Another year older, but wiser? hmmm…

So, another birthday has come and gone. I like many other people at such times, reflect on my life and I suppose I would like to think I have grown in wisdom over the years and I suppose I have indeed learned a few things in the various careers I have held and encountered many different technical challenges which contributed to my education in each occupation. I have learned how to do things around the house and I still enjoy learning more things about the camera and capturing good images. Of course over that time I continued my love of the piano as well as beginning to learn of the guitar. As Paul said in the Bible (slightly out of context here) “I count myself not to have apprehended….” but I press on seeking growth in my life.

However, a couple of things I think I have definitely learned along the way have significantly contributed to a positive reflection upon my life. First, I have learned with each passing year, just how much God through Christ loves me. I have observed in many ways how He expresses that love to me and I am deeply grateful. I have also learned that the love of a good Christian woman in your life is one of the greatest gifts in this life that God could ever bestow upon a man. I have also learned that the blessings of children are many and they are a treasure for life or as long as God grants you time together. I have also learned that past work experiences are to be appreciated at the time for meaningful work and perhaps if fortunate enough to do so, improvements to the lives of mankind but the real treasures of those moments are the friends we make along the way.

So, those are the real lessons of a life lived to my current age. There are many other things that were enjoyed surely but those are the blessings of my life and I am grateful to God for all these things. He has blessed me in so many ways.

Thus I would say that if with the advancement of age an ever increasing appreciation of what God has done for us is indeed a sign of wisdom, then I have gained greatly in wisdom and that’s a very good thing. I still have far to go but I know that He will be with me along the way.

If you wished me a happy birthday, I thank you and please know, your wish for me was granted.

Love to all,

Jerry

Reflecting about work

I have always tried to work hard for my employers. I’ve covered a lot of ground over the years; everything from industrial process control for chemical plants to test cell automation and diesel engine testing and control to telecommunications backhauling cell phone traffic back to the central office and now automation of row crop planters. So, I’ve seen a lot of diversity in engineering and am SO very grateful to God both for the skills He has given me to take on these various assignments and the opportunities He has afforded to me to have meaningful and interesting work. It’s always been about learning, growing in knowledge and ability and doing the best work for which I am capable.  I am of course grateful to my parents too for helping me to afford an education in engineering.

Still, in looking back over these many years and thinking about the work I’ve carried out, while it was satisfying and beneficial to the company at the time, I suspect little of it remains. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of these “living legacy” types who feels like he has to leave some kind of “monument” just to symbolize that he lived. I follow the word of God in understanding that all this stuff will one day disappear when God and Christ decide it is time to do so. Thus I’m not bemoaning my lack of immortality in this life.  Ha ha

So I doubt the persistence of anything I did in the past just simply because of the many years that have passed and most of the work I did aside from my current position (for which I know my efforts are being used in the fields of America) I suspect is no longer of value or still in use. Maybe I’m wrong, but it wouldn’t surprise me to find out most of it is no longer in use.

So that might sound kind of depressing in viewing one’s life work in such a manner but actually I have one other memory of my former labors that sustains my happy memories of it all; the work friends I have made along the way! That’s right, when I sit back and think about my past employments, the most pleasing thing that comes to mind apart from being happy with the work at the time is the memory of SO many good friends I made while working with them to accomplish some amazing things.

You see I value my past jobs in terms of my co-workers and I rarely worked anywhere that I did not consider my co-workers my good friends and made it my personal goal to make them so even as I first met them. I have enjoyed a wide variety of friendships with people from nearly every walk of life. Some of them worked for me, some I worked for myself, and many worked beside me. We shared our work lives of course but we shared so much more. I learned about what was important to my friends, what was going on in their lives; the heartaches and the moments of joy and I tried to be a good friend in return. Really that’s the most l think you can ask from your past work; to have made good friends along the way and to have shared good times with them. Many of those friends I am still close to today. We forged close relationships that have lasted long after those previous employments together. Some I have lost to death and some to the passage of time and geographical distance but I still have so many positive and happy memories of our times together.

