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Hurting in Plain Sight · SOLID START

• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Well, hello, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of Solid Start, a podcast designed to get your week off to a solid start by focusing on life from God's perspective.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Greg Reed, life coach with Merrill Brose, a biosolids management company located in uh Kokomo, Indiana.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's our headquarters, and then uh joined by my ever amazing and young talented co-host Brian Herdzog.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Woo, Brian, welcome.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Good morning.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Good to have you back.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't go anywhere.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, but it's still good to have you back.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Back on the podcast, I guess.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: So uh what's been going on for your weekend?
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Probably just eating bonbons, sitting by the beach and just hanging out for the weekend, right?
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: I wish, yeah.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: No, we it's been quite the busy season.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, this is soccer for you, right?
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: So you've got uh a lot going on.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, two big trade shows coming up here in the next one.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, great.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, with Wef Tech and then the Turf Grass show down in Florida.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: So we're and we just came out of a uh big show, didn't we?
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Didn't we have one in New Orleans or something?
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that we were New Orleans is coming up.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: We've got just in uh Indy.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: In Indy, yes.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Always something.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: Which is great.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, keep going.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: You keep uh getting the word out that uh we've got lots of product that uh people I think can use that can make the world a better place.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: A lot is changing for us.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh changes for the better.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it's it's exciting.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's been quite the ride already this year, and we're just getting started.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, and you get to be a part of all that because you're the one that's uh your team is the one that makes it uh all get out so that people know what we're doing.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: We can do all kinds of amazing things in Kokomo, uh, but unless somebody finds out about it, then uh it's to no avail.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Have a good team.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Proud of them.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Matter of fact, we uh we prayed for your team today in particular and for our uh IT team, but uh because without you guys, we can't uh we can't get the word out.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: So, yes, so we you were uh prayed for by name this morning.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: So uh glad to be able to do that.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: You know, one of the things that I brought uh in with me today was a first aid kit, and I had it up on a little table and I asked the people in the room, there were probably 70 people in the room.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: I said, would anybody know where to find this first aid kit?
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I think there was not one person, there was one guy maybe that guessed, but nobody really knew where the first aid kits were.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought that was interesting, just the fact that you know we have those, and I'm thinking at home, I don't know.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: I know my wife has one, but I probably have to if I was bleeding, I would probably have to call her and say, where is it?
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh do you know where do you have one at home and know where it is?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh a kit?
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: No, but we have a closet that's got everything in it.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: So we would just run to the closet and tear it apart.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually, while you were bleeding to death, you would be able to uh find it.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that uh, you know, that that idea of we use a first aid kit for cuts, for bleeding, for burns, emergencies.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: And it's interesting that Jesus um once told a story about a man whose hurt was impossible to miss.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh that story is a fascinating one because all three encountered the same wounded man, but what separates them is not whether they saw him, but it's what they did after they saw him.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll have you pick up that uh story in Luke chapter 10, starts with verse 25, and I'll interrupt you along the way just to talk about uh what's going on in the story.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: A Jewish man, that's important, a Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: By chance a priest came along, but when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the first so we've got this first traveler that Jesus tells us about, and priests were descendants of Aaron, and they served in connection with the temple.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: So they offered sacrifices, they carried out sacred responsibilities, and to Jesus' audience, a priest represented kind of the respected religious insider.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: So if anyone in the story should stop, surely it's going to be this guy.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like, well, of course the priest would stop.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: He gets paid to do good.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: But in Jesus' story, the priest sees the wounded man, passes by on the other side.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: We're not really told why.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Some have suggested it was maybe because of ceremonial uncleanness, but Jesus doesn't give us that motive.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: He just says that uh he saw him and he kept on walking.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: A temple assistant walked over and looked at the man lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: So next came the Levite, so another religious insider, if you will.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: And the tribe of Levi back in the Old Testament, they were set apart for religious service, and the Levites were like temple assistants, so they assisted in worship and temple life.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Again, Jesus uh introduces someone whose identity suggests, well, this guy, he understands compassion, he understands service.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um Luke is explicit.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: The Levi came to the place, saw, he sees the man, he passes by, and neither the priest nor the Levite can say I didn't notice.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: So the problem wasn't that they couldn't see him, the problem was that seeing him didn't interrupt them.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he took care of him.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, Take care of this man.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: If his bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time I'm here.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: Now, which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus asked.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: The man replied, The one who showed him mercy.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: Then Jesus said, Yes, now go and do the same.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's interesting that that story is instigated by this religious leader who is trying to question Jesus.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, who's my neighbor?
