Till We Have Facebooks of Love

 I think it's important sometimes to remind ourselves that social media is not real life. It's more like those Christmas cards you send out with little updates on your family where everything is picture perfect and rosy. We don't usually like to air all the dirty laundry and put the nitty gritty out there. But the funny thing is that this isn't always true. That's one extreme people can go to with maintaining a veneer of peaceful bliss, while hiding away the chaos- and thus not really being honest. (Reference Eleventyseven's song "MySpace" for more on that idea. Yes, the platform is different but the attitudes are the same. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SX2fv2KhMqs)

This harkens back to the social rule of not discussing religion or politics in mixed company. It's meant to avoid arguments but I've never liked that rule. Why can't we challenge ourselves to speak on those topics in mixed groups without losing tempers or friendships? I have seen far too much of both those two possibilities happen in online discussions. I just saw it again today, which prompted me to post this. And it's funny to see how the Pendulum has swung to the other extreme, where people unload everything on you without holding back and feel some sort of security in anonymity on the Internet or just the safety of distance where you don't have to worry about having the guts to something to someone's face and you don't have to worry about getting a black eye. (Not that you should have to worry about that even when in person.)

    It's good to have people with different views in your life just to help you keep open to different points of view and not get locked into your own echo chamber. And that even includes people with ideas you might consider immoral and/or repulsive.

    I'm sorry that to see people terminate their friendship- especially when it seems to be a reaction to finding that they have diametrically opposing views with someone else. And while I can understand trying to avoid negative influences, I don't think the mere fact of having a different opinion should be a reason to cut off a friendship.

    We need to be understanding and loving towards those with whom we disagree. Look for the places where you can agree and affirm their statements and them- and then talk calmly about places where you will have to agree to disagree.

   Loving people in the Name of Jesus and keeping the door open to share The Gospel- and actually sharing the Good News of God's love for all us hellbound sinners proved by Christ's death and Resurrection which provides salvation and entry to Heaven for all who put faith in Him and follow Him- are infinitely more important than winning arguments with them. I firmly believe no one has ever been argued or bullied or belittled into believing in Christ- or into even accepting a different point of view, for that matter. And they're definitely not won over by our stupid, insulting name-calling and memes. Why would God bless sinful methods? It's God's KINDNESS that leads us to repentance! (Yes, I am overemphasizing that here because I think it's a reminder we all need to hear.) It doesn't matter what rude or mean thing someone has said to us- our response is always to love and be kind and pray for them! We need to always be gracious- because God is infinitely gracious to us undeserving, ungrateful people. (Cue one of my favourite newer Apologetix songs- "A Loan For You".

https://youtu.be/7H1J6WbzYXk)

Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. (Just read all of Romans 12, really.) And speak The Truth in Love. (Ephesians 4:15)

What is truth? (Especially in the media!)

   As Pilate asked Jesus, what is truth? (That was pretty ironic since The Truth was standing right there in his face.) Ultimately, Jesus is the Way, Truth and Life, as John 14:6 says. No one gets to the Father but through Him. And we need His help to navigate this world and the information presented to us as "truth". Of course, lies are nothing new; they've been around in our world since the serpent sold his lies to humans back in Genesis 3. In a world where the American President routinely decries media outlets as "fake news" and his administration touts the idea of "alternative facts"- and even video and audio clips can be manipulated and information and ideas are thrown at you around the world all the time- how can anyone determine what's true or not?   
     It is worth noting that there are reporters who are rude and off-topic with questions at times and I grieve for that too. That is not right either. I can understand how that can put one off to the media and make one distrustful of them. And yes- some are outright liars. I am grieved that the journalism field has come to this. It's personal for me because it's the field I got my bachelor's degree in and the one where I had some of my first jobs. The media can and should be better- no question. I just don't want to wholesale cast it all off as I know there are still journalists out there who try to be accurate and unbiased as possible. This is a great and tricky question and let me be clear to say that I certainly do not claim to know it all or even know best.

