Small is the Gate and Narrow the Road by Patty LaRoche

Don’t you love those encounters when a military person returns from duty and is reunited with one of his loved ones? It is a common sight on YouTube channels. I tear up when I see an adolescent child run across his school cafeteria, sobbing into the arms of his/her returning parent, with no concern at all for how that looks to his classmates.

More families are now setting up those special, surprise reunions and posting them online.  I tear up, seeing them. A few months ago, Dave and I flew into MCI and noticed a uniformed soldier standing alone as we exited the plane.  I thanked him for his service, and he nodded. Dave and I walked down the corridor where we ran into him again. He appeared confused.  I asked if he needed help.  He did.  “Where is baggage claim?” he asked.

After pointing to the down escalator, I watched him walk towards it, Dave and I following.  At the bottom of the stairs, we noticed a family holding balloons with a “Welcome Home” sign.  A toddler escaped from his family and bolted to the soldier who knelt on the ground to grab his young son.  The little boy hid his face in his daddy’s neck and sobbed.  People all around stopped and applauded.  Few did not brush away tears at the sight unfolding before us.

I picture that hug as one not unlike the ones we will have when we take our last breath on earth and are standing alongside those who have gone before us into Heaven.  What will that be like to see the ones who gave us so many memorable moments before they passed?  I think of my Uncle Kermit and Aunt Gladys who taught my brothers and me how to pump kitchen water and wait in line for the outhouse to become available, who let me hog rides on their mean Shetland pony, knowing it would run me under the tree limb as I tried to take control of its path.

My Grandma and Grandpa, I hope, will be there.  They were the ones who sacrificed much after my father died, helping Mom raise three little terrors of which Mom always said I was the worst.  They let me sleep over at their house in Rich Hill, Missouri, and allowed my great uncle to take me to church and drive the stick shift home, even though I was just 13.  The memories are endless.

I will see my dad who died when I was eight months old.  What will that be like? Will I recognize him from his pictures my mom kept in her photo book?  I will get to hold our babies who died before they had a chance to live.  Will they still be babies?

We can speculate all we want, but only God knows who will be there, who has truly lived in obedience to His word, seeking holiness while serving others.  He sees their hearts and identifies their motives.  Matthew 7:14 reminds us that this is no easy journey: But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.                  

Luke 13:24 makes me cringe. Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. Thank God (literally), Jesus gave us directions: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6) Get that?  Allah and Muhammed will not be able to usher us into Heaven; neither will our good works nor our good intentions. That narrow road is Jesus.  We should make no mistake about it.

Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker

No Knock-off Peace

Many years ago, I mailed a check to someone and it was never cashed. So I wrote another check and asked a family member to give it to her. The second check never cleared the bank either, so I finally gave up. I didn’t owe this gal any money, I simply wanted to bless her with a monetary gift. I was willing to give, but there was some hindrance to her receiving it.

Jesus wanted to give His disciples an important gift before He ascended to His Father.  He said, “My own peace I give to you” (John 14:27 Weymouth). Notice that Jesus gave His own peace, which demonstrated that He wasn’t selfish or stingy. Today, Jesus continues to offer Christ followers His own Name-Brand peace. This precious peace isn’t a knock off — it‘s the real deal and it will last as long as you breathe and believe. It’s one thing to have head knowledge regarding this scripture, but it’s another thing to believe it for yourself with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Peace is a gift from Jesus but you have to accept it and put it into practice. In other words, cash the check!

“I leave the gift of peace with you — My peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but My perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts — instead, be courageous!” (TPT). We’re living in a world that offers pseudo peace. I encourage you to pour some time, study, and meditation into John 14:27. Find a translation of this verse that hits you square between the eyes and lands solidly in your heart and mind. Know what you believe and why you believe it. Here’s an uncomplicated motto that’s been around for awhile: Jesus said it, I believe it, and that settles it!

John 14:27 in the Amplified Bible states: “Peace I leave with you; My own peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled]. We certainly have an active part to play in receiving and keeping our peace.

Sometimes we’re tempted to lose our peace; and sometimes we just flat-out lose it. I hate it when that happens. But at least I know where to go (God’s Word) and what to do (pray). Believers should always look at our difficulties, stresses, and heartaches from God’s perspective. He never scratches His head or wrings His hands wondering how to fix our problems. And that’s why we ought to keep our peace and trust Him. When  you feel your peace slipping away, pray immediately. “I have courage in God’s presence, because I am sure that He hears me if I ask Him for anything that is according to His will” (1 John 5:14 GNT). It’s definitely God’s will for us to have peace, so boldly ask for your peace to be restored. Your life depends on it, so don’t try to get by without it!

