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From the Mailbag December 2020
The newsletter about the broken arm and its ramifications has predictably netted a lot of emails. If you are not subscribed to it, but want to read it, you can find it in the Free Stuff on our website.
Here are some bits and pieces from your emails that grabbed me.
HILARIOUS
She: You often address subjects that no others in the Body of Christ do . . .
Me: Yup. Guilty as charged. Some people love me for it and some hate me, but it is an unalterable part of my "brand."
PROFOUND
She: This picture sums up so beautifully what I have only been able to express to people at the moment as “extreme contrasts” in my life and the life of those around me these days.
Me: "Extreme contrasts." Now THERE is some wordsmithing. Never heard the term before, but sure won't forget it.
Sounds like you are defining a niche with elegance.
PATHOS
He: I’m so, so sorry about Ann. I didn’t know, and I don’t have enough skill to express how deeply my heart went out to you both when I read of her dementia.
I‘m not sure that there’s anything I can do to help, but let me know if there is, and I will if at all possible.
Me: Understand.
This is part of the challenge for the Tribe. I am deeply loved, but what can you do about someone else’s dementia when you are miles away?
Not much.
I think this is the enigma and paradox of Galatians 6:2ff.
Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden.
PERSPECTIVE
He: I am really grateful to have connected with the SLG tribe. Thank you. The shift from what to think to how to think is where I want to be.
Me: Doable. But it is gonna cost you a lot of hours and struggle.
A GENEROUS HEART
He: I also wanted to say how encouraging it is to me and how happy I am for you both that you now have and own your house and land. What an absolute joy that must be. We are celebrating with you!
Me: That is so special coming from someone who would love to own your own home. I appreciate your bigness of spirit to be able to celebrate with me, while still on your own journey.
Copyright by Arthur Burk
December 2020
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Comments
wife -dementia
By : Maryann dangelo On December 17th 2020Good am Arthur
My father took galantamine hydrobromide , he didnt have alzheimers , but didnt have clear short term memory.
Mild case dementia. Thru much heartache, trial & error Dr. had him try this. It worked he was on it for about
10 yrs. and graduated to Heaven 92 1/2 yrs young. I was legal guardian over him , I also was primary caregiver
for my Mom she graduated 1 1/2 yrs ago to Heaven at home total lucid until she took her last breath at
99 1/2 yrs. young. This medication is tiered starting 8mg,15mg etc. my father stayed at 8mg.
Hope this helps. Blessings & refreshment to you & your wife.
Replied by : Arthur Burk
ups and downs
By : Cyndi On December 14th 2020Old lesson-if stuff stayed static, we wouldn't need the Rock that is our foundation, to stand on. Even if people, i.e. the Tribe, are distant, and some people don't thrive on hugs, knowing you are supported in prayer, and caring, is huge
Extreme Gratitude
By : Sandy Cutts On December 13th 2020I can only describe my gratitude to the Lord as extreme, for me finding SLG, and the weight in gold I have received through the pioneering and cutting edge teachings that you, Arthur have so graciously and so humbly shared with those in the body of Christ, who have had the courage to embrace and explore them. At the same time my heart is also grieved to hear about your precious Ann. I sincerely pray that our King releases to you or someone in our tribe the keys to bring about healing for this disease, for her, and for the world. May His grace ever sustain you both during this time.
response
By : Ken Stewart On December 12th 2020Thanks for sharing so candidly yet so positively.
My father-in-law went through the long-term version--he died at 93, she at 91 about 2 years before he, & she had it for over 11 years, with him going through the pre-nursing home stage where you are now (she spent the last 7-8 years in one). He was faithful to the end--they would have been married 70 years had she lived another 4 months. I think he gave up on himself after that & checked out earlier that he had to b/c he wanted to make sure he didn't cause the inheritance he had worked so hard to create for his 3 daughters. We "benefitted" by that decision, but we both wish it had been otherwise.
One repercussion is that Diane worries about my developing it, based on my memory lapses, which I (and other people who know me well) think are more from overload in life. Since my dad also checked out when I was 3 (you referred me to Ken McAll's book HEALING YOUR FAMILY TREE), and I have outlived (at 68) all my known male relatives, I have no way of knowing genetically. My great grandmother on the maternal side lived to be 96 and still well in control of her faculties mentally, so I do not worry.
I am praying for you & Ann. I too rejoice in your having a home now, and your woodworking, gardening, and of course your continued pioneering spirit in pushing the boundaries with SLG. I too echo the sentiment on that above--you "boldly go where no man has gone before..." and I so appreciate that. And I am glad also that you moved to Spartanburg, even though I don't see you any more than earlier.
I recommend Eugene Peterson's 1983 RUN WITH THE HORSES, on Jeremiah's life. I just finished chapter 9 ('Twenty-Three Years...Persistently")--I'm impressed that he wrote this all the way back then, considering he was just starting THE MESSAGE. He lived out A LONG OBEDIENCE IN THE SAME DIRECTION.
I applaud where you've come from, the journey you've shared, and your continued pouring into others. Blessings & prayers.
Beautiful!
By : Adela On December 12th 2020I love the titles you chose to use on these bits and pieces. They speak volumes.
The newsletter was beautifully written in a bittersweet key of music. A perspective changer for me was this: "Living well is an art form, not an act of the will".
I needed that.
Thank you!
Replied by : Arthur Burk
SLG Tribe
By : Nancy tucker On December 12th 2020I love this tribe! Richest of rich hearts!
NAT
Thanks!
By : Amy On December 11th 2020I enjoyed these snippets. I felt fathered by proxy as I read the email exchanges. I also enjoyed reading the kind and encouraging words of the tribe members. Thank you for sharing your highlights!
The enigma
By : Nathan Noble On December 11th 2020I love the thought about the enigma of Galatians 6:2. So many truths in Scripture are encapsulated in a tension between two poles. We must somehow finding wisdom to live in the middle between them.
And here is another: we carry each other's burdens...and each one must carry his own load!
For truths like these, words sometimes seem to pale. We do our best, but the words come out in paradoxes. Amen to this particular one - to carrying one another's burdens AND to carrying our own load. May we have grace to do and to drow in BOTH. BOTH/AND not the binary EITHER/OR proposition.
Merry Christmas!
By : Mary Branche On December 11th 2020Merry Christmas! And Happiest of 2021!!