Six-Transistors

Dr. Doug Ford, Production Animal Consultation & Dr. Greg Quakenbush, Geissler Corp.

I am in my late 60s and living life on the other side of the equation if you will. Things I did not see or understand when I was younger, I am now living from the vantage point of my parents. What goes around does come around.

Several years ago, I made the decision to put my adult daughter’s room to a different use. I did not really give the change much thought because we had long been empty nesters. Shortly after the change, my daughter Krista came home for a visit. I had never noticed her routine when she was home. We would greet and catch up, and then she would usually disappear upstairs for a short time. I never realized exactly where she went but on this day, it all came to light. She would retreat to her room, close the door and bask in all the sights, sounds, smells, security and memories of the past. Some were good, some were bad, but all those feelings were part of her core.

This particular visit, her absence was abbreviated. I heard a distant moan and a rapid series of interrupted steps coming down the stairs. “What did you do to my room?” she said.

In a defensive and embarrassed tone, I replied, “What do you mean?”

“That was my room,” she said, “and you ruined it.”

Many weeks passed, and her disappointment was still more than obvious. We really did not speak for several months. Finally, we threw in the towel and discussed the matter.

I did not fully comprehend what had happened, and I am Dr. Doug, the problem solver and fixer, not the problem maker. She explained how to her that 15x15 cubicle was her safe place. She described several feelings she called the sounds and embrace of safety. She related to me her memory of laying in bed warm and safe and hearing the snow shovel grating across the driveway before the sun came up. She related the memory of her big brother pounding up the oak hardwood stairs. He would open her medicine cabinet, grab her hair spray and strategically squirt two fine mists of the nasty compound on his top knot. He would then pop his head in her door say, “Love you, see you at school,” and descend to the real world skipping every other step and completely avoiding the last three.

Her description was a jolt of reality. What had I done? Had I permanently scarred my child? Only for a time, as I reflected on the old saying, “This too shall pass,” and it did.

Of all people, I should know that the situations God puts us in are there for a reason and their timing is perfect. For a moment I went to her side of the equation. I recalled hunting geese with my dad and brother. We were huddled into a 10-foot camper, my dad’s safe place, freezing cold with our heads barely peeking out of our less-than-adequate sleeping bags. Dad would situate everything at bedtime and prepare his morning coffee so all he had to do was start the burner. The last part of his ritual was to place his six-transistor black leather clad AM Airline radio from Monkey Wards in close reach of his right hand. He would dial in the talk radio station with great perfection and drift off to sleep. Within an hour, the AM station would fade and all you could hear was static and a melting pot of 10 distant stations. He would periodically wake up, retune his prized possession and drift back to sleep. He would methodically repeat this scenario what seemed like every hour on the hour all night long, which was horribly annoying.

My brother and I agreed that the best solution would be to tune to KOMA in Oklahoma City. Rock and roll. The signal never faded and possibly could be heard in China 24 hours a day.

Only with the situation involving my daughter did I realize that the sound of Dad’s AM radio and his presence was one of my fondest safe places. Dad’s safe place was being snuggled up in the camper with both of his boys, anticipating a day of sitting in a freezing goose pit with tumbleweeds for cover wishing for a snow storm. Weird but real.

Those memories were all so special, yet sometimes they are painful and almost crippling. I hesitate to go there. When I do go there in my mind, I wish I would have appreciated the actual experience more at the time. I would not trade them for anything. They are part of who I am.

In all of this, as always, I have come to realize that our

Lord is on both sides of the equation including the equal sign. He is my true safe place, the lifter of my head, my salvation and my hope. He is my joy, my peace and my rock, and He is always there even when my radio station does not stay tuned or the furniture of my life gets rearranged. Good days, bad days, confidence, doubt, joy, sorrow, good memories and bad memories, it is all part of who we are and who we are becoming. Embrace it. Thank you, Jesus, for helping me to stand firm and not flinch. Thank you for being my safe place.

Just like an American Express card, being a follower of Jesus Christ also has its “privileges of membership”. A few of the many benefits are listed below. If you are not yet currently on board, be sure to join before the offer expires.

Psalm 91:1-2: 1Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10: 8We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

2 Samuel 22:2-3: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; 3my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence.”

(All verses from New Living Translation.)