R7-D3 Astromech droid

I've been a fan of the Star Wars movies since seeing the very first one in theaters as a small child, and I've taken a liking to the little robots, called "droids", like R2D2, that are found throughout the Star Wars universe.

This Christmas while in Florida, my family and I visited Disney Downtown, which is the only "free" section, meaning there is no entrance fee.  There, in a little shop I found the Disney Build-a-Droid section and excitedly proceeded to put together my own little astromech droid from the parts available.

I really wanted to make one that looked like something in the movies, so it was frustrating to not have any reference with me as to what would be "canon".  I did my best with the limited selection they had there; the result looked good to me, and the colors matched nicely, but I soon learned I had put an R4 head on an R7 body!  (Not generally acceptable to a purist like myself.)

I decided the best thing to do was not to take it apart and try to find the "correct" parts, but to give it a backstory, as to why it looks the way it does.  Like so many things that at first look "wrong", when we learn why they are the way they are, they can come to look "right" to us.  Here is my little droid and his story.

R7-D3 Was an accomplished and well-liked member of an Alliance E-wing squadron that flew many successful missions.  He was credited with giving his pilot a crucial edge in several battles by tweaking the E-wing's capabilities and pushing it to new limits.  But when his pilot was killed and the fighter crashed on a nearby planet, R7-D3 was badly damaged, and his droid brain was fried.

Scavengers picking through the wreckage discovered the droid and repaired him, replacing his destroyed head with an old R4 series head from a Jedi's modified astromech.  This gave R7 a new lease on life, but a tragic one: his body was designed to interface with E-wing star fighters, limiting its usefulness in other capacities; however, his "new" brain was not capable of effectively interfacing with star fighters, or, for that matter, with much of the sophisticated hardware of the R7 body.  After being resold several times and proving unable to perform many standard astromech duties, R7-D3 eventually found his way to a seedy rim-world spaceport facility where he spent the rest of his days repairing land speeders and doing janitorial work.

The labor of the honey bee

Here's another poem I dug up; this one was inspired by my research with honey bees.  It actually won a NC State University Haiku contest in 2008.  It is supposed to emphasize the amazing amount of work that goes into a pound of honey.  It's so easy to take these things for granted.

Two million flowers
The Ten-thousand mile harvest
Sweetens my pancake

Judgment

I still love my country.  Even though she cast aside all the things her parents taught her, ran off to Hollywood to become a porn star, cursed God with upraised fist, and even killed her own children.  I want the best for her: that she be strong, wealthy and beautiful.  

For many years a crescendo of voices has warned her that she can't get away with her increasingly hedonistic lifestyle forever.  They have warned her she will lose her wealth, strength, and beauty; now they warn her she is in danger of unmitigated judgment.  

However, I see now that judgment is not (just) in her future. It has come.  She has lived a very sheltered life; she has fought wars and they were always far away.  At home she slept in safety.  But now that shelter has been removed. She has been given over to those who hate her and would see her brought down to ruin.  We saw this starkly on 9/11, when those who call her the "Great Satan" slipped through her defenses to destroy the symbols of her majesty.  God allowed this to humble her, so that she would come to her senses and run back to His arms.  but she refused to be brought low and rebuilt in defiance.

But her enemies are not just from distant lands.  They are also from within, and it is increasingly clear that, because of her stubbornness, God has allowed those who hate her to rule over her. 

Over time we have learned that some of our highest leaders were taught by the likes of Bill Ayers, who personifies the "America deserves to fall" school of thought.  These people have solidified their hold on our nation's leadership, using crises to consolidate power and (most recently) bring harm, as evidenced by their responses to ISIS and Ebola.

But how on earth could those who hate America come to control her?  Because God could not get her attention or humble her, He blinded her, allowing her to believe obvious lies as they drew her into their snares.  She has been drugged by promises and sweet words and even now cannot believe her leaders would really mean to harm her.

America is now ripe for the "fundamental transformation" promised to her.  But that transformation is not to greater glory, which she had and traded away; it is to destruction and shame.  And when America falls, to where will we run for safety and prosperity?  She has become the lynchpin of the world, and the fortunes of all nations have become intertwined with hers.

When "the system" of America collapses, the world will not stand back and cluck their tongues, they will fall also.  "The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more" Rev. 18:11.  The suffering will be great and it will be worldwide.

And it will not be limited to economic prosperity.  As that lynchpin is sheared off, the "gate" of her mighty military will no longer hold back the evil political powers of this world.  Iran, North Korea, Russia, China, and others will know that no one will stop them from whatever they decide to do.  Now, they test her and even defy her in small ways.  Then, they will ignore her ... or worse.

But even in the midst of judgment, God always offers hope.  As the prophet wrote, "'Even now,' declares the LORD, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.'  Rend your heart and not your garments.  Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity." Joel 2:12-13.

The answer to all this -- the only way to avoid calamity and judgment -- is not changing politicians.  It is repentance and revival: "Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast.  Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.  Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, weep between the temple porch and the altar.  Let them say, 'Spare your people, O LORD.  Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations.  Why should they say among the peoples, "Where is their God?"'  Then the LORD will be jealous for His land and take pity on His people." Joel 2:16-18

The warning and the promise were to a nation whom God loves but who were under judgment.  This is no less true now, for us, than it was then and for Israel.

Glory

I enjoy giving my kids nice things.  To see their faces light up warms my
heart, and to see them living well by my provision gives me satisfaction
and joy.  However, if my child takes something from me without asking, I
am not happy, and if he or she were to steal, for example, cash from my
wallet to buy a toy or a hamburger, I would be very unhappy.

The Bible talks in similar terms about God's glory.  On the one hand, he
says "I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to
another..." Isa 42:8.  If we attempt to keep for ourselves the glory that
belongs to God, we dishonor Him and He is righteously angry.  However, if
we yield ourselves to Him and give Him glory for all the wonderful things
he has done, Peter says we "also will share in the glory to be revealed" 1
Peter 5:1 and we "will receive the crown of glory that will never fade
away." 1 Peter 5:4

We humans have, since the Fall, by nature been prone to stealing from God
what is His, especially glory.  However, if we humble ourselves before Him
He will exalt us (Matt 23:12).

As our Lord said, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father,
whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me." John 8:54  Yet I
think this is true for His servants as well.  Glory we take for ourselves
amounts to nothing in the end.  The glory He gives us as participants in
His own glory ... means everything.