh Hollowell.

 

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Time for the Church to step up

May 18, 2012 By Karen Spears Zacharias 3 Comments

 

It never fails.

Every time I speak before any group about A SILENCE OF MOCKINGBIRDS, someone will approach me, usually quietly, and confide one of the following:

- They were abused as children

- They have a grandchild who has been abused

- They have a friend or family member who is being abusive with their children

- They know a child that was abused and/or murdered

 

 

Most of us have read about the horrors of abuse but most of us are completely unaware of the magnitude of the problem — 20,000 child abuse fatalities over the past 10 years, right here on US soil. To put that in perspective, that would be like waking up tomorrow and finding out that everyone in the town I live in was murdered overnight. And the neighboring community to the north and south of me.

Most of us want to do something to turn the tide.

The question is what? What can, should we do?

I think the church ought to be taking the lead on this terrifying epidemic.

True religion demands it of us.

But how?

- Offer parenting classes to the community. Eighty percent of all child abuse is perpetuated by biological parents. Abuse is most often committed by parents in their 20s & 30s. They obviously need some coping skills. Scriptures encourage the mentor model of older to younger. Let’s get some experienced parents, thoughtful, considerate people to teach some very basic parenting skills and open the doors of the church to the community.

- Offer a parents’ night out. We are a mobile society. That means many of us live long distances from family members who might otherwise offer a much-needed break from parenting. Let’s step into the lives of these parents of young children and offer them a respite. Give them a quiet evening to enjoy one another, to relax, or to get the grocery shopping done.

- Partner with community groups like CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) to raise up volunteers who will come alongside abused and neglected children.

- If you have creative skills or handyman skills, volunteer with the local child abuse assessment centers to supply them with baby blankets, stuffed animals, children’s furniture, etc. You can find the local child abuse assessment center in your community at National Children’s Alliance by clicking here.

- Join forces with other churches in your community and form a pool of legal experts willing to help educate those caught up in child abuse cases. Many grandparents are dealing with issues such as how to get custodial rights. Hold community-wide educational opportunities for those who are caring for abused children.

- Partner with therapists and educate the community on how to identify child abuse and what steps to take, how to make a report of possible abuse, and how to address the fear of getting involved.

- Go back to basics. Hold classes to teach people how to be a better neighbor, how to build community. We are becoming more fractured and isolated as a society. This isolation increases the chances for abuses to go unreported.

- Take up a collection once a quarter and donate it to the local domestic violence shelter, or child abuse assessment center or child advocacy center.

- Do a sermon series addressing the topic of marriage and why living together is not the healthiest choice for children. The more sexual partners a parent has the more likely the child will be exposed to someone who will abuse them, or the more likely it is that the child will be neglected. Neglect is the primary form of child abuse. We need to teach single parents that moving in with someone three or four weeks after meeting them poses danger to children.

- Offer a place of healing prayer for those who have suffered abuse.

- Challenge your congregation to step forward as foster parents. While it may be more sexy to end human trafficking overseas, we are commanded to care for our neighbors. When Pastor Francis Chan learned about the crisis in child abuse and lack of foster homes in his community he issued a challenge and over 200 people stepped forward to become foster parents. We don’t have to leave our communities to serve. What better way to offer hope?

- Recognize that child abuse is a great evil. Educate yourself about the insidious ways in which it is destroying our country. Choose a book to study (I can recommend one.) Pray from the pulpit for abused children, past and present.

 

Have you seen other ways that this problem is being addressed effectively? Do you have ideas about other ways churches can do intervene? Do you know someone who is taking the lead on this issue?

 

 

 

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