"Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, whe ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment" (Matthew 6:25 KJV)?
Line 1 went down once last night from the torn fiber mats sewn together in a bad way. Difficult night for me as it was the first time I was assigned to manage a line, sewing mats and gluing rovings with such a curious technique of a beginner, that I almost gave up a couple times. Thankfully, I did not give up; I surrendered my anger (again and again) to God. The glue jobs broke and snagged and knotted up several times, prompting me to scurry to all sides of the machine and shelves behind to understand what I had done wrong. The mat change (which is dire because in order to produce a good part an operator needs to take the new, full roll of matting and insert the cut endings to that of the old, spent roll so the part won't have any disruptions) was awkward the first time. I was so eager to change the mat that I unraveled what must have been a couple hundred feet of material, strewn all over the floor, overlapping itself dozens of times, piling up about two feet off the concrete floor, and attracting much attention and funny looks from the other operators. Laughing to myself and cracking jokes with the more experienced coworker on the next line running, I found out two things:
1) Line 1 is the "easiest" line in the ten lines2) The progressively spent roll of mat I had changed had about another hour's worth to go.
As a packer I have become comfortable and at ease with the familiar jobs that go with the title, but as with all things, comfort and ease must be handed up without a fit in order for patience and maturity to grow. The deliverance of comfort raced through my mind a hundred times last night as I was lying on my side trying to untangle knots and snags as the rovings were being pulled through the numerous holes and tubes on up to the vat of mix and cast into the mold. We grow when put to the test.
Had a useful conversation with the operator next to me and the lead operator about apartments and rent, returning to the idea of finding a studio, and also entertaining the idea of renting an RV space. The operator offered a Coleman two-burner propane stove to me as well. I came home this morning and mentioned the talk of RVs and my Mom then told me of a man who is selling a 10' (not big, but to me, big enough) feet long Chinook. After calling him and finding that he would take $600 for it we set up a meeting at 4:00 this afternoon, and after going to the bank to cash basically all of my pay check, and after waking up at 3:30, and after another call we found out that the item for sale is not a trailer but a self-contained camper. My hopes and dreams of living in a trailer were dashed to pieces this afternoon (rest in peace) when I realized, too, and reminded that I have a 4-cylinder 4x4 (not quite powerful enough to haul around a self-contained trailer).
I am hopeful, nevertheless.
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Thursday, May 05, 2005
May 4
Coffee. So wonderful. I think Beethoven said that coffee is sweeter than a thousand kisses. But I ask, "Is it really?" It's pretty dern good, but maybe our German composer embellished the delicious goodness of coffee ... just a tad. Some folks like a lot of sugar in their coffee, and some like a lot of milk or in this whole diet-crazed culture this obese country is going through "Fat Free and Organic" moo juice is what some healthniks prefer in their lattes. Me, I just now settled down in this chair with a cup of black Yuban which has been sitting in the pot since early this morning. It fermented quite nicely.
Had some fellowship and Bible study time with the Stills and Ben from Albania (I don't know his last name) last evening. Finished the Book of Job then, and came to the conclusion that even the righteous man can neither save himself by his own hand nor can he have too much faith, for even Job said, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee" (43:5 KJV).
Released more ailments before the Lord, worry and doubt being two elements; I've got to pursue Him while abiding in Him, always in Him. Worry is quite the treacherous member of this earth. With it one may invest in many contingency plans which aren't worth the time or efforts that burden the body and soul with in such blasphemy as the shaking fist at God through doubt. Doubting Castle in Bunyan's allegory, Pilgrim's Progress, was a dungeon, guarded by a beast of a giant, something which no doubt grew into what it was before it was slain by the sword. I've long since been released from this world's toil and mazes, fortune hunts and quests for success, for my Father presented me with treasures and success which await in heaven. And I suppose from there there will be many things to do for eternity. I know it'll be much more than singing and playing harps as this dreary world imagines it could be.
I soon must pack my things into boxes for the move I will make soon, and although I do not have apartment or room to rent yet I know if it is God's will for me to have a place here in the Puget Sound to work and thrive then I will find it or I will be found by it. I have friends who are experiencing this "splenderific" time of discovery and growth; from boyhood to manhood or girlhood to womanhood, some are going. And I pray for them.
Afterthoughts: Feliz Cinco de Mayo a los Mexicanos.
Had some fellowship and Bible study time with the Stills and Ben from Albania (I don't know his last name) last evening. Finished the Book of Job then, and came to the conclusion that even the righteous man can neither save himself by his own hand nor can he have too much faith, for even Job said, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee" (43:5 KJV).
