The Wrong Side of the Tracks

My An Arkie's Faith column from the August 23, 2023, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

In June 2022, an obituary was published in Bay City, Michigan. “Lonzo F. Green of Gladwin, Michigan passed away on June 17, 2022. He was born on August 14, 1928, to Frank and Melverta Green in Cherry Valley, Arkansas. He was a member of Good Shepherd Church and the Michigan Bluegrass Hall of Fame. He enjoyed attending church, Preaching, playing music, and spending time with family. He was active with Wilma Caraview, often attending church together, visiting friends, and playing music together.” 

At the end of his life, Lonzo wasn’t known outside his friends, family, and community, but that wasn’t the case when he was young. Frank and Melverta Green raised Lonzo in a Christian home and paired him with his younger brother, Forrest, to sing at churches and revivals throughout Arkansas. He worked in the fields with his family and was always close to the land and the rich musical heritage of his neighbors.

In 1951, Lonzo and his wife Maxine moved to Flint, Michigan, with other members of the Green family. Lonzo, Maxine, his brother Forrest, and Forrest’s wife Margie sang Gospel music throughout Michigan as The Green Family. They also had a one-hour radio program on WMRP in Flint, Michigan. At that time, Forrest met businessman Rudy Kotelas who believed in his music and sponsored his first record in Nashville, Tennessee. 

After getting their start in Nashville, Forrest recorded "Rain Must Be Teardrops" and "Day For Leaving" on Ranger Records, which made the national charts! At that time, these were Michigan’s #1 selling country records! The success of his records led Forrest to perform on the Grand Ole Opry and shows throughout the United States and Canada. When Forrest began touring nationally, Lonzo decided that life on the road wasn’t for him. Although Forrest Green spent his life performing and running a recording studio and record label, Lonzo faded into obscurity.

I heard about Lonzo on Paul Harvey’s radio broadcast, The Rest of the Story. While Lonzo was playing in the band with his brother, and the group had gained regional notoriety, he visited relatives in Tennessee. His nephew Jimmy was excited when his famous Uncle Lonzo stayed at their house.

Jimmy came to school the next day, telling all his friends about his Uncle Lonzo Green, who had recorded in Nashville. One friend wanted to meet Lonzo. Jimmy’s friend had gotten an old guitar and wanted to learn how to play but did not know how to tune it. He wanted to come to Jimmy’s house and have Lonzo tune his guitar and show him some chords. When Jimmy asked his parents if his friend could come to see Uncle Lonzo, they said, “No, he is white trash and not welcome in our home.”

When Uncle Lonzo found out, he told Jimmy he would meet his friend. Lonzo had grown up in poverty and felt compassion for the boy. To appease Jimmy’s parents, they would stay outside. When they met, it was evident to Lonzo that this quiet, dark-haired boy was embarrassed and felt out of place in this upper-class neighborhood. The boy’s guitar was old, cheap, and hung around his neck with just a piece of string. After Lonzo showed the shy teenager how to tune his guitar, he offered to teach him some songs. The boy was so surprised and happy that Lonzo would spend two hours playing and singing with him. 

When it was time for supper, Lonzo told the boy goodbye, never to see him again. The boy crossed the tracks back to his side of town. The young boy never got to go inside the upscale home and would never see Lonzo again, but he left with a beautiful memory.

Paul Harvey ended the story by saying, “It is a sad tale until you realize the boy went on to star in 33 motion pictures and sell millions of records. That boy would never be unwelcome again. His name was Elvis Presley. And now you know the rest of the story.” The white trash from the wrong side of the tracks, who wasn’t allowed in the upper-class home, became known as the King of Rock and Roll.

As I heard the story of Lonzo and Elvis, I thought about a passage found in James 2:1-4 (NLT) “My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, ‘You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor’—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?” 

