Inspiration

 

 

 

Power to Become
My uncle loved to grow irises. He had a small yard. Since he had lived there for so long, he had filled every space with the plants. To keep the plants healthy and blooming you must regularly dig the bulbs, divide them and replant. This means you always have more bulbs to plant.

One year, when he had more bulbs than places left to plant them he planted some left over bulbs in the alley behind his lot. That was the year the city paved the alley. We forgot about the bulbs until spring. Then one day they appeared in all their beauty pushing through four inches of packed asphalt blooming in full vibrant color right there in the middle of the
pavement.

John 1:12 says "to all who believed in his name he gives the power to become children of God". The encouragement here is regardless of the weight, hurt, failure, evil, disappointment that piles up on us, for the believer there is always this promise of power to become what God intends us to be.

Bloom where you are planted!

- Rick Harrison

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Surprises
What is the most important thing you have to do today? How available are you to be surprised? How open are you to the possibility that something you have not planned on could be the most important thing you will do today, this week, this year?

We live with calendars packed with important meetings, deadlines, anniversaries, and routine obligations. We are surrounded by the deafening sounds of pagers, cell phones, and codes. E-mail, U.S. mail, bulletins, call lights demand our attention. How available are you?

Going to some scheduled responsibility, I once told my son who had invited me to play some pitch and catch that I could not play because I had to go to a meeting. His reply stopped me cold, "Dad, when are you and I going to have a meeting?"

Jesus was always busy and in demand. Important individuals and anonymous crowds clamored for his attention. His disciples often tried to screen the demands on him. Sometimes they tried to hurry him along because he was behind schedule. He would have none of their impatience. The present moment, the person at hand always received his full awareness. Plus, he was always available for something or someone who might prove even more important. "Let the children come," he said. In a hurry to visit a dying child he stopped to heal a woman who had pushed through the crowd just to touch the hem of his robes, believing she would be healed.

Pay attention to the interruptions. What is the most important thing you have to do today?

- Rick Harrison

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Debts of Gratitude
Most of us know that we are debtors.

The torturous routine of bill-paying is a painful reminder. It can all feel discouraging, overwhelming and hopeless. You know this anxious story. The author of Hebrews, however, seemed to believe that remembering our debts can be a source of encouragement and hope. Of course, the kind of debt the ancient writer had in mind had nothing to do with a bank balance. He was speaking to a debt of gratitude; a wonder-filled recognition of those who have left the mark of the grace of God on our lives; an acknowledgement of those who provided momentum toward faith. Hebrews described them as "a great cloud of witnesses", and we are in their debt.

One of the helpful things about taking time to celebrate a Fiftieth Anniversary, like the one we celebrate here, is to let our past serve the present. As a hospital, we, too, are surrounded by "a great cloud of witnesses." Men and women of faith who fifty years ago dared to believe
that with God's help and patient perseverance they could build a hospital in Knoxville. A hospital which would be an extension of the ministry of the church. A hospital which would be an expression of the redeeming love of God in Jesus Christ. It was quite a big dream and we are indebted to those who nurtured it along.

In this anniversary year, as we revisit the courageous dreaming of people like Fred Brown and Mahan Siler, Mrs. R.L. Harris and Henry Blanc, T. C. Wyatt and E.C. Mahan, we are challenged to run our present-day race of faith in such a way so as to ensure their efforts were not in vain. We are challenged to dare to believe that the same grace which sustained their hope fifty years ago will sustain our commitments today and in the future.

It is still quite a dream. A dream worth pursuing with persevering faith.

- Dan Hix

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Healing and Faith
"When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, 'Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.'" - Mark 2:5

Walking into the chapel, you can't help but notice the stained glass windows. Patterns, with brilliant colors and shapes, are almost predictable and yet surprising at the same time. In each of the windows, the artist has figuratively framed a small "window" into the life and
ministry of Jesus. There are six windows in the chapel, each one a different scene. The third window on the east side of the chapel shows Jesus touching the man from Mark 2:5 whose friends have carried him to the Healer.

How many times a day do we see this scene played out in the hospital?

Families and friends bring people who can't or won't come on their own - hoping and believing that healing is available. When Jesus saw their faith...

Many of us have experienced this other, "cared for" side of healing. For whatever reason, we have been carried on the faith of others when our own faith seemed paralyzed. Friends, who believed in us, carried us to the Healer. When Jesus saw their faith...

Look close at this window and you may see yourself. As a member of this healthcare team, we gather around many people daily who are brought to healing in the arms of our faith. Whatever you do in the hospital, sometimes it's our presence at the bedside that brings the bed of the sick to the side of the Healer. When Jesus saw our faith...

- Brad Hood

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Sing Out
As you've walked down the hallway near the chapel, perhaps you've heard a group rehearsing and wondered who they are. The Baptist Employee Choir has been hard at work practicing songs, both popular and sacred, to sing at various 50th Anniversary events.

Choir members represent all departments in the hospital, from Administration to Admitting and Pharmacy to Pre-op Holding. While we work in different departments, we all have in common a love of music and a gift for singing.

Both the choir's diversity and oneness in purpose are reflected in this popular children's song which came to mind one day as we were practicing. I think it holds true not only for our work in the choir, but also for our day to day work in the hospital. It goes like this:

All God's critters got a place in the choir.

Some sing low, some sing higher.
Some sing out on the telephone wire.
Some just clap their hands, or paws or
anything they got now.

This song reinforces, for me, the value of each person's contribution, whether in the choir or at work. Hasn't God done marvelous work in giving us a variety of talents and abilities? The choir would not be the same if we all sang soprano or bass. It's the diversity, the blending of voices, that makes it sound good.

Isn't that the case for our work too? We need that diversity to provide the best healthcare in Knoxville. Let's honor that diversity by respecting one another and encouraging one another in all that we do. It's not too late to join the choir. But if singing isn't one of you talents, we'll look for you in the audience and expect you to support us with your "paws"!

- Brad Hood

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