Author: Rev. Charles Pugh

One of the hardest things to do, especially in our age of instant communication and often instant gratification, is to wait.  Hurry Up and Wait!  We want things to work out quickly and instantly and often we begin to expect things that are just not realistic.  We pray for things and expect GOD to answer our prayers right away.  Maybe He will and He certainly can, as He knows what we will ask for even before we ask.  Often, however, He uses the mystery of time to bring about His purposes for His ultimate Glory and in conjunction with our free will and requests.  Now, if we can just Hurry Up and Wait!

As I briefly mentioned in the previous article, time serves a purpose.  GOD gives us time to adjust; He gives us time to learn and grow from all of our life experiences.  He has allowed time to work out all of His purposes.  When we pray for answers, we must realize that time is a part of the process of our praying.  When our prayers involve other people, there is also the time it takes for circumstances to work out in each life involved, along with what they are praying, and how it all corresponds to work together for good.  Only GOD is sufficient to work out everything for every person in every moment of time and all for His Glory.  The hard part is waiting.  It is difficult to trust, especially in things that we cannot readily see.  As noted before, it is easy to fall into the trap of rushing and this will most often only lead to more problems.

What does it really mean to wait?  It certainly doesn’t mean to just sit around as a couch potato and do nothing!  How would you ever learn what you need to for that test if you just sit around and expect the information to somehow be absorbed by osmosis?  How will that mess get cleaned up if you don’t take the time and do what is necessary to clean it up?  How will your work get done if you just wait around and do nothing to help move things forward?  Waiting and being patient does not primarily mean inaction.  It simply means that any action you take is controlled and that your emotions are collected and focused on a goal.  If you hurry and fail to look Up, you will not really be able to wait.

In my book I explain more about the 10^th in my Top Ten Lessons to Learn (tabbed above).  “Hoping in Faith” is simply trusting and waiting on what you cannot yet see, but still know to be true.  It is an assurance based on the unseen, spiritual reality.  Deciding to wait and particularly waiting on the LORD is the best thing to help you no matter what trouble or tragedy you may face.  Consider the familiar Scripture passage of Isaiah 40:31:

“But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”

If you are trusting in any person or any thing less than GOD Himself, then you really do need to Hurry Up and Wait on Him to work things out for you.  I know that HE has and will continue to help me in all of my troubles and tragedy and I know HE will help you if you trust in Him.  Hurry Up and Wait!

One of the things leading to tragedy of small and even large proportions is the RUSH Job mentality. Our Information Age, along with the tendency we have today to just rush around from one activity to the next, sets us up for tragic thinking and tragic mistakes. This is true for students working on a project or studying for a test, athletes working to perform a particular task (just consider the Olympic Athletes), employees working on a job or looking to build a business, government authorities pushing through large and mostly unread bills or legislation, and any believer in GOD who attempts to grow in maturity and spirituality and hopes to just be zapped or somehow enlightened to a level of growth. Life just doesn’t work that way. Time serves a purpose. It allows for development; it allows for growth. GOD set it up this way. We mess things up when we take a short cut and do a RUSH Job or have that mentality.

What led me to write this blog article today? The fact is that this subject came to my particular attention in what I, myself have been trying to do to get my book totally finished, published and printed in time for the third Anniversary of the 04-16-07 VT Tragedy. I recently completed the book itself, along with its many appendices, and submitted it for typesetting and publication. I am seeking to get a proper RUSH Job 🙂 for this process to have it released and available by that 04-16 Anniversary. I did not rush the writing of this book, nor did I just let it sit and do no work to complete it. The fact is that it has been the major part of my life over the course of the past 34 months, as my personal tragedy has continued for so long. I have written the story part of the book while I have been experiencing the tragedy. Though I had finished that story part last fall, I did briefly include information about the latest tragic events that led to my unjust incarcerations (See my more recent “ONE WAY Communication” and “Do You GET IT?” blog articles).

So far as rushing to accomplish some task, I am not arguing against working hard and fast. We each are motivated by deadlines. Sometimes people work better when they have a deadline to meet and use more energy to focus on that task. This is particularly true if one is a victim of what amounts to an attention deficit mentality (quite common in our day of fast moving video and instant communication). It is also true that the only way to reach goals (or at least recognize what you are doing) is to actually set them. We should measure progress in any activity through goals and specific times set aside to evaluate. Problems come and tragedy can result when foundational elements are not a proper part of any activity or project. Doing a RUSH Job can be, and often is, quite dangerous!

Rushing is dangerous when you lose control or lose your ability to properly accomplish a task. When you procrastinate what you should be doing, you set yourself and others up for tragedy. How often have you waited to study for some test and then found out you couldn’t remember all of the information or even panicked and did poorly? How often have you put off a repair that you could have made until it created more problems to deal with and cost you even more? How often have you filled your life with less important things and various entertainments to the neglect of the more important spiritual Truth that is so vital, even for a successful physical life?