     My best recommendation would be to follow what Proverbs says throughout chapters 1-3 and seek wisdom. Psalms 90:12 implores The Lord to teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Proverbs 1:7 says the fear of The Lord is the beginning of knowledge. This is where we must start. I know you're already grounded there, of course.

We should pray and ask The Holy Spirit to give us discernment and to guide us into all truth.

We should also do as 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 says. Test everything! We should be like the Bereans in Acts 17 and check the Scriptures for ourselves to make sure the pastor is really preaching God's Word accurately.

    1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 are my go-to librarian verses too. Be willing to read everything from multiple sources. If there are good things to take from them, hold on to those. Discard the bad stuff. Avoid every appearance of evil. Ultimately, put hope and trust in Jesus above any human. (Isaiah 2:22) Let God be true and every man a liar.

Here are some other practical tips one can use in assessing the veracity of a news report.

- Consider the source. Remember that tabloids are not credible news sources. And don't forget that satirical sites and publications put forth articles as "news" as well. And remember that newspapers also have editorials that are only opinion pieces- not news. The same goes for some TV shows that are more opinions on the news, rather than news sources themselves.

Here's an interesting experiment to try. When I had access to cable TV, I used to watch news coverage on CNN, MSNBC and FOX. It was very interesting to see how all three networks covered the same story. Somewhere in the middle of all those, there's a kernel of truth, once you get past any opinion biases. You could also do the same with newspapers and Web sites.

-Check the date and author and "About" section on a Web site or newspaper or TV show or radio broadcast, etc.

Make sure it's current information and that such information is even present. Anyone can write anything and put it out there now. I would be highly suspicious of any source that doesn't provide such information. This allows for accountability. Is this a reliable news source that has earned trust over time from competitors as well as readers/viewers?

-Consider possible motives behind stories and whether anything has been left out. What other questions have not been answered? What sources have not been tapped?

Are there conflicting stories elsewhere? How do they match up?

-Don't forget the old adage- if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Thus, is the article or news broadcast trying to sell you on something? Be on the look out for persuasive and manipulative techniques. Who benefits from it?

Here are a few other tips to try.

https://www.summer.harvard.edu/inside-summer/4-tips-spotting-fake-news-story

https://www.ifla.org/publications/node/11174

     In the end, it comes down to discernment and critical thinking and ultimately being led by The Spirit. As Lion-O calls on the Sword of Omens to give him "sight beyond sight" on Thundercats (I've been watching a lot of this childhood favourite cartoon lately :-)), we must do the same with The Sword of The Spirit and The Holy Spirit Himself. We must ask Him for insight and walk by faith, not sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) As Obi-Wan Kenobi told Luke Skywalker, "Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them." (in the original Star Wars movie. :-))

    And remember to be both wise and gentle at the same time. We always want to be charitable and willing to consider different opinions, even if we don't agree with them all. As Jesus said, we must be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves. And we must love Him with all we've got first, love our neighbour as ourselves and speak The Truth in Love. (And Jesus is The Truth and Way and Life- so we must share The Gospel in love always.)

     I have also found it to be a good though challenging exercise to dialogue with those who believe differently as well as read articles and books that are anathema to my faith in Christ. (Note that I am not advising that as a general rule for everything. There are some things that I don't think are particularly helpful for us as Christians in any way. Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.) However, I have found it helpful to read and listen to some things in the anathema category in order to try to understand other points of view and seek common ground where I can agree with someone and compliment them on good points so that I might be able to share The Gospel with them. For one example, I once read a Jewish apologist book that explained Jewish views and answers to Christian claims in order to better converse about Yeshua The Messiah with an Orthodox Jew I met. I also still have a Mormon tract somewhere I believe, where I read through their claims and then offered counter points from The Bible to a friend to consider.

(I just offer those as examples; not to say that I am all that great because I have blown many opportunities too.)

