Spring Cleaning

OK, enough of the immigrant problem! I'll leave that to the politicians to figure out. I think I've expressed my outrage and ire at the unfairness of paying my fair share of taxes that end up paying for the services of those that do not pay, while my own parents, who worked and paid taxes all their adult lives, have to fight to get even the simplest of benefits. 'Nough said!

No, today my thoughts are much simpler. I was up before dawn this morning even though it's Saturday and I didn't have to be. I was restless and had a headache, so I got up, put the dog out and was grateful that the forecasted rain has held off for now. While drinking my tea, I watched the sun rise and produce a soft rainbow that quickly melted away. The cat jumped in my lap while I read Psalm 117: "O Praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord." So I sipped more tea and my thoughts wandered to how I will serve and praise Him today. That thought led to cleaning my home office, which has been sorely neglected for the last 4 months or so. I then questioned myself, "How does cleaning a room in the house bring any glory to God?" Then it was as if a light was turned on. Sometimes, it's the simplest things we do in a faithful and obedient and others-serving way that bring Him the most glory. Simply doing what is good and right, day in and day out is what He wants and needs from us. To serve my husband and family is my goal for today, second only to serving God. Thankfully, I believe that keeping the house in good order, clean, neat and efficient, serves my family AND my God at the same time.

When I first got married and we had three kids in three years, I was frustrated and tired all the time. I couldn't wait until they got big enough to change their own pants! Praise God that he gave me some moments when I was nursing a baby or rocking a child with a fever, that I could see clearly that this was why I was put here on earth and would give thanks for those moments while they were happening. Because He imprinted those special, soft moments with my kids, I can look back with tenderness to those days gone by. There are days when I wish I were back in that young woman's skin, when I watch one of them jump in the car and drive off to a date or a movie with friends, but mostly I savor my newfound time to reflect and reacquaint myself with that wonderful warrior I married so long ago. I can look forward to grandchildren -- someday. I can take long walks with him and not worry about leaving the kids alone. Yes, my kids still come home and want their Mom to cook mac 'n' cheese or just come up and say, "goodnight" sometimes. Most of the time, they only want to borrow my car, but sometimes they're still my babies.

Case in point: the other day, my daughter went for a shot at the doctor's office alone. I don't know if she'd ever gone before without her dad or me. She called me at work to let me know everything was OK like the young adult that she is. But for one brief moment when she was getting ready to hang up the phone, I saw my baby girl again when she said, "Mommy, I didn't cry…." These are the times when I know that my paycheck doesn't mean that much and my work is not who I am. This is when I know that being Mom to those kids is the most important thing I've ever done, even when the glamour isn't there and you're cleaning dirty bottoms and wiping runny noses, or as things go now, loaning $20 for gas and fixing a plate for the kid that won't be home until long after I'm in bed.

So now my pot of tea is drained and it's time to get dressed and attack this messy house. Time to serve this family the way God designed me to serve -- in the everyday, not so glamorous, humdrum role of house cleaner.

Have a great day in your own service to Him!

Immigration, Part II

I just heard another story on the immigration issue that brought to mind just a few more thoughts. The story said that illegal immigrants and activists for their cause are planning a boycott on May 1st. It seems that they feel they will bring the country to its knees if they choose not to go to work that day. One person from Guatemala said (in heavily accented English), “If I don’t go to work, who’s going to clean the toilets?” The reporter explained that the woman cleaned homes and small business offices. Well I don’t know what anyone else would do, but I think I’d just clean them myself! But that thought aside, I’m sure that the activists think the biggest impact will come to industries that routinely hire illegals anyway. My thought on that is that it should! If an American employer hires someone that doesn’t belong here because he can get away with not paying payroll taxes on the employee and he doesn’t have to report the wages or pay even a fair wage, then he SHOULD have to deal with trying to get the work done without immigrant labor.

I’m not sure why they timed it as they did, but a couple days ago, federal agents raided a company that had 1,100 illegal aliens in its employ! They also had the wisdom to arrest 7 of the company officers for allowing it and for ignoring the law. The report said that all 7 were released before nightfall and it was expected that the only people that would pay any penalty were the illegals that would be sent home. The company and its officers would probably settle out of court and take their chances that they wouldn’t get caught again for a few more years. Which means that for a few more years, workers will be hired for less than minimum wage, their wages will not be taxed, they will be served by hospitals and welfare organizations and its my wages (and yours) that will pay for it. That’s the outrage! These companies are competing unfairly with companies that try to follow the rules and pay fair wages and their proper shares of payroll taxes. They undercut the competition’s market and force honest, decent companies out of business, leaving thousands of Americans out of work. Sometimes it is a case of an American laborer not being hired because an illegal will work for less, but more often it is the companies that they work for losing market share to these illegal outfits until they have to close their doors.