The following scripture reminds me to get my act together when life gets turbulent: “The Lord goes before me; He will march with me; He will not fail me or let me go or forsake me; I will fear not, neither become broken in spirit — depressed, dismayed, and unnerved with alarm (Deuteronomy 31:8 AMP). When the stormy waves are over your head, there’s  a deepening and enriching comfort when you can experience the peace of Christ in your innermost soul.

The Key: Believers have been given the gift of peace and we are expected to cash it in.

Should you ever go through Springfield, Illinois, I encourage you to visit the Elizabeth Packard Mental Health Center. It is now on my Bucket List. After completing the book The Woman They Could Not Silence about Elizabeth’s heroism, I am recommending the museum to everyone I see.

With the author’s portrayal of this remarkable woman, I learned much, particularly how spoiled we are because women in the 1800’s, having no legal rights, sacrificed much to make a difference. Women then were beholden to their husbands, and she was his property. Thus began the story of Elizabeth Packard.

Married for twenty-one years to a controlling, Confederate-sympathizing pastor, she disagreed with his teachings and took the bold step to attend a different church, taking her six children with her. With that decision, Theophilis, her husband, had her committed to a mental asylum in Jacksonville, Illinois. There she encountered Dr. Andrew McFarland, a man who not only was threatened by her keen intelligence but proved to be even more dangerous than her traitorous husband. Little did she know she would spend years trying to regain access to her children as she spoke out against the savage injustices.

I could not put the book down. Her story made me ask myself at which point I would have broken: freezing from lack of heat; sleeping on a straw, urine-filled cot; watching fellow inmates tortured; fighting for the hundreds of women–as sane as she–who were subjected to years of mistreatment because, they, like she, had done something to annoy their husbands.

Elizabeth’s life is a testament to the power of one person who was determined to do what she believed God called her to do. There are others who have no institution named after them who also made a difference.

Mordecai Ham (1877-1961) was a tent evangelist who converted over 300,000 men and women to Jesus. At one revival, two fourteen-year-old boys heard the commotion and decided to check out what was happening in the nearby tent. Realizing there were no available seats, they left but were stopped by an usher who assured the boys that he would find them a seat together. And he did.

At that meeting, both young men made a declaration of faith and asked Jesus to be their Lord. Their names? Billie Graham and Grady Wilson. Graham went on to lead millions to Christ, and Wilson stayed by his side, doing whatever Graham needed him to do. No one knows the name of the usher. He was the unknown man who did what he could to make sure those two teens had a seat to hear Ham’s teaching.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get to Heaven and meet these heroes/heroines, some with names that live in infamy and others who have no public claim to fame. All I know is, God uses both. We don’t have to live the life of a celebrity to be used by God. We just need to have the desire to usher others into His eternal kingdom.

After all, my job probably is not to change the world. My job is to change someone else’s world.

First, Stabilize The Patient

My wife loves TV medical dramas, from ER to House to most recently The Pitt.  If it’s an hour long show that takes place in a hospital, chances are she’s seen every episode.  These TV shows more often than not begin with some poor shlep being wheeled into the ER, afflicted with some sort of massive physical trauma that the main characters have to spend the remainder of the episode trying to save.

I think our Bourbon County government is like one of those patients right now, more specifically I liken it to someone who has been sprayed with machine gun fire and is bleeding out from a million different holes.  I know a small minority might dispute this fact, but our County now has an independent board made up of bankers, CPAs, and other financial pros, and they’ve all pored over the numbers and come to the same conclusion – Bourbon County is just about broke.

Now, in all of these TV shows, the first thing the nurses and doctors try to do is stabilize the patient.  If they don’t do that, and some well meaning but young, inexperienced doc or nurse tries some invasive procedure on the patient before stabilizing them, then the patient “crashes” and dies.  From watching recent County Commission meetings, I fear that in their rush to “fix” the bleeding, our new Commissioners, who I think have nothing but the best intentions, may end up crashing the patient.  To take the medical analogy a step further, when I watch the Commission meetings, I keep waiting to hear the word “stabilize”, but more often than not I get the feeling they’re gearing up for mass amputation, which I believe would be a fatal mistake.

