It Could be Tomorrow

It never ceases to amaze me that I can go about in life perfectly happy then suddenly discover I’m about as intelligent as a stump. This technical world is slowly but surely leaving me in its wake as it cruises away from me, but I suppose every generation before me has felt the same rejection. What really gets me is how little investigation I’ve done to quench my curiosities of the simple world I live in. I don’t know if that makes sense to you or not, but I’ll give you an example. All my life I’ve just sort of blew on past December 26th like it didn’t even exist, yet on most calendars its designated as a Canadian holiday called, Boxing Day. I always thought it weird to have a big fistfight championship the day after exhibiting love and peace, but then again the cultural antics of other countries were none of my business. I just couldn’t help myself, so I Googled it to get the facts. Low and behold, it’s an old English custom of giving Christmas boxes to tradesmen, postmen, and servants. The original boxes were of earthenware containing money, retrieved by breaking the boxes open. These days, a gift of money is usually contained in a greeting card, given before the holiday. Not at all as barbaric as I thought. The date on the calendar is merely a custom, but held true to by some older generations in Great Britain, Canada and Australia. It’s also a huge soccer day. (Barbaric football.)
A widower went to a pet store to buy a parrot, thinking the bird might fill some of the lonely hours. The next day he returned to complain, “The bird doesn’t talk.” The storeowner sold him a cage mirror, “When the bird sees his reflection he’ll start talking away.” The new bird owner returned the next day complaining the bird hadn’t said a single word. The storeowner sold him a swing, “Birds love little swings and a happy bird is a talkative bird.” Still, the bird never spoke a word. The pet shop owner then sold the man a ladder for the birdcage. “That has to be the problem,” explained the expert, “Your bird needs some exercise. I’m sure he’ll start talking once he starts climbing his ladder.” The next day the man returned to the store. “Did the ladder work? asked the storekeeper. “The parrot died”, said the saddened man. “I’m so sorry,” said the stunned businessman. “Did the bird ever talk?” he inquired. “Yes”, replied the widower. “He finally talked just before he died. He said, ‘Don’t they sell birdseed at that pet store?’”
[Matthew 24: 36-51] January 12, 2010 was a day much like any other day in Port-au-Prince, Haiti until a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the city. People were going about doing business, eating and drinking, caring for their families and doing what must be done to survive another day. In less than one minute, total devastation swept over the people. Some want to say it is a punishment from God. Give ma a break! It’s called life; no more, no less. Cars crash, planes fall out of the sky, trains derail, tornadoes tear things up and people get in the way. Survivors will move on in their lives, building new cages, filling them with new toys, gadgets and other stuff that will mistakenly represent happiness. The punishments of God will come when we leave this world. Happiness is knowing that we will survive spiritually in everlasting life and love with God. Excessive consumption of possessions will not make us sing praises to the One who supplies them. To enjoy the next life, we must be feeding ourselves the Word of God, now. A home is being prepared for you. Are you ready to move in? Moving day could be tomorrow.