John Wesley said, “We should be rigorous in judging ourselves and gracious in judging others.” Too much of today’s Christianity is focused on judging others. Many people seem to be looking for reasons to hate those different from them. But Jesus said, “Do to others as you would like them to do to you. If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!” Luke 6:31-33 (NLT) 

And then Jesus made his teaching even more straightforward. “Love your enemies! Do good to them…Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:35-37 (NLT)

Gentle Reader, no human being is entirely free of prejudice or discrimination. It’s part of our selfish nature to prefer those of our kind, whatever that represents to us. Discrimination wrongly judges a person based only on external factors or personal preference. “Remember that the Lord draws no distinction between Jew and non-Jew—He is Lord over all things, and He pours out His treasures on all who invoke His name.” Romans 10:12 (VOICE) Instead of judging others, ask God to give you the ability to love. “Do not owe people anything, except always owe love to each other, because the person who loves others has obeyed all the law.” Romans 13:8 (NCV)

Lahaina Town Remembered

My An Arkie's Faith column from the August 16, 2023, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

My phone pinged, and I pulled it out of my pocket to look at it. A notification said that a wildfire was raging in Lahaina Town on the Hawaiian island of Maui. My heart sank as I viewed the accompanying photos. Two years ago, I spent a week in Lahaina and fell in love with the people and the area. 

Over the next few days, I watched in horror as reports of the devastation came in. This morning the Associated Press reported, “As the death toll from a wildfire that razed a historic Maui town climbed to 93, authorities warned that the effort to find and identify the dead was still in its early stages. The blaze is already the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.”

According to the Maui Fire Update website, “Lahaina Harbor is gone, and the banyan tree is charred (it’s said that if the roots are healthy, it will likely grow back, but it looks burned yet standing).” It was the first bit of possibly good news that I had read. On my visit to Lahaina two years ago, the Banyan tree made an impression on me, and I wrote about it. 

On the first morning of my visit to Maui, I dress quietly before dawn. Slipping out the condo’s front door into the darkness of the Maui night, I walk to the parking lot and get into my rental car. It is just a short drive to Kahekili Beach, and I park the car and walk down to the beach in the moonlight. An occasional sneaker wave washes over my feet as I walk south on the sandy beach. It isn’t easy to see in the dim moonlight, so it surprises me when the wave comes farther than usual. As the water washes the sand around my feet, I lose my balance. After a few times, I learn to stand still when the wave comes, not moving until the water has subsided and the sand is stable again.

After walking over a mile, I returned to my car. The first rays of morning light are chasing away the darkness. I drive toward Lahaina Town, anxious to see it for the first time. In the first morning light, almost no one is on the streets. I quickly found a place to park and started walking toward the town center. I pass stores and galleries that will be filled with customers in a few hours. I walk past an old historic home and stop to read the historical plaques that tell its story.

The Baldwin Home is the oldest house still standing on the island of Maui. Reverend Ephraim Spaulding built the original four-room structure between 1834-35. The area offered a direct view of the Lahaina landing and the ocean beyond where whaling ships would anchor. Reverend Spaulding became ill in 1836 and returned to Massachusetts, and Reverend Dwight Baldwin and his wife moved into the home. The couple had eight children, all born in Hawai’i.

As their family grew, so did the house. In 1840, Reverend Baldwin added a bedroom and a medical study. And in 1849, he completed the entire second floor. The home faces prevailing winds from the ocean with large windows in the front. The walls are 24 inches thick and constructed of coral, sand, and lava rock with rough-hewn timber framing. The thick walls and high ceilings help keep the interior cool.

As I walk the grounds of the Baldwin Home, I see remnants of the kitchen’s foundation and firepit in the rear yard. I try to imagine the sights and sounds of Lahaina during those early years when as many as 700 whaling ships came through Lahaina in a year. Ship captains on year-long whale hunts would rest their crews in Lahaina. Whaling ships would restock their provisions in Lahaina, staying there for weeks. The sailors were a raucous crowd engaging in long stints of drinking and debauchery. The sailors’ behavior disturbed many Maui residents, and the missionaries, such as Reverend Baldwin, were very vocal in their opposition to the lifestyles of the whalers.