I’ve not been a doctor nor a fireman so I can’t measure my work and life in terms of lives I’ve saved but I do measure my life in terms of close relationships I’ve made along the way. I know some people feel like work is just work and you don’t create close relationships with co-workers; but they would be so very wrong. It’s what you make of it.

So yes, when I look back on my years of work, I suppose not much remains of the efforts I expended for those companies but the friendships I made along the way; that is a great source of happiness and satisfaction. God blessed me with a lot of people who made my work life enjoyable and I am grateful to Him for that. I have many fond memories of our times together. I hope you find joy in your work as well. Be kind to your co-workers, help them to accomplish things, work beside them and give them your best efforts, your strong support and your unending friendship and you will look back favorably on your career some day.

So many thanks to:

Union Carbide: Tom, George, Lisa, Anita, Don Sr, Bill, Mary Lou, Charlie

Cummins Engine Co: Phil, Len, Rick, Bruce, Dick, Bill, Marlene

Tellabs: Don Jr, Peter, Bill, Tom, John, Phil, David, Greg, Caleb, Farzin, Scott, Al, Greg, Horace, Mark, Pat, Ragu, Gu

CNH: Wan, Bob, Kevin, Prashant, Phil, Larry, Jeff and Brendan.

Thank you for being my friends! You are the people who have made my work life so very much a happy memory.

Watching our children…

So, you might think this post is about watching our children grow, watching them learn, watching them win at sports, watching them at their first music recital, etc. Well, you would be a bit off the mark. This post is indeed about watching our children but not for the things I already listed. Rather, it’s about watching our children deal with life when life deals them a difficult hand indeed.

Today I stood watch and prayed once again as my son endured yet another surgery. This would be his fourth difficult hip surgery and it follows on an amazing number of ear surgeries from age two upward to age fifteen – one of which lasted five and one-half hours! I’ll have you know he has also endured surgery for sinus problems and he has faced all these events with courage and faith in God to get him through it all. Like most of us, as he ages, he has a deeper and dearer sense of his own mortality and now he has a wife so this makes the situation all the more challenging because of his love for her and his desire to protect and provide for her. He knows that if his physical body were to take a bad turn in surgery, he would awaken with his Savior in Heaven but of course he desires to return to his wife so he can continue to show her love and provide for her.  On top of his difficulties with ears, sinuses and hips, he also endures frequent migraine headaches.  My son has faced all these things with courage, faith and strength and I admire him so very much as a man and as a Christian. He is truly one of the strongest men I know!

This is surely one of the hardest aspects of being a parent; watching our children deal with such severe adversity. Like most parents, I would prefer to undergo these trials myself than to watch or allow my child to go through it and yet of course, life does not offer that solution to us. So, we do what we can to be supportive and loving (as always) and encouraging to our children.

This would probably seem like a fatalistic post were it not for one thing – our dear and loving God who is with us through it all. Through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we have open access to our Heavenly Father who loves us, sees our rough times and assures us of His never-ending love and care and He listens to our prayers. So, it is a great comfort and privilege to be able to lift up our children to our Heavenly Father in love and ask Him to assist in the ways that He finds best. I have done that quite frequently through this day; asking the Lord to watch over Mark and help him to both survive this latest surgery but also to give him a new and improved quality of life after he recovers.

And you know what? God has answered my prayers in SO many ways. First, he provided a doctor who has amazing skills. Years ago, my son would have ended up a cripple instead of a man who will walk again and with much improved comfort. So, I thank God for the birth and education of this amazing man; the doctor who worked so many hours today to restore Mark’s ability to walk by correcting the damaged hip on his right side – just as he did a year ago for the hip on the left side.

Next I thank God for my latest new daughter; the beautiful, sweet and loving bride my son married. She has amazing skill as a nurse and is able to bring her knowledge and abilities to bear in serving Mark during his recovery but in addition, she provides, love and laughter to help him make the most of his recovery psychologically as well. Tonight she watches over him and attends his physical and mental needs with great love.