    That is the thing I would point Christians to above all things. Let's make sure that we are ultimately most focused on Christ and sharing Him and His Word with others and trust Him for guidance in navigating our messed up world. And pray for one another and encourage one another and all the more as you see The Day approaching.

   I hope this is a little helpful in answering this question. May God bless you and your family and continue to use you for His glory as you seek to know Him and make Him known.

As a librarian, I like to say, "Keep reading!" As a Christian I say, "I don't care if you read any other books- just read The Bible; that's the Best Book because it's God's Book." 

The Truth's Lying in Plain Sight

         As a precursor, I want to note that I generally strive to avoid political posts and this one is no different. I don't hold to any particular party (just Jesus above all)- and this is not about parties and politics- it's about purity.
         I was thinking earlier today about the truth and how it has so many interesting manipulations, particularly by American presidents in recent memory. President Nixon- "Tricky Dick"- claimed boldly, "I am not a crook." Maybe not, but he was unfortunately a liar. (He was smart enough to resign before he got impeached.) President Clinton- "Slick Willy"- needed clarification on the meaning of the word "is" during his impeachment hearings. (He was eventually acquitted, as there were not enough votes for the perjury and obstruction of justice charges to stick.) Of course, President Bush (I'm not aware of pejorative nicknames for him, though I'm sure people assigned him some) sold the whole Iraq war on what was shown to be a false presumption about the presence of weapons of mass destruction there. Numerous charges of questioned truth claims were leveled at President Obama and I suppose his biggest faux pas would be the whole debacle over the handling of the healthcare bill. President Trump's administration talks about the plethora of "fake news" floating around, but also talks about the existence of "alternative facts". How does that even work?
          In years past, we had President "Honest Abe" Abraham Lincoln and President George Washington, who had the famous story about cutting down cherry trees- "I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree." Of course, I'm sure one could find untruths true of all political leaders and people in general at some point or another. The point here is that we are all sinners and all in need of The Truth. Romans 1:25 says that we exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. That is indeed the problem- we've moved from a picture of grace and nature being held as the ideas guiding our society to non-rationality and rationality being the two guiding ideas- and we escape from reason as the basis for truth to embracing feelings as the basis for truth instead. [Note: I've been reading Francis Schaeffer lately. ;-) I have to credit him for a lot of this post, and ultimately to God for inspiration for both of us.]
As Relient K said, "Sometimes when you're trying to sleep and all your doubts and your faith don't agree, it's cause sometimes the hardest thing to believe is the truth."
         It's important to note that Jesus identifies Himself not only as The Way and The Life (in John 14:6) but also The Truth. When we come into relationship with Him through faith in His death and Resurrection, we find ourselves in The Truth and come to understand that our identity in Christ is our true selves that the Fall has driven us away from. We live now as shells- men with hollow chests as T.S. Eliot said and C.S. Lewis alluded to as well. Colossians 3:1-4 says that when we come to Christ, we die and our true life is then hidden with Christ in God. His Way of Life really is the only Life- living in line with the design God had for us all along- to be loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Romans 2:9-18 makes it abundantly clear that none of us are righteous- none of us are pure. Yet it's the pure in heart who shall see God, according to Jesus in Matthew 5:8.
        That's exactly why Jesus, the pure and spotless Lamb of God, had to intervene and live out the requirements of the Law that we could never keep. And when we put all our faith into Christ's righteousness and completed work, our falsehoods are recognized for what they are and our eyes are unveiled and we can see the Truth of Jesus for Who He is- and know The Truth who sets us free. (John 8:32-36) "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4)

The Gospel Blimp and Other Modern Parables by Joseph Bayly (Book Review)

