God is good, a hiding place in tough
times. He recognizes and welcomes anyone
looking for help, no matter how desperate the trouble. But cozy islands of escape He wipes right off
the map. (Nahum 1:7-8 (The Message).
Hey
Gang: Something to ponder as we are into
a new year; if you could create a perfect ending to your year, what would it
look like? What is the one thing you placed
on your “to do” list that, if completed would give you the peace, joy and satisfaction
of a year well done?
As I have
aged, I have learned the old Dutch adage: “If there ain’t no tomorrow, it won’t matter
no-how if a degree of wisdom was attached to it. Granny Bliss, a dear friend, said, “The first
thing I do in the morning is check the ‘obits’ and, if my name is not there, I
get out the Post Toasties and get my day started.
If you look
closely at the Christmas display in our basement, you will see a tiny chain
that was carved out of one piece of wood.
When I asked Vern, the carver, what he did when he was not whittling, he
remarked, “Sharpen my knife!”
I learned a
very important lesson years ago when I had close contact with the Amish
community. Now, I also confess, it was
not until I began to wind-down in the later years of my life that I implemented
some of the things I learned from them;
the most important, “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and take
what comes with a smile”. I also confess
there were days when that did not compute.
On the wall
of the milk house just above the tack for his pulling horses, Amos Zook had put
up a clock. Problem, it did not
run. You see the Amish pay no-mind to
time. They rise with the sun and they
call it day with the darkening of the sky.
But when I asked Amos, how come you have a clock that does has no
purpose? His reply, “Oh but it does, You see, nothing is all wrong; even a
clock that has stopped running is right twice a day.
On the
subject of how time can rap its clutches around your life, I remember the story
of my brother, a Colonel and Squadron Commander in the Air Force; he was
responsible for a barn full of F4J
aircraft and a bunch of young airman who often did not use good sense.
He said, “I
had a chance to make General, if I would return to Nam one more time.” He said, “I choose to retire instead and take
control of my life.” As he drove off the
base for the last time as an airman, he gave his watch to the guard at the exit.
He then handed him his date planner and told him to put it in the trash can.
There was an
old salt by the name of Gar that did time studies as a professions. He found that most folks were in bondage to
their watches and date planers and now a new device has been added to add
further bondage, the new phone technology.
I could spend a day or two listing the damage the invention of the chip
has done to relationships.
Let me
return to my days with the Amish and share what I believe is the foundation of
their lives. Most live by the adage: “The
cornerstone of faith is truth; not tolerance.”
They take Scripture literally and don’t rationalize or justify behaviors
that the Bible labels sin. To them evil
is evil and the source of evil is the devil for whom they have a healthy
respect. One of their favorite adages:
“Speak of the devil and you will hear the flap of his wings”.
Many put the
Plain People (Amish) down because they have chosen to live their lives outside
of the mainstream of our world. They
look upon them as being uneducated but I have never found one on welfare or
unemployed. Nor have I ever seen an
Amish child on a police blotter.
I close this
epistle with one of my favorite Amish adages: “He who bows lowest in the
presence of God stands straightest in the presence of sin”. One more, “It may be difficult to wait on the
Lord, but it is worse to wish you had”.
I pray you will have a blessed 2019 as you await the coming of the King
of kings!
Blessings,
Gramps
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