Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM MARCH 10-16, 2021 UCW 17 DAN DEBRULER, General Manager, WCLN. Comments? Editor@upandcomingweekly. com. 910-484-6200. FAITH Standing in the gap by DAN DEBRULER I never really understood the story of Rip Van Winkle. Until recently, that is. It seems the more I look around, the less I recognize any more. It's not that progress or change bothers me. In fact, I'm a huge fan of many things new and emerging, but I've come to regret some of the things we choose to abandon. Namely values. Back to Mr. Van Winkle. When he awakens on a mountain after a 20-year nap, he discovers shocking changes: his musket is rotting and rusty, his beard is a foot long, and his dog is nowhere to be found. He re- turns to his village, where he recogniz- es no one. He arrives just after an elec- tion, and people ask how he voted. Never having cast a ballot in his life, he proclaims himself a faithful subject of King George III, unaware that the American Revolution has taken place, and nearly gets himself into trouble with the townspeople until one elderly woman recognizes him as the long- lost Rip Van Winkle. When it comes to music, entertain- ment and even transportation, I'm completely on board with the chang- es. I like the new. I like the path we're taking, and can still enjoy the fruits of a harvest gone by without bothering anyone else with my sense of melan- choly. Technology? A little different, but I am usually quick to embrace the latest, and keep my eyes peeled for whatever is coming over the horizon. It's just that the devices we used be- fore become more quickly obsolete. en we come to values. I can't real- ly discuss values without mentioning how closely aligned they are with the morals I live by. ose morals come from the Bible. Love God. Love others more than you do yourself. Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly. ese are not catch phrases to me – they are the basis for the moral code I feel like we've begun to abandon. One Sunday a couple of years ago, I found myself having insults bounced off me while I was saluted with a sin- gle finger more than once by numer- ous passers-by. e offense? Holding a sign which simply read, "Pray to end abortion." Four written words. I didn't speak a single one. I didn't confront anyone. I wasn't blocking an entrance or a roadway. Just standing on the public right of way near a closed clinic at which abortions are offered. is February my wife was at the same spot, with the same four words on a sign and was approached by a young woman who beckoned her to her car. Hesitant at first, she moved closer to the car as the woman said, "I want to show you my miracle." She said that four years ago she was at the clinic to have an abortion, but stopped to talk with one of the people with a sign, and changed her mind. And that changed her world. e miracle was a child. After a 20-year career standing in the gap for the defenseless as a sol- dier, standing in a similar way for the unborn is somewhat natural for me. It's how I pray. It's how I think. It's one way I place value on others more than myself. When I observe our legislators considering whether a human child in the third trimester of gestation is worthy of drawing its first – or sec- ond – breath outside the womb, I am grieved at what we've abandoned. Our culture lines up for programs promis- ing a better future for children, while granting legal access to murder of the very children who could have taken part in that future. As for us, we'll continue to stand. at's our choice. And it's a choice we can all live with. 1-844-763-0565 MKT-P0108 © 2020 Inogen, Inc. All rights reserved. Call Inogen Today To Request Your FREE Info Kit One solution for oxygen at home, away, and for travel Introducing the INOGEN ONE It's oxygen therapy on your terms No more tanks to re ll. No more deliveries. No more hassles with travel. The INOGEN ONE portable oxygen concentrator is designed to provide unparalleled freedom for oxygen therapy users. It's small, lightweight, clinically proven for stationary and portable use, during the day and at night, and can go virtually anywhere — even on most airlines. Inogen accepts Medicare and many private insurances! Reclaim Your Freedom And Independence NOW!