Here is something different for the new year. If you are looking for a book to read this year, here is an excellent one worth reading. Of course, if you want the best Book ever to read- read The Holy Bible before anything. :-) It's God's Book and it's the best Book ever because it gets better and better with every read- no matter how many times you read it! It's living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword (like Hebrews 4:12-13 talks about)- so it always cuts to the quick and cuts to the heart and cuts to the point- but it's a good kind of cut, like getting a thorn out, that leads to healing. :-)
      And if you read another book after that, then check out this one, which also can cut to the quick at times and get to the heart because it draws on Biblical points and points us back to Jesus and His standards. :-) It's an older book, but its message is still powerful and very relevant for today. It's actually a collection of short stories- modern parables, as the title declares. It's much in keeping with Jesus' style of teaching. (see Matthew 13:34-35) And it's really good. So then, here is my review of "The Gospel Blimp and Other Modern Parables" by Joseph Bayly.
(Note: I believe there are different variations out there that may or may not contain all the stories I have reviewed here. I am reviewing a 1983 compilation publication from LifeJourney Books from David C. Cook Publishing in Elgin, IL. ISBN: 0-7814-0935-7)
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         Okay then- on to the stories. I don't know if you have the same version I do or not, but the book I have is a collection of modern parables by Joseph Bayly.
The first in the collection was "The Gospel Blimp", which I greatly enjoyed for its message- as I did all the stories in the book. I particularly loved the core message of the story that it was more important to show the love of Christ to people rather than just preach at them. Now I want to carefully note- it is vitally important to share The Truth of The Bible with people. But we must remember Ephesians 4:15 and "speak The Truth in Love". In recent years, I have slowly been learning that and trying to remember that even if I know all the right things and am trying to be obedient and share Christ and His Word with people, if I don't do it in love- I am but a sounding gong or cymbal. (as 1 Corinthians 13 speaks about.) And Jesus Himself said that all people will know we are His disciples by the love we have for one another. (John 13:35) So that story resonated with me.
        Next up in the book was a section called "Gooley and Friends", which contained two stories about Herb Gooley and then three others that seemed to be unrelated to Gooley, but also had some great points. As to the Gooley stories themselves, I will offer my interpretations, though I am not sure that I totally got everything right, of course. From what I can tell, the "I Saw Gooley Fly" story seems to be making an analogy between a living faith in Jesus and the ability to fly. Herb Gooley is evidently a Christian in a world of non-Christians and he is willing to admit to being a Christ-follower (and non-believers are interested in knowing how to have the peace in life he has with Jesus)- yet he doesn't seem to be willing to share this information with others. It's a sad commentary on the church today where, according to statistics, some 90% of Christians never or will never share their faith with others. (Which, of course, is in direct disobedience to Jesus' command in The Great Commission, in Matthew 28:18-20). That one definitely hits close to home. I struggled with this a lot when I was younger. Though I tried to be faithful in sharing Jesus to some degree, I always felt like I wasn't doing enough and God worked in me to make me bolder in sharing His Word and my faith in Jesus. I am thankful to Him for His answer to prayer.
However, I also feel now that perhaps for a while I went too far in one direction where I was boldly preaching God's Word at people- but not remembering to do it as lovingly as I should. So that is something that I feel God has been working on me in recent years as well. And of course, I'm still not perfect at either area, but I'm always seeking God's help in getting better each day. (as Philippians 1:6 promises.)
