Carla is off today, except for a quick run to the store, she is spending her time playing in the dirt.  Not sure if I can even get her to come in for dinner.

Her tomatoes are sprouting up and it won’t be long before she has to transplant them, peppers, though planted earlier have yet to raise their heads.  Lettuce is growing as are the peas she planted.

It is going to be an interesting growing season.

...... unfortunately he learned from Jack to be more observant....

Jack, Continued

When Sarge retired, Jack was promoted to acting sergeant and was assigned Graveyard.  To take his place as a PFC (Patrolman First Class – second in command of the shift,) Norm was appointed acting PFC.  They would be testing for the position and others would be given an opportunity, if they qualified, as per Civil Service Rules, but that would be a while later.  Also on Graveyard were Mike, Mark and I.  The three of us were all on probation, Mark being the newest of the three.    Even after Jack and Marks got their appointment, they were also on probation.  For several months, the five of us worked together and we were all on probation.  We called ourselves the “almost shift” since we were “almost” regulars.

We had a great time working together, and while there were no incidents of major proportions, we did have several investigations.  We worked on anything that came up as a team, rarely did anyone get assigned to do something at a crime or accident scene, we just knew that while we were doing something someone else was doing something else.  An example of this was the way we worked accidents.  It just seemed to fall that when we arrived at an accident I started working with the injured and then started taking statements.  One of the others started taking measurements, and another started taking responsibility for towing, traffic control, etc.  It just happened; everyone did his part without even discussing it.  To this day, I do not know how we divided the labor the way we did, but whatever the job was it was done efficiently and quickly.  I don’t remember all we did, but I do recall that time with great fondness.

In 1973, Jack and I were one of the first police officers in the State to receive the newest training for Ambulance Personnel.  The successful completion of the training would change the name of the “ambulance driver” to Emergency Management Technician (EMT).  The State had just made the training a requirement of Ambulance Personnel who would work directly with the patient.  The City of The Dalles, The Dalles Hospital and volunteer ambulance services in the area arranged the training.  The hospital was very much involved in the process sending physicians to teach some of the classes.  While the actual training was only 80 hours with practical experience in the Emergency Room tacked onto the time, it took several months to complete.  We took the training in 3-hour periods a couple of times a week.    Both of us were on Graveyard, but we never missed a class.  Jack was a fanatic on training and took advantage of every opportunity.  We often took classes together, neither of us receiving pay, but it was encouraging to have him show the way.

Jack was a tenacious investigator.  An incident I remember well involved a rash of car prowls and burglaries in our residential area.  After several of these had occurred, Jack pulled out a map of the town and plotted the crimes.  It took a few weeks of work, but a pattern emerged.   Crimes were being committed in cul-de-sacs and vacation homes, in areas that were unusual for crimes unless a person had a reason to be in the area.  Jack looked at it and said, “This is a paper boy.”  He contacted the local distributor and got the name for the young man who had the route.  When called in the boy denied everything and the father was very upset that Jack would accuse HIS son of these crimes.  Jack showed the father the map.  The father looked at it and said, “That is his route.”  The boy confessed.  No, not a major investigation, but an example of how Jack worked through crimes.

Mark 9:23-24 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

²⁴ And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief

I cannot recall the number of times I have cried out – and many times SHOULD have called out like this to our God.

We are not alone in that regard, even the disciples, who watched Jesus perform miracle after miracle, had difficulty with their faith:

Mathew 16:7-9 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.

⁸ Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?

⁹ Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

I am a firm believer that Jesus Christ can still perform miracles and healings in today’s world, yet often I find myself relying entirely on the medical field and not enough on Jesus.

That does not mean I believe we should disregard physicians, I also believe that God has given these men and women the gift of healing.  He guides their hands and minds to do make diagnosis and go about helping those that need their help.

In the past few months, as you know, I have undergone some painful procedures to correct problems within my body – and will have to go through a few more.  I have asked God for healing, yet, the only relief I receive is through the doctor.

I don’t know why that is, frankly I am not really questioning that – He has a reason and I just need to trust Him.

I do know that the piece I wrote on what I went through with a prostrate operation several months ago struck a chord with many readers.  I found that they had gone through something similar and wished they had had access to the experience and information I had provided in that posting.

Some have passed that information onto friends who will be going through a prostrate operation, not to scare, but to make them aware and to ask more detailed and pointed questions of the surgeon.

We sometimes think that God owes us an explanation, He doesn’t.  We do owe Him trust and faith that He wants to use us to further His Word.

We do want to make sure that we have indeed prayed for whatever our needs are; and part of that is asking others to pray for us.  The incident that caused this response from the father was a son who was deaf and dumb and had a demon from childhood. 

He asked the disciples to pray in Jesus’ absence, but they were not successful.  When the disciples asked Jesus why, He told them, Mark 9:29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

I am a person that has always felt that once said is enough, once asked should be sufficient.  We shouldn’t have to ask someone to do something over and over to get them to do it.

All too frequently I tend to ask God that way.  I do have a list of people I pray for daily, some less frequently, but do pray more than once for them.  But He has shown just because He doesn’t answer the first time in a manner that we want, it doesn’t mean He says no.

We but have to see how often we have prayed for the salvation of a loved one or friend and that prayer isn’t fulfilled for years, but we remain faithful in our prayer.

It is a personal problem with me and I just have to deal with it and not be so short.  

But there are also some prayers that must be augmented with fasting.  Could God just do what we asked without it, yep, but He wants us to be more serious, be more sincere – and we must obey.

So, as I ponder my prayer life, I realize that in some things I may have just not shown my determination and faith in Him to His satisfaction.  If it is worth praying for once, then it is worth praying for until we understand He has given us a message.

It could be yes, no, wait, or I have something else in mind that will answer this prayer in a different way than we expected.

None the less God wants us to ask Him in prayer for all our needs.  Our duty is to pray and trust Him to do what is right for us; and not to give up, or leave it with one request.

Luke 22:44  And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

I should be following Jesus’ example – especially in times of great challenge either in my life, or another’s – and pray earnestly and without reservation.

Later,

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again