I can then turn and thank God for my most amazing wife; she is wonderful in ways that would turn my post into a novel were I to list them all. But I will simply mention that she is a tireless mother; she watches over her son pre-op, post-op and every day. She is an amazing woman with strength I admire and need both for myself and for our children. Sheila has stood by my son through every surgery – and there were dozens. She traveled to N.C. with him and stayed with him during his recovery from his two earlier hip surgeries; one recovery period occurred while a hurricane challenged the coastline of N.C. She was unfazed and steadfast and in one situation saved his life by noticing a problem with his recovery overlooked by the staff there that well could have been fatal had she not intervened. So, I am so thankful to God for my wife.

Next I thank the Lord for Mark’s sisters who support him with their love. Yes, one of them addresses him as ‘hey ugly’ but he knows it is a sign of affection and deep love. Both of his sisters have supported him through each event staying by his side in person and when that was not possible, via frequent text and phone calls. So thank you Lord for my daughters who love their brother so dearly.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the church as well. Thank you Lord for brothers and sisters in Christ who come to the hospital and spend hours sitting with us, sharing funny stories and praying with us for Mark. They bring us food and they nourish our souls with their presence. They share an unspoken message that we are not alone during these trials and this happened while Mark was in N.C. having surgeries (with loving support from the church there) and with our local congregation here. I also appreciate the many Christians who have been praying from home, from work, and many other places for Mark throughout the surgery.

I am thankful tonight for the nurses who will tend my son through the night (along with Tyla) and watch his vital signs and take the necessary steps to insure he recovers quickly as well as the PT specialists who will work with him to help him walk again.

Yes, when we watch our children, we could focus upon all the negative things that are happening to them during adversity or we can look to all the ways God sustains us and helps us to make it through these difficult situations…… and we can thank Him – and that’s what I will be doing tonight.

I know Mark has a ways to go yet and I will be praying for his physical, spiritual and emotional  well being along the whole way but how much more bearable it all is if we have God on our sides! May God be with you too as you deal with the trials of life that come your way. If you feel like He isn’t with you, then study His Word (the Bible), find out what Jesus did for you, and put on Christ in the manner prescribed in the scriptures and you too can have the comfort and assurance that God will be with you through it all – and with your family.

May God bless you…. jr

Working in the farming field (ha ha)

After a lengthy hiatus, I have decided to start up my blog again. Facebook is losing some of its appeal to me and this seems more fun. So, I plan to start updating my blog again. If anyone is still reading it, I hope you enjoy it! 

So, I have now completed 6 years with CNH (Case-IH NewHolland). It's been an amazing journey. It seems it was just yesterday that I was spending almost two decades writing telecom software only to leave that and start up a new career once again - this time in creating equipment for farmers!

I've enjoyed this new line of work immensely and really enjoy learning all I can absorb about how American growers create their amazing crops. What's even better is that I get to help them. I (along with others) write the software that controls our planters and makes them one of the best products in the industry. If you want to see one of the largest ones in action, check out this link!

I am proud of the work we do; bringing a top quality product to the growers who make America strong. There are so many uses for the crops they produce that it is just amazing. Corn alone has hundreds, perhaps thousands, of uses! The operators and growers I have met are some of the nicest people you will find in this country. They work hard and they know their business.

I am grateful to God for the aptitude he has given me all my life to involve myself in useful and interesting engineering projects. It has provided a good home to my wife and children and has provided me with very stimulating work for some 43 years now. If I had it to do all over again, I'd still be an engineer. It is just such an interesting life and filled with so many different opportunities. So, thank you Lord for Your kindness toward me. It has always been more than I deserve. Anything I have been able to do in this life has always been because of You. Thank you!

One of the cooler inventions our company has come out with is this autonomous tractor that was debuted last year. It can plow a field or plant crops without the need of an operator to ride atop it. It looks pretty snazzy too if I might say so. I had a small part in helping it to demonstrate autonomous planting. So very cool.

For a full video of what these fantastic machines can do, check this link!

        

(Yes, the blue New Holland tractor in the righthand picture is autonomous too as well as the Case-IH red tractor on the left in the same photo – you don’t see a driver with either tractor do you? Nope! This was done to show that you could have an autonomous tractor – with cab, or without!)

It is good to work for a company that has such a solid reputation for reliable and durable equipment. As we like to joke "If it ain't Red, it stays in the shed!" Kindest regards..... laterz... Jerry