           For the "Ceiling Zero" story, this seems to be Gooley retreating to the "Christian world". (i.e. Secluded in church and surrounded with Christian friends- both very good things in themselves- but perhaps to the extent of shutting out the world- which is not good, as we must be reaching out to the world in order to be the salt and light that Christ called us to be.) But I feel that by the end of the story, Gooley realizes this point and is seeking to be out in the world and practically showing Jesus' love to people, whereas his classmates all still seem to be stuck in this safe little "Christian world" where they just go through the routines of going to church, reading The Bible and praying (out of duty and tradition), but not really experiencing the full joy of The Lord and sharing Jesus with others as they should.
           "Mayday" seemed to be reemphasizing this idea of Christians not wanting to venture from that safe "Christian world" again and moving on to reach out to the rest of the world. "Rehoboam's Gold Shields" seemed to be showing the way that fervor for The Lord tends to wane off as the cares of this world crowd out God from our lives, as well as talking about Rehoboam's shame of bearing the cross of Christ. I really liked some of the stories that talked about having the braveness to speak out for what's right that God clearly tells us in The Bible- even if the rest of the world doesn't agree. "Protest Until Pizza" seemed to directly address this, as did "The Saving Message".
       The last part of the book I have has a section called "Meek Souls and Phonies" and includes "The Saving Message" story, along with others. "How Silently, How Silently" was a great Christmas story that really got to the real meaning of Christmas- reconciliation with God through Jesus. (This story reminded me some of Jesus' own parable regarding the great banquet that people missed out on and thus, the messengers went to the highways and byways to compel people to come in instead- in Luke 14:12-24).
     As a technology fan (particularly older technology as well as newer technology), I really enjoyed the story called "Does Man Exist? (By ENIAC II)"- a great analogy emphasizing how it's only logical that the created beings must have a Creator- a great response to the evolution/Creation debates that go on.
"A Small Happening at Andover" seemed to be another story talking about the need to move beyond religious (Pharisaical) dogmatism [like Jesus talked about in Matthew 23] and really showing true love to others- and when Christ is lifted up, He draws all men to Himself. "Black Gold" was an interesting story about how Christians can get sucked in to con artists, even those claiming to do God's work, and serves as a good warning to be careful who we trust and to look to The Lord for guidance in how we use the money He allots us. "Still Small Roar" is an absolutely beautiful allegory based on John 1:1-14, speaking of how Jesus has forever changed our world by bringing us salvation through His death and Resurrection. "How Shall We Remember John?" offered an interesting look at mourning and perhaps it's meant as a reminder that for Christians, we mourn with hope because we know we will be reunited forever with Jesus in Heaven.
                Well, there you go- there's my rundown of the book. I also liked the author's afterword as he gave a great word about the power of parables and how they expose us and force us to really consider the point of the message with a good story. He also mentions a powerful experience in a village in Gruyon, Switzerland- looking out one summer morning at the eternal Alps. :-) The Swiss Alps inspired another famous Christian writer, Hannah Hurnard. (Whose "Hinds Feet on High Places" book is another great allegory too.) God must have just really blessed Switzerland with breathtaking beauty. (Both in its land and its people.) :-)
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The Meaning of Life