The learning curve of a County Commissioner is a pretty steep one.  It’s a unique job and it takes time to learn the ins and outs of each department, what they do, and who does what.  This is not something that can be accomplished in six or eight months – it’s just not.  Trust has to be built, relationships have to be built, and only then can you get a good feel for how the machine operates, and in turn how it might operate better and more efficiently.

At the beginning of this year, morale in our County government was pretty much in the toilet.  Events I won’t get into here, along with talk of doom and gloom, outsourcing, and cuts have sunk that morale even further, and at this point we’re gonna need to call Roto-Rooter to get it back up.  That’s not to say these things shouldn’t be discussed – every rural county with a declining population is, and these are conversations that need to be had, but not as topics sprung with a few days notice on an unsuspecting workforce.  I genuinely believe all three of our County Commissioners are acting in good faith on what they think is best for Bourbon County, but change is a slow and tedious process in local government, and trying to rush change usually leads to disaster.

There is a LOT to fix, and by the time all is said and done, Bourbon County may come out looking more like Robocop than the county it first entered the ER as, but that process has to be given time.  To our Commissioners, I say this – go slow.  I’m not saying rubber stamp every budget request that comes through this year, I’m just saying get the lay of the land, give yourselves some time to learn the job and build relationships, and then make the process of improving efficiency a bottom-up effort instead of a top down mandate.

You won’t accomplish this by Christmas – it’s not humanly possible, and it’s going to be a multi-year process.  Study our neighboring counties that are doing well and see how their offices are staffed and run – the beautiful thing about local government is that there is no problem out there that somebody hasn’t run into before and learned how to solve.  That being said, there are no quick fixes, at least ones that won’t leave the patient worse off than they were when they first got wheeled into your Operating Room.  Right now that patient is in a precarious state – what you do next will determine whether we’re headed for recovery or a crash.  The good news is that, contrary to what you might read on Facebook, you have time.

Nick Graham
Uniontown, KS

Note: FortScott.biz publishes opinion pieces with a variety of perspectives. If you would like to share your opinion, please send a letter to [email protected]. 

Last Monday, the commission voted to put together a resolution to create a planning committee with the idea that it could eventually become the zoning committee when they implement zoning. It sounds like they want to try to vote to approve it today on August 11th.

After listening to all the zoning discussions in the community meetings, I am convinced that there is a potential future where zoning could be implemented in the county that would not be harmful and might even provide some benefits. Even with perfect execution, I’m not sure it is worth it. But either way, just because something is possible does not necessarily mean it is probable. So the real question is, how likely is Bourbon County to end up with zoning that is not harmful if implemented today? The answer for today is very near 0%. It might be different in the future, but right now, every piece of evidence we have indicates that implementing zoning would be a fiasco.

Does that sound like a bold statement? Not really. All we have to do is look at a few recent situations that are much less complex than zoning and use the outcome of those situations to project what would happen if zoning is implemented today.

First, let’s consider the recent lawsuit where the county lost by default. When a lawsuit comes to the county, it is supposed to make its way to the county counselor, and they will show up for the hearing date and defend the county.  Despite receiving a summons, despite knowing that the lawsuit was in process, and despite the hearing date being clearly posted to kscourts.gov, no one showed up to represent the county. It isn’t exactly clear why, and for the purposes of my argument here, it doesn’t matter. The point is that the county is struggling to function in what should be a very trivial matter of showing up to defend against a lawsuit when the judge schedules a hearing.

But maybe that was just a fluke. Do we have any other similar situations?

Let’s consider a second example: the issue of the Southeast Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Center.  In June, the Sheriff’s department suggested that the county could save money by switching to a different provider. Later in June, the county learned that it owns 1/10th of the detention center—ownership that would be forfeited if they pull out of the contract. Not only does the county own part of the detention center, but one of the commissioners is on the board that sets the prices. Unfortunately, he has never attended any of the board meetings.

Later in July, the commissioners voted to cancel the contract, but they missed the July 1st deadline by about 20 days, so the county is stuck in the contract until 2027.  Was it a good idea to cancel the contract? I have no idea. But I do know that if you are on the board that sets the price and you don’t like the price, the first thing to do is to show up for the board meetings. And, if for some reason you actually do have enough information to know it is a good idea to cancel, it seems like it would have been a good idea to not miss the date by 20 days so you are committed for another year. And if you do miss the date by 20 days, it might make sense to attend at least one board meeting before you vote to cancel the contract.

