Finding Family in an Unexpected Place

I have frequented the Ohana Cafe in Huntington Beach for years. It is a family run business and I know the family well, as I have delivered 3 of the children and provide care to members of 4 generations. It has a small town atmosphere and the regulars know one another, many have developed friendships and often share a table.

I was sharing a table for lunch this past week with another regular (who is also a patient and friend) when two people walked in and sat at the table near us. By their ages I assumed they were father and daughter- she seemed to be in her twenties and he appeared to be about my age. I made eye contact with the dad when they came in and gave him a small nod and a "How you doing?" greeting. 

When food arrived, the father reached across the table and took his daughter's hands and they bowed their heads for a prayer. It struck me that these strangers were no longer strangers, that they might actually be fellow Christians and we might actually be family. I spoke up and said, "So where do you all go to church?" He shared that they went to a baptist church in Compton. 

We talked briefly about churches, and he said that church wasn't about where you attended but where your heart was. I agreed that what you did on Sunday did not matter near as much as what you did the rest of the week. After that brief exchange we went back to our meals.

My heart was warmed by the reality of all of the things that did not matter. It did not matter that they lived in Compton and I lived in Huntington Beach. It did not matter that they were black and I was white. It did not matter what we did for a living. In that moment what mattered was that we shared a faith in Christ and that because of that faith we were family.

When the waitress brought my check I quietly paid for both meals. I left before they knew their check had been covered, praying that they would be blessed by the fact that it was not a stranger, but a brother who paid the bill.

- Bart

Rejected or Lonely? here is How I deal with the Pain

I have “issues”. According to my psychiatrist, as a result of childhood abuse I have issues with abandonment, rejection and neglect. These issues, when added to the normal stress of life, result in another issue- anxiety disorder. My anxiety disorder manifests itself primarily through irritability, which is an issue for my family. Apparently even my issues have issues!

When I reflect on my childhood and the lasting effects of being raised by parents who were unable to provide normal safety and security, I think of how painful rejection is in general. We are people created by God, designed to live in relationship with others. The God who looked at Adam and said, “It is not good for man to be alone”, was obviously correct in His analysis. We need other people if we are to live healthy and productive lives, yet as a result of the sin and brokenness that characterizes all humanity we all experience rejection and isolation.

It seems to me that the odds of rejection are increased for those value-driven people of faith who have a strong commitment to living in truth. There are many people in the world who feel uncomfortable being around good people, as their selfish behavior seems so bad by comparison.

This observation is not unique to me, I glean it from Scripture. Near the end of his life the Apostle Paul was in prison for his faith. While there he wrote a letter to his protégé Timothy. Near the end of the letter Paul wrote about his loneliness and sense of abandonment and asked Timothy to make an effort to come visit him-

"Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me." Tim 4:9-11 NIV

My eyes are drawn to his description of the actions of Demas, a former friend and partner in Paul’s ministry (You will find his name listed among those serving with Paul at the conclusion of Paul’s letter to the Colossian church). Paul stated succinctly why Demas had abandoned him. Demas loved the pleasures of life, the temporary things that life had to offer. Paul’s life was about eternity, about serving God. Demas decided he wanted his pleasure now and as a result abandoned his friend.

We learn from this that sometimes people do not abandon us because of something bad in us, but instead because of the good in us and the bad in them. It is easy (especially as a child) to experience rejection and ask, “What did I do wrong?” This is a good question, but it sometimes needs to be combined with another, “What did I do right?”

What do we do when we are rejected for doing right? How do we handle that pain? I try to gain comfort in the knowledge that God understands, for Jesus Himself was rejected and abandoned by His friends. I gain further comfort in the promise that God made to Joshua, and by extension to all who follow Him-

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deut 31:8 NIV

- Bart

Feeling down and alone? Send me a message, I would love to pray for you! Have any words of encouragement for those who may be hurting? Please share in the comments. Know someone who may be helped by this post? Click a button below and share it. As always, remember you can have all posts delivered to your inbox by clicking on the “Subscribe” button.

How to avoid arguing with your teenager!

Parent-teenager conflicts are common. I have lost count of the number of times a parent has come to me at their wit's end wondering what to do with a teenager who wouldn’t listen, wouldn’t shut up, or was uncontrollably defiant. Regardless of the specifics of the conflict, all of the conflicts share a common theme. The teenager and the parent disagree about the teen’s behavior and attitudes. The parents want change and the teen sees no need or has no desire to change. A careful review of each of these conflicts has taught me that they are almost always predictable and preventable.

I say predictable because of what we know to be true about human nature. At the core of each person is a desire for self-determination, the need to be in charge of one’s own destiny. No one I have ever met wants to spend their entire life being told by someone else how they should live. This natural tendency begins to blossom at puberty, quickly peaking by the high school years. We all went through it and we all experienced the feelings of frustration when our parents told us to do things we didn’t want to do, so we should not be surprised when our kids have the same feelings.

I say preventable because if we are aware of the above tendency and prepare ourselves and our children for it we can avoid many of these confrontations. In a surprising fit of wisdom many years ago I had preparatory conversations with my children about this that resulted in remarkably conflict-free high school years.