"We want more than this world's got to offer....we want more than this world's got to offer... we want more than the wars of our fathers...And everything inside screams for second life.......We were meant to live for so much more...have we lost ourselves?"- "Meant to Live" by Switchfoot

"You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life will never make sense." - Rick Warren

As Rick Warren talks about in his best-selling book, "The Purpose Driven Life", we and all those philosophers that have come before us and the ones here now often can't find the purpose for our lives because we start at the wrong place. As human beings we have a natural tendency to focus in ourselves and so we look to defining life and its purpose in terms of how it affects our own lives particularly. But that's the wrong approach. As Rev. Warren's book states in the first line- "It's not about you."
           Now that's just an affront to our self-centered fragile egos. It takes some real humbling on our parts to remember that there are many things in the world so much bigger than ourselves and everything does not revolve around us. We are but dust blowing in the wind, as Kansas said. But though we started out as dust, God makes something more of us through Jesus. And here we get to the purpose and meaning of life when we change the focus to the One bigger than us- bigger than everything else in the world. Life starts with God Himself- because He is Life. In fact, as Jesus said in John 14:6, He is The Way, The Truth and The Life. No man comes to the Father except through Him.
       After spending most all the time and money in the world on women, wine and song, King Solomon concluded that all of life is vanity! " 'Everything is meaningless,' says The Teacher." (see Ecclesiastes 1:1) What a bleak outlook on life! But read the whole book- that is exactly what life is like without God. It's all meaningless without God. Without God, it's nothing but a set amount of time to kill before time kills us. The kicker is there at the end of the book. "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
        Okay then- so if we start this quest for the meaning of life by looking outward to God instead of inward, where does that take us? Well, here are some Bible verses that speak to this point. God Himself tells us plainly our position in the universe and our purpose. While the Psalmist marvels that God should think of us at all- "What is man that You are mindful of us?" (see Psalms 8). Yet God made us "a little lower than the angels." (again, see Psalms 8). And since Genesis 1:26 tells us that God made us, male and female, in His image- we have an infinite booster shot's worth of self-worth right there! Of course, our worth is not in us- it's in Jesus. It's because we are made in His image that we are infinitely important and valuable. And God loves us with an eternal love because we are His creation. (Jeremiah 31:3)
          And why were we created? What are we here on earth for? What are we? When are we? Where are we? Who are we? Why are we? Well, we need look no further than God. And He says that He created all things- and they were all created "for His pleasure". (Revelation 4:11) That's it right there. We were created to bring God pleasure. Unfortunately, too often we have brought Him nothing but heartache and grief, as Genesis 6:5-8 attests. Fortunately, that's where Jesus comes in- both figuratively and literally. Though we were created to bring God pleasure- and nothing brings Him more pleasure than our willing obedience to Him and worship of Him- we chose instead our own pleasure and chose to sin against God. And the wages of sin is death- and not just physical death. There is also the spiritual death we dwell in outside of Christ- and the eternal second death in Hell. However, after Adam and Eve's sin brought corruption to the whole earth and tainted the human race's bloodline with a sin nature, God still had a plan in mind to put right what once went wrong. And much like Dr. Sam Beckett quite literally in some ways becomes one with the person he Leaps into (on "Quantum Leap"), God became one of us in the person of Jesus Christ. And Jesus paid the price for us and made the sacrifice of His own life for all the sins of the world. And because He lives again, we have forgiveness from God and a restored relationship, all free for the asking. Romans 10:9 says if we confess Jesus as Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved. And we can know we have an eternity with Him in Heaven instead. Praise God for His love! (see Philippians 2:1-11)
          When we are in a right relationship with our Creator, everything falls into place. As we seek more and more to obey God and be more like Christ, we come to fulfill one of God's other purposes for our lives. We are created for His pleasure and one of the ways God gets the most pleasure is when we worship Him as He rightfully deserves and thus bring Him glory. He formed and made us for His glory. (see Isaiah 43:7). And the crazy cool thing is this- when we live in right relationship with God and seek to bring Him glory, we also find ourselves most fulfilled and find purpose in our lives. In becoming more like Christ, we become more ourselves than ever before, as C.S. Lewis once noted. Of course, there is a good reason for this. This is how God designed us to be- this is His original intent. He is a relational God and He desires us all to have a relationship with Him. And only in that relationship with Jesus can we truly find the fulfillment and purpose and meaning we are looking for in life. It just doesn't work any other way. Try to save your life- you'll lose it. Try to get ahead and win in life- ultimately, you'll fail and lose. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul? If you want to know peace, fulfillment, purpose and meaning in life- they only come in following Jesus. Forget the pursuit of the temporal and rather pursue the eternal. Not only is the eternal all that will last- it's all that really matters in the end. The eternal not only rewards our permanent dwelling in Heaven with Christ- it enriches our time allotted in the land of our sojourn.
          We are here for a reason. God has a purpose in mind for each one of us. He loves us with an eternal love and He has placed eternity in our hearts. To live for His glory and bring Him pleasure is built into our DNA- but it's only realized when we make the choice to follow His call and accept Christ as Savior through faith in His death and Resurrection as payment for all our sins and then live in union with Him- the way that He designed all along. To reject Him and His love is truly a living hell on earth that extends for eternity. To accept Him and His love is pure ecstasy- pure rapture for a captured heart that eternally dwells in His presence in His heavenly realms. He is the meaning of Life-He's The Way of enlightenment and understanding and wisdom- He is The Truth- there is no other. We either live with anathema or we can join an anthem of the everlasting Hallelujah chorus! Praise God for His love. :-)
           So the call goes out to us all- forget about our own lives and pursuits- deny them all; yes, deny our very selves- take up our own cross and follow Jesus. It's a daily process and thankfully, one that He prearranges and ordains and maintains all the while working through our surrendered will and being. (See Matthew 6:24-28).God is faithful- even when we're not. (1 Corinthians 1:4-9). And what is His command? Love The Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength- and love thy neighbor as thyself. And speak The Truth in Love. (See Matthew 22:34-40 and Ephesians 4:15). Love undergirds everything. So keep walking in fellowship with Jesus and live a life of purpose on purpose- just as He purposed it all along. That's The Way He planned it. There is no other way to truly live. This is The Life! And that's The Truth. :-)