Are you too busy? Being busy is not wrong in itself, unless you are busy about the wrong things. Could it be, as some have suggested, that you are “Being Under Satan’s Yoke”? Do you take time out for GOD (and I’m not talking about simply a Sunday service or a one-minute daily thought or devotional)? GOD even set aside one day a week for us to rest and particularly worship Him.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Anything other or less is tragic and likely a RUSH Job.

By now, you may have heard of the most recent campus shooting. On Friday afternoon, biology professor Amy Bishop, at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, took out a hand gun and shot and killed three fellow professors, injuring three others. What a tragedy, and that on many levels! This time, it wasn’t a student; it was a respected professor. While more about this and Mrs. Bishop will be coming out, it seems clear that she is a highly intelligent woman, with an earned doctorate from Harvard University. Her doctorate was in genetics and she worked in the medical field before joining the Huntsville campus as a biology professor. Mrs. Bishop had been involved in much good research, in particular, in the field of neuroscience. A focus of her research has involved the gaseous chemical compound, nitric oxide, which is known as a free radical. I wish to play off this point in today’s Blog article and make several applications.

Ironically, Mrs. Bishop appears to be somewhat of a free radical herself and apparently had some kind of personal neural breakdown. She is known for her intense personality and even her more liberal positions while living in Massachusetts. Personally, I see a potential flag coming up (likely tied to what I discuss in Lesson #3) in the fact that she did not take her husband’s name when married. I also submit that whatever will be decided to have driven her to this terrible act of violence, no doubt was supported by the radical thinking of evolutionary humanism that she had in her education background and what so often dominates the thinking on our college campuses today. Sadly, our most prestigious Universities have forgotten the foundation upon which they were established. I speak more to this in Lesson #8 in my soon to be published book. You may also wish to review my 11-15-09 related article, “Radical CHRISTianity.” Word comes out Saturday that Mrs. Bishop also shot and killed her brother just over 23 years ago.

Chemically speaking, free radicals are reactionary and an imbalance of them in one’s body can be deadly. This is part of what leads to cancerous tumors and possibly even the aging process. Spiritually speaking, unless people are radical in the good and balanced sense I discussed in that “Radical CHRISTianity” article, they will be more emotionally reactionary and subject to the pains of tragedy, either as a victim or even a perpetrator (e.g. Mrs. Bishop). This wrong-headed, radical secular thinking (some might call it “progressivism”) that often permeates our campuses, has even found itself into the highest areas of today’s U.S. Government. If we do not soon pull back from this, there will be even greater economic tragedy for all of us.

Thankfully, we still have so many freedoms in America, though we often take them for granted. My three unjust involuntary commitments since 04-16-07 and two recent detainments in the jails from other’s wrong and radical, reactionary thinking, have certainly helped me to be even more thankful. Thankfulness is often seen as radical, especially in suffering or tragedy. True love (particularly appropriate to address this Valentine’s Day 😉 ) is also a radical concept that is often talked about, but rarely expressed. We, especially as Americans, want freedom. We often mistakenly think of freedom to mean we can do and believe whatever we want. Religious freedom is foundational to all freedom (I speak of this more in discussing Lesson #4). Jesus said in John 8:36:

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

Jesus came to give His life as the substitute for your sins. He arose from the dead and is soon coming again! He can make you truly free as a radical for Him! May your #1 goal be, “To Be FREE” (just as I wrote in that 2008 Poem, also found under the Poem tab above).

“You just don’t get it!”  How often have you heard someone say this or perhaps have even said this to someone else yourself?  From my most recent experience with tragedy, all coming from the core tragedy of what happened at Virginia Tech on 04-16-07, this line is still ringing in my mind.  In my last Blog, I noted the problem with only one-way communication, along with the need for us to consider The ONE particular Way GOD has personally communicated with us.  I mentioned the sad fact that I had to spend 14 days of my life (and it could have easily been as long as 90 days 😮 ) in jail here in my own area for something I did not even do down in North Carolina.  As a condition for release in this Blacksburg area, I had to turn myself in to the Eastern North Carolina authorities, where the false charge was alleged.  I ended up spending an additional 4 days of my life locked up there (and again, it could have been longer).  My initial defense was again not heard, despite reference to specifics, including naming the police who had stopped me back in December and let me go.  The Judge there, who since 2008 has ruled in ways that have kept my family separated, again condescendingly said to me:  “You just don’t get it!”

After this Judge’s biased statement, she set a knowingly high and hard to reach Bond amount for me.  I was whisked away into the jail system there, yet I continued to “trust GOD and His Word” (a key statement I last said to my five children, which I detail more in the story part of my book).  My Court appointed lawyer was finally able to work out a deal to have me released again.  I trust that this will be the last major tragic event before my book is published and my voice has a greater opportunity to be heard.  I learned even more while in jail there and have additional time as an Insider in yet another region of our American jail system.  This Insider role GOD has given me, both at Virginia Tech, as well as in the mental health system and now the legal and criminal systems, has uniquely positioned me to help many more learn things that will improve our entire society and help more learn to truly prevail.  I wanted to strongly say to the Judge last Monday, yet refrained myself then, that “Indeed, I do GET IT and I would like for you to at least hear it!”

