ASSOCIATE Magazine FBINAA Q1-2024

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAPLAIN

FBINAA.ORG | Q1 2024

Mike Hardee

United we Care

I hope this past holiday season was a special time spent with family, friends, and the traditions and rituals that we have inherited from our parents, and grandparents. As we celebrated together, we also remembered to give thanks to our family, our friends and to our God for all that has been sacrificed for our freedom. Celebrating the blessings and values brought us all together in the spirit of giving and under standing as we showed our gratitude to those who have helped us along the way in our profession and our personal lives. This time of the year can be a time of reflection, a time of self-exami nation, and a time of hope. Sweet times together in the kitchen preparing meals, spending time around the fireplace, taking walks and just sharing our stories with each other reconnects us in conversations. The holiday season is filled with opportunities that are set aside for us to slow down and take a breath from the everyday stressors of work. As I sit, writing this message, I feel a bit of sadness for those who were without family and friends and alone. It is because I have been so blessed in my life with amazing parents, grandpar ents, a wonderful and caring wife who loves me and a cadre of children, and grandchildren who are all healthy. I just wonder and give thanks to the Lord for all He has provided. “Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thy house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.” (Psalm 128:3) KJV As our lives may dictate, there are times when we cannot be physically together during the holidays and for some there is a sense of loneliness, which brings me to one of my favorite passages of scripture. “Fear thou not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed: for am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yes, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (Isaiah 41:10) KJV Ed Young is the senior pastor of the Fellowship Church in Dallas, Texas and in his new book titled “You,” he writes about issues and what causes us to gloss over things in our lives that have troubled us to the point of not knowing who we really are, and losing hope and our self-esteem. The holidays, like all other days, can be filled with certain difficulty for us. Many will experience stress trying to fulfill those family obligations and traditions, not to mention the loss of a friend or family member, or sickness. Coping, surviving, and pushing through is what brings me happiness and that I have served my family, myself, and my God, accepting His will in my life. The holidays can be a time of hope, a time of peace, and a time to forgive. We can recognize that God is the reason we have holidays and that we can thank Him for his goodness. In (Proverbs 3:9) KJV it reads, “Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase.” Giving back to God before our own indulgence highlights our relationship of faith that our prayers are answered through blessings. In (Leviticus 23:) KJV, God outlined certain days as holy with celebrations of feasts of the Lord, as are practiced throughout the world today as the High Holidays.

We live in a troubled time of uncertainty, wondering what the future holds for us, our children, and grandchildren and for generations to come. As the wars in Ukraine, Israel, Russia, Turkey, Libya, and many more countries throughout the world continue, here in the United States we are experiencing political, economic, racial, antisemitic, and cultural threats on our freedom of choice and way of life. For the sake of our future as a world which God had intended, we must now recognize more than ever before just how fragile we all are. All around the world and even in the United States we are at a point, unlike any other in my lifetime, that our society as a free and safe nation is not so safe anymore. We must recover and rebuild together a safe, trusting, and car ing community that can forgive each other while accepting our individual differences. I know of no other way than to ask God for help, rebuild our self-esteem and accept our differences without harm to each other. I know this is easy to say and even easier to write but it is the message I want to share. POINTS TO PONDER: What’s important to know as we recognize our fears, our threats to our country and to our safety... My adult daughters, and granddaughters are afraid to walk into a department store, park in a public parking lot, or drive by themselves in fear of being stalked, and abducted in our country. This concerns me terribly as a father and grandfather who has lived in a different and safer time. Just this past holiday season they asked me if I would escort them to go the mall to go shopping. They explained that when they are alone, they are often watched by strangers and feel stalked as they go shopping. My oldest granddaughter who is married said she feels as though she is not free to be in a public place anymore. She told me recently, “I live in an unsafe and scary world, and I am not free to be alone anymore.” She does not live in a big city; she lives in a rural north Florida community and feels unsafe. I can remember a time when we left our house unlocked and our car keys in the ignition so that if our neighbor ever needed access to it, it was ok. I’m not sure if we even had a house key when I was growing up. A few years ago, while visiting friends in a small community in North Dakota, they asked if I would pick

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