Some Are (story)

* I wrote this in response to a prompt for a writing contest.... (that I didn't actually enter, but I thought someone might enjoy reading this anyway. :-))



Some Are

               A somber silence settled on the school room as the bell chimed the students’ dreaded death knell. It was now 8 AM on another Monday morning and the fall term had begun. As the teacher began writing the first assignment on the board, the children stared in numb shock and listlessness. Once the ominous omen had been read, the odiferous pungency of its directives consumed the olfactory senses of the slaves now firmly refastened to their stocks for another grueling seven hours of torture. A collective groan escaped from the lungs now tainted with the putrid air of forced education. Yet amidst the gasps of horror and despair, on the back row of the Coliseum of death, two small grins emerged.
                It had been a wide open world of wonder at first in the golden days. The sweet release of freedom rang loudly in the air with the rush of a thousand voices singing with glee. This is what real living was meant to be- a walk in the park or a day on the beach with none, no-never, nary a care. The possibilities were endless and so were the days it seemed. Oh, the expeditions to be mounted- the explorations to be endeavored! The pursuits of a myriad of activities lay stretched before all the willing participants of the intoxicating allure of such holiday pleasures. Time was a loyal and trusted ally then.
                Somewhere between the fanciful flights of the crimson marred streaks of light and the subtle creeping of the nomenclature of learning’s renewed siren call, a change came over the terrestrial ball and its congregants. It came with its share of hints- a rustle in the breeze, a purple haze at close of days and a baleful rooster’s crow in the morning. Somehow the signs were missed by many and the adrenaline rush drenched the world with energy but not perspicacity. “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,” came the old refrain from which many did indeed refrain. The days left unseized by unseasoned had been seized by another.
                Then it was that distant doldrums came, beating out their rhythm of quiet despair and gathering gloom. Whence came the mourning mist that envelopes everyone everywhere in the midst of halcyon heights marked by a barefoot blazed trail? The gleam of gold wanes as a maze of gazes questions the questions in the malaise that travails upon their travels. Oh, the eternal paradox of the vernal equinox! All the time in the world available for the asking but nothing to do in the days passing! The strawberry fields are ripe for but a short stretch of Father Time’s arms. The fields are plentiful in harvest, but those who would be workers work hard in flittering frivolous pursuits.
                So the story begins as it ends. No matter how tenuous its hold amid enchantments of warm star-lit nights, the clarion call rings true in the end with the experiment house in session once again. Oh, the cruel tests of inhumanity to be wrought upon an unsuspecting class of young pupils- it’s too much for the eyes to take in. Look and see, hear and be amazed! Yonder light still shines from golden shores in those who boldly face the entrenching entrapment with a lion’s roar. No vanity in the lion’s pride, but an informed hope that spans the ages enraptures each soul with an unthinkable delight. Through conniptions aroused at the cavalcade of crosses and bars set forth from the teacher, the cavalcade becomes the calvary that keeps the summer sun rays glowing with the joyous thought of the glory coming.