So, I guess my point is this: If you care about American industry and the jobs it provides, clean your own toilet on May 1st.

Immigration

The following appeared in the 2006 Detroit Free Press Inc. on 4-12-06:

“A manager at a Detroit meatpacking plant said Monday that 15 immigrant women were fired last month after attending a protest for immigrant rights. He said they had been told that they would be terminated if they missed work on the day of the protest.
But the workers and an activist working on their behalf said the women were given no such assurances. If the workers knew they would have been fired for attending the March 27 rally in Detroit, they never would have skipped the morning shift, said Elena Herrada, a Detroit activist who is trying to help the women get their jobs back.”

The story continues with an account of the incident and the statement by Ms. Herrada, “They were fired ‘for standing up for their rights.’” I should feel sorry for these people. I should feel some anger toward the company that fired them. I don’t feel either one!

First, a check of semantics reveals that instead of saying “illegal aliens” the article chose to refer to these people as “undocumented workers.” I believe the author did that to take the focus away from the fact that if a person is here and is working without a green card, they have committed an illegal act. Also, the word ‘alien’ has become a slanderous word in our country recently, so that was changed to ‘worker.’ Please tell me when I get to the part presented by an unbiased media…!

Despite the admittedly dire straights that these people find themselves in, it is the few that spoil things for them all. Case in point: I heard a taped interview with a woman who had been in this country illegally for 17 years. All that time, she lived in subsidized housing (paid by my tax dollars), received WIC for her kids (paid by my tax dollars), sent her kids to a public school (at least partially federally funded by my tax dollars) and received subsidized health care (paid by you-know-what). During this time she worked at a job where she paid NO taxes, either to Social Security, Medicare, the federal government OR to her “adopted” state of California. She stated in the interview that she didn’t think she would register as a “guest worker” because she’s afraid she’ll lose her job. Her employer doesn’t want to pay her more money and he’s been dodging employment taxes on this woman for 17 years, so it certainly isn’t in HIS best interest for her to register. The fact is, I can’t think of a single reason why anyone who is here illegally would want to register as a “guest worker”! Why would they want to pay taxes? With no documented income, they were eligible for federal and state programs that they would be disqualified from if they had some earned income on their 1040s! Now, people just like this undocumented woman, are out in the streets demanding that I make their lives better, burning the flag to which I swear allegiance, and creating a stink if they get fired for not showing up at work so they can do it! I feel like my hand just got bitten off by the animal I’d been feeding!
I grant you that Mexico probably wouldn’t take too kindly to trainloads of immigrants, rounded up and dumped back on their side of the border. And many a farmer might not get his tomatoes picked if immigrants were sent back home. But creating a “guest worker” program doesn’t seem to be the appropriate answer either. What farmer is going to hire “guest workers” if these people now have to be paid a fair wage? He’ll just go out and find those that didn’t register so he can continue to underpay, and if they make any noise, he’ll just move on to the next batch. To some degree, it’s the employers that have to be cracked down on, not the workers. To some degree, Mr. & Mrs. Fifth Avenue will have to begin to pay the real cost of their mixed greens and endive salad. But I don’t believe that granting some sort of amnesty (and yes, I mean amnesty because if a worker is here without going through the proper channels, a crime HAS BEEN committed) is the solution to the immigration question.

Ann Coulter was quoted as having suggested that a 2,000-mile wall along the southern border of the US should be built and, since they seem to need work, we should hire the “undocumented workers” to build it. I suggest one further step – make sure they’re on the southern side!

