​I yearn to be at that place where
there is a certainty of call.
Where the “thin wall” between God
and my soul is but a whisper;
 
Where time and place and call are seamless.
 
But I’m not there.  Not now. 
For me that connection between call
and answer is still a hoped for future.
 
Sometimes there is a glimpse of The divine.
 
I will hear a quiet answer to a prayer
or a piece of music will lift up a
melodic presence of God.
 
I sense the call is always there,
and the problem is me. 

​ I’m like a faulty radio;
the signal is strong, but the receiver is weak.

​Does speaking only the truth mean
I leave myself no place to hide?
 
Those convenient “white lies” used to
Create space –
To add comfort –
To hide what I really want to say.
 
I miss them, those deft social dodges and the convenience they bring.
 
Life seems so much harder in this land where
yes means yes, and no means no and there is no easy in between.
 
Isn’t life in the in between?  Between you and me.
Between your wants and my needs.  Between hiding
my truth and cushioning your harm.
 
Perhaps the answer is simple enough.
I must learn to say no with a yes in my heart.

​I’ve been pondering the idea of this give and take
between me and God.
 
It seems all one way.
He giving and me taking
He beckoning and me listening,
deaf-like for his call.
 
Is this give and take between me and God
something where I must learn
to give God more of me?
 
Or, must I simply learn to be quiet,
and listen with my heart?

​There is an issue that is weighing on my heart.  An estimated 1 Million adults may lose their food stamp benefits if they can’t find a job within three months.  This comes because the federal work requirements for food stamps return after being placed on hiatus due to the Great Recession.  According to an Associated Press report, most who will be affected are single adults and are “less likely…to have high school diplomas and valid driver’s licenses.”   Some are “homeless, recently released from prison or dealing with trauma from military service, abuse or violence in their communities” making it more difficult for them to find employment.  These vulnerable but “able bodied” adults without children make up just 10% of the entire food stamp population.  The federal government spends nearly $70 billion per year on food stamps, which sounds like a lot but it is less than 2% of the national budget.  And when compared to the military where we spend over $600 billion per year – it may not seem like so much.

It is interesting to compare the description of those adults in jeopardy of losing their food stamp benefits with that of the young adult military recruits who are deemed unfit for duty.
​
According to a Time Magazine article, “Approximately 71% of the 34 million 17-to-24-year-olds in the U.S. would not qualify for military service.” That’s seven out of ten young adults.  A 2009 report “Ready, Willing and Unable to Serve”, states that the three primary reasons these potential recruits are unfit is because they have a poor education, or a criminal record or they are physically unfit because of weight or other health problems such as asthma, mental health issues or ADHD.  Again – we are provided with a picture of a vulnerable population saddled with issues so severe that Uncle Sam won’t allow them to enlist in the military.  I find it ironic that our government won’t “hire” young adults for military service because they are unfit - but then turn around and require adults in very similar circumstances to find a job or risk losing their food stamp benefits. 

This brings me to the issue about Johnson Controls.  You may have read the announcement that Johnson Controls will be moving its corporate headquarters to Ireland and “saving” an estimated $150 million per year in taxes paid to the United States.  This is the same Johnson Controls that is a major supplier to the auto industry and petitioned Congress to bail the industry out when it was teetering.  I think the bail out was a good idea.  It saved jobs and saved a valuable sector of the American economy.  But it did cost U.S. taxpayers $9.3 billion.  In addition to benefiting from the auto industry bailout, Johnson Controls also received nearly $300 Million of taxpayer dollars to help subsidize its production of hybrid automotive batteries.  The subsidies to Johnson Controls and the auto industry were probably the right thing to do.

​In a similar vein – providing food stamps to needy people is also the right thing to do.  We give people the means for basic survival.  We spur the economy since food stamp dollars go directly back into food industry businesses and indirectly support American farms.  But somehow, we see these individuals receiving less than two hundred dollars a month worth of food stamps differently.  We hold them strictly accountable.  But the multi-national and highly profitable corporation which received hundreds of millions in U.S. taxpayer subsidy and finds a way to duck their annual tax obligation is treated with impunity.   If only Johnson Controls had received food stamps – maybe they would be held more accountable.  At least held as accountable as a hungry adult who is so vulnerable that the US military would find them unable to serve.