Released more ailments before the Lord, worry and doubt being two elements; I've got to pursue Him while abiding in Him, always in Him. Worry is quite the treacherous member of this earth. With it one may invest in many contingency plans which aren't worth the time or efforts that burden the body and soul with in such blasphemy as the shaking fist at God through doubt. Doubting Castle in Bunyan's allegory, Pilgrim's Progress, was a dungeon, guarded by a beast of a giant, something which no doubt grew into what it was before it was slain by the sword. I've long since been released from this world's toil and mazes, fortune hunts and quests for success, for my Father presented me with treasures and success which await in heaven. And I suppose from there there will be many things to do for eternity. I know it'll be much more than singing and playing harps as this dreary world imagines it could be.
I soon must pack my things into boxes for the move I will make soon, and although I do not have apartment or room to rent yet I know if it is God's will for me to have a place here in the Puget Sound to work and thrive then I will find it or I will be found by it. I have friends who are experiencing this "splenderific" time of discovery and growth; from boyhood to manhood or girlhood to womanhood, some are going. And I pray for them.
Afterthoughts: Feliz Cinco de Mayo a los Mexicanos.
Monday, May 02, 2005
We Say, How Long?
"For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ" (Romans 14:10).
The prophet Habakkuk opens this book with these words, "O Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear?" He ranted the rant of one who sees trouble, plundering and violence were before him; he could not understand why the Righteous Judge would allow such things to happen in the creation which He called good. All this translates so well with what is on the minds of many today. Why and how long? Last night while on the last break at work, I spoke with a Hispanic coworker, born and raised in Yakima, Washington. He gave me some Spanish tips and talked of Mexicans and Central Americans who cross the border into the U.S. seeking higher wages in the orchards and fields. There is a resentment, my coworker says, from some of the people south of the border toward the laws and the people here. An American may vacation in Mexico and could be beat up for being white, all because of some seething reaction to past injustice from some white fellow towards a Mexican.
On deportation he said, "A Mexican could be deported from the U.S. all because of a traffic ticket...Say a cop pulls the guy over, asks for his license, and when the guy doesn't understand English and isn't a citizen, the cop will get the INS. The man has a wife and two kids living here while he is sent back 1,000 miles away. It's not right." And I could just hear such words forming in my coworker's mind: How long?
I learned a lot sitting with that man outside of the factory, in the cool early morning air, eventually giving my comments, and thinking of what to say to him; the words of Jesus to his disciples on what to do in such circumstances when they were handed up to the officials was, "Whatever is given to you to say at that time, speak that." So I spoke. Those glorious words, that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow...and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2:10-11) came to mind, so I said them. "All these leaders, immigrants, citizens, congressmen, Federales, everyone will have to do those things sooner or later," said I as we walked back into the factory. "But it's better to do it now on earth than at Judgment Day for the first time."
My coworker listened with interest and when I spoke, though he still had the smattering of that resentment he spoke of when he told me that he has been told by white men that they are more superior to him because of their white skin. I just said, "That's not what God says."
"Behold the proud," says the Lord in Habakkuk 2:4, "his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith."
The prophet Habakkuk opens this book with these words, "O Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear?" He ranted the rant of one who sees trouble, plundering and violence were before him; he could not understand why the Righteous Judge would allow such things to happen in the creation which He called good. All this translates so well with what is on the minds of many today. Why and how long? Last night while on the last break at work, I spoke with a Hispanic coworker, born and raised in Yakima, Washington. He gave me some Spanish tips and talked of Mexicans and Central Americans who cross the border into the U.S. seeking higher wages in the orchards and fields. There is a resentment, my coworker says, from some of the people south of the border toward the laws and the people here. An American may vacation in Mexico and could be beat up for being white, all because of some seething reaction to past injustice from some white fellow towards a Mexican.
On deportation he said, "A Mexican could be deported from the U.S. all because of a traffic ticket...Say a cop pulls the guy over, asks for his license, and when the guy doesn't understand English and isn't a citizen, the cop will get the INS. The man has a wife and two kids living here while he is sent back 1,000 miles away. It's not right." And I could just hear such words forming in my coworker's mind: How long?
I learned a lot sitting with that man outside of the factory, in the cool early morning air, eventually giving my comments, and thinking of what to say to him; the words of Jesus to his disciples on what to do in such circumstances when they were handed up to the officials was, "Whatever is given to you to say at that time, speak that." So I spoke. Those glorious words, that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow...and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2:10-11) came to mind, so I said them. "All these leaders, immigrants, citizens, congressmen, Federales, everyone will have to do those things sooner or later," said I as we walked back into the factory. "But it's better to do it now on earth than at Judgment Day for the first time."
My coworker listened with interest and when I spoke, though he still had the smattering of that resentment he spoke of when he told me that he has been told by white men that they are more superior to him because of their white skin. I just said, "That's not what God says."
"Behold the proud," says the Lord in Habakkuk 2:4, "his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith."
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