The list goes on. Now when I look at these types of situations, I don’t see a commission that is necessarily doing a bad job. I see a commission that is new. There is a huge body of knowledge they are trying to acquire quickly. Based on their past work history, it is unlikely they are going to have much prior experience to draw from. That isn’t criticism, it is just pointing out that there is a lot to do and learn, and it is reasonable to expect some missteps along the way as they find their footing.

However, we can also look at these types of situations and get a pretty good idea of what type of results the county will have to live with if they move forward with creating a planning committee as a step toward implementing zoning. The county commission is struggling with basic functions like showing up for a lawsuit, showing up for board meetings of county-owned entities, and deciding on issues before contracts lock you in for another year. These are things that have a high probability of being handled correctly once the commissioners acquire the experience and knowledge they need to effectively do their jobs. Implementing zoning has a very high probability of doing injury to the county and a small chance of being done in a way that is beneficial—even once they have experience. Without experience, we can easily extrapolate the expected results.

Imagine you are Houdini’s manager and he wants to do a stunt where he is fastened in chains, put in a box, and dumped in the ocean. If many of his attempts to do the stunt on land result in failure, you would be wise to caution him against doing the far more risky version underwater. Once he has a solid track record of escaping his bonds on land, then the underwater version starts having a chance of being successful.

Until the commissioners have a track record of handling the basic functions, they shouldn’t launch a planning committee taking steps toward something that has a high degree of risk. The two examples I listed above give the expected, most probable outcome if they decide to do it before.

Mark Shead

Note: FortScott.biz publishes opinion pieces with a variety of perspectives. If you would like to share your opinion, please send a letter to [email protected]. 

Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

Two Girls and a Pair of Shoes

On my way home from Missouri I decided to stop at one of my favorite shoe stores. Sometimes I’m just looking, but on this particular day I was shopping for a specific style: dressy black shoes with medium-height heel and open toe. It didn’t take long to find the perfect pair, but my size was AWOL. I grabbed a sample shoe and found Jesslyn, the sweet young clerk, and asked if perhaps a size 6 could be in the storage room. She smiled and courteously responded that everything they had was out on the shelf. We visited for a few minutes about how cute these shoes were and then she said something I’d never heard before from a shoe-store clerk: “They are really pretty shoes, in fact, I have a black pair and a white pair of them at my house that I’ve worn only once for a high school special-occasion evening. I’m pretty sure at least one of them is a size 6. Would you be interested in buying them?” I said, “Yes! If it‘s the black pair — I don‘t need the white ones.” Jesslyn told me it was actually time for her break, so she’d ask the manager if she could run home to get the shoes for me. She got the green light and off she drove.

I meandered around the store waiting and thinking about how this was evolving into a very unusual story. Very shortly, Jesslyn zoomed into the parking lot and walked in toting the size 6 black shoes that I’d set my heart on. We had previously agreed on a price, so I laid the money down and both of us had a win-win for the day! I couldn’t leave without a taking a picture of the three of us smiling, standing behind the counter. I told the girls  they could be sure to find this story in their local newspaper — because it’s just too good and off-the-wall not to share!

I pray about everything, whether it‘s big or little. But I don‘t remember praying for a pair of black shoes. However, they were an insignificant secret desire of my heart. Over the years, the following scripture has proven to be true in my life: “Find your delight in the Lord. Then He will give you everything your heart really wants” (Psalm 37:4 NIRV). After experiencing several weeks of stress associated with totaling a vehicle, I think the odd blessing of finding these shoes was simply God’s way of reminding me that He cares about even the little things in my life.

You may think I’m an oddball; you may think I’m wacky. You may believe in coincidence; I do not. I see God’s fingerprints all over this encounter of the bizarre kind. It started with me simply asking, against all odds, “Do you have a size 6 in the backroom?” I already knew the answer, but something prompted me to ask anyway. And now you know the rest of the story.

There are definite perks that come to believers from delighting ourselves in the Lord. And many times God sends these unique blessings through people. These two girls were sweet as sugarcane but God can cause even grumpy people to give us favor. He knows the number of hairs on our head so He certainly cares about our desires, no matter what size they are. In my case, a 6.