I have never seen any political hot potato that has been handled worse in Congress. The real knock-you-off-your-feet-land-you-on-your-backside shocker of this whole mess it that the Congress, particularly the Senate, is so far off from their constituencies with whole thing. Polls have stated clearly and succinctly that people coming to this country to live should have to go through the proper channels and that sneaking across a border in the dark of night is not something that inspires the general public to throw out the welcome mat. These people may be only seeking a better life, but there are correct ways to get here. The method they have chosen is against the law, hence they have committed an illegal act and it suggests that there is something criminal in their pasts that they are trying to hide. They are not undocumented workers. They are criminals. They should pay for their crimes by being deported. Then, after they have paid that penalty, if they want to apply to enter this country in the correct way, all should be forgiven and they should be allowed to be on the waiting list with everybody else. Like it or not, that’s the Christian principle that this country was founded on – sin must be paid for before reconciliation can occur. Jesus paid for our sins but He still expects us to do what is good and right and to obey the laws of our countries. We are not to say, “Now Jesus, I know this is the wrong thing to do, but I’m going to go rob this bank anyway because I know that you’ll forgive me.” I feel like the immigrants are saying just that to all of us. “Sure, we came here by breaking your laws, but you’ve got to give us citizenship because we’re here now. Oh, and could you also make it a crime for everybody else to call us illegal immigrants? And while you’re at it, could you change package labels and signs to include our native language? And provide a translator (at no cost) if we have to go to the hospital or seek other public services? Oh, and one more thing, could you ….?”

Complacency

Complacency. It’s a word that has been on my mind a great deal lately. I believe that the Holy Spirit is trying to deal with me in an important way on this issue. I have come to think that a Christian that is sitting fat, dumb and happy in her comfortable world is the Christian that Satan is satisfied with. She won’t get in his way and she won’t budge out of her comfort zone to do anything for the kingdom of God. He tells her, “You go to church. You tithe. You serve on committees. You don’t smoke. You only drink a little wine now and then and after all, even Jesus did that. You obey the law. You do your job. You take care of your kids. You keep your home clean. You pay your taxes. You even wash your car! You’re OK! Just sit there and be happy in your world.” I have come to think that this is the summation of what most Americans believe is the mark of a good Christian – a good, honest, hard-working person. But is that what Jesus told us to do? Is that what He gave His life for? The first century church looked very different from the church today. It was, by no means, complacent. It had passion and fire. Many churches today profess to be on fire or passionate. But what are they passionate about? What fire burns in their hearts?

Recently, I stumbled across a pastor on television that claimed that if you simply took your mortgage and buried it (or burned it, I didn’t see that part), that you would free yourself from debt and the Holy Spirit would somehow empower you to gain wealth. I couldn’t stomach any more of the show, so I switched channels, but is that the passion the early church had? A passion for wealth?

On another channel-surfing expedition, I came across a pastor that was bidding people in wheelchairs and hobbling on canes, to come to him and be healed. He’d whack the poor seeker on the forehead with the heel of his hand and they’d topple straight over backwards! Somehow there seemed to be always someone in a suit and tie waiting to pick up the poor lug, and at the edge of the stage lights, you could see more suits and ties passing a basket of money up and down the aisles of the onlookers. I don’t think that this was the fire of the early church, either.

The apostle, Paul, spent most of his ministry battling a “thorn in the side” and he toiled and labored hard for his meals. His writings always reflected a passion for Jesus Christ and His glory alone. His attitude about money was that we should collect money to care for the members of the body. He never said we should make any man wealthy. His attitude about his own health was that although he had prayed fervently for healing, he said that his answer was, “My grace is sufficient for thee” and he went about his ministry in spite of physical difficulty.

So my point, I guess, is this: that the complacent, fat, dumb and happy person is probably not living the set-apart life that we are called to live as true followers of Jesus. So how do I get there? I anticipate that the journey is going to be emotionally painful as the Holy Spirit reveals sin after sin in my life. I expect that I won’t like it much. So what should be my motivation? I really haven’t reached that answer either. I can only say that as frightened as I am to take the trip, I will trust my Lord to be with me through it. I somehow know that it is necessary and I know that only prayer will give me the strength I need to pull my feet out of the sticky, gooey mud that I’m standing in. And if He pulls me out of the mud, how do I keep from falling back into my comfortable little rut? Only by His grace and mercy, and I am sure, based on previous ladder rungs I’ve managed to ascend, that I’ll look back at that muddy place and realize what kind of pit it really was. Yes, I am afraid of the journey. Given the choice between pain and comfort, I’d rather choose comfort, but in THIS case, I MUST choose pain, because only in it, will I grow. Only by way of the valley can I reach the mountain. So, I set myself upon a quest for growth. As Easter approaches and I am reminded of the horrific death He endured for me, I pray that He will show me which cross I must bear and where I must bear it to, there to be crucified to my old life and raised to a full, rich life in Him.