2-25-19<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nWhen\nObama ran for president the first time, one of his campaign slogans\nwas \u201cYes, We Can!\u201d Remember?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nI\nwondered at the time \u2013 and still do \u2013 why the mesmerized people\ndid not pause to ask, \u201cYes, we can WHAT?\u201d \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nEver\nthe cranky grammarian, it bothered me less as a political postulation\nthan as a sentence with a noun and verb lacking an object. Can What?\nI wondered why people bought into \u2013 or did not question \u2013 the\nlack of a literal object; vision; goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nWe\nhave become a people supposedly more literate than those of past\ngenerations\u2026 but surely less literal. When our language is\nimprecise, I think it reflects the lower standards of our beliefs. We\nare less assured about past assurances. Our values have lost their\nvalue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCaring\u201d\nis another word that has been cheapened by over-use and\nunder-appreciation. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nAlso\nrising from the political swamps, memes like \u201cI care…\u201d and\n\u201cThey don\u2019t care…\u201d have become weapons, mostly offensive in\nboth senses of that word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
OK,\nso we should think of \u201ccaring\u201d as transitive<\/em>\n\u2013 that is, caring about something; caring for someone. Not an\nexpressed emotion, merely, but a quality that will have a result.\nThat result can be \u201csuccessful\u201d or \u201cfutile\u201d\u2026 but the cause\nor especially the person being cared for knows whether a clich\u00e9 or\nsomething heartfelt, earnest, sincere is at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nObviously\n\u2013 once we start this sort of deconstruction \u2013 we think of people\nlike Mother Teresa, who cared and acted. Of Albert Schweitzer, who\ncared and served. Of Billy Graham, who cared and shared. Of Cardinal\nMindszenty, who cared and sacrificed. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCaring\u201d\nas an action verb. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nTaking\nnothing from saints and sages and relatives and neighbors, honestly,\nwe can be touched by them, savor their work, honor them, esteem them\nas role models\u2026 but (again, no offense meant) their caring can only\nextend so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThey\nwere humans. Humans are fallible; or, put another way, their ability\nto \u201ccare\u201d is finite, and usually defined by their ability to act\nand affect your life, or the problem they address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You know what\u2019s coming: There is only One \u2013 and only one, throughout all of history \u2013 who Cares with infinite care. Whose caring can profoundly change the cause of our hurts or problems or grief or sorrow. As He brings peace that passeth understanding, He cares in ways that touch our souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nJesus\nis the only One whose job description is Caring. And to know \u2013 to\nfeel \u2013 that perfect care can change your circumstances, your day\u2026\nyour life. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n +\n+ +<\/p>\n\n\n\n