The Key: God used Jesslyn and Donna to bring my heart’s desire to reality! I was still smiling as I drove across the Vernon/Bourbon County line.

After attending all the community meetings by the zoning advisory committee, there were a few things that stood out. In particular, it was very interesting to hear the different views of property rights and how much control individuals feel they should have over what their neighbors are allowed to do with their land.

One individual explained that when he burns his grass, he sometimes loses control of the fire and burns off his neighbor’s field as well. Right now, he didn’t seem to think it was any big deal, but if his neighbor was to put up solar panels (or presumably anything else valuable), his out-of-control fires might cause damage. The actual destruction didn’t seem to be a concern, but he was worried his fire-burning practices might make his insurance rates go up.  He wanted zoning implemented to keep his neighbor from being able to install solar panels. By the same logic, he’d probably oppose someone building a valuable house across the road from his land or anything else that might require any change in his fire-burning habits to avoid destroying his neighbor’s property.

Other people explained that they had bought their small hobby farm because they liked the way the neighbor’s land looked and didn’t want to see it change from the pretty fields they were used to looking out. They wanted zoning so they wouldn’t have to look at solar panels. Others said that they felt their house was more valuable because it looked out over their neighbor’s pastureland, and if the neighbor decided to put in something different, their view wouldn’t be as nice, and that might make their house not be worth as much. They wanted county zoning to make sure their neighbor kept their fields looking the way that they think makes their house the most valuable.

What is fascinating about all these positions is the shift it represents in the belief that the property owner has a right to use their land as they see fit. Instead, they see that right as being diminished from what is normally expected, and instead, neighbors have an increased right to determine what the property owner is allowed to do with their land.

In the late 1800s, Kansas had a similar issue, but back then it was driven by the invention of barbed wire. Cattle owners who were used to letting cattle run free weren’t particularly excited about farmers and ranchers who were putting fences around the land they owned. The range ranchers felt they had a right to run their cattle on their neighbor’s land, and this disagreement launched the “fence cutting wars.” From the perspective of the free-range cattle owners, it didn’t matter who owned the land. They had a right to their neighbor’s land in a way that was impeded by fencing.

The “fence cutting wars” were eventually settled in favor of property owners. The current difference of opinions on how much control people should have over what your neighbor’s land looks like (or how much effort you should be expected to expend avoiding catching it on fire) might eventually be resolved with the pendulum swung the other way.

Mark Shead

Note: FortScott.biz publishes opinion pieces with a variety of perspectives. If you would like to share your opinion, please send a letter to [email protected]. 

It’s a duck call to a mallard, a 75% off Instagram sale to a shopaholic, a box of Godiva chocolates to most of my friends.  Irresistible.  Enticing.  A guaranteed, surefire, “once in a lifetime opportunity.”  Never has a friend’s “O-I-A-L-O” investment given me anything but a migraine and a depleted bank account.  The invitation to ride a donkey to the depths of the Grand Canyon on a path only inches wider than the beast’s belly doesn’t mean I saddle up. And how many sets of knives do I need as a result of the “special ends in one hour” ploy?  Once-in-a-lifetime-opportunities have led to bankruptcy, divorce and even death (in which case, granted, the definition is literal).

Now, do I believe there are legitimate “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunities?  Absolutely. Every day God allows us to cross paths with people we will never see again who need to hear the gospel. Our family’s trip to the mission field in Africa taught me that doing without “things” gives me time to hang with God. Spending hours every day with my mother in the nursing home showed me how fragile life can be and how those who dined with her one meal can have funerals a few days later.  There were chances to talk to them about Jesus.

Sometimes I did.  But not always. After all, there’s always tomorrow…

Now, that’s foolishness.  The Bible is chock full of decisions that had to be made on the spot, but Matthew 25 is a great analogy of the need for immediacy.  Ten virgins have carried their lamps to meet the bridegroom. Only five took extra oil with them. When the bridegroom failed to show up, the ten fell asleep, waking only when he was a short distance away.   The foolish virgins found their lamps dimming and asked for the wise to share.  Let’s pick it up in verse nine.

“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’  But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.  Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’   “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

The point cannot be dismissed.

If we dilly-dally, thinking we’ll make Jesus our Lord “someday,” we are fools.  This day, this moment, might be our only chance to take Jesus up on his offer.  As for guaranteed, surefire “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunities, it doesn’t get much more legitimate than that.