I sat down with each child (in a moment of peace and harmony, NOT right after a blow up!) and told them what the future would bring, sharing each of the points below-

1. It is natural for ALL children to desire independence and to do things their own way.

2. It is natural to want to push back against the rules and wishes of your parents.

3. Natural does not necessarily mean good and right. (In fact, as Christians we believe that our nature is to be selfish and do wrong much of the time)

4. One of a parent’s key jobs during adolescence is to help their child recognize when their natural desires are leading them astray.

5. If the desire to push back and challenge authority is not controlled it will be very hard to succeed in life. (I shared with them that if a future boss asked them to do a task and was met with rolling eyes, a sigh and a “Why, me?” they would soon be out of a job!)

6. To help them succeed in life I was going to make sure that we dealt with this problem as soon as it appeared. In order to help them learn how to deal with these situations, whenever this natural tendency showed up I would remind them of this conversation. Instead of saying, “Don’t talk to me like that!” I would say, “Remember how we talked that it was natural to challenge but not right and good? This is one of these times. I want you to take a break and step back and think of a better way to handle this.”

7. If they didn't take that step back and find a way to better handle it their emotions I would make sure there was a consequence, because this was a very important lesson.

8. Finally- I promised them that there would be a number of times when, just like a future boss, my position would possibly be wrong or stupid and, also just like their future boss, they would have to do it anyway!

This worked amazingly well over the years. I think what made it most effective was my children understood that it was about them being the type of person they wanted to be (successful and with good relationships) and not about them being under my thumb. It may not work for everyone, but I have been told by many parents that this approach has helped them!

- Bart

Have ideas or suggestions of your own? Please share them in the comments. Think this post might help a parent who is struggling a teen? Please click on a button below to share this post with others.

The Importance of Doing What You Must.

“Don’t feel obligated.” I have said these words often to my employees when I ask them to do something extra. I say it because I do not want them to feel coerced or pressured to do something they do not want to so. Recently I have concluded that I am unintentionally sending another message when I use these words, a message that reveals something troubling about American culture- we think feeling obligated is a bad thing. We are wrong. People who only do what they want are very selfish people!

Not too long ago I was awakened at 4:00 on a Saturday morning by a message from my answering service. A patient of mine was in the emergency room with severe pain and significant urinary bleeding. The 43 year-old woman thought she was having the symptoms of a kidney stone and went to the ER in hopes of finding relief. The routine CAT scan revealed something much worse than a kidney stone. She had a tennis ball sized tumor in her kidney. The ER doctor was calling at 4 AM to discuss possibly admitting her to the hospital. As she was medically stable and it was highly unlikely that any surgery would be done that weekend we agreed that she could be sent home. I hung up the phone and prepared to go back to sleep.

The thought then came, “Should I go to the hospital?” There was no medical reason to go. She was stable and would be sent home. There was no medical treatment I could give. More thoughts came. She had been a patient for over 15 years. I had delivered one of her children and had cared for her and her kids for years. A devout Christian, I knew she looked up to me and trusted me. I also knew that she would be frightened and in need of comfort, of a type no other doctor could give. She needed her Family Doctor.

I sat for a few moments and debated what to do. I had not been sleeping well for several nights and desperately needed sleep. I told myself that no other doctor would go in to see a patient at that hour. In spite of my best efforts I could not shake the thought that I needed to go whether I wanted to or not. Somewhat begrudgingly I put on jeans and a sweatshirt and headed to the hospital.

After showing my badge to the ER clerk I made my way to her room. When I pulled back the curtain and entered she began to cry,“I told my husband that if Dr. Barrett walks in I will know it is bad,” she said. She trusted me so much, believed in me so much, that she was sure that if it was serious I would be there for her. She understood my need to listen to my heart, perhaps even more that I understood it. The fact that it was a sense of duty and obligation that caused me to come, that my heart was not fully cooperating when I left home did not matter. A sense of obligation began the process, my heart followed behind. Nevertheless my heart did follow. Her words erased any doubts that remained, I needed to be there.

I was not there long, just long enough to review her history, give her a hug and pray for her, but I was there long enough to make a difference. As I left I reflected on the truth that feeling obligated is not such a bad thing after all. Sometimes a sense of obligation is the first step in doing the right thing.

Why I can't Stand Kim Kardashian

When “I Love Lucy” hit the air in the 1950’s, Lucy and Desi had twin beds in their bedroom. It was considered inappropriate to show that a couple shared a bed, even when married! Watching TV today I marvel at how far we have fallen.

I recently changed stations while watching a new medical drama. I did not watch the show very long, but it did not take long to see that it had no moral standards at all. One of the plot lines revolved around two female friends, one of them who had just learned that the other was intimately involved with her ex-boyfriend. She asked her friend, “Why didn’t you tell me you were sleeping with him?” The friends reply, “Because we are not that serious.” Channel turned.

What does it say about a society when the single greatest act of physical intimacy is so meaningless?

It is so meaningless to Americans that we now make celebrities out of people whose only talent seems to be a willingness to buy expensive clothes and then take them off in front of a camera! (See Kardashian, Kim)

Those of us who care about marriage and family have a huge challenge ahead of us as we work to educate our children in the importance of morality and celebrity. We can start by being truthful about our culture and by celebrating those who manage to be faithful and moral, and by teaching our children that God values our insides, not our backsides!

- Bart

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