functioning
I saw this picture on the internet a few weeks ago. The caption read, “When you ask me how I’m doing and I say, ‘I’m functioning,’ this is what I mean.” Several people have asked me lately how I’m doing. It might not be as bad as the picture indicates, but I am indeed functioning.
So why have people been asking me this question? Is it the dark circles under my eyes? Is it the dark countenance? Or perhaps the haggard appearance, irritability, stooped shoulders, or tendency to groan loudly when I get up from my chair.
Life can be stressful sometimes, can’t it? When the car won’t start, and your daughter comes down with Covid, and someone breaks into the church, and a preschooler sneezes in your face, and especially when the new building (which was supposed to be finished last year) has not even started construction yet.
One of our former church members was Mr. James Purdham. Mr. Purdham has long since gone to his eternal reward, but I remember many times asking him how he was doing. Whenever I asked, he would smile and say, “Well, I’m hanging in there.” It didn’t matter what was going on in his life. When his brother died, when his wife passed away, when his health began to decline, and when he left his home to spend his final days in the nursing home, it was always, “Well, I’m hanging in there.”
I remember one visit in particular where Mr. Purdham was telling me about his World War II experiences. He served under General George Patton and was one of the troops who liberated prisoners from the Jewish Extermination Camps. He spoke of the emaciated bodies, the horrendous conditions, and the prisoners who kissed his boots when he set them free. It had been 60 years since the events he told me of that day, but there were tears in his eyes when he spoke of them.
I look at the above picture and I’m reminded of Mr. Purdham. He had seen and experienced great suffering, but he was still hanging in there. As we observe Veterans Day this coming Monday, let’s be mindful of the Jim Purdhams of our world. The real deal heroes who stood against tyranny, were broken in the process, and continued to function. How am I doing? I’ve really got nothing compared to that.