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, how far does this have to go?
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: How far do I need to care for people?
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: And it's uh that phrase, but a Samaritan.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: Today we hear a good Samaritan and we automatically think, what?
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like a hero.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody that's gonna, man, I'm looking for a good Samaritan.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but in it would not have landed that way to Jesus' original audience.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Jews and Samaritans carried a very long history of religious, ethnic, and social hostility.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Samaritans did it all wrong, and Jews felt like they did it all right.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: So when Jesus makes this outsider become the one who's the neighbor, it did not it did not land well for this uh for this Jewish person because, like of all the people that they would despise and put at the bottom of the list, he would have been one.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: But uh he's his own animal, brings him to an end, cares for him, pays for continued care, and a promise to return.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so here was kind of my the summary of that.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh kind of you put all of that into one uh one phrase, it's all three men saw a problem, only one saw a person.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: So they all saw a problem, but only one saw a person.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so I just thinking about that uh uh first aid kid, I thought not every hurt bleeds, not every hurt that somebody has is their blood.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um this guy's hurt was obvious.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: The challenge wasn't seeing him, the challenge was what am I going to do about that?
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so just the idea that um if you supervise people, sometimes busyness can be especially dangerous.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: If you just work belong alongside of someone, it's easy just to think, well, everything must be okay.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's no, you know, kind of no no blood, no harm, no foul.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: But inside, somebody can really be hurting.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's so true.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: And it's people that a lot of times you least expect to.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you never you'll never get that far unless you communicate with them and talk to them and get to know them.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like it it's all about uh the way of the shepherd, right?
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: Getting to know your flock.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I think that's where it starts.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: Reaching out, taking time to talk to those around you, especially your co-workers, and just asking, hey, how's your day going?
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: And not just glossing over it.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: Listen to them.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: If they're saying, Man, I'm struggling today.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: Don't be like, oh, I'm gonna pray for you.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: You know, or like, oh man, that's that's yeah, have a good day.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: Have a good one.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: Stinks to be you.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: The reason they're telling you that is because they value that you ask them.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: So care for them after that.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: So we talked to you uh um, you weren't there, but you said exactly the same things that were my application for today, uh, kind of the take action was stop, ask, listen.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: So stop, put down the phone, pause, uh, maybe a task.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, when it's safe to do so, give that person your attention, and then ask, um, how are you really doing?
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Or sometimes when you say, How are you doing?
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, I'm okay.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Or uh, you know, I'm making it.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I hear people say that all the time.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: And if I know the person well enough, I'll say, hey, what would this take for you to be fabulous?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then sometimes that get, well, then this, then I begin to hear more of the story.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: So it's stop, then it's ask, and then exactly what you said to listen.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Don't you know we don't have to rush to fix or to preach or compare stories or to get back to my agenda.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's listen long enough for the person uh so that they know you meant the question.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um so whether you're a manager, a director, or you don't have a title at all, maybe it's a co-worker, a family member, a friend, or a neighbor.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Compassion doesn't require a title.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: It just demands that we stop, that we ask, and we listen.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know, a first aid kit is useful when somebody is physically hurt, but most of the hurts that you and I will encounter this week will never require any anything inside of a first aid kit.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to require something much harder to give.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's our time, our attention, and our compassion.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I think maybe what I want to say to those of you listening is that you can't shepherd people that you're too busy to notice.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: So this week, don't just think about managing your people or managing the people around you.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, look for ways to shepherd them and to stop to ask and to listen.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Brian, why don't we go ahead and and pray today?