In playing off this phrase, I wish to pose a greater and more important way to consider this question yourself:  “Do you GET IT?”  Certainly, people are gifted at various and different things.  Some are more intelligent and figure out how to solve problems and understand things that few others do.  Others have more common sense and often better understand how to solve everyday problems.  There are some who seem to understand very little or who “just don’t get it” in many areas of life.  Regardless of where you see yourself and others around you, remember that we all are unique and face different challenges in life.  GOD has Created each of us for a specific purpose.  He has a general Will that He has revealed for all of us in His Word.  He also has a specific Will for each person and wants you to consider what this is for you and learn to do it!  The question is, “Are you even interested in what HIS purpose and Will is for you?  Do you GET IT?

Proverbs 4:7 proclaims, “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.”  If you wish to be wise, understand life and come to learn GOD’s specific Will for your life, then you must first come to acknowledge your Creator and the fact that you are separated from Him.  GOD made provision for you in The Person of JESUS CHRIST.  As your Creator, HE died, was buried and rose again to make it possible for you to GET IT!  Upon your repentance from sin toward Him, you can GET forgiveness from your sin, GET hope for your life, GET justification, GET sanctification and GET much more!  Your faith in JESUS even GETS you GOD’s Spirit to direct your way into His Will for your life!  Now that I have explained a bit more about this spiritual Truth, the question remains, “Do you GET IT?”

As we each reflect back on 2009 and look forward into 2010, it is quite appropriate to think further about communication.  Who did you communicate with in 2009 or who reached out to communicate with you?  To whom should you reach out and try to communicate with this coming year?  Many still send out cards or information letters, especially around Christmas time or toward the end of the year.  We each would do well to more fully consider GOD’s communication to us, as specially celebrated this time of year.  In fact, you may wish to review my 07-06-08 Blog article entitled “KEY Communication” for more thoughts there.  I wish to take this article in a slightly different direction and here talk more about “ONE WAY Communication.”

Communication is the dispensing of information from one source to another.  It is best if there is a response from where the information was sent, so that there is a better certainty that the information was properly conveyed and understood.  Many problems come when there is not proper communication.  I know this personally.

Little did I know when I wrote that on 12-31-2009, that my life was about to take another step in the direction of yet additional trials and tragedy.  Just as I had written those previous words in the two paragraphs above, there was a knock on my door and two policemen there.  When I opened the door, they quickly barged their way into my home.  They said I was a fugitive from the law and that there was a warrant out for my arrest.  Wow!  How true what I had just written really is and how much more personal this was all about to get!  The policemen did allow me to put on some clothes to go out, but followed me upstairs to make sure I wasn’t trying anything suspicious.  They handcuffed me behind my back, put me in one of their squad cars and drove me to the local Magistrate in the town nearby.  When I asked, they told me they did not know whether I would get to come back or not.  I saw no warrant or other papers and was not read any rights, yet I was quickly taken in and soon found out that I was actually going to be held in jail for some unspecified time.  They were going to hold me for extradition to North Carolina, where my now ex-wife and five kids are currently, still living in unsubstantiated fear and paranoia from a misguided psychological label that I initially received in the immediate aftermath of the Virginia Tech Tragedy.  That was at the beginning of my personal tragedy and how this website and all I am writing came about.  How about all of this for a real-life example of what I am talking about with this “One-Way Communication”?!

At first, I thought this was over an incident on Christmas Eve, where a friend from work and another friend and I drove down and dropped off Christmas presents for my kids.  I stayed with the police then, so as to prevent any false allegation that I might have broken the original ex-parte’ unproven Protective Order that was issued on 04-18-08 and later extended to 04-18-10.  That is what has kept me from communicating with my wife and thus our five children since.  As I was being processed at the jail, I found out this warrant was actually from an incident where my mom had gone to the door of my in-laws’ house to drop off her presents for my kids, back when we were in town on 12-14-09 for a sad and tragic divorce hearing.  I stayed far enough away from their house then, so as to not violate that Order.  Despite this, a warrant has been filed for my arrest and I found myself trapped in jail here, with little to no communication about all of this and what was to come for the entire first two weeks of 2010!  I was just released temporarily today, to soon turn myself in down in North Carolina.  My time as an Insider, now in jail as well, has given me many additional examples of the lack of and even the problems with bad or only one-way communication.

More will come about all of this when my book is published and this story hits the media.  For now, I wish that you would please consider the communication that GOD Himself made to all of us.  Jesus Christ was born into this world to give His life for us.  HE is the ONE WAY for all of us to be able to communicate with a thrice HOLY GOD.  In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.”  Don’t let HIS communication end up as only one-way in regard to you!  Respond to the living Savior!  We all sin and need GOD’s grace and forgiveness.  Take time to further consider this One-Way that you have to begin or else strengthen your personal relationship with GOD.  Communicate this Gospel Truth to as many as you can in your ministry of reconciliation (see 2 Corinthians 4 and 5).  Our time is short.  Redeem the time you have left!