I see Lahaina's most famous landmark just a few blocks from the Baldwin House. Spreading out in front of me is a gigantic banyan tree. It covers an entire city block and is 50 feet tall. I sit on a bench under its branches, taking in its beauty and grandeur. Because I have never seen a historical plaque that I didn’t read, I found out that this banyan tree was imported from India and planted in front of the Lahaina Courthouse and Lahaina Harbor in 1873 by the sheriff of Maui and is now the largest in the state. It has a canopy circumference spanning a quarter mile and covers almost two acres. Banyan trees can cover so much ground because they have roots that grow from outward-extending branches and reach the ground, becoming trunk-like and expanding the tree’s footprint.

In some ways, the banyan tree reminds me of what a community should be. The banyan grows by using aerial prop roots. When a mature tree, its spreading branches produce hundreds of these roots. Some grow until they reach the ground. There, they anchor themselves and develop into new trunks. Imagine numerous branches with dangling roots that produce more trunks and branches with dangling roots. Over time you have a whole grove connected, covering ample space.

The more roots the tree puts down, the more it grows. And the more it grows, the branches must have firmly grounded roots to hold them up. Everything is interconnected. Without the roots, the branches would fall. Without the branches, the roots wouldn’t exist. 

Gentle Reader, you need your community, and your community needs you. If the community is to grow and prosper, we all need each other and must work together. We will never be a strong community when we refuse to work together. We can never prosper when our disagreements become more important than our common goals. Paul describes the Christian community this way. “Each one of us has a body with many parts, and these parts all have different uses. In the same way, we are many, but in Christ we are all one body. Each one is a part of that body, and each part belongs to all the other parts.” Romans 12:4,5 (NCV) 

The phrase, “each part belongs to all the other parts,” seems like a good description of a banyan tree. If we want to be a productive part of our community and be like the banyan tree, we need to follow the guidance found in 1 Peter 4:8-10 (Message). “Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it.”

Blessed by a Hurricane

My An Arkie's Faith column from the August 9, 2023, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

The stately two-story house stood on the banks of Lake Houston. She has never seen anything like it in the forty years since her family lovingly built her. Wave after wave of heavy rains battered her. The winds are swirling around her, and she is creaking and groaning as she struggles to withstand the storm. In the yard, trees are swaying madly, screaming as their limbs strain against the onslaught. The house begins to be tested: the roof, the windows, and the walls are all under attack. The house worries that she will be damaged and her family will not be able to live there anymore.

When the winds finally stop, the stately house realizes she is still standing. She has made it through the storm. Her mind drifts back to the time that the family built her. Dad was a builder by trade, creating the stately house where he would raise his family. Mom loved the new place and its delightful setting on the shores of Lake Houston. The kids enjoyed bringing their friends home to the stately house. They especially liked the swimming pool in the backyard. Mom was happy when laughing kids were having a good time at her house. The stately house was thankful that she was still standing and that the family would soon be able to return home.

Even though the winds stopped battering the stately house, the rains continued to fall. Over the next two days, over 30 inches of rain fell. The water levels of Lake Houston rise until they are lapping at the front door of the house. But it keeps raining, and the water keeps rising. Soon there are several inches of water on the floor, and the water is rushing in at the front, the sides, and the back. To the stately house, it feels like an invasion. By the time the lake reaches its highest level, deep water covers the entire first floor of the stately house. She is waterlogged and despondent. When the water levels start to recede, the house wonders what will become of her. Will her family ever be able to live in her again?

Inside, there’s at least an inch of mud on the floor, and the mold on the walls is chest high. It looks like someone broke in and ransacked the house. Everything from the shelves covers the floor. The knife block sits in the living room with the knives still in it. The refrigerator is full of spoiled food, and the house stinks like an army of dirty feet. The front door is blocked by a bookcase so swollen with water that it collapses into a massive pile of books and shelves. The once stately house is a stinky mess.

Hurricane Harvey was a Category 4 hurricane that caused this historic, catastrophic flooding in August 2017. The family displaced from the stately house were among 30,000 families in the area with no place to stay. They wondered if their family home would be able to be saved. When Dad first inspected the damage, his heart sank. There was so much damage. There was debris everywhere. How could they ever make the stately house liveable again?

When the family started the daunting task of cleaning up, friends began showing up to help. Mom was standing at a second-story window and looking over the mess where a yard had once been.  The yard was full of laughter. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She looked out at a group of her kids' friends partying. Her kids had become adults many years ago, but here were their friends, the same kids who had spent so much time at the stately house when they were young, once again having a great time in her yard. There was loud music, laughing, and dancing. They were working hard with shovels and brooms, cleaning up the debris. It was dirty, smelly, nasty work. But they were having a great time.

Mom couldn’t believe that so many people were there to help with the cleanup. While they were cleaning debris, a carpenter drove up in his pickup, pulling a trailer with his tools. He told Dad, “When I heard that your house was flooded and that you were repairing it yourself, I came as soon as possible. I have brought my tools and will stay and work with you until you are finished.” Many other people donated their time. Before long, the house was once again stately, ready for the family to move back in.

When Mom, from the stately house, was telling me the story, she said, “I have never felt so blessed in my life as I did in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.” I thought, “How can someone feel blessed when dealing with such trying circumstances.” I know that The Bible says, “God is ready to overwhelm you with more blessings than you could ever imagine so that you’ll always be taken care of in every way and you’ll have more than enough to share.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 (VOICE) But how can someone feel blessed when their home has been devastated by a hurricane?

As Mom continued the story, she told me that as a builder, Dad had given many of the people that came to volunteer their start in the business. They loved and respected him, and they came when they heard that he needed help. Mom had shown love and kindness to her kids' friends. She had let them know that they were always welcome to share in the happiness of the stately house.

Gentle Reader, “Give, and it will be given to you. You will have more than enough. It can be pushed down and shaken together and it will still run over as it is given to you. The way you give to others is the way you will receive in return.” Luke 6:38 (NLV) Our blessings are based on our willingness to bless others. How we treat others will determine how God treats us. God has been gracious to us, so we should share that graciousness with others. If we do, the blessings in our cup will be running over.

Judd Falls

 My An Arkie's Faith column from the August 2, 2023, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

I had been looking forward to spending some time in the Colorado Rocky Mountains for several months. Now I was finally there. After spending a day in Frisco and staying at the wonderful Frisco Inn on Galena, we headed to Crested Butte, where we would meet with family and stay for a few days.

The drive from Frisco to Buena Vista was beautiful, but as we headed west out of Buena Vista on the winding road to Cottonwood Pass, the scenery took my breath away. From Buena Vista, the road quickly climbs to its summit of 12,126 feet, 500 feet above the tree line. Cottonwood Pass is the highest paved mountain pass over the Continental Divide.

We had 360-degree views of two distinct watersheds from the top as we walked up the trail, trying to breathe in the thin mountain air. After taking many photos of the spectacular views, we returned to the truck to head down the pass. The road wound down through the Taylor Canyon along the river to the massive Taylor Park Reservoir.

The following day, we took Gothic Road to Emerald Lake. There we saw the beautiful green mountain lake nestled in a meadow surrounded by a spectacular display of blooming flowers. The meadows were alive with colorful wildflowers showing off their vibrant yellows, whites, purples, and reds. After exploring the Emerald Lake area and taking many photos, we drove to the Judd Falls trailhead. 

We hiked the half-mile trail to the falls through fields of wildflowers and towering Aspen. There were terrific views of the surrounding mountains, including Gothic Mountain, Mt. Baldy, and Mt. Crested Butte. The trail was well-defined, and it was necessary to stay on the path because all the surrounding land is under study by the Rocky Mountain Biological Research Laboratory. 

In 1928, Western Colorado College professor Dr. John Johnson founded the biological research laboratory at the abandoned mining town of Gothic. Recognizing the rich diversity of the local ecosystems, he began bringing students to study amid Gothic’s ruins. Since then, thousands of students and scientists have followed in Dr. Johnson’s footsteps, making the ecosystems around Gothic some of the most intensively studied in the world and making Rocky Mountain Biological Research Laboratory an internationally renowned center for scientific research and education.

While hiking through a large stand of aspen trees, I looked up to see a rainbow in the sky. But it was different than any rainbow I had ever seen. Among the clouds were perfectly horizontal and brightly colored bands. I snapped a quick photo before the colors disappeared. The sight made such an impression that I researched the phenomenon later that evening. 

 I learned that what I had witnessed is referred to colloquially as a “Fire Rainbow.” But it was neither fire nor a rainbow. Technically they are known as circumhorizontal arcs - an ice halo formed by hexagonal, plate-shaped ice crystals in high-level cirrus clouds. The halo is so large that the arc appears parallel to the horizon. 

For a fire rainbow to occur, the conditions must be exact. Three things must align perfectly. The sun must be at an elevation of 58 degrees or greater. High-altitude cirrus or cirrostratus clouds must be present with ice crystals. Sunlight must enter the ice crystals at a specific angle to refract the light. This is why circumhorizontal arcs or fire rainbows are rare phenomena.

As I carefully made my way down the rocky trail to the falls, I could hear the roar of rushing water. But it was not until the last minute that the trail ended with a view of the falls from a cliff. Warning signs told of the danger of getting too close to the edge. I rested on a bench at the viewing area and took in the beauty of the falls.

While talking with a representative of the Rocky Mountain Biological Research Laboratory there, I learned the story of the drama that had occurred the day before. A hiker decided to go down the extremely steep hillside to view the falls from ground level. As he made his way down, holding on to a small tree for support, the tree came up by the roots, and he crashed headlong down the mountainside, finally ending up in the water below.

Fortunately, he was with friends who could contact the authorities to rescue him. It took four hours for the Crested Butte Mountain Rescue Team to get to him and bring him safely back up the mountainside. His injuries were not life-threatening, but he will never forget his experience.

The representative of the Rocky Mountain Biological Research Laboratory told us the story of the unfortunate hiker to keep us from trying to make our way down to the falls. She wanted us to know the danger and warn us about the possible consequences of trying to reach the bottom of the falls.

As I thought about the warnings given to us at the overlook of Judd Falls, I realized there was a parallel between those warnings and God’s law. Every law that God has given us reflects His desire for the joy and well-being of His people. Each rule protects His people as they live in a sinful world.

Often, we look at God's law as repressive. It creates uncomfortable restrictions. But we need to look at His laws as protection. In his book, “The Purity Principle,” Randy Alcorn uses an analogy about driving along a mountain pass when it’s dark and foggy, and your car runs off the road, and you hit the guardrail. You slam on the brakes and get out of the car with a flashlight. What do you do? Do you look at the fender of your car and say, “Oh no. That rotten guardrail! Why did somebody put that guardrail there? Now I’ve got a dented fender!”? No, you thank God for that guardrail. It’s there for your benefit. That guardrail saved your life!

Gentle Reader, instead of seeing God’s laws as a burden, we need to ask God to help us see his commandments as guardrails to keep us from danger. “Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.” 1 John 5:3 (NLT)

The Double Rainbow

My An Arkie's Faith column from the July 26, 2023, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

A few raindrops began to fall as we pulled out of the parking lot. Off in the distance, the skies looked dark and foreboding, and the thunder rolled. We were headed back to Arvada, Colorado, after spending the afternoon at my great niece's wedding rehearsal and dinner in Campion. Before getting on the highway, we drove through our old neighborhood. We moved from our house on Hankins Lane to Mena, Arkansas, over forty years ago.

As we drove through Berthoud and Longmont, the rain intensified, and the clouds were dark and angry to the south and east, with occasional lightning. But to the west, the sun was shining brightly on the mountains. I snapped a quick photo through the windshield while we were stopped at a traffic light in Longmont. With the dark grey skies to the south and the apartments on the east side of the road lit brilliantly by the low angle of the evening sun shining from the west, the contrasts made a striking photo.

The rain continued to fall, and before long, a rainbow's fuzzy, muted colors appeared in the sky. A few minutes later, the colors had intensified into one of the boldest and most colorful rainbows I had ever seen. We pulled off the road to try and get a photo. While I was taking pictures, a faint second rainbow appeared. After taking several images, I returned to the truck, and we tried to get back on the highway. The traffic was heavy, and it was impossible to cross the road to go in the direction we needed. We could merge into traffic headed in the direction we had just come from.

We drove to the next intersection, where we turned left and then pulled into a parking lot to get turned around. By this time, two complete rainbows were arcing across the sky. I had never seen a double rainbow that filled the sky from horizon to horizon. I stood in awe of the beauty before me. 

A rainbow is a natural phenomenon that occurs when light is refracted or bent as it passes through water droplets in the air. It is seen as a band of vibrant colors, including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The colors of the rainbow are arranged in a specific order and are caused by the different wavelengths of light being refracted at different angles. Double rainbows are formed when sunlight is reflected twice within a raindrop.

Rainbows always make me smile, and seeing a double rainbow was a fantastic experience. Seeing the double rainbow made it worth going through the rain. It was a moment in time that I will never forget.

Do you like the rain? I tend not to like rain very much, especially if I have an outdoor activity or work planned. We don't like rain unless we have crops that need water. Few of us look out the window on a rainy day and say, "What a great day!" The rain gets in the way of our comfort.

Too often, we let the possibility of something going wrong keep us from doing something we want. "But what if something goes wrong," we say. "What if it rains on my parade." We fail to reach our potential in life because we are too timid. But, "God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)

And God is telling you the same thing. Don't let fear of failure keep you from doing great things. Don't let the threat of rain keep you from being all God wants you to be.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a very personal poem titled "The Rainy Day." The poem's first lines read, "The day is cold, and dark, and dreary; It rains, and the wind is never weary." He personalizes his thoughts in the second stanza, "My life is cold, and dark, and dreary; It rains, and the wind is never weary; My thoughts still cling to the moldering Past, But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast, And the days are dark and dreary." But Longfellow doesn't leave us in his dark place. The final stanza says, "Be still, sad heart! And cease repining; Behind the clouds is the sun still shining; Thy fate is the common fate of all, Into each life some rain must fall, Some days must be dark and dreary."

Into every life, a little rain must fall. It's what we do with the rain that makes the difference. Rain can be a force that destroys our lives and washes away hope, or it can become a tool God uses to bring healing, growth, and new life to our hearts.

What are we afraid of when the rains of this life come our way? Are we afraid of getting wet? Nowhere in the Bible does God tell us that we won't get wet. Pain in all its forms is the standard universal human denominator we all share. Your pain and difficulties differ from mine, but we all have them.

We see this concept in Matthew 5:45 (GW): "He makes his sun rise on people whether they are good or evil. He lets rain fall on them whether they are just or unjust." God doesn't tell us that we won't have rainy days. He says, "Even if it rains, I will be there for you. You may get wet, but it will be OK." And sometimes rain brings a beautiful rainbow. "When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth." Genesis 9:16 (NLT)

Gentle Reader, God displayed a visible reminder to me of His everyday grace with the double rainbow. It reminded me of His promise to extend a common grace to all living things. How often do we take that promise for granted? I know that often the busyness of my life makes me lose my focus on God even though the evidence of His daily grace is all around me. This week, I pray that I will not lose focus but instead remember the rainbow and God's promises.

The Photophone

My An Arkie's Faith column from the July 19, 2023, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

The phone call came from Porter Memorial Hospital in Denver, Colorado. My wife and I were racing along Interstate 70 in Kansas, headed to Denver. My father-in-law was in the hospital, and the prognosis wasn’t good. On our way across Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado, we made and received four phone calls to get updates on Dad’s condition. I still remember opening the cell phone bill the next month and being shocked at the additional charges of over one hundred dollars for those four calls.

I recounted this story to my teenage granddaughters while we discussed the advances in technology. They had never heard of a bag phone. I told them how we upgraded from the bag phone to a handheld Nokia phone that was almost as big as a brick and seemed heavy. When we upgraded from the Nokia to a Motorola Razor flip phone, we thought we had achieved the pinnacle of phone technology.

But the part of my cell phone history story that shocked my teenage granddaughters was when I told them they had both been born before I saw my first iPhone. They had never considered that they had been born before there were iPhones. Smartphones have become such an integral part of our lives that they couldn’t imagine life before them.

A few days after my conversation with my granddaughters, I watched a documentary about the inventor Alexander Graham Bell. Although Bell is best known for inventing the telephone, he pursued hundreds of projects throughout his life. He created early versions of the metal detector, built hydrofoil boats, and giant tetrahedral kites. He served as president of the National Geographic Society and made the first aircraft to fly in the British Empire. But Bell considered his most important invention the first wireless voice transmission technology that he dubbed, Photophone. 

In 1878, two years after patenting the telephone, Bell read an article by scientist Robert Sabine on how the electrical resistance of the element selenium changes with exposure to light. He realized that this effect could transmit the human voice via light beams. Bell soon began work on a device he called the photophone. 

The transmitter of Bell’s new device consisted of a parabolic mirror like a satellite dish and gathered and focused the sunlight beam from the transmitter onto a piece of selenium which was connected to a battery and telephone headset. The light falling on the selenium changed its resistance, creating a modulated current that the headset converted into sound. In 1880, after a couple of successful messages were relayed indoors, Bell and his assistant transmitted a message from a rooftop to the window of the laboratory, 700 feet away. It was the first demonstration of wireless communication, predating the development of radio by over 20 years.

After the demonstration, Bell told his father, “Well, I have heard a ray of the sun laugh and cough and sing. I have been able to hear a shadow, and I have even perceived by ear the passage of a cloud across the sun's disc. You are the grandfather of the photophone, and I want to share my delight of my success.” 

Wireless communication and fiber optics are so crucial to our modern ultra-connected way of life that Alexander Graham Bell was not exaggerating when he declared that the “Photophone is the greatest invention I have ever made; greater than the telephone.” The invention that he considered his most important was so advanced that it would take nearly 100 years for the technology to catch up with the concept of the photophone.

In her article, “Alexander Graham Bell’s Photophone Was an Invention Ahead of Its Time,” Mary Bellis wrote, “Although the photophone was an extremely important invention, the significance of Bell's work was not fully recognized in its time. This was largely due to practical limitations in the technology of the time.

That changed nearly a century later when the invention of fiber optics in the 1970s allowed for the secure transport of light. Indeed, Bell's photophone is recognized as the progenitor of the modern fiber optic telecommunications system that is widely used to transmit telephone, cable, and internet signals across large distances.”

Long before Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone and the photophone, there was wireless technology that worked flawlessly. The 19th-century Canadian minister A.B. Simpson said, “Prayer is the link that connects us with God.” And the apostle Peter wrote, “The Lord watches the righteous, and he pays attention to their prayers.” 1 Peter 3:12 (ISV) Christians always have a wireless connection available. We can talk to God anytime and don’t need a tower, receiver, or transmitter. We simply need to talk to Him anytime and anywhere.

Through prayer, we voice our requests and concerns to God, giving Him thanks for His many blessings and praising Him for His incredible love. Through prayer, we get to know God better. God promises that if we pray, He will answer. King David wrote of his experience in Psalms 66:19 (NKJV); “Certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.”

Gentle Reader, God will certainly hear you. There is nothing too trivial to talk to him about. Corrie Ten Boom, who survived a Nazi concentration camp, said, “Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.” Jesus told his disciples, “Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Matthew 21:22 (NKJV) The best thing about prayer is that we don’t need to use Alexander Graham Bell’s photophone because God is always listening.

The Ishtar Gate

My An Arkie's Faith column from the July 12, 2023, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

Light filled my hotel room as I rolled over and looked out the window. I reached for my phone on the bedside table to see what time it was. The screen showed 4:30. “How can that be,” I thought. I rolled back over and tried to go back to sleep, but sleep wouldn’t come. It was my first morning in Germany, and I was excited to be there. A half-hour later, I was dressed and walking out of the hotel to explore Alexanderplatz, the largest public square in Germany.

Today our tour group will be going to the Pergamon Museum, and I was looking forward to seeing its striking reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate. I knew from my research of the museum that the Ishtar Gate was a passageway to the inner city of Babylon, constructed by King Nebuchadnezzar II in about 575 BCE. The gate was a part of the city walls of Babylon and was considered one of the original Seven Wonders of the World.

After walking three-quarters of a mile from our hotel and standing in long lines, I finally entered the museum. After months of anticipation, I would see one of Europe's most important museums. I walked through several rooms, taking in the bas-relief sculptures, statues, and other artifacts from thousands of years ago. As impressive as they were, I was not prepared for the visceral reaction I had when I walked out of the room into the Ishtar Gate Processional Way.

The vivid colors of these 2600-year-old blue, yellow, and green tiles leave a lasting impression. The Ishtar Gate Processional Way is a red and yellow brick-paved corridor, initially over half a mile long with walls on each side, over 15 meters tall. The walls were decorated with over 120 images of lions, bulls, dragons, and flowers, made from enameled blue, yellow, and brown tiles. This processional way led to the Ishtar Gate and the temple of Marduk. 

My thoughts propelled me back to ancient Babylon, and I wished I could have seen the entire structure. The blue walls around me whispered of the souls and history of Babylon. As I walk down the hallway, stopping to take photos and inspect the deep rich color of the ancient tiles, I am in awe of the fantastic artistry of the Babylonian artisans.

But as incredible as the Processional Way is, when the room opened, and the Ishtar Gate appeared, it took my breath away. The same stunning colors appeared on the walls, but the imposing size and height of the gate were astonishing. Standing before the gate, I could feel its powerful presence at the core of my being. Passages of scripture came to my mind. 

When the Babylonian armies surrounded Jerusalem and conquered it, “King Nebuchadnezzar ordered Ashpenaz, his chief officer, to bring some of the men of Judah into his palace. He wanted them to be from important families, including the family of the king of Judah. King Nebuchadnezzar wanted only young Israelite men who had nothing wrong with them. They were to be handsome and well-educated, capable of learning and understanding, and able to serve in his palace. 

Ashpenaz was to teach them the language and writings of the Babylonians. The king gave the young men a certain amount of food and wine every day, just like the food he ate. The young men were to be trained for three years, and then they would become servants of the king of Babylon. Among those young men were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from the people of Judah.” Daniel 1:3-6 (NCV)

I thought of the captive Daniel seeing these gates as he was being marched into the city of Babylon. Babylon was a spectacular city! Nebuchadnezzar oversaw a vast building program and improved the city’s walls, including the Ishtar Gate, raising its magnificence to new heights. When Daniel lived there, it was the largest city in the world, covering over four square miles with 200,000 people inside its walls.

As Impressive as the city was, Daniel and his Judean friends never abandoned God to worship the grandeur that was Nebuchadnezzar and the city of Babylon. The impressive gate, with its vibrant blue color and jewel-like shine, was integral to the ancient Walls of Babylon. It was considered one of the original Seven Wonders of the World, along with the Hanging Gardens of the city. But the wealth and grandeur of Babylon couldn’t convince Daniel to abandon his faith.

Located between the Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq, Babylon was made magnificent by King Nebuchadnezzar II in the 6th Century BC. He made it one of the wonders of Mesopotamia by building large structures and decorating them with expensive glazed bricks in vibrant blues, reds, and yellows. Ancient texts describe the many splendors of Babylon, which at its time, was the most significant city in the world.

King Nebuchadnezzar II was one of Mesopotamia's most influential and transformative kings. It was his vision to create a central powerful cosmopolitan city. He beautified Babylon with building projects and art, focusing on intellectual pursuits and enlarging the army and territory. 

His inscription on the Ishtar Gate reads: “I laid the foundation of the gates down to the ground water level and had them built out of pure blue stone. I covered their roofs by laying majestic cedars lengthwise over them. I hung doors of cedar adorned with bronze at all the gate openings. I placed wild bulls and ferocious dragons in the gateways and thus adorned them with luxurious splendor that people might gaze on them in wonder.”

Gentle Reader, no matter how impressive we find any person or thing, they are not worthy of our veneration. Too often, we are more impressed with celebrity and wealth than with our Creator and Savior. The Bible says, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2 (NKJV) “For where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also.” Matthew 6:21(AMP) 

At one time, Babylon was the most fantastic city on earth, but there came a time when it was said, “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen! She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens, decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls! In a single moment all the wealth of the city is gone.” Revelation 18:2,16-17 (NLT) Don’t be dazzled by the treasures of this world. “We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete.” Hebrews 12:2 (CEV)