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that there's a lot going on with the marketing team, and we we prayed for you guys in our safety meeting, but I'll have you to pray for uh the team uh here and around the country as you travel and as you have shows and all these exciting things are happening, but it's it's a lot of work.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: And then this is uh this is harvest season for uh farmers around the country.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to pray for for the farmers connected to our company uh as well as those that are uh farming around the country because this is this is when it all happens.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: Easy time.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you can plant and all that, but unless you get any, unless you get paid for it, uh all of that is for for naught.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to pray for them.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then just want to I saw a sign on my way in about uh truck driver appreciation week.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: That was last week, but we appreciate those who are driving.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're listening to this, you're in a truck right now.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so we're so thankful for all the drivers that are part of our company uh around the country.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they're just everywhere around the country.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: So uh praying for safety, uh praying for opportunities for you to be able to have conversations with people.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: I know if you're in a truck, you're you're by yourself a lot, but we care about you and we want to do whatever you can to whatever we can to help you take a next step.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, Brian, if there's a if there was a driver or somebody that they would need to get a hold of us and they're saying, hey, I don't nobody's really stopped long enough to ask me and to listen, we want to do that.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's not as personal as possible, but we'd least like to offer people an opportunity.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so you just go to the prayer tab with anyone on Merrillbros.com and then uh you can get in touch with us quickly there, or if you are really, you know, a part of this company, yeah.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: You can speak to any manager, supervisor, even our executive team, they are their doors are always open.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and their emails are there.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: Like just uh reach out and we'll definitely get in touch with you.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's what we're about here.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: Our people.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we have a care team.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: We're not the only ones that care, but we have a care team that you and I are a part of.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: And we have a life coach down in Florida that's doing a great job, Kevin Murray.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: So there are lots of uh ways that people can connect with us.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: We care for our people.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, those people are you.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: So we care about you.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: You are it.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: Those of you that are listening, you're the ones that that we care about and want to do whatever we can uh to help you live your best life possible.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: So well, let's uh let's pray.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: All right, dear Helling Father, we thank you for this day.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: We thank you for how you provide.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, God, for uh just your grace and your mercy and your love.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: Uh today, God, I want to pray for all those who will be traveling in the next couple weeks to all the shows that we have coming up.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: Pray for all the little things uh that you help uh just us prepare for this show.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we thank you for the opportunity that we get to go to these shows.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: We're in a position where uh we are able to show our services and our products and the things that that you have blessed us with.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: And uh we thank you for that opportunity.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: But it it does take a lot of work and a lot of coordination and a lot of pieces, and so we're just praying for help with that and uh just safety as we travel to these shows.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: God, I uh I pray for each one of us that uh this week that uh we don't just see a problem, we just we see the people, the people around us, those who are working around us, those who might be at home, our kids, uh on our on our teams, whatever it is, God, that or whoever it is, I pray, God, that you would just put it on our hearts to just stop and just ask, How are you doing?
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: And then most importantly, God, pray that we would just listen.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we tend to just get busy sometimes, like, yep, yep, yep, and move on.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: But God, they are reaching out to us, and I pray that we can be like that Samaritan and stop and care for the needs of others.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh because there are a lot of people hurting, and it's not always like Greg said, that we're not bleeding, but there is hurt on the inside.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: And that hurt on the inside can be devastating to people, and you called us to serve and to love, and uh what better way, God, and than to just listen and uh pray with those who are are hurting.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: We just thank you, God, again, for this podcast and this opportunity to to do this.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: We thank you for Merrill Brothers allowing us to do this, and uh just pray, God, that you continue to bless this company.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: I pray that we would always put you first in all that we do.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we pause today to recognize that you're God and that you alone sit on the throne, and so we can cast all of our cares on you because you care about us.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: And that's uh the first place where we can do casting as we understand that uh you care deeply about every issue of our lives, and you're our refuge and strength, our very present help in our time of trouble.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: So we're just so grateful for this season of the year and for uh the fact that uh you allow crops to grow and the ground to fertilize and rain to come, and we're uh excited about the harvest that's uh ahead, and so pray for uh an abundant harvest again this year.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: Pray for all those that are involved in farming operations and that we'll be spending a lot of days and nights uh getting in all of uh their beans and their corn and all the products that they have and crops that they have planted in order to be able to meet the needs of their family and to be able to have an abundance to be able to use for kingdom purposes.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you for this harvest.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: And um as we think about uh farmers, we think about the drivers that are part of this company uh in particular all over the all over the country who are uh taking products, who are picking up uh sludge, who are delivering uh things uh that are so valuable uh that we need your direction, we need your safety, we need your protection.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so we're just thankful for uh the skilled drivers that you've given to us uh that are uh making this company happen in so many ways.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: Without them, we really would cease to exist.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so we're just so grateful for them and pray you'll bless them and their families.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of times they're they're gone a lot.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: They spend a lot of hours, and so we just pray that the times at their home will be wonderful times, that there'll be times of refreshment and times of encouragement and times of building up one another.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: So we uh we're just so grateful for the opportunity to um spend time with you and with one another today.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's in Jesus' name we pray.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: So thanks for joining us for another episode of Solid Start.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: Keep growing, keep encouraging, keep making a difference.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: And this week in particular, allow people to interrupt you in order that you can walk alongside of them and care for them, even though not every hurt bleeds.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: We can still do something to make a difference.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: So take